Hostas and Other Shade-Loving Plants

Pleasance Crawford, a Canadian landscape and garden-history writer, is
the co-author of The Canadian Landscape and Garden History Directory and
Garden Voices: Two Centuries of Canadian Garden Writing.

During the 1990s, Richard Bird wrote more than 20 gardening books—an
outpouring that included plant monographs, horticultural treatises,
design guides, answers to frequently asked questions, and an anthology.

In this latest work, his roots—in a climate more temperate than that
enjoyed by most Canadian gardeners—show throughout. He describes
“holly, yew and the likes” as trees; teases with tulips abloom
alongside hostas, iris, and lupins in full leaf; unapologetically
recommends several plants hardy only in Zones 8, 9 or 10; and uses many
photographs identified in the “acknowledgments” as English.

The descriptions of types of shade are useful, as are some of the
horticultural tips and suggestions for combining new introductions and
old favorites. The chapter on hostas, although disappointingly short at
only 16 pages, offers valuable information on various species and
cultivars, including the “slugproof” hosta, “Sum and Substance.”
A handsome photo provides convincing evidence of Bird’s claim that
“hostas make wonderful subjects for tubs.”

The eight sidebars written by Canadian horticultural journalist David
Tarrant supply brief respites from Bird’s rather dry style. They do
not, however, make the book’s content Canadian enough to warrant
recommending it for libraries across the country. Notwithstanding its
poorer coverage of hostas, Shade Gardens (a Harrowsmith gardener’s
guide edited by Brenda Cole and published in 1993) is still a better
choice.