Gardening books can comfort in chilly weather

If it’s been too cold this summer to garden, or at least to garden comfortably, why not read a book?

I know, it’s not quite the same and the exercise factor is certainly missing, but many amazing things can happen within the covers of a great read. You can create borders, walls, structure, blooming gardens, shade gardens, bird shelters, cutting material and so much more.

Many great books dedicated to the topic of small gardening can be especially fun. Here is a brief review of some easy reads to curl up with on the next dreary day.

• “The Small Garden Book” by Peter McHoy is an all-around good guide for design ideas, special features and plant combinations. It is chock full of great photos, practical designs, excellent how-to instructions and just over-all good inspiration.

• “Shortcuts to Great Gardens” by Nigel Colborn or “City Gardens” by Warren Schultz are both short and to the point. “Shortcuts” provides revealing secrets to minimizing the wait for garden maturity. Colborn lays out methods to make your garden look older sooner and age with elegance — even on a time schedule and tight budget. The best part is that he doesn’t tread on any sacred cows while doing so.

Schultz’s book, “City Gardens” highlights a variety of garden styles encompassing a wide array of spaces, shapes and use requirements. In addition, there is a lot of good information on plant varieties for almost any sun/shade condition. While all the information on plants needs to be edited to our mostly Zone 3 environment, it is still a great read and well worth the journey.

These books are quick sources of design inspiration for the summer gardener who finds him or herself without a summer to garden. I’m sure a trip through any, if not all, will send you out to design in preparation for sun.

These books especially promote shrubs. I love shrubs, promote shrubs, grow shrubs and, in fact, find it difficult to design without them. Hopefully, the following suggestions will bring into focus some of these woody, garden-friendly growths. They really are too wonderful to describe, but let me try.

Golden nine bark (physocarpus opulifolius ‘Luteus’) is Zone 2, very vigorous and boasts a true golden and yellow foliage when planted in full sun. It grows to 6 feet tall, but can easily be pruned to any size. Try this shrub grouped with anything burgundy, silver and dark green for a dramatic effect. It also looks great with a moderately tall blue perennials in front of it (like salvia “blue queen”), Veronica spicata “blue” Jacob’s ladder (polemonium caeruleum) or any type of tall, blue delphinium.

Red leaf rose (rosa rubrifolia, or R. glauca) is another old-fashioned favorite. In the sun its foliage is burgundy on top with grayish undersides and its bloom is a medium bright pink. In the shade its blooms are a paler, more delicate hue, and the foliage is almost completely gray and maroon with darker edges. In the sun it is especially wonderful with our native silver berry (elaeagnus commutata) and in light shade I like to pair it with golden mock orange (philadelphus coronaries “aureus”), a 6- to 7-foot golden-leafed shrub with scented white blooms.

For a shady perennial partner, try giant meadow rue (thalictrum rochebruneanum). It’s tall, with 6- to 7-foot stalks and brilliant, almost neon, lavender blooms that make it a wonderful shade garden addition.

A shrub form of amur maple (acre ginnala) is especially lovely with its green foliage touched by red, its delicate bloom and brilliant red fall color. It can be comfortably kept at ant size from 4 feet up to 15 feet. Couple this maple with sweetberry honeysuckle (lonicera caerulea edulis), the humble mugho pine (pinus mugo mugus) or a dark-leafed flowering plum and you’ll have a permanent color display that the birds will love.

A good example of a small-space shrub garden is the garden in front of the Presbyterian Church in downtown Palmer (The Church of a Thousand Trees) at 713 S. Denali St. This little garden uses perennials as accents and shrubs as its mainstay. Pay it a visit, soak in the rich leaf texture, the layered color and the incredible warmth that shrubs can offer.

Be inspired and forget about waiting for that sun to come out. Planting in the rain is better for your garden anyway.

Sally Koppenberg is a garden and food designer. She is the owner of Stonehill Gardens and The Red Beet, nursery and catering companies specializing in Alaska Grown foods, trees, shrubs, perennials and native plants. Contact her at stonehill@gci.net.