Making the Most of Shade: How to Plan, Plant, and Grow a Fabulous Garden That

A gorgeous celebration of the shade garden--featuring nearly 300 perennials, annuals, bulbs, ferns, ornamental grasses, and climbing plants that will thrive without direct sunlight
A shaded garden can be a soothing sanctuary that even the most dedicated sun worshipper can welcome on a hot summer day. But how do you get plants to grow in a spot where trees and shrubs hide the sun? In this stunning volume, garden expert Larry Hodgson shows how to create a lush and lovely garden filled with plants that will flourish in the shade.

The first part covers the basics of shade gardening, including planning, planting, and problem-solving. Here readers will find out how to use shade-tolerant grasses and groundcovers for the root-filled areas under trees; discover solutions for dry shade and heavy needle and leaf drop; and learn what to do if a tree should fall and a shade garden is suddenly thrust back in the sun. The second part is devoted to an encyclopedia of shade-loving plants.

Complete with expert designs for five different kinds of shaded gardens, Making the Most of Shade is a splendid new gardening title by the popular author of Perennials for Every Purpose, which Susan McClure, author of Easy-Care Perennial Gardens, called "a treasure . . . the next best thing to having a friendly expert whispering in your ear as you plan, plant, and perfect your perennial garden."

LARRY HODGSON is the author of the Rodale books Perennials for Every Purpose and Annuals for Every Purpose. A regular contributor to garden magazines here and in Canada, he has also been radio garden commentator for CBS Radio. Hodgson lives in Sainte-Foy, Quebec.