SHADY GARDENS: How to Plan and Grow Them

This should prove a definitive book for those who are committed to gardening in the shade, whether through acquisition or choice. The author almost persuades me that shady gardens are to be preferred, provided they aren't in dense shade. And she gives one confidence that granted properly fed and prepared soil, careful selection of materials, planning for location, height, habits of growth etc. you can have flowers,- perennials, biennials, annuals; you can have bulbs; you can have ground covers, vines, shrubs. Some of the rules are different. Many of the considerations given. The what, where, when and how are all considered. And each section has a carefully planned list of material that likes a moderate degree of shade. The use of botanical names in the text, not always amplified to include common names, and the assumption that terminology in fairly routine, makes this a book not for a very beginning gardener, but for one who has begun to know, begun to specialize. Other factors than shady gardens are considered,- garden design, terraces, paths, walls and fences, garden pools and so on. And there's a fairly advanced chapter on soils.