I have a shelf full of gardening books, Eliot Coleman, Ed Smith, and others. I'm sorry to say that although all these books have useful information, they also all contain erroneous information. I have not found one source of information that is authoritative and current. I suppose it's the currency of the information that's the issue. You'd think that after how-many thousands of years of farming and gardening, we'd have learned something. But they are still finding out some very important lessons that have not yet made it into consumer-level print. For example, the information about mycorrhizal relationships, and how to nurture them is still mostly found on-line. If I had to pick one, I'd go with one of Eliot Coleman's latest books. But this forum is one of the best sources of information and ideas. Check out posts by loid (pt03), borderbarb, dan_staley, cyrus_gardener, digdirt. I'll have to check John Jeavon's book from the library.

Potagers are small, often raised gardens that combine edible plants with ornamentals. It's a great way to grow a lot of plants in a small area. I'd consider adding a couple of large containers as well for larger shrubs or trees to provide some screening and height. There is a Potager forum here at GW that could be helpful. Also a number of books available, as this is becoming a very popular garden feature. I've attached a link to amazon.com that outlines several. The first one listed is excellent. Here is a link that might be useful: potagers and kitchen gardens

I haven't read either, but of the two I would recomend the Burpee book to beginners (and non beginners). Those folks have a lot of knowledge and the emphasis on organics probably means they will explain things in more depth than what the 'typical' book would that simply says do, this, this and then this and never explains why. The other book is written by people in Europe and the environmental differences may not seem like much, but they are significant. Their experience is growing in a different part of the world than yours. In general anything Burpee puts it's effort behind is quality. On that basis alone I would go with the Burpee book.

In all honesty, full sun is best for many veggies, especially in zone 5. Part sun varies from 2 hours or so to over 6 hours. For many heat-loving veggies, the more, the better. For things like tomatoes and peppers, you will want at least 6 hours of mid-day sun since early morning and evening sun are less intense since they are filtered by the atmosphere. Leafy greens are much more tolerant of a bit of shade, but I haven't ever tried growing in part shade, having always had full sun available. Hopefully others will weigh in. Choosing types bred for our shorter, cooler season is helpful, and the farther north from Boston you are, the shorter the season tends to be, especially further from the shore and at higher elevations. For instance in my location, just north of Concord, NH, I have found just two varieties of peppers that grow really well, one bell (Ace) and one mildly hot (Hungarian Wax). So I plant those every year since I know that they will deliver a great crop regardless of heat or cool temperatures. I may plant another type or two, but I don't count on them. I usually plant the shortest days to maturity type of cherry tomato I can find since then I will have some most years by mid-July. I don't know if you are planning to start from seed or buy plants. Leafy greens (lettuce, spinach, etc.) are best started from seed and planted in succession with a new row or two planted every couple of weeks since they tend to go to flowering and get bitter when they get older (called bolting.) I would suggest that if you will grow tomatoes (if you have enough sun) that you buy plants of a few different types to see which you like best and which do well in your location. Some general advice: If you get down to soil with the upcoming warm weather, now is the ideal time to send in a soil sample since you will get back the results sooner. I usually lightly mulch the ground between my rows or plants to reduce weeds, but I also keep a stirrup hoe out in the garden to remove weeds quickly before they get large. Be sure to have an available water source so you can water as needed.