A Desert Gardener's Companion Book

Absolutely, positively the most helpful book on desert gardening that I've read. I've got a huge library of gardening reference books, but they mainly categorize and identify different plant species. This book is organized by month and helps the desert gardener plan which activities need to be performed in certain months to get the most out of the garden. Each month starts with a single page summary of the month's activities, and then the chapter follows with details and anecdotes. The author suggests her favourite species for various uses (flowers, vegetable gardens, fruit trees, decorative landscaping, etc.), which I appreciated, but she also branches out and teaches the reader how to start and use a compost pile, how to plan a garden that will attract different birds or butterflies, how to safety treat insect infestations, etc. I'm just about to move to a new home on an acre of land and can't wait to start gardening, so now I finally know which types of vegetables I can still plant in late August for an early winter harvest, and when winter comes, I'll know which plants I can begin to start from seed in preparation for my early spring planting. Maybe people who've been gardening for years already know these things, but I'm starting from scratch in a different climate than the one I grew up in, so a little hand-holding is exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm giving this book 5 stars, but there are two improvements I'd like to see. One, I'd like some colour photos to help me identify the different species the author mentions/suggests so they're easier for me to identify at the nursery (where labels are sometimes hard to read). Two, I wish the book was in a larger, spiral-bound format so that I could leave it open on a desk for quick consultation, almost like a desk calendar. In fact, a desk calendar version of this book is something I'd buy -- start the month with the reference "to-do" summary list, and then give me traditional calendar spaces to make notes regarding what I've planted (or when I should remember to plant/water/fertilize, etc.). This was a library book, but I'll be buying my own copy ASAP!