Sunday, August 19, 2012

GARDEN BOOK REVIEW: THE TROPICAL GARDEN by WILLIAM WARREN

Last month I told you about my favorite tropical garden book. If books ran a race, this one finishes a close second.
Back cover with its alluring garden path

William Warren is an American gardener and writer who moved to the tropics in 1960. He collects gardens like some people collect stamps. And we are the beneficiaries of his extensive travels.
Photo from my garden

The close to 300 (yes....300!) photos by Luca Tettoni transport you to gardens in Bali, Thailand, Hawaii, Malaysia, and Singapore. It's almost too overwhelming.
My backyard tropical garden

Even though many of us actually live outside the tropics, many semitropical plants growing in our gardens have tropical cousins in this book. 
Another view of my tropical garden here in Houston

This is an easy book to find and you can pick one up for as little as $7.00 on Amazon or Barnes & Noble used books.
(Port Aransas is one of a handful of towns on the tropical barrier islands along the Texas coast...it's our version of Key West, Florida)

Gardeners everywhere seem drawn to the mysterious tropics and even though you may not have a tropical garden, you would still LOVE the wonderful text and photos in "The Tropical Garden".
(The largest Banyan trees in Texas. Found on the campus of Texas A&M at Corpus Christi)

And just like the surprise I had finding full grown Banyan trees in Texas, you'll find some nice surprises in this book. 
Some of the vibrant foliage in my tropical garden.
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That's it for this time. Thanks to Holley at Roses and Other Gardening Joys for keeping a virtual bookcase for all our book reviews. We're approaching 100 garden books reviewed by wonderful garden bloggers all over the world.
Happy Reading!
David/:0)
P.S. I'll be doing a post on my visit to tropical Corpus Christi soon! Stay tuned.









16 comments:

  1. Wow, 300 pictures of tropical gardens! That's impressive! I love seeing gardens from all over the world.

    Those are some awesome trees. Love the bark and sprawling roots!

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  2. I love that book too. As I was scrolling down I thought I hadn't seen that photo in the book, then realised it was your garden. Love your backyard jungle.

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  3. It was indeed a great book review. Great blog post! I am looking forward for more post.

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  4. A great looking book and a terrific source of inspiration, David.

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  5. Hi DAvid,

    No problem, I deleted your link from Garden Blogs in Finland but Happily found your blog =)Thank You for leaving message.

    It looks really nice, different from our Finnish gardens/ blogs =)

    Our summer is too short and I really love gardening. I wish it would be more like you have it,

    Best REgards, Karolina

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  6. With so many pictures, I bet this is a very inspiring book. I would love to collect gardens in all those exotic areas! I bet looking through this book is like going on a vacation. The picture of those Banyan trees are amazing, too! Thanks so much for joining in. I do love finding new books to read!

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  7. Beautiful photos of some lush gardens, including yours! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Wow, those are some awesome shots of your garden. It does look like it sits firmly in the tropics. I'm gonna half to hunt down that book. I could dream in a book like that forever!

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  9. Thank you introduction of this book. Tropical garden in my mind had been filled with lush green, some unique leaves and flowers, striking colors as an accent..., and I think I was not wrong. I have to add exotic feel and somewhat mysterious atmosphere like entering into a small jungle (?). We share some plants since Japan’s summer is subtropical and winter is rather mild. Your garden is wonderful, David, and I like the water basin with water grass in the 5th image. It looks like “hibachi” (fire bowl), traditional Japanese heating. Hibachi is not used as a heater now, but some people like to utilize it as a miniature pond in the garden.

    Yoko

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  10. Ironically, I saw my first banyan tree in Kew Gardens in London of all places. Everything looks so lush and inviting. The book sounds like a treat for the eyes.

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  11. One thing about having tropical garden is that the garden will somehow turn eventually into a tropical forest or a jungle.
    And that pruning and keeping the plants in the optimum nice balance of foliage & blooms are in fact a challenge.
    Its all depends on the gardener I guess.

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  12. Stay safe!! Last year I had 165 kids and this year I only have 120 so I'm optimistic it will be a good year. 'Stay sane' to you to! Just think - you're getting a 'snow day' and your garden is getting watered at the same time! :o)

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  13. What beautiful pictures the book has! I'll try to get it. And I'm also surprised to see your backyard garden. It's amazing!!! The shapes and colors of each leaves are fascinating. I'm looking forward to the next post, your visit to tropical Corpus Christi :)

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  14. Oh, by the way, I want to indroduce your agave garden to my Japanese friends. Planting succusents like your garden is our dream. We have cold weather in winter, so it can't be realized in Japan. Can I borrow your images in my Japanese blog http://ameblo.jp/k-tski/?

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  15. Hello David, I'm stopping by to take a peek at what's going on in your garden :) I'd say you're doing well since I had to read your captions to determine which pictures were from the gardening book and which were of your own garden! Happy gardening!

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I always appreciate your comments & questions! Happy Gardening from David/ Tropical Texana