Authors
Mary Irish
Mary Irish is a prominent voice in southwestern U.S. horticulture.
She received her master’s degree in geography from Texas A&M University, is the former director of public horticulture at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona, and has written extensively on dry-climate gardening. She coauthored Agaves, Yuccas, and Related Plants with her husband, Gary Irish.
A Texas native, Mary grew up on a farm outside Austin where she raised farm animals and tended a large vegetable garden. In 1985 Mary and her husband Gary, moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Before long she began working as a volunteer at the Desert Botanical Garden where she developed a passion for the study and cultivation of desert plants.
Her infectious enthusiasm and dedication to her work soon earned her a full-time position at the Desert Botanical Garden, where she later served as Director of Public Horticulture.
Mary is a regular contributor to several magazines, including Sunset, and teaches classes on the care and culture of agaves, cacti and other desert shrubs and perennials.
Mary also teaches introductory classes for beginning gardeners. Some of her favourite topics include dry-climate gardening, vegetable gardening and desert shrubs and cacti.
Mary has appeared on countless news and lifestyle programmes on television regarding desert gardening.
Mary and her husband Gary tend their own arid garden in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Timber Press: I envision agaves and yuccas alongside palms and cacti. What else works with agaves?
Mary Irish: Out here [Phoenix] there is a lot of planting with herbaceous perennials, wildflowers, and some desert shrubs. They associate extremely well with those plants. They're very easy to mix. I like them mixed with colorful perennials or colorful wildflower beds because I think they offer a lot of contrast.
TP: Tell us more about landscaping with agaves.
MI: Agaves fit very comfortably with a lot of different planting styles. They fit well with any kind of naturalistic planting — in the more arid parts of the West that's even more true. They work well with Mediterranean plants — they look great. I've seen them used in ways that are very formal and in fact very stylized, and they look fabulous. But then I would argue that they're kind of style-less — it's your imagination.
TP: If I buy a small agave, will it end up taking over my garden within a year?
MI: We hope the book helps people understand the ultimate size of their 4" plant. If you buy a tiny agave plant and you don't realize that it's going to turn out 6 feet tall and that far around, you might have a problem. Knowing the ultimate size of the plant is the best defense against having one that takes over and becomes an unexpected monster.
TP: Can agaves be grown in containers that can be brought indoors in places with cold, wet winters?
MI: Absolutely, and that's how many growers in Europe have done it for hundreds of years. You can grow a very wide range of agaves in containers. They've been very popular in some parts of Europe for a long time. And there are dedicated growers who have managed to grow them in places like New Jersey.
TP: Are there agaves that tolerate rain or frost?
MI: Both. While many occur in hot, arid regions, some of them come from mountainous areas with a much cooler climate, often with lots of rainfall. Many species have surprised a lot of horticulturists and growers with their cold tolerance. There are agaves that are native to Arizona's highest desert country, so you expect those plants to tolerate the cold.
TP: At what experience level is this book aimed?
MI: We wanted to strike a balance where it would appeal to experienced gardeners and horticulturists who work with these plants, as well as create some interest and appeal in people who may not have thought of these plants as useful and as very different forms.
