Announcing the Second Edition of Designing with Succulents! Amazing tips

 

Available for pre-order now. Ships Aug. 27, 2017

When publisher Timber Press proposed a celebratory 10th anniversary, second edition of Designing with Succulents, I figured all I’d have to do is change a word here and there and come up with a few extra photos. So I agreed to what seemed like a reasonable deadline—six months. But as soon as I dove into the project, I realized so much had changed that a complete rewrite and almost entirely new photos were in order.

To meet the deadline, I worked 12-hour days and weekends, often in pajamas with uncombed hair, too much coffee, and a dog that needed to go out. With the guidance of a terrific editor—Lorraine Anderson—I ripped the book open, pulled out its innards, rewrote the text, and agonized over the photos. It was so difficult to winnow the selection to 400!

And then I sent the MS to someone more savvy than I.

Although I specialize in succulents, I’m primarily a garden photojournalist—a writer/photographer who researches, captures, and presents the creativity and expertise of others. (Credits in the book number more than 150.) Few horticulturists have greater knowledge of succulents than Brian Kemble, who has observed numerous varieties in their habitats and cultivated them by the thousands as curator of the Ruth Bancroft Garden.

Beneath his placid exterior, Brian has an encyclopedic brain revered by members of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America. (Someday I may share with you his proofreading comments, all beautifully written, engaging, informative, occasionally amusing, and—especially when pointing out errors—diplomatic.)

How can I express my pride in this second edition of Designing with Succulents? It’s like birthing a child (except that was easier). It’s my magnum opus and painstaking, penultimate attempt to make the world better and more beautiful. Above all, it’s my gift to you—to anyone—who is fascinated by these elegant plants and who longs for a pleasing (yet practical) garden or landscape.

And don’t you just love the cover?

The second edition of Designing with Succulents is available for pre-order and ships August 27. You can also obtain a signed copy from me at the annual Succulent Extravaganza at Succulent Gardens nursery in Castroville, CA (near Santa Cruz), Sept. 22-23; or at the San Diego Horticultural Society meeting Oct. 9. (I’m speaking at both events.)

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