Planting the Dry Shade Garden: The Best Plants for the Toughest Spot in Your Garden Paperback – August 9, 2011

Planting the Dry Shade Garden is a very useful book for anyone working with a dry shady area. The book is well written with excellent comments on improving shady dry areas, and many suggestions for plants to put in such areas. The pictures are beautiful and sharp and informative. The information on the plants is complete with excellent comments. Specific suggestions are made as to specie and varieties of most of the plants that are best suited for the dry shady areas.But, as the author suggests much care must be taken in using many of the cultivars suggested. Many of these plant suggestions may be hard to find. Some can turn into real garden thugs if allowed to escape the dry, shady areas into more moist or less shady areas. The shade and dryness limit their natural propagation.The author's suggestions are limited to the exact specie and variety he suggests. There other species and varieties of these plants that are not so shade or drought resistant. Also, the author gardens on both sides of the Atlantic, and some plants may be better suited to one side or the other of that ocean.I strongly recommend this book as a reference book for finding beautiful plants for dry shady areas, with the caveat that the gardener do his/her homework as in further research on the plants before planting these plants.

Initial response is positive because it includes zoning for plants. Being a Zone 3 gardener limits our choices considerably but this author addresses that issue. He also understands and explains tree canopies, northern latitude shade challenges and benefits - the underlying challenges of gardening under trees and next to buildings and shade structures. I think this will be a big help when I garden and when I do gardening presentations so will probably recommend the book to others.

The nursery told me I couldn’t garden in dry shade but this book provides the guidance and tools required to do just that.There is no magical fix. You have to work around the problems that exist, such as an impenetrable mat of thirsty tree roots topped with a canopy of leaves. This book helps you do that.The quality of the paper and printing is very good. Pictures are provided of closeups of the plants for the most part. I would have liked to see more landscaping ideas pictured, but that is not a criticism of a very well thought out book.

Love this book. I've been struggling to plant around my house due to the northern exposure and the trees sucking up all the moisture. I had planted a few of the plants listed prior to reading this and they are doing well so I have good hope that the others I came across in this book will do well also. Highly recommend if you are facing a similar situation.

This is a great gardening book with clear photos, planting specifics and examples of many plants to use in dry-shade gardens. I’ve planted enough of the recommendations to know this will help my garden!

I found this book an excellent reference on choosing plants suitable for shaded areas of my yard. As trees grow, the micro - ecology changes, making life difficult for sun - loving plant varieties. I found the many excellent photos helpful.

A great reference

I found the book to be sensibly written. I would have liked more information on ideas and more images; however, the book suffices for its purpose.