I have penned the following review for the MGS Journal in January and thought it might be of interest to give Forum users an advanced viewing.
Debra Lee Baldwin is one of California's leading lights in writing about and giving talks on succulents and this is her 3rd book following the success of "Designing with Succulents" and "Succulent Container Gardens".
This book has 3 different sections.Part 1 deals with basic growing and design techniques such as watering needs, fertilizing and how to propagate through cuttings. Part 2 goes into more sophisticated design ideas for the garden,pots and also how to make succulent bouquets with practical advice about how to combine or contrast different colours, textures and varieties. Part 3 lists her 100 favourite succulent plants which she has successfully cultivated in California including a half-page description, photo, botanical and common name and practical tips about growing them as well as providing details on mature size and hardiness of each plant.
It is a very well presented book in large paper-back form with excellent photos. As I am enjoying cultivating aloes, Part 3's listing of 16 different aloe varieties was of particular interest to me,although I felt that she could have explained how to grow these from seed.This defect is probably due to the tremendous amount of succulent nursery gardens that abound in California so that cultivators can buy a small plant rather than start from seed, which is not so much the case in Europe.
This is a perfect book for a novice succulent collector but will also provide design ideas and lots of enjoyment for more sophisticated succulent gardeners. I have thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to anybody interested in learning more about succulent plants.
