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Plant Life Valerie Easton

Pages Of Pleasure

From the quiet of a Zen garden to the riot of color in containers, new books transport us

Just as the soil sprouts new growth this time of year, publishers germinate new garden books. If you're feeling a little overwhelmed by the onslaught of the season, refresh yourself with the lovely little gem "In A Zen Garden: Words and Wisdom for the Zen Gardener" by Judith Glover (Frances Lincoln, $14.95), with elegant illustrations and wise sayings on topics from pruning to weather.

The intricacies of perennial care cloud our minds in large part because we've never had a book specific to the Northwest on this topic. Haven't you wondered when best, in our climate, to cut back, pinch back, deadhead and fertilize? Wonder no more and grab a copy of "Perennials: The Gardener's Reference" by Susan Carter, Carrie Becker and Bob Lilly (Timber Press, $49.95). The experts who brought us the famed perennial border at the Bellevue Botanical Garden have pooled their accumulated knowledge, which they modestly claim to be 200 years of collective gardening experience. Don't be alarmed at the price — this is a tome of a hardback, packed with charts, photos and detailed techniques, a reference you'll turn to again and again throughout the seasons.

Sue Olsen, founder of the Hardy Fern Foundation and owner of Foliage Gardens Nursery, takes an equally exhaustive look at just one kind of perennial. She could have entitled her first book "Ferns for all Reasons and Seasons" because you'll be convinced you need many more of these ultimate foliage beauties in your garden after reading "Encyclopedia of Garden Ferns" (Timber Press, $59.95). While Olsen's knowledge is international in scope, you can rely on her Northwest perspective on more than 1,000 different ferns. Useful appendixes tell readers where to see and buy ferns, and which to use in specific situations such as sunny spots, rock gardens, bogs or dry shade.

"Pots in the Garden: Expert Design and Planting Techniques" by Ray Rogers, photos by Richard Hartlage (Timber Press, $29.95) is a visual blast of a book. Hartlage's photos capture an astonishing array of container pyrotechnics, with how-to-do-it by Rogers. Consider compositions as timeless as pots stuffed with tulips, as stylish as upside-down pyramids overflowing with tropical foliage, or as inspired as dangling balls of multi-hued coleus. Then learn how to combine pots and plants in artful and unusual ways, from chapters on choosing containers to potting up perennials, trees and shrubs.

Gardeners are inveterate travelers; always hunting down private and public gardens to visit wherever they go. Dipping into this comprehensive, worldwide reference before you leave home will make the most of your travel time. It features gardens from Poland to Sri-Lanka and all points north, south, east and west. Even if you're so tied to the garden you never leave home, "1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die" edited by Rae Spencer-Jones (Barron's Educational Series, $34.99) has enough luscious photos and garden descriptions to keep armchair travelers salivating.

If a day trip is more your speed, Northwest gardens do us proud with entries on Bloedel Reserve, designer Thomas Hobbs' personal garden in Vancouver, B.C., and many more. Each description includes suggestions on what time of year is best to visit, style, size, climate and location, although you'll need to pair up with the Internet for directions, charges and hours. The editor of this book didn't waste a single one of her nearly thousand pages on anything but luring the reader into wanting to visit each of these extraordinary gardens.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer and author of "A Pattern Garden." Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net.

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