As a first-time home buyer, I'm planning on creating a garden in my currently-wild and overgrown back yard. I'm approaching it methodically, and want to have a good plant encyclopedia as a reference. There seem to be several good ones on the market -- any recommendations? The top candidates seem to be AHS (but which version?), Taylor's, Wyman, and the newest of the bunch, Hogan's Flora.

I must confess I'm not horticulturally adept (yet!), so all this is fairly new to me. I've gotten Alexander's workbook and Maconovich's primer -- any other "starter" books you might recommend? And I have to deal with lots of shade (a number of very mature trees on the property) and a pretty distinct slope on the back third of the lot. Any slope (NOT just terracing) or shade books you'd recommend (Schenk and Hodgson seem to be the standard for shade - true?)?

Finally, I'm in north Wilmington, Delaware, which seems to be have somewhat ambiguous zone and region. Delaware overall is considered mid-Atlantic, but my area (the "piedmont" in the north) seems almost to have more in common with the northeast, although the winters aren't as severe as they are further north. Thanks for any advice you have.