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Similar to the thousands of plants that grace our planet, there seems to be just as many garden books lining the shelves at bookstores across the world. This can make finding the perfect book to help guide your planting adventure can feel overwhelming to both the novice and experienced gardener. From small paperbacks focused on perennial herbs native to certain areas to monstrous guides on composting, the amount of literature to choose from is limitless. Luckily, we've put together a definitive list of the most inspiring books on gardening. While some may be decades old, their wisdom and advice still help gardeners and horticulturists today.
Psychiatrist and garden enthusiast Sue Stuart-Smith examines how gardening can change the lives of people from many different walks of life in her latest book. Stuart-Smith focuses on the notion that the nurturing activity can not not only be viewed as a way of sustaining the earth but one's mental well-being.
For those who've ever started a garden, you know a world of emotions comes with the process. Jazz Age playwright and author Beverley Nichols eloquently describes the triumphs and failures of creating a garden in his classic memoir Down the Garden Path. Rather than give advice, the novice gardener chronicles his experience building his own green oasis at his Huntingdonshire home, from the first seed planted to his greenhouse adventures.
Dianne S. Glave Rooted in the Earth: Reclaiming the African American Environmental Heritage
Dianne S. Glave Rooted in the Earth: Reclaiming the African American Environmental Heritage
Environmental historian Dianne D. Glave examines the African American experience and its relationship to nature throughout history in her debut book. Glave points outs that for many Black individuals, nature and violence are connected, conjuring harmful images of enslaved people exhaustively working in the fields. However, with great care, she works to dismantle this view and reclaim the African American heritage to land and nature.
Graham Stuart Thomas Perennial Garden Plants or the Modern Florilegium
Graham Stuart Thomas Perennial Garden Plants or the Modern Florilegium
A mainstay on the bookshelves of gardeners since 1976, English horticulturist Graham Stuart Thomas's classic surveys more than 2,000 species of perennial plants. Each entry thoroughly gives practical information on planting, seasonal flowering, cultivation, propagation, and a brief history of that given plant's origins.
Dan Pearson with Midori Shintani Tokachi Millennium Forest: Pioneering a New Way of Gardening With Nature
Dan Pearson with Midori Shintani Tokachi Millennium Forest: Pioneering a New Way of Gardening With Nature
Tokachi Millennium Forest felt rather overwhelming when English gardener Dan Pearson arrived in Hokkaido, Japan, to assist head gardener Midori Shintani in redesigning the ecological public park. The team's mission was to add layers the intimacy to the vast park and restore land that was overworked and farmed for years. In his book, Pearson details just how the duo was able to build a space that reconnects visitors with the land, wildlife, and horticulturist traditions of Japan.
Scott Shrader The Art of Outdoor Living: Gardens for Entertaining Family and Friends
Scott Shrader The Art of Outdoor Living: Gardens for Entertaining Family and Friends
In his first book, famed landscape designer Scott Shrader walks readers through 12 breathtaking gardens, showing how to seamlessly connect the outdoors to a home's interiors. Beyond giving design advice, Shrader also encourages people to rethink their own outdoor spaces and use them more for entertaining.
Author and White House garden historian Linda Holden delves into the verdant world of Bunny Mellon with an intimate look at the public and private gardens, which made Mellon a household name. Vivid watercolors, archival photographs, and sketches illustrate Mellon's horticultural psyche as Holden puts into words the impact of the bon vivant's work on the world of gardening.
Katharine S. White Onward and Upward in the Garden
Katharine S. White Onward and Upward in the Garden
After serving as the first fiction editor for the New Yorker, Katharine S. White started a critical review of garden catalogs to highlight “favorite reading matter.” The magazine ran 13 iterations of the column, known as "Onward and Upward in the Garden," with an emphasis on the history and future of gardening. Two years after White's death in 1977, her husband, E. B. White, edited and published the series within a book under the same name as the column.
David Young and Michiko (Kimura) Young The Art of the Japanese Garden
David Young and Michiko (Kimura) Young The Art of the Japanese Garden
Winner of the American Horticultural Society Book Award, David and Michiko Young's The Art of the Japanese Garden traces the origins and development of Japan's garden traditions. The comprehensive collection looks at the most notable gardens in Japan while highlighting the cultural significance of each design.
