This is a very useful book on water savings/efficiency (WE). It describes various ways of capturing, channeling, diverting and re-using water from rain and snow, including permeable paving, storm-water chains, biological retention ponds and green roofs. Rain gardens create great environment for wild life. They are visually pleasant, economical and sustainable. Nigel Dunnett and Andy Clay den described many of the techniques that are used by local water district. These techniques are unconventional and can be useful all over the world. They can effectively capture the storm water and let the water settle and clean itself through the natural process and save it for drought period, instead of using concrete-paved flood channel to rush the storm water to the ocean. It has 188 pages and many line drawings and beautiful interior color photos. It is a great book on sustainable design.

Green roofs are a hot topic, and one that constitutes a trend extending well beyond the world of gardening. This source book brings together a fascinating amount of data, covering the actual logistics of how to implement plantings on roofs and building facades. Dunnett and Kingsbury look at examples of ornamental projects while stressing the concept's solid link to the environment. Examinations of recent research underline the wide-ranging benefits of greening buildings, from recreational aspects to increased energy efficiency. Among the most positive changes to emerge are improvements in the air we breathe and the support of biodiversity. Given the lively current interest in how to extend living ecosystems that reach beyond the ground plane to the upper stories of our homes and office buildings, this resource offers important technical advice, along with horticultural recommendations pertinent to flat or sloped roofs and the greening of vertical surfaces.