Books to plant stock by

Duncan Kelbaugh has co-authored ‘Best Garden Plants for Atlantic Canada’ with Alison Beck. Kelbaugh is a fellow garden columnist for the Saint John Telegraph Journal, someone I’ve always enjoyed talking plants with.

Flip through the pages of this comfortably sized 175-page paperback ($18.95) and you’ll recognize many old-fashioned favourites. Colourful photographs of the 260 plants, which are described in detail, are cheery and tempting but a feature I found particularly helpful is a listing of recommended cultivars. Also, each plant has a paragraph of tips connected with it.

For example the silvery foliage and blue flowers of Russian Sage (Perovskia) is recommended for softening the appearance of daylilies or for use as a soft screen in a natural garden or raised bank.

The selections are divided into eight groups: annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs, roses, vines, bulbs, herbs and foliage plants.

A book is always a winner in my mind when I learn new tidbits about familiar plants from it, as in the case of this one when I read that Cimicifuga (Bugbane) is fragrant and advisable planted near a foundation.

The second book, Container Gardening for Canada, by Peters, Beck and Williamson, helps you to express your “true gardening artistry”. It showcases 116 plants suitable for container growing. The body of the book is preceded by a ‘Plants at a Glance’ pictorial chart that serves as a handy tool for quickly picking favorite colours and forms.

The importance of elements such as colour, texture, scale and proportion are described well at the start and the grouping of containers to create a powerful impact is stressed. Readers learn the different materials that containers can be made of, what’s required in a potting mix and then are provided with a step-by-step illustration to planting these portable gardens.

A common problem with containers is that some owners tend to overlook maintenance duties. Flowers still need to be weeded, fertilized, deadheaded and otherwise groomed while growing in pots, the authors say. Pests, diseases and other problems you may encounter complete the section.

The creative ideas included are worth the read. The imagination is sparked for instance, by photos of potted clematis wrapped around an obelisk and Lungwort in a pot. A perennial in a pot? Why not? The spotted leaves are attractive after the early pink and blue flowers finish blooming in spring.

A reference chart at the back includes light and soil-mix requirements, feature, form and other important factors.

Container Gardening for Canada sells for $19.95.