My latest obsessive interest is gardening, specifically vegetable & fruit gardening. So I've been in info-gathering mode: going to the library to scope out books, obsessively cross-referencing blurbs about the same plant across 5-10 books at a time, being some of the things I've done. So I'm drowning in a sea of gardening books as I write this.

This is a book that I would not buy for substantive gardening because it does not measure up to what else is available. Many of the blurbs are less substantive than a seed envelope. I looked at it because of Amazon's high ratings, but here's why I think this book is an unwise investment for that purpose:

1) It's hard to read. For most of the plants listed, the header is accompanied by a single tiny (~1inch size) representative pastel-colored illustration followed by 1-10 short paragraphs of generic text. I'm only in my 20s and I feel like I have to crack out reading glasses.

2) The meat of the book is like a dictionary, alphabetically listed by scientific name or common name. To find something, you have to thumb through pages of tiny print with nothing to grab your attention. It's boring, having neither anecdotes (if you like those) nor the utility of bullets. Too bad Sunset magazine didn't include some of their big, eye-popping, full-page colorful photo spreads.

3) And like a dictionary, the blurbs are short and generic. For all the bountiful garden greens available in California & along the west coast, there is a 7 paragraph generic description of "lettuce". The strains are mentioned not to describe their look or taste, but to just list their names so they've been covered. Some of the fruits and trees are accompanined by tables, so their descriptions are better.

4) This book tries to have the scope of American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening while being the local expert, but falls very very short because it is not detailed enough and also passes the buck. True, there's a huge list of plants, but it's more like a cheap catalog with generic, cursory tips and zero visual stimulation. The worst is the passing of the responsibility. For example: (a small blurb on tomato problems) "If certain diseases or nematodes cause trouble locally, you may be able to grow varieties that resist one or more problems. Keys to resistance you may see on plant labels or in catalog descriptions..." Thanks. My all-in-one West Coast compendium tells me to look for local info in other resources.

5) With such generic, short descriptions, you'd think there'd be plenty of space on the page. But the margins are about 1/2 inch, so if you plan on jotting down notes, crack out your reading glasses.

6) There's almost zero visualization because not only are there so few pictures, a lot of times the strains are not even described, merely mentioned by name only. There is a short chapter in the beginning with 1-2inch color photos, but it is organized by scientific name. It wasn't useful because I didn't know the scientific names of strains I was trying to learn about. The seed catalogs that I've gotten from online companies do a much better job.

7) Because I was impressed by how bad I thought this book was (given it's high ratings), I checked the library for older editions to see how it had "improved" over time. Unfortunately, they only had the 7th ed and it was same as the 8th, minus different cover art.


For better, encyclopedia-like gardening books that have gorgeous color photos and insightful, detailed writing, try:
American Horticultural Society A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants and The American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers (American Horticultural Society Practical Guides) and American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening
-- has it all including photos and sequential drawings when plants need specific instructions. Fat, heavy books (You may pull a muscle, but together, these are the books that comprise a full reference.)

New Illustrated Guide to Gardening
-- succeeds where Western Garden fails; big coffee-table photos with substantive, practical writing; not as heavy cause it doesn't list everything like the book above, but it comes close

The Random House Book of Vegetables (Random House Garden)
-- I put this one in because in an ideal world, I want to see pictures of the varieties alongside good text in an all-inclusive gardening compendium. If anyone knows of any current book like this, please let me know! Thanks!

This book has been a mainstay of gardening information for many years. There have been positive changes/updates through the years and it is a great reference.

I love this book....it's been years...and I mean years since we bought a new one....such an improvement from the old one...great pictures...easy to find what you're looking for....love it...love it..love it!!!

I am loving this book....is there anything it doesn't cover? I think if I can grow it hear in the west it will be in this book. Great addition to my library!

I love this book! Being new to gardening and the area that I live it is a great resource for what and when to plant!

So many people have included their opinions on this wonderful book. I have used my new one for about three or four years and it has held up great.
If there was any advice to give it would be to buy the hardcover. It is worth the extra money and it will last and last.
The only draw back to this book is that there are not as many pictures as in other books, but the information makes up for this. The individual plant information is the best you can find, and you can check pictures online if you want to double check a plants identification.
Happy Gardening!

This is my most favorite gardening book. It's wonderful to wander through and read or to use as a reference guide. It's well organized and wonderfully informative. Recently my previous copy (an earlier version) went missing (with notes in the margin and all). I happily just bought my new copy as I can't be without this book! A must for anyone who likes to garden.

