"Doug Kanter" wrote:

I highly recommend that you find and buy the book "Complete Shade Gardener".
Author's name is George Schenk, unsure of spelling of last name. Amazing
book - loaded with plant ideas, and excellent descriptions of those plants.

I'll have to second this. Someone [Doug?] mentioned that book a
month or so ago. My copy [along with an 'amazon companion' book
Taylor's 50 Best Perennials for Shade] arrived last week. [oddly
enough neither book now shows up at amazon-- but bookfinder.com has
lots of new and used copies-- search for schenk, george, he's got lots
more books there]

I've just skimmed through both & have begun reading Schenk's.
[though Taylor's has 50 good ideas & excellent color photos]

If I had to complain about Schenk's on first glance, it would be for
his lack of color photos. [there are some in my 1991 edition, but not
many] But there is a *wealth* of info on choosing and caring for
shade plants [vegetables, berries, ornamentals. . .ferns, etc] laid
out in an easy to follow format & written in an almost chatty, but
detailed fashion.

Sources are listed & there is a good index.

Schenk is from the pacific northwest of the USA and New Zealand.
He also has 15-20 gardeners from various spots in the US that
contribute, so there's some specifics for anyone in the US & he has a
grasp of some NZ techniques & plants.

Jim