I'm about to move into a new apartment in BK with a small garden which gets little direct sunlight (surrounding buildings and trees) and am looking for some good books to help with planning the garden (I get a say in the design/planting, etc.). I'm particularly interested in books which have any info on the types of plants that would work well in this setting (I don't want a garden full of ferns and bird of paradise plants). I can find lots of books on this that either deal with gardening in a shady area in a Western climate or growing tropical plants in a Western climate: not particularly helpful. I'd also be interested in a general books on tropical garden design too if there are any 'must reads' on this.

If anyone has any suggestions of books or websites please let me know - it would be much appreciated!

Hi Andie, I suggest that you check out "Gardening In Bangkok" by Pimsai Amranand and William Warren; 1996 The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage; 131 Sukhumvit 21.

I bought my copy at Dokmai Garden in Chiang Mai www.dokmaigarden.co.th Eric and Ketsanee the owners do consulting and garden design and maybe could give you some suggestions. But shade is a tough condition to grow under and your plant selection will be limited, but not impossible. You are smart to research it a little first and not just take chances.

"Prueksa Pan; Plant Materials in Thailand" is a 1500 baht book written by a Thai landscape architecture professor and maybe more than you need, but has a wealth of information and photos. It's in Thai language, but has English plant names listed too.

The Green Fingers column in Sunday Banglok Post is written by Khun Normita; and there is a Greenfingers web forum.

There are many other books available on tropical gardening, keep looking and asking.

I suggest that you ask to move this thread to the Plants, Pets, and Vets forum, as you may get more discussion from some of the knowledgeable ornamental gardeners there. This sub-forum is more oriented to organic food growing. don

Andie, run a google search for "tropical shade gardening" . you'll find some interesting links