Beth Chatto's Shade Garden: Shade-Loving Plants for Year-Round Interest (Pimpernel Garden Classics)

This book is a wonderful encyclopaedia for anyone contemplating planting a shady garden but also a joy to read. Beth Chatto is so talented and writes so beautifully, with a love of plants that just jumps off the page. I’m just loving this book!

A good read full of helpful info

Purchased for research on plants for shade. This hardback edition arrived in perfect condition. The photographs are crisp and vivid with plenty of double page spreads. The plants are ordered as to the seasons with excellent descriptions of their ornamental value in her garden by Beth Chatto.

I have immense respect for Beth Chatto and her philosophy of selecting plants to match the conditions and this, ironically, is behind my criticism of this book - it is meant to be a book about plants for shade but it is really about plants for shade that happen to do well in her woodland, which has vastly different soil from the heavy clay in the shade garden I have. Therefore most of the plants lovingly and temptingly described in its pages are utterly useless to me. A book of this important really does need to be based on several different soil types and ideally written by several different gardeners, each with expertise in a particular soil type.

I bought this book to help plan and manage my small, shady woodland garden. The illustrations are absolutely glorious and the information clear and concise, with an approachable writing style. The book has made me realise that a shady garden is not a problem, but a real joy!

Good book. Christmas present.

Excellent in graphics and explanations

This is a wonderful guide to making the most of shady parts of your garden. Lots of superb advice from the renowned expert.