There's a good list in the FAQ for this forum. The Pat Welsh book is really excellent to give you an idea about the difference between temperate (UK) and mediterranean (here) gardening.

I put all my houseplants out on the patio for the summer.

Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ on CA gardening books.

Welcome to California! If you're looking for trees to grow outdoors, I suggest "Ornamental Trees for Mediterranean Climates," published by the San Diego Horticultural Society.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ornamental Trees for Mediterranean Climates

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I should clarify, I just need books for houseplants and container plants since I live on the 3rd floor and have a balcony only (west facing, scorching hot during the summer).

Clio

A few recent books are not on the FAQ (but not about container or indoor gardening):

California Native Plants for the Garden by Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O'Brien, 2005, Cachuma Press

Native Treasures, M. Nevin Smith, 2006, UC Press

and these books on natives are forthcoming this year or next:

WIlken and Fross, revision of classic book on ceanothus, Timber Press

Lester Rowntree, Hardy Californians, UC Press (reprint of a classic)

Judith Larner Lowry, new book on natural inspirations for landscaping, UC Press

Glenn Keator and Alrie Middlebrook, book on using plant communities in garden design, UC Press

Proceedings of the Rancho Santa Ana horticultural symposia no. 4 and 5

And don't forget the "bible" of CA gardening, the Sunset Western Garden Book.

Clio,

I don't know if I've ever seen a climate specific book on growing houseplants, but I'm not sure it's critical either. Indoor relative humidity isn't much different here in summer than anywhere else. Winter humidity levels tend to be higher here because relatively warm air (generally well above freezing) holds more moisture but that's going to be a bonus. You may wish to invest in a light meter. Because our eyes are so efficient at dealing with different light levels, it is impossible for us to judge how bright it is without one.

I can say that full light here means a south facing window, out of direct sunlight. Some plants will tolerate an east facing window, only a few desert plants can handle full sun through a window here (air doesn't circulate as much indoors as outdoors, even on a still day so plant tissues can heat up dramatically, especially with the higher levels of insolation here).

Ryan

Thanks everyone for your input. The light level here is SO different to the UK because we pretty much have overcast grey days every day there, and in London you're in a concrete jungle with buildings all around so most buildings are surrounded by other buildings, blocking out the grey skies. Here we have crystal clear blue skies 95% of the time, plus I'm on the top floor of a complex with no other equally high building so all the light there is comes straight into the apartment. I know what a struggle it was to keep plants alive in London that flourish easily here. So although they are indoor plants there is a great difference to what grows well and what care it needs, depending where you are.

I'll look into these books - thank you everyone!

Clio