Shade: Bloom Gardener's Guide: Work with the light, grow the right plants, bring dark corners to life

by Susanna Grant

"Shady plants deserve ambassadors like someone who can view a dim corner as an opportunity rather than obstacle." 
–– Matt Collins, Head Gardener at the Garden Museum

Work with the light, grow plants and flowers, bring dark corners to life.

This handbook will tell you everything you need to know to  make the most of shady garden spaces . Whether your whole garden, courtyard or balcony is cast in shade, or you simply have a window box on a shadowy sill,  Shade  will inspire you to transform the space  with lush and interesting planting  that looks good (and is beloved by wildlife) all year round.

Rather than a gardener's "problem", an area of shade can  open up a whole new world of plants  to explore, from delicate flowers and interesting foliage, to handsome trees and vibrant bulbs.

Shade  includes top tips on tackling all sorts of shady areas, a directory of plants to dip into and pro advice on achieving year-round colour and structure. It's time to  bring those dark corners to life!

This title is from the  Bloom Gardener's Guide  series, complete and comprehensive gardening handbooks. Bloom is an  award-winning independent print magazine  for gardeners, plant admirers, nature lovers and outdoor adventurers, and winner of the Garden Publication of the Year at the Garden Media Awards 2021. Other titles in this series include Cut Flowers and Pots .
 
 

Genres: Gardening

160 pages, Paperback

Published May 10, 2022

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting and well done book by a British gardener. It is filled with photos of shade gardens and good plants to put in them, along with lots of advice. Since it is a British book, it does not list zones for the plants and that kept it from being particularly helpful for me as a zone 4 Minnesota gardener. I also just wasn't drawn to the photos or the gardens. They have a dark, somber, sophisticated feel to them. I am more of a haphazard, quirky, colorful cottage garden kind of gardener. Peek inside and see if it's a good fit for you. It's an excellent resource if it matches your style and aspirations.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

[Ira Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shade is an excellent guidebook to transforming the shady areas we all have into gardens. The book offers advice on a wide range of topics, such as how to determine the sun’s path, how to analyze your soil, the choice of plants, the use of containers and window boxes, and how to care for your plants. While the book seems to be designed more for the UK, it’s still applicable for the US. An informative read that is never boringly technical.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of the informative guidebook.

[Leyla Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful and well presented book, with lots of information and photos to demonstrate various points about shade.
I live in an area with hot arid summers and cold winters, and of course I love to be able to grow the many shade loving plants I admire.
Having read this book I realise that all is not lost, there are area that I can work with to grow some of these shade loving plants. Time for me to explore and create shady spaces.
This is a lovely book to read and get a better understanding of plants and shade ( and drool over)

[Linda Drawater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspirational - I shall now looking for shady areas to plant up!