"Combining elements of a journal, sketchbook, notebook, and textbook, Waterstained Landscapes focuses on the Denver region and the dry West, Protagonist Crane learns that tracing the "waterstain" - water concentration and accompanying plant responses - is like reading the braille of western landscapes, a hidden text that reveals information about natural processes and human values. The book describes the regional processes that shape these plant patterns, and goes on to explore how natural and cultural mechanisms change and affect designed and undesigned landscapes over time. Woodward takes special note of the evolution of landscape design eras, following the fate of one house as its garden changes under the influence of different styles and various owners' tastes."--BOOK JACKET.

Publisher Description

Few other places in the United States are as high, dry, sparsely inhabited—and urbanized—as the Great Basin of Utah and Nevada. The great majority of the population of this rapidly growing region lives in the two metropolitan areas at its edges, Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front, and Reno and the Truckee Meadows. These cities embody the allure and the challenge of the contemporary American West, deemed by some “The New American Heartland.” No Communication with the Sea is a journey through this urbanizing Great Basin landscape. Here, the land fosters illusions of limitless space and resources, but its space and resources are severely limited; its people live clustered in cities but are often reluctant to embrace urbanity. These tensions led journalist and urban planner Tim Sullivan to explore the developing centers and edges of the Great Basin cities and the ways some are trying to build livable and sustainable urban environments. In this highly readable book of creative nonfiction, Sullivan employs a variety of methods—including interviews, research, travelogues, and narrative—to survey the harsh landscape for clues to the ways cities can adapt to their geography, topography, ecology, hydrography, history, and culture. No Communication with the Sea embarks on a quest for a livable future for the heart of the interior West. In the process, it both unearths the past and ponders the present and future Great Basin cities.

Plant selection and garden style are deeply influenced by where we are gardening. To successfully grow a range of beautiful ornamental plants, every gardener has to know the specifics of the region’s climate, soil, and geography. Growing the Southwest Garden, by New Mexico-based garden designer Judith Phillips, is a practical and beautiful handbook for ornamental gardening in a region known for its low rainfall and high temperatures. With more than thirty years of experience gardening in the Southwest, Phillips has created an essential guide, featuring regionally specific advice on zones, microclimates, soil, pests, and maintenance. Profiles of the best plants for the region include complete information on growth and care.

Annotation This is a passionately written advocacy of bioregionalism, the conviction that people should live, work, play, and consume locally, for the health of the environment and for society. The book is inspirational as well as educational, a combination of philosophy and practical suggestions for implementing bioregionalism in communities.

Colorado's booming population and recent drought have made wise water use a top priority in the Centennial State. Whether you're establishing a new Xeriscape or you wish to transform your existing landscape into a lush yet water-thrifty oasis, Xeriscape Colorado shows you exactly how. Landscape designer Connie Lockhart Ellefson and Denver Water's David Winger take you step by step through the seven principles of Xeriscape: planning and design, soil analysis and improvement, practical turf areas, informed plant choice, efficient irrigation, mulching, and maintenance. Book jacket.

Sustainable Site Design introduces the core concepts of sustainability as applied to landscape architecture. Focusing on site-scale design, this book provides a regional framework for integrating sustainable practices throughout the design process. From landscape analysis to program and design development, each design phase is illustrated with detailed case studies covering a broad range of innovative built landscape architectural projects.

"The second edition of Sustainable Landscape Construction has been updated to include the most important development and latest scientific research in the field. - It has been expanded to provide more ideas for designing, building, and maintaining environmentally sensitive landscapes."--Jacket.

Urban riverbanks are attractive locations and highly prized recreational environments. The designs of urban river landscapes must fulfill a broad range of requirements: flood control, open space design, and ecology are as a rule the three dominant themes, and they must often be reconciled within a very restricted space. The river must be understood as a process: governed by changing water levels, shifting seasons, erosion, and sedimentation, the river environment is not a static entity but constantly changing—the design must be flexible and take this into account. This book is the product of a multi-year study that subjected more than fifty Western European projects to a comparative analysis. The result is a systematic catalog of effective strategies and innovative design elements. First, designers and planners are given an overview of the broad and varied spectrum of design possibilities. The book’s process-oriented approach is especially helpful where the focus is on long-term, sustainable measures. The publication consists of two linked volumes that enable the reader to consult the systematic catalog and the case study section side by side. The easy-to-navigate structure and an extensive glossary provide further guidance, while the work’s highly distinctive design makes it visually appealing as well and invites the reader to leaf through and explore it.