To give you a nudge in the right direction, the bbc gardenersworld.com and gardenersworld.com teams have recommended their favorite gardening books. Below are books to help you grow cut flowers, vegetables, herbs, and exotic edibles. There are tips for beginners and seasoned gardeners alike, thoughtful musings on gardening, and some coffee table books we think would make fantastic gardening gifts.
If you’re looking for a place to kick back and immerse yourself in your new gardening book, we’ve rounded up the best garden hammocks, sun loungers, and other garden seating ideas.
You are reading: Best books on gardening
15 of the best gardening books
Explore our selection of the best gardening books below:
Organized by month, this book is an indispensable guide. Includes lists, monthly reminders, recipes, step-by-step guides, expert instructions for gardening all year long, as well as essential tips on what to plant and when, all contributed by gardener favorites like Monty Don, Carol Klein, and Adam frost. .
price: £16.99
buy the world gardeners almanac at bookshop.org
This classic vegetable growing guide covers over 100 vegetables and all aspects of growing them, from soil preparation to pests and diseases. This updated and expanded edition of the illustrated manual contains everything you need to know for a successful vegetable garden.
“Brilliant for everyone who loves to grow their own food, whether it’s the first time or the 100th, it’s full of practical information,” says reviews editor kay maguire.
price: £20.31
buy grow your own vegetables on amazon
This phaidon coffee table book is great for inspiring the gardeners in your life. An A-Z look at 500 different gardens, including full color images of the creations of Capacity Brown, Antoni Gaudi, Gertrude Jekyll and many more.
price: £39
buy the garden book, revised and updated edition of phaidon
Known as the queen of herbs, Jekka Mcvicar is the undisputed authority on herbs. winner of 62 rhs medals for her herb shows at flower shows, her herb farm stocks more than 400 different varieties. In short, there’s nothing Jekka doesn’t know about herbs. In this compact book, Jekka draws on her years of experience to provide practical advice on growing a wide variety of herbs, as well as ways to use herbs in cooking and explaining the medicinal qualities of many of the plants.
“this is the perfect companion to have when you’re in the garden. not only does it explain the conditions each plant needs to grow well, it also recommends how you can use herbs for food and wellness. book a guide to quick and easy reference,” says miranda janatka, content and editorial assistant.
price: £8.99
buy jekka’s complete herbal book on amazon
Foodies and growers alike will love this guide from river cottage forager john wright, showing how to find free, delicious treats to eat beyond the garden. Made from the best berries, mushrooms, and even tree sap, it’s full of inspiration year-round.
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price: £9.50
buy the forager calendar on amazon
This title promises to provide practical information and advice for gardeners in any situation, from small backyards to large lots. Chosen by image editor Sarah Edwards, she recommends this book for both beginners in gardening and those looking to improve their skills and knowledge.
“This is a brilliant, practical guide to growing vegetables organically, from planting seeds to storage and preservation,” he says. “The projects are really helpful and I loved the comfrey fertilizer press and the step by step showing how to string onions and garlic.”
price: £14.99
buy new garden techniques on amazon
Written by a biology history professor, this Taschen coffee table book features hundreds of botanical illustrations from every century and continent. In English, French, and German, this trilingual book makes a clever gift for gardeners.
price: £50
Buying a Garden of Eden: Masterpieces of Taschen Botanical Illustration
The renowned plant woman revolutionized our thinking about choosing and growing plants, with her mantra of ‘right plant, right place’. She here she wrote about drought tolerant plants and how to work with the natural conditions in her garden to ensure they thrive.
“I live in a really dry corner of essex, in fact not far from beth chatto’s famous dry garden, and this book has been invaluable in understanding my garden and the plants that will thrive in it,” says deputy editor kevin blacksmith. “it’s also beautifully written, which makes it enjoyable and useful. I wouldn’t be without him.”
price: £8.19
buy in the dry garden on amazon
Written by the Director of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Advisory Service, this book answers all your curious questions and provides practical gardening advice.
“A beautifully written question-and-answer style book that solves many common gardening puzzles in a very easy-to-read way,” says gardening editor emma crawforth.
price: £9
buy rhs how worms work on amazon
This beautiful book is packed with photography and is written by two highly influential garden designers: Piet Oudolf and Henk Gerritsen. in it they describe 1,200 perennials, bulbs, grasses and shrubs that typify their characteristic style of natural gardening. explain how to use plants in a garden and how to grow and care for them, all without chemicals.
“I bought this book immediately after visiting the high line garden in new york and it is always a pleasure to open it and lose myself once again in piet oudolf’s simple planting schemes. both authors write with real passion about their love for prairie plants and it is an endless source of inspiration.” says feature editor adam duxbury.
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price: £13.99
buy dream plants for the natural garden
in losing eden, journalist lucy jones explores the human biology, neuroscience, and psychology behind our connection to the earth on a geographical journey, from forestry schools in london to primeval forests in poland. this title was chosen by wildlife editor kate bradbury.
“lucy meticulously explores the role nature plays in our lives and explains how we need nature and gardening, and how it helps mental health,” says kate. “This is an important book for our times, and I know I will continue to refer to it for years to come.”
price: £15.37
buy losing eden on amazon
This book explores the benefits of gardening for our mental health and well-being. Psychiatrist and psychotherapist Sue Stuart-Smith explores case studies ranging from prisoners to the elderly, vulnerable youth and war veterans, including her own grandfather after his return from World War II.
This book offers practical advice for the garden and the mind. chosen by editor lucy hall.
price: £11
buy a well-groomed mind on amazon
This handy book explains how to grow over 100 plants so you can produce beautiful cut flowers in your own garden and create stylish floral displays. cover seeds, bulbs, perennials and shrubs to give you cut flowers from early spring to late fall.
“If you’ve ever wanted to try growing cut flowers, but were worried it might be too difficult or you wouldn’t have enough space, this book is for you. Inspirational and packed with easy-to-follow tips, it makes growing cut flowers feel attainable in any garden. and the gorgeous photos are a delight to flip through on dull days,” says cat mansley, deputy editor of gardenersworld.com.
price: £17.79
buy cut flower patch on amazon
Essential reading for eco-warriors, the latest offering from RHS is a helpful step-by-step guide to sustainable gardening. Recognizing that creating a low-carbon garden can be tricky, this book is packed with practical advice and tips to get you started.
price: £6.49
buy rhs how to garden the low-carbon way on amazon
Not a “gardening book” in the conventional sense, Modern Nature is an extraordinary snapshot of Derek Jarman’s life in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The diary captures the breadth of Jarman’s activity. (film-making, painting, writing and gardening) as he shuttles back and forth between a small flat in charing cross road and prospect cottage, his home in dungeness.
“Gossipy details of everyday life alternate with harrowing accounts of hospital visits (jarman was diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1986) and vivid descriptions of his battle to grow plants on the exposed pebbles of the kent coast. he was a wonderful chronicler and this is an inspiring account of a productive life, well lived,” says gardenersworld.com editor daniel haynes.
price: £8.15
buy modern nature: the diaries of derek jarman on amazon