This book is absolutely indispensible for anyone gardening in the west. This book contains a very thorough encyclopedia of plants with very good information. It also has some very helpful plant selection guides. The best part about the Sunset Western Garden book is the Sunset zone system, which is far superior to the old USDA Cold Hardiness zone system that is so prevalent. The book contains much more accurate information about the individual micro-climate of your area. I couldn't survive with out this book.

Just about anything that grows in the garden is in this book, each item has info about growing zones, and sun and watering requirements; the more popular varieties have more detailed info than less popular ones. Each item has a colored illustration.

I bought this version as my old paperback version had finally decided it had enough after about 20 years. Unfortunately I find the older version easier to use. It had a index with common names of plants, so you could find them easily. This newer version has omitted that feature. Do you know the Latin name for all your plants? I certainly don't. Makes it more diffucult to use. I also noted that it pretty much has the exact same description on many plants with no new info. I guess maybe there wasn't anything to add, but I do know that there are more hybrids out there than were listed in this book. Anyone that gets Plant catalogs knows the many that are missing. I just don't feel it is as comprehensive as past issues hahve been for their time. Still a great book for those without any version at all. I use my old version to find the Latin name and find that in the new version.

I'm holding on my lap the 1981 version of this book that my dad gave me. It was an invaluable tool for him for many years and has helped me immensely, but unfortunately it very out of date. I don't think the varieties of Strawberries listed even exist anymore, so I'm shopping for the newest book.

This book is very helpful, a great resource for anyone studying, planting, specifying plants in the Pacific Northwest. There are good descriptions and pictures of the plants.

I have been gardening in the Western states from Washington to New Mexico and have found Sunset's Western Garden Book a Priceless addition to our library. I have been using different editions of this book (including the current edition) for more than 25 years and have used much of the information in them. The Micro-Zone breakdowns of each state has been a blessing with finding the right type plant for the right area. The plant selection guides and encyclopedia are extremely valuable. I must add the Sunset Magazines (which I read faithfully) are an added plus to your library. I've read and used them over and over for their rich information. I must add I'm not affiliated or being rewarded for this review- I'm just a very faithful customer, and hope more gardeners add this value to their library. You will not be disappointed.

Nice. Excellent condition, and I wasn't expecting a snazzy hardcover when all my classmates got paperback thru the school bookstore. :) Very quick delivery, too. Fastest of the six books I ordered.

Plenty of good information, too by my state of Oklahoma is too far east to be included.

Even though it's the same book, I really would have preferred the softback book. Sometimes I find there are so many words to read on each page I unavoidably overlook things like "hardback" when I should have been more careful. Truth be told, the older volumes are better anyway.

I always get a little education when I take my ease with elbows on knees.

This is my third updated Western Garden Book, and it's a resource I couldn't do without----------in fact, I have given the others to friends to look up a specific plant or tree, and ,not ever having had them returned, found it absolutely necessary to replace them in a short time. Of course, that also means I am getting the most recent information in the world of flora, and finding new inspiration for my garden. It's a true Bible for those who love the beauty of nature in the microcosm of their own back yard.

The book was easy to find and arrived early. Exactly what I wanted. 5-star review for ease, efficiency and delivery. THX!

I use it all the time and bought one for my son to use at his new house.

I live in Australia & bought the book on a whim. Delighted with it. It has the sort of in-depth cultivation notes that remind you to bear in mind your local climate, growing seasons, day length etc etc etc. The cultivations notes are very useful. They help the gardener make better choices due to the amount of detail given. I have given up on having a magnolia next to the fence where its roots would disturb my neighbour and will choose something more suitable. Many of the gardens plants given a comprehensive write-up are from the southern hemisphere. So now I have another reference book that really adds value.

I recently wrote a book ZEN OF WATERING YOUR GARDEN. The book is a collection of aphorisms, poems and sayings juxtaposed to photos from all over the world. Though from the East Coast, I have many photos that were taken in Southern and Northern California. This book is a good reference. Of greater interest to me is its philosophical approach to be close to nature in the planting of gardens and the use of water. My book too, was assembled to promote an intimacy of gardening gained through watering by hand.

Sunset Western Garden BookI selected this book to aid me in selecting correct plants,trees and schrubs for the area I live in. THE SUNSET WESTERN GARDEN BOOK IS USED BY my cities planning dept. It has all the information you need. How ever I find part of the print/color quality very poor due to poor printing registration at the printers. Amazon did a fine job of sending me a second copy and it too was poor printing quality. I had contacted Sunset about the defect in printing and as of this writing no response.
Joseph Veca

The book is in great condition and I received it very quickly. Thank you so much!

