Planting Design for Dry Gardens: Beautiful, Resilient Groundcovers for Terraces, Paved Areas, Gravel and Other Alternatives to the Lawn

This gorgeously illustrated book is a revolt against the “dreary uniformity” of expansive lawns in deference to natural sustainable landscapes. Lawns demand lots of water, plenty of fertilizer, abundant sunshine, and (worst of all) mowing. Filippi (The Dry Gardening Handbook) makes the case for a paradigm shift from lawns to landscapes by incorporating herbaceous plants, ornamental grasses, ground covers, and even plants typically thought of as weeds. The book highlights the history of lawns and how they came to dominate the horticultural imagination, and then goes on to identify and explain alternative designs with an effective use of gravel gardens, flowering steppes, stone terraces, slopes, and stone-surface gardens. A gravel garden, for example, is covered by thick mineral mulch, which drastically reduces the need for weeding and allows for extensive ground-cover planting, requiring little maintenance while yielding a stunning visual effect. Filippi includes guides for suitable plant types, design strategies, soil preparation, plant choice, water management, and dealing with invasives. The directory of 200 species and their varieties makes this a comprehensive and indispensable resource that will surprise and delight the courageous gardener who is looking to maximize beauty and minimize upkeep. Color illus. (Aug.)