Christopher Lloyd The Well-Tempered Garden: Wisdom & Advice from a Legendary Gardener
Christopher Lloyd The Well-Tempered Garden: Wisdom & Advice from a Legendary Gardener
Famed English gardener Christopher Lloyd draws on his incredible experience and knowledge to create a detailed yet entertaining examination into the basics of gardening. A strong-minded writer, Lloyd encourages the reader to get out and start planting and view every challenge as a learning experience.
Named one of the best garden books by the American Horticultural Society, A Southern Garden examples why gardening should be a year-round pleasure and escape. Elizabeth Lawrence takes readers through each season, showcasing what plants grow best during certain times of the years and how to care for your land.
Michelle Obama American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America
Michelle Obama American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America
First Lady Michelle Obama's first-ever book invites readers into the White House Kitchen Garden to learn all about its inception and how you can plant your own. A novice gardener at the time, Obama doesn't shy away from sharing her worries over the garden and joys of the first harvest. The guide also provides recipes created by the White House chefs that you can try at home.
Vita Sackville-West and Sarah Raven Sissinghurst: Vita Sackville-West and the Creation of a Garden
Vita Sackville-West and Sarah Raven Sissinghurst: Vita Sackville-West and the Creation of a Garden
British gardener Sarah Raven weaves together Vita Sackville-West's weekly columns from the Observer to detail the creation of Sissinghurst's iconic gardens. The funny anecdotes give insight into Sackville-West's vision as a gardener as well as offers practical advice for beginner gardeners.
You'll be inspired to throw the most whimsical garden cocktail party after reading the witty, The Drunken Botanist. Amy Stewart looks back at the history of alcohol and the obscure herbs, flowers, and even fungi that make up today's most beloved concoctions. Complete with more than than 50 drink recipes and growing tips for gardeners, you're sure to become a go-to mixologist and cocktail expert for friends and neighbors.
Laura C. Martin A Naturalist's Book of Wildflowers: Celebrating 85 Native Plants in North America
Laura C. Martin A Naturalist's Book of Wildflowers: Celebrating 85 Native Plants in North America
Author Laura C. Martin profiles more than 85 wild plants and flowers native to North America through charming watercolor paintings. Each chapter is divided into colors with helpful tips on how to identify each flower and care for them. An added bonus: There are also ideas for activities with kids, meaning your little ones can start cultivating their green thumbs early.
Rodale Books The Rodale Book of Composting, Newly Revised and Updated: Simple Methods to Improve Your Soil, Recycle Waste, Grow Healthier Plants, and Create an Earth-Friendly Garden (Rodale Classics)
Rodale Books The Rodale Book of Composting, Newly Revised and Updated: Simple Methods to Improve Your Soil, Recycle Waste, Grow Healthier Plants, and Create an Earth-Friendly Garden (Rodale Classics)
No matter if you are tending to a small herb garden on your balcony or prepping for your next harvest, composting is one of the best ways to feed your soil and reduce food waste. The Rodale Book of Composting explains simple methods for people to make and use compost not matter where they live.
This easy-to-follow guide lays out exactly what novice gardeners should be tending to and planting each month of the year. Packed with tips from the Royal Horticultural Society, each chapter provides step-by-step instructions and detailed illustrations on projects to attend to while in the garden and advice on how to keep your green oasis thriving through all seasons.
Mark Lane Royal Gardens of the World: 21 Celebrated Gardens from the Alhambra to Highgrove and Beyond
Mark Lane Royal Gardens of the World: 21 Celebrated Gardens from the Alhambra to Highgrove and Beyond
Relish in the lavish grounds and verdant splendor of the world's most celebrated royal gardens with Mark Lane's debut book. From the Tokyo Imperial Palace to Castle of Mey in Scotland, Lane paints the history of each garden, pointing out the key plantings and design elements that make them so renowned.
Sarah DiMarco is the Assistant Editor at VERANDA, covering all things art, design, and travel, and she also manages social media for the brand.
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