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Passions In Print

From bulbs and shrubs to great lighting and design, new books feed our gardening fetishes

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“planting design; gardens in time and space” “planting design; gardens in time and space” Gardeners and designers may choose regionally native plants for a number of reasons, including the links they provide to local landscapes and their value to particular wildlife. This is a ­Midwestern American prairie native, Geum triflorum. “winter-flowering shrubs” Even in the heart of winter, witch hazels unfurl their spider-like, fragrant flowers.

WHETHER YOU look forward to curling up with good garden literature as the nights grow longer, hope to be inspired by glitzy garden lighting or extravagant European gardens, or just want to master flowering shrubs or bulbs, new books out this autumn are sure to satisfy.

The legion of Beverley Nichols fans will be pleased to know that Timber Press has reprinted two more of his books. Nichols wrote wittily about his gardens, houses and a bevy of eccentric and curmudgeonly neighbors. "A Thatched Roof" and "A Village In A Valley," first published in 1933 and 1934, respectively (both from Timber Press, $24.95) tell the story of his 16th-century cottage in the fictional village of Allways. These two books complete his beloved trilogy begun with the best-selling "Down the Garden Path." While the ostensible topics are houses and people, it is Nichols' love of gardening, and the villagers who either encourage or thwart him in its pursuit, that remains the lively theme through all the books.

"Ghosts in the Garden: Reflections on Endings, Beginnings, and the Unearthing of Self" by Beth Kephart (New World Library, $17) couldn't be more different in tone than Nichols' frantic extroversion. This is a quiet little memoir, illustrated with black-and-white photographs, of the peace and pleasure a woman finds in slowing down and spending time at Chanticleer garden in Pennsylvania.

Quick, before you put those tulips and daffodils into the ground, take a look at "Bulbs for Garden Habitats" by Judy Glattstein (Timber Press, $29.95), which advocates a careful environmental study to determine what bulbs will thrive in your garden conditions. From outsmarting deer to planting in naturalistic patterns, the topics in this book aim for year-round bulb displays that will be truly perennial.

Just in time for autumn planting, "Winter-flowering Shrubs" by Michael W. Buffin (Timber Press, $54.95) is a thorough look at plants that perform their best during the time of year when most are dormant. The sweet smell of daphnes and witch hazels nearly drifts off the pages from the pretty photos, and each plant description includes care, time of bloom and pruning instructions. This book reminds us how lucky we are to garden in a climate where we can have some plant or another in bloom every day of the year.

To make sure you can see those delicate winter flowers, it might be time to invest in garden lighting. Next month, Timber Press will publish a fresh look at garden illumination with "Creative Garden Lighting" by Michèle Osborne ($39.95). This isn't a how-to-do-it manual but rather an inspirational look at Osborne's designs in England and Europe, and it's full of exciting photos. From candles to underwater lighting, from fiber optics to neon, this book convinces us that night lighting is vital to garden design.

May Brawley Hill is an art historian who was swept away by the scale and beauty of Frank Cabot's garden in Quebec, which she visited on a summer afternoon 15 years ago. She's spent the years since studying the power of gardens, especially those created, like Cabot's, by Americans in other countries. The result is the ultimate travel book for art and garden lovers, "On Foreign Soil: American Gardeners Abroad" (Harry N. Abrams Inc., $40). Brawley roams through the centuries and over most of Europe to explore gardens past and present. As you might expect from an art historian, the gardens are highly designed and portrayed as often in paintings as in photographs.

I spent the first few minutes with this book wondering how they ever determined which of these high-powered plantsmen would have his name come first on the cover, and why this book costs nearly $50. Once I got past these puzzlements, I enjoyed "Planting Design: Gardens in Time and Space" by Piet Oudolf and Noel Kingsbury (Timber Press, $49.95). Both men take their inspiration from nature, and this book is all about a garden's relationship with its surroundings as well as the art of combining plants successfully over time.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer and contributing editor for Horticulture magazine. Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net.