Evening Gardens

This novel yet sensible notion for a gardening book considers the garden as glimpsed during the hours of late afternoon through the dead of night, which is also the period most commonly known to us as leisure time. Why not make the most of those hours and that garden, since we're free to enjoy our handiwork then? Without insisting on a massive redesign effort (``transformation need not mean complete renovation''), Barash ( Roses ), gardening editor of Countryside magazine, provides guidance. ``It is logical to think first of white flowers,'' and she recommends them: moonflowers, primroses, petunias. Other handy ingredients include architectural elements that can assert themselves at dusk or in moonlight (e.g., trellises); plants with variegated foliage; flowers that look their best under sunset rays; sculptural trees, grasses and succulents looming in half-light; and herbs and flowers that release a heady fragrance. Barash's imaginative extension of a garden's purpose is well suited by her simple and supple writing, which shares her experiences and suggests ways of expanding on them. Photos not seen by PW. (Oct.)