The New Shade Garden: Creating a Lush Oasis in the Age of Climate Change
by Ken Druse
With the realities of climate change altering the horticultural landscape, this new offering from garden guru Ken Druse is incredibly practical and particularly useful in the full throes of the California drought. Examining shade as a low-stress environmental aid not only for plants but also for the planet at large, the book is beneficial on multiple fronts. As a new crop of gardeners looks for ways to lessen their environmental impact, a gamut of related topics is addressed, from proper plant selection to preparing the soil for planting and identifying foliage best-suited for shade. Nature lovers are sure to appreciate the insights about garden design and plant wisdom, too.
$40, AbramsBooks.com
Country Living Porches & Outdoor Spaces
by Cathy Cavender
Taking a page from the slow, casual-cozy lifestyle, this beautiful new book rolls out the welcome mat with its easy take on hospitality. As an exploration of the home’s most gracious spaces—from patios and decks to sunrooms and gardens—this how-to of sorts details ways to refresh and prettify these gathering spots for the indoor-outdoor season.
Whether its mixing in downhome décor elements for that spontaneous farm-stand feel or throwing up some wooden gliders and slapping a few new coats of paint on weathered wood, this tip-heavy tome takes weekend projects to the next level of cool—with the ease of a Sunday afternoon.
$24.95, Amazon.com
India Hicks: Island Style
by India Hicks
In what is a rousing endorsement of tastemaker India Hicks refined eye, none other than the Prince of Wales penned the forward of this vibrant new volume. Brimming with glorious never-before-seen photos and rich descriptions of India style, Britain’s India Hicks gives readers a lavish look at her enviably stylish life on a beautiful Bahamian island.
The London-born beauty has applied her exquisite touch to this effort, curating a luscious interplay of images and text. Together, Hicks’ wonderfully carefree, yet terrifically chic, life is revealed, one reveling in island color and the quieter confines of porches and other places of tastefully decorated refuge. Barefoot elegance at its finest.
$45, RizzoliUSA.com
Photos Courtesy of Stewart Tabori & Chang, Hearst Books and Rizzoli