IT’S NOT A DARK, DRY BOOK!
Apparently, figuring out what to plant in an area of your garden that has shade, but no moisture, is a problem that stymies gardeners everywhere. We have been focused like a laser beam on our lack of water and how to logically use what little we have and Planting the Dry Shade Garden: the Best Spot for the Toughest Spot in Your Garden, by Graham Rice, Timber press 2011, provides practical ideas and solutions for these problem places in the garden.
Read through and find out how to prune to allow more light and how to work with the soil to condition it to hold more water. Mr. Rice offers 130 plants that do fine with reduced light and moisture levels —long-blooming woodland gems like epimediums and hellebores, and even lush foliage plants like evergreen ferns and bear’s breeches (my personal favorite, of course). Shrubs, climbers, perennials, ground covers, bulbs, annuals, and perennials — an entire palette to help you transform challenging spaces into rich, rewarding gardens.
The book’s 125 beautiful color plates are mainly the work of award-winning photographer Judy White, so not only is the book packed with good advice, but the pictures reveal the beauty of the plants you can grow in the garden’s heart of darkness.
Photo Credit: Bear’s Breeches, Acanthus Mollis by Kristen Paulus is licensed under C.C. 2.0
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