On the Shelf

Green thumbs take note: We’ve harvested a fresh crop of some of the season’s best gardening books.

Just like tomatoes and peppers, there’s always a seasonal crop of new gardening books. Here’s a peek at the best books you can check out for summer reading and gift giving:

Encyclopedia of Flowering Shrubs This 436- page hardback explores 1,700 seasonal plants, using 2,000 full- colour images to showcase their flowers, fruits and foliage. You meet lesser- known shrubs like evergreen osmanthus, which can be used to create a privacy hedge with fragrant fall flowers, as well as kerria with yellow- flowers and deutzia with clusters of small starlike white flowers, both in early spring. The book also covers soil and pruning requirements. $ 59.95, written by Jim Gardiner, a woody plants expert; Timber Press.

Fairy Gardens

Betty Earl tells what fairy gardens are and how to make and care for them, relates fairy lore, introduces the plants associated with fairies, and describes miniature plants for fairy and mini gardens, indoors or out. There’s also information on building or buying accessories for these fantasy gardens. $ 23.50; Mackey Books.

Rain Gardens

A rain garden allows rainwater to follow the natural course of the water cycle — absorbed into the ground, taken up by plants and evaporated back into the atmosphere. In this back yard gardener handbook, you learn how take advantage of rain garden opportunities, using native flowers, shrubs and trees, thanks to the ideas of the book’s author, hydrology scientist Robert Domm. Chapters in the 188- page softback include DIY designs and plant profiles. $ 27.99; Voyageur Press.