As the author says ""it's a little like the idea of skiing in the Sahara""--but with determination, mulch, and possibly a landscape designer it can be done. Wallach is talking about real gardening, not flowerpot displays, and she offers good advice on proper drainage, toolsheds, walls and fencing, multi-tier planters, shrubs, trees, and creeping vines. Ambitious and challenging for (sub)urbanites.