Reimagining the California Lawn: Water-Conserving Plants, Practices, and Designs

Our front/back yards needed renovation after we moved to the house we bought. Having no experience in landscaping, I wasted quite a lot of money without any positive outcome. Then I bought this book (based on reviews on Amazon) because I wanted to know exactly what plants will be good for my climate (I live in San Diego) and amount of sun my front/back yards get (parts of these get varying degrees of sun light during any given day). I cannot be happier. Here are the pros:1) Very concise and to the point. You can go through whole book over a week end2) Though small in size, still covers a lot (and I mean quite a lot) of different types of plants (all of them suitable for California)3) Quite a number of very good pictures which give you many ideas how to setup different garden styles (book discusses seven different garden styles, I settled on greensward)4) Very well organized. After discussing individual plant profiles, there is a section which puts plants in different groups for reader to easily makeup his/her mind what to use in a particular scenario (for example "Aggressive", "Aromatic", "Bulletproof" and many more)Plants which I finally used in my front (and back) yard, came from the ones discussed in this book. They are growing healthy and look beautiful. I highly recommend this book. But please keep in mind that this is California specific (clearly implied in title)

Since we live in Southern California where the price of water is rising faster than we can keep up with it we made a decision 18 months ago to exchange 40 percent of our thirsty lawn for plants that need much less water. This was an important and complex project since our neighborhood is larger older ranch-executive homes fronted by a lot of lawn and with very short or low walls delineating property lines. So colorless, thorny plants weren't an option. We hired an excellent contractor and gave him a color palette and an instruction that we wanted year around color and a water bill 40% lower than previously. Our contractor did most of the thinking for us and we really had no written reference at our finger tips. Now the garden is an absolute wonder and includes rabbits and quail. But it is ever changing as our moods suit us or a plant dies -- we've only lost 5 of the 148 original plantings. If you are planning a project like ours or looking for ideas to improve what you've got, this book is an absolute must and deserves to be handy on your coffee table (you will be asked a million questions about your project) both as a reference and because it is a beautiful, informative tome.

Interesting to learn the history behind why we have so many lawns. Pictures very helpful in considering alternative to lawn. I have removed my lawn and am attempting to grow some of those alternative ground covers (like silver carpet). Lots of written info, too, about these other plants to consider and their pros and cons. Ultimately, I have to go through the process through trial and error, but this helped me take the plunge.

I read a review in the Los Angeles Times about this book and rushed to buy it since I will replace several lawns with more drought tolerant plantings here in Ventura County, CA.. The book explains how to replace existing lawns with grassy cover "carpet and Tapestry gardens 'or simply by adding a combination hardscapes and exotic and native plants in artistic juxtapositions which are endless. The plants are all shown in existing gardens. In Plant Profiles there is a list of all the plants and their colors and varieties and most of all Climate zones and the degree to which they are drought tolerant, The plants are also graded according to climate and tolerance to heat and cold.There are also list of Selected Plant Palettes for Succulent gardens , with alphabetical lists of almost 100 succulent varieties

Carol Bornstein is a recognized authority on California Native Plants, so I ordered this book for ideas on how to incorporate them into a "lawnless" landscape. The quality of the photographs is not what I had hoped for. Many of them are small for a landscape book and they didn't seem to be that sharp. They probably suffered during the printing process.The plant section is in alphabetical order and has a wealth of information about each plant. She also gives information on how to remove a lawn and offers many lawn substitutes that use less water. I would have liked to see more photos of houses with drought tolerant landscapes, and most of the photos in the book were of individual plants or partial landscapes.

Purchased this book for my daughter & her husband for their new home. It's full of great info, suggestions & beautiful pictures of mature plants. Wish we'd had this book 10 years ago when our front yard was professionally landscaped. Many of the plants died or over ran each other. Basically we got a lot of what the nursery was trying to get rid of & not drought resistant at all. Our yard is finally mature & looks great, with very low maintenance. I'm hoping this book will cut down on the trial & error we went through.

I have been redoing my front yard with native California plants, and this book has been very helpful. I don't know much about soil or native plants, and this book is full of just the type of information that I need. I take it to the nursery with me so that I know exactly what to buy for my particular climate zone. I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to put native plants in their yard in California. There are several ways to replace a lawn, and they are all discussed in this book.

Part resource manual, part discussion about alternatives. Nice photos with ideas and nice resources - would have liked it a little better if it had been divided better by regions and microclimates. Also, it would be great if there was a resource that would show how to achieve various design "looks" such as traditional cottage style, etc. using no lawn and water conserving plants.