Desert Gardens of Steve Martino by Caren Yglesias

As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast:

Copy of Grow That #Garden Library (3)

Desert Gardens of Steve Martino by Caren Yglesias

This book came out in 2018.

In this book, we get a tour of twenty-one gardens by Steve Martino. Martino’s gardens are works of art that incorporate color, native plants, plants with dramatic shapes, and man-made elements in contrast with the backdrop of the desert.

Martino has evolved his signature garden design style to include native plants, allowing his love of the desert to guide his approach. Over and over again,

Martino contrasts man-made pieces with the untamed desert.

Martino explains,

"Gardens consist of two worlds, the man-made and the natural one. I've described my design style as 'Weeds and Walls' — nature and man. I use native plants to make the transition from a building to the adjacent natural desert."

 

The New York Times Book Review of this book said,

“Part of Martino’s trick is setting plants that have few flowers but fabulous shapes against geometric slabs of deeply colored walls. The crimson hues in a Phoenix garden must be as much of a draw for the hummingbirds as the mirrored surface of the water trough. Blue concrete pyramids, magenta poles, yellow awnings, and fiberglass panels — these are all elements in Martino’s playful, imaginative designs."

This book is 240 pages of Steve Martino’s inspiring work - a treasure of vivid color, plants, design, and custom structures.

You can get a copy of Desert Gardens of Steve Martino by Caren Yglesias and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $68.

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