Gardening with Foliage Plants: Leaf, Bark, Berry

Clarke suggests that gardeners concentrate on the contrasts of plant forms, leaf shapes and textures to solve the problems of shade gardening. In engaging, practical prose, enhanced by 325 photos by Clive Nichols, Clarke (English Country Gardens) leads readers through the principles of design with the main focus on form, encouraging an assessment of the environment and its landscaping needs before beginning to select compatible plants. A lesson on leaf forms precedes a discussion on combining textures and shade and coloring variations. While many of the examples illustrating design possibilities consider expansive stretches of landscape, Clarke also delineates the important contributions made by foliage and its distinct properties to smaller spaces, including containers. The plant directory is arranged by color, e.g., ""Yellow, Orange, Red & Purple"" and ""Blue-Green."" The short concluding chapter, ""Bark, Stem & Berry"" discusses plants with such notable features as the dogwood, Cornus alba, on which the bark of young stems is a brilliant crimson. Plants are also listed by site specifications. While Clarke concentrates on gardening in the English climate, readers will have little trouble adapting her comments to their own zones. (Apr.)