Anyone, from the curious to the beginning gardener to the expert must have this volume on their shelf. It is full of well organized information.

Got a garden???? You NEED this book NOW! I'm a native Californian, and this is our garden Bible. I don't think anyone gardens without it. I'm in Massachusetts now, and I wanted this book to create my new garden. This book is well worth the investment.

Over 8,000 plants are accompanied by tips from Western gardening pros in SUNSET WESTERN GARDEN BOOK, a classic completely updated and revised, and now in its 8th edition. From small color drawings of plants and seeds to descriptions which include hardiness zones, use, varieties and more, it's easy to see why SUNSET WESTERN GARDEN BOOK has become the reference 'bible' for any Western gardener and for any library catering to them.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The Sunset Western Garden Book is the gardener's bible. For beginners to experts, it's the definitive guide to everything related to gardening. It is to gardeners what the Joy of Cooking is to cooks.

Couldn't wait for the new one, as I had the last 2. So many new plants, so little time. Unfortunately, it doesn't include an idex for plants, a real drawback, and much of the same from the previous edition. Still, it lists more new plants, so it's as up to date as possible, but in my opinion, still doesn't cover enough. I would still buy it, but if you have the last edition, this is not a must have. The old ones actually have a plant index, for those who don't always know the plant name.

This book wasn't like previous years and my first impression was that it was for professional landscapers and that I'd ordered the wrong book. I'm not in the landscaping field and know plants from the common names which are used at local nursuries. Since I now have the book, I look up common names on the internet to find the species name and then I can look it up in the book. I live in Las Vegas and found only a short paragraph about my area and didn't show a specific zone number so there was nothing in the book helpful to me.
I did notice that there is a magazine-type layout in the front pages of the book which were neither necessary nor helpful in any way. It is assumed that the current editors envisoned a magazine-type book and not a reference book for a homeowner which I felt in previous years, it was.

A Swedish professional gardening friend lent me an old copy of this book which I found extremely useful, as not only am I an avid gardener but a gardening writer. I had to have a copy of my own even though it had to come all the way from America to Cyprus where I live!

It is a fully comprehensive book for gardeners' who enjoy Mediterranean climates, covering everything from annual plants to fruit and nut trees. The guidance and details are fantastic and the illustrations excellent. I thoroughly recommend this book to aspiring gardeners worldwide.

I have owned the previous versions of the Western Garden Book and believe this is the best one yet. Now included is detailed information on gardening in Hawaii and Alaska. I particularly like the hard cover version as it holds up better to constant use. Many, many new plants and varieties have been added with Sunset's usual attention to plant requirements, etc.
Also like the emphasis towards using native plants (drought tolerant) and less harmful pesticides and fertilizers.
Great book for beginning gardeners or those with years of experience. Highly recommend!

If you're only going to have one reference book about gardening this is the one to have. I have many gardening books but purchase a new "Sunset Western Garden Book" every so often. They always have the latest information and the most well-rounded information on the greatest variety of plants and trees. This is the book I've purchased for my daughters and granddaughter as they each got into gardening. I cannot recommend it highly enough!!!

I've found that this latest edition is more difficult to use than earlier editions. The index is much shorter than earlier editions & the common names of many of the plants are not listed. Once you get used to the format in this edition it's still very useful. The photos & descriptions are always beautiful & very helpful. Plant diseases & pests are also organized in a different manner, but not in a good way--same problems as the index of plant names.

Several reviewers have mentioned that the new edition's index does not list common (non-botanical) names, but in fact these names are all there - they have simply been moved into the main body of the book. So now all the plant names, both common and botanical, are in one big list from A to Z.

We bought this book for our son-in-law's birthday as he is fast becoming
interested in gardening. He was so pleased with the book. We have an
older version ourselves and use it a lot as a resource.

Great book! I ordered one for myself and one for a friend for her birthday. The books were in excellent condition, good quality, and received quickly. In addition, the books were in hardback. Long's wanted $35.97 for the softback edition. That does not include tax. I paid just $55.++ for two books shipped directly to me. I can't wait until my friend sees her book. She is English and loves her plants, flowers, and gardens. Her idea of heaven is Filoli!!! Thanks.

One of the things that was most useful in the older editions of this book was the index of common names of plants which is missing in the new edition. Unless you know the Latin name of the plant you want to look up, there's no way to find it in the book.

