My new book on the Crosby Arboretum is out

While not exactly urban, the Crosby Arboretum is an early public garden example of how to heal heavily disturbed agricultural lands through restoring natural process. Located in Picayune, Mississippi, The Crosby Arboretum, Mississippi State University Extension, is dedicated to displaying exhibits of regional plant communities to a visiting public. Biologists Sidney McDaniel and Chris Wells, landscape architects Ed Blake and Andropogon Associates, and architect Fay Jones created a miniature jewel of a native plant garden in the Pearl River watershed. The Crosby Arboretum uses the natural processes of prescribed fire and woodland succession to guide its landscape management. I was fortunate to get involved in the early stages of this ASLA and AIA award-winning garden, and served as its site director/curator for 13 years. My new book, The Crosby Arboretum, A Sustainable Regional Landscape (2014), published by LSU Press, traces the history of the Gulf Coast landscape, the arboretum origins, the design of the landscape and architectural exhibits, and subsequent care and management. The book is now available through your favorite local or online bookstore. For more information, check out an interview on the book that I did at http://msulalc.blogspot.com/2014/04/q-with-bob-brzuszek-about-his-new-book.html