With great sadness, we share the news that the pioneering plantsman David Salman passed away on the fifth of June. David was a dedicated, passionate, and articulate educator and proponent of sustainable gardening, a plant explorer with a gift for selecting and introducing exceptional plants for western landscapes, and the founder of Santa Fe Greenhouses, High Country Gardens, and Waterwise Gardening.
Out of his serious concern for the planet, David had recently begun working on what he considered his ‘next act’ – helping to reverse climate change by enabling people to plant large numbers of trees, and especially shrubs. He wanted to identify the woody plants best adapted to conditions in the West and Southwest, and had solicited recommendations from Harlequin’s Gardens and others, with the aim of propagating and distributing on a large scale the most appropriate and successful plants for combatting climate change. David Salman’s legacy includes over 60 waterwise plant introductions. His contributions to gardening and gardeners in the West were transformational. He will be sorely missed.