Now that my front and back yards are torn out and replanted with hundreds of new plants and I am several thousands of dollars lighter in my checking account, I finally purchased the Sunset Western Garden Book. It would have saved me many many many hours of searching on line for plants and instructions if I had purchased it before my yard activities commenced. Totally useful book.

This is it! This is the best book for plant selection, a very important spect of Planting Design. I have used it for many, many years. Every landscape architect that I know owns a copy of this book. Each new edition is getting better and better. It is the "bible" of Western gardening. As the author of Planting Design Illustrated, I would not hesitate to recommend this book to garden lovers.

A very good edition, & I always look forward to Sunset's new edition, although I have noticed that even though they add quite a few new plants every edition, they also delete entrys. This new edition has far fewer Eucalyptus species listed, is the first thing I have observed. As a collector & grower of unusual & exotic plants, it seems necessary to collect all the editions they have printed. I also have one other precaution; the gardening zones are NOT the same as the USDA plant hardiness zones. People who fail to read the first section of the book, & just start looking up plants, could make some grave errors. I also personally feel that their zone system is probably the best there is for California, but leaves something to be desired for some other zones. There are many plants I grow which they do not list as able to grow in my zone of New Mexico. It would appear that the southern Rio Grande river is as cold in winter as Albuquerque, going strictly by their zones. If not for these little annoyances, I'd give the book 5 stars, & for those of you living in California, it is definitely THE book to have if you are anywhere near serious about growing plants for beauty, pleasure, or business.

this is the book to have if you like to do gardening. it tells you all you need to know about plants. this book is a must have.

What's not to like! I have been using this reference book for years and it just keeps getting better.

I have worn out many Sunset Garden Books in the last 40 years, and am enjoying the latest one. So many new flowers and plants to read about, but it helped me decide what to plant in a new Southern California region. So glad I ordered this book filled with pictures and information!

This has always been a garden classic, recommended by Master Gardeners. Now it's updated. Well worth the price.

This is a great reference for Western Gardeners! In fact, the nursery where I do most of my plant purchasing has a number of these on hand for their own staff to use! It's very well organized with beautiful pictures and straight-forward writing. Good for everyone from beginning gardeners to professionals.

Sunsets Western Garden book is the most informative best complete book on plants available on the market. I know as I have or have had in the past most of them! Extremely accurate, well illustrated, most information in short easy to read & understand language! Well recommended for master gardeners & 1st time gardeners. Its THE book used in nursery centers everywhere.

this book is a must for all gardeners better layout and color plates.

The "Bible" for gardeners in the Western states, where soils and climates can be challenging. I have purchased at least five editions of this book and always consult it before purchasing a new plant to read about its growing characteristics. It has excellent encyclopedic gardening advice from amendments to xericscaping.

Perhaps I'm the only gardener out there who doesn't know offhand that "Arctotis" in common flower language is "African daisy" or that Scotch heather is "Calluna vulgaris" in Latin or even that lily-of-the-valley is "Convallaria majalis." However, if I wanted to look up a plant by its common name in this "bible" of plants in the West, this book couldn't help me. However the 2001 edition could, making the elimination of said index exasperating in the extreme.

Right now I am feeling very lucky not tossed away my old 2001 edition of this book. THAT version has the common name index -- which is something I use quite frequently. This "completely revised" exciting new 2007 edition has inexplicably cut that index making the book more difficult for ordinary people to use. While there's an interesting section called "Demystifying Scientific Plant Names," that's not really what I turn to an encyclopedia for -- and I buy this book so I can look up the basics on plants I am interested in.

A nice feature of this new edition is the layout of encyclopedia pages and there may be more actual photos. Less worthy of applause is the "Postcards" section (buy a magazine) and segments of "A Practical Guide to Gardening."

I'm rating this one two stars -- which it is getting only because the encyclopedia part is still really valuable. But it's not getting more because it's actually less useful than 2001 edition and as far as I can tell, there's no other significant improvement (like the addition of more plants) or some other helpful tool (like a CD-ROM) to really justify a new edition.

Strong advice for beginning gardeners: buy a used copy of the 2001 edition instead

Advice for everyone else: hang onto your 2001 edition

Advice for the publishers: Put the common name index back in. If you have to cut something to contend with page count, remove fodder like "caring for garden tools" from "A Practical Guide to Gardening." Focus the book on the reason most people buy it: looking up individual plants. None of us objects to buying a new edition of this book every couple of years -- but it should be at least as good as the previous version.