Timeline of the Western Garden Book
History and timeline of The Sunset Western Garden Book
- 1935: The book’s first plant selection guide—ancestor of the all new Plant Finder section—was published
- 1950: Sunset introduced readers to packaged potting soil, which was just developed.
- 1954: The first Sunset climate zone maps appeared, divided into 13 climate zones. That same year, container gardening was touted as the next big trend.
- 1970’s: Sunset introduced readers to budding drip irrigation technology and Integrated Pest Management
- 1972: Sunset pushed for a ban on the pesticide DDT in 1972.
- 1982: Sunset introduced Xeriscaping (water conserving landscaping)
- 1988: Easy composting was introduced, plus the first four-color photo gallery of Western gardens.
- 1995: Sunset refined and expanded the climate zone maps, setting gardeners up for greater success despite the growing demands on their time.
- 2001: Sunset introduced “natural-sustainable” gardening, well before the idea went mainstream; the encyclopedia was expanded to include 2,000 plants.
