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Making The Most Of Shade: How To Plan, Plant, And Grow A Fabulous Garden That Lightens Up The Shadows

A gorgeous celebration of the shade garden--featuring nearly 300 perennials, annuals, bulbs, ferns, ornamental grasses, and climbing plants that will thrive without direct sunlightA 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."

Paperback: 380 pages

Publisher: Rodale Books (April 16, 2005)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1579549675

ISBN-13: 978-1579549671

Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.7 x 9.3 inches

Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #85,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #6 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > Shade #49 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > Landscape #173 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > By Technique

MAKING THE MOST OF SHADE, Larry Hodgson offers hundreds of ideas about working with the trees you now have or actually creating shade. My all-time favorite book on shade gardening has been George Shenk's classic as it was he who first pointed out the virtues and sins of various trees and bushes regarding their roots and foliage, but one of the criticisms I have of Shenk's book is the dearth of color illustrations. Hodgson's book more than makes up for this shortcoming, and he adds enough text about each possible entry to actually inform the user. I have been shade gardening for some years now, and am in the position to say...yes, that works for me, or no, that is not something I can do.For example, I tried Tiarella (Allegheny foamflower) a few years ago and failed probably owing to its sensitivity to the heat and light in my yard (as it's name implies this denizon of the forests prefers something other than the hot Virginia sun in July. Well, Hodgson says there are plenty of hybrid Tiarella plants "pushing" the original into the background". So even though I am careful about invasive vegetation and try to plant native or local fauna where possible, I will probably try the `Eco Running Tapestry' but only after I check with the local VA extension service. Those creeping stems in the new hybrids may not be the best thing in my garden, and Hodgson says the `Wherry' foamflower is a "natural that doesn't produce creeping stems" so I may try that again, now that I am a more experienced gardener and understand the value of mulching annually with leaf compost. I have Creeping Woodruff (Galium odoratum) coming out of my ears leaving few places to plant Tiarella.

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