From bugs to shrubs, this book has it
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Staff Writer
One of the great resources for plant lovers is the continuing production of the Sunset magazine group's Sunset Western Garden Book, which has been released this year in its seventh edition.
While much of its content is aimed at the West Coast, Sunset includes the Hawaiian Islands in its review of planting and climate zones, and includes many native Hawaiian species and introduced species commonly grown here.
One of the popular themes in gardening these days is to make use of species appropriate to your climate zone, so that you don't need to take extra measures to keep them alive through either excessive irrigation of wet-country plants if you live in a dry area, or excessive treatment for diseases caused by too much moisture, in plants that like it arid.
The book suggests using the plant communities native to a region as models for what you grow in your garden.
"The natural garden is appropriate to the land and the climate. It captures and reflects the essence of wild plant communities, using plants that will grow easily in the site and the soil," the book says.
If you select the plants most suited to your terrain and climate, "they'll thrive without heavy-handed care."
The book, all 768 pages of it, is rich in photographs and artwork. Much of the book is familiar to anyone who spends time out-of-doors in the Islands.
The biggest part of the Sunset Western Garden Book, nearly 500 pages of it, is an encyclopedia of every plant Sunset's editors have been able to identify that someone in the Western part of the United States, including Hawai'i, would be likely to want to grow, or to come across.
The volume has a comprehensive assortment of sections valuable to gardeners in various regions, and of various preferences and skill levels. The back of the book has information on bugs, composting, container gardening, pesticides, diseases, grafting, fertilizers and about anything else you'd want to know.
A section on the native plants of various regions has half a page on Hawai'i species, divided into categories: trees (such as koa and wiliwili); shrubs (such as beach naupaka and 'ilima); groundcovers such as maile; and perennials such as the 'ala'ala wai nui.
The book answers a pile of questions. For example, ever wonder why lantana grows so well in areas where grazing deer and goats roam? No surprise that lantana is listed among deer-resistant plants. So, incidentally, is the native dodonaea, 'a'ali'i. The 'a'ali'i is a popular garden plant for Sunset, and is also listed under wind-resistant plants, seacoast garden plants and plants with reddish color.
For more information on this $36.95 volume, check the Sunset Web site at www.sunset.com.
Jan TenBruggencate is The Advertiser's Kaua'i Bureau chief and its science and environment writer. You can reach him by e-mail at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com
