Bob Perry and his new book

This past weekend I attended a lecture at Tree of Life Nursery in San Juan Capistrano, just off Ortega Highway. If you haven't been there yet I would check it out. The location is beautiful with large Oak and Sycamore trees...actually I will blog about it separate, cause it deserves its own post. On to Bob Perry and his amazing new book.

The lecture was set amongst the natural California landscape with a large Sycamore tree creeping overhead and within the shade of a Coast Live Oak. The gardens were blooming and wildlife was everywhere. Bob inspired me to really think about my designs in a whole different way. Right now sustainability is hot and heavy and most people think California natives and water wise gardening. These are components of a responsible garden, but he took it a step further. His concept is offsetting our impact on Mother Nature. This is creating well established plant communities within our garden spaces that are able to reduce our carbon load, create habitats, thrive, reduce the amount of water needing to survive, create memories and tell a story of a place or a region. So much more than picking out responsible plants and creating a garden that looks good. For every gallon of gas we use a day we unload 6.5 lbs of carbon into the atmosphere, but we can reduce that by planting significant landscapes that absorb this carbon and offset our impacts. Something to think about next time you drive, it really made me think as we left the lecture and headed on a 100+ mile trip up the California Coast.

I highly recommend his new book. So full of knowledge, images and inspiration!

Bob Perry signing my book

A quick photo with the author & landscape architect.