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Hope for the gardening challenged

By Cindy Dach

There are the Oprah and the New York Times books found on the bestseller shelves of every bookstore. It is rare to find a book on those shelves, however, that is not from a giant publishing house in New York written by an author who has a few film credits in his bio.

Over the past year an Arizona independent publisher has brought forth a so-called "small" book that has slipped onto the bestseller shelves and never left.

The independent publisher and website Gardenguy.com have taken the local bestseller list by storm with the publication of Extreme Gardening: How to Grow Organic in the Hostile Deserts, written by Valley gardening guy Dave Owens.

"For over a year Extreme Gardening has never stopped being a best-seller," says Gayle Shanks, co-owner of Changing Hands and a reader of Extreme Gardening.

"It's Dave's enthusiasm for gardening in the Southwest that makes this book so great."

When not assisting others with their gardening dilemmas, Owens can be seen on Good Morning Arizona on KTVK TV-3, heard on KFYI-AM Radio and read in his weekly column in the East Valley Tribune.

Owens comes from a long lineage of gardeners and has traveled the world to study the symbiotic relationships of plants in their natural habitat.

He has been professionally landscaping and designing for more than 20 years. In   2000, he washed his hands and wrote down everything he knew about making gardens grow and the best seller was born.

"I landscape and garden thousands of homes every year. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you don't need to pay a guy like me to get a bountiful garden," he writes in the introduction of the book.

Extreme Gardening is a comprehensive and easy-to-use gardening guide for the desert region.

The book is divided into sections with information on composting, organic fertilizers and irrigation practices.

There is advice about fruit and vegetable gardening with suggestions for planting dates and companion plants.

A section on pesticides includes information on beneficial insects and how to attract hummingbirds to naturally take care of the less desirable insects.

From 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Dec. 22, Owens will be at Changing Hands Bookstore, southwest corner of McClintock Avenue and Guadalupe Road, to sign copies of Extreme Gardening.

He will be available to discuss gardening issues and recommend strategies for gardeners of all levels.

"He is inspiring," says Pinna Joseph, co-owner of Changing Hands. "People are always excited to meet him. He's funny and instills gardening confidence in everyone."  

Information: (480) 730-0205.

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