Pretty Tough Plants

I found the book very useful. Each plant has a quick notes reference with its best features, culture (how it grows and what it needs), its landscape usage, and the origin and native region. A full color photograph accompanies each listing. 135 plants are well described here, making it a great garden reference book to own.

Pretty Tough Plants is an excellent resource for a gardener or landscaper. The criteria for being labeled a tough plant is clearly explained first. I guess I thought drought resistance would be the main one but there are several other main points that went into the selection process. I found the set-up of the book to be easy to follow; categorizing the plants as perennials, trees, grasses, etc. The photos are well-done with concise but extremely useful information. I especially liked that each plant had more than one photo. I also appreciated the many charts at the end.

I had thought that since the non-profit organization was based out of Colorado that the plants would all be there too. Instead I happily found much plant information for the area of the US where I live. While I have bought several plant reference books over the years, I am finding this one to a truly interesting and worthwhile one. As a home gardener with limited resources and time but still want to maintain a lovely garden this will be a valuable research. The idea of having less environmental impact using plant selection to be a new idea or approach for me. This book makes you want to fully embrace too.

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