Beth Chatto's Green Tapestry: Perennial Plants for Your Garden

In this instructively focused tour of Chatto's celebrated gardens in Essex, England, the author demonstrates her guiding principles. Chatto's vision of gardening is defined by two influences: plant ecology (""Plants have their preferences"") and Japanese garden design (""Surprise elements are necessary; shock tactics are not""). Chatto's passion is the play of shape, line and texture--which color may or may not enhance. But even more important is the garden's ecology of soil, light and air. After years of tracing garden plants back to their parents in the wild, Chatto knows the preferred growing conditions for individual species of perennials. This knowledge orders her gardens into habitats and her book into chapters: ""The Entrance Garden,"" ""The Water Garden,"" ""The Open Walks,"" ""The Shade Garden,"" ""The Dry Garden."" Amid what seems a crowd of plants, each chapter spotlights one or two of Chatto's favorites, such as hellebores, waterside grasses, ferns, euphorbias and fritillarias. This feature, along with a plant guide at the end of the book (where useful lists of companion plants join individual plant profiles), accompanies the lush, abundant photographs. A welcome reprise of the 1989 British title, this revision will suit American gardens in zones 4-7. (July)