Starting a garden isn’t always easy. Unless you’re fortunate enough to be surrounded by experienced gardeners, maintaining a healthy, flourishing garden may seem downright impossible at times.
Don’t worry, though. No one is born with a perfect green thumb. We hone our skills by asking questions, by observing other gardeners, and – yes – by reading.
Good gardening books are excellent mentors.
Contents
As it is with many other things in life, a good book will help. And, as with all gardening books that are worth reading, respectable gardening books are excellent mentors.
People have been gardening for ages and they’ve been writing down gardening advice for nearly as long. So, it’s impossible to write a definitive list of the best gardening books out there.
What we’ve done here is to curate a list of gardening books we’ve consulted – and relied on – for gardening advice over the years. Some are many years old but still in print – which should suffice as proof of their enduring value.
Below are five gardening books we think every gardener should read
1. The Well-Tempered Garden
This is a classic that should be on any gardener’s shelf. The author, Christopher Lloyd, who received the Victoria Medal of Honor from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1979, is the creator of the lovely gardens at Great Dixter in East Sussex, England.
Originally published in 1970, The Well-Tempered Garden weaves the writer’s prodigious depth of knowledge and experience with his now-famous dry asides. The result is a classic.
The book offers all the brass tacks of gardening you could wish for – but it is also wildly entertaining.
2. The Dry Garden
Beth Chatto was a British plantswoman, garden designer, and author who is best known for creating the Beth Chatto Gardens near Elmstead Market, in the English county of Essex. She received the Victoria Medal of Honor from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1987.
In The Dry Garden, Chatto proposes a wide selection of easy-to-care-for plants that naturally flourish in dry conditions. In so doing, she shares her immense knowledge of gardening: delving into everything from soil types and garden-design principles to plant characteristics and growing tips.
With drought – including extreme drought – continuing to grip many parts of the world, home gardeners would be wise to have a copy of this classic gardening book on their shelves.
3. Planting: A New Perspective
Planting: A New Perspective takes you deep into the rich and intricate world of plants and how we can work with them to create more sustainable and exciting landscapes.
Two well-known landscape designers, Noel Kingsbury and Piet Oudolf, co-wrote the book. Oudolf is famous for his design of the hugely popular High Line gardens in New York City.
“Planting design has, in general, moved from a sense of absolute control to one of negotiating with nature – if not of total spontaneity, then at least the appearance of spontaneity,” say the writers.
The book explains and documents Oudolf’s “naturalistic” landscape design work. The detailed original plans, plant lists, and spectacular photographs combine to make the book one of the most compelling reads for any home gardener.
4. We Made a Garden
First published in Britain in 1956, We Made a Garden is the story of an enduring English country garden. In it, one of Britain’s most revered gardening writers – Margery Fish – recounts how she and her husband set about creating a thriving cottage garden in the former farmyard and rubbish heap around their newly purchased home.
Mr. and Mrs. Fish – each vigorously imbued with horticultural opinions of their own – negotiate the terrain of their garden, often with amusing collisions.
The result is a classic gardening book that describes the diverse elements of successful gardening and – ultimately – the fundamental character of a good garden.
5. Down the Garden Path
Beverley Nichols, a playwright, and author was another gardener creating a cottage garden in England just before the Second World War.
Down the Garden Path tells the story of how the Nichols transformed an overgrown, unprepossessing property into a lush, richly layered paradise of honeysuckle and blooms.
Around that story, Nichols builds a tapestry of little details about life in the English countryside, complete with cats, greenhouses, treacle, and eccentric neighbors.
Nichols has a wicked sense of humor, which makes this book perfect when you want to laugh and relax after a particularly long day.
A Solid Foundation
Thinking about growing a vegetable garden or maybe starting a few flowerbeds in your backyard? No matter what plants you want to grow, or what type of garden you want to maintain, you’ll find a book that can tell you everything you need to know.
Some gardeners have shelves groaning with gardening books and manuals, putting the answer to every question they might encounter in the garden at their fingertips. Others might rely on just a handful.
You are likely to fall into one or the other category. In any case, the list above should be a good starting point – and a solid foundation – for your gardening education.
