Garden lovers often describe gardening to be therapeutic, relaxing, and rewarding all at the same time. Regardless of your gender, profession, or role in society, gardening allows you to be a nurturer. You shower love to plants by taking care of them, watering them daily, protecting them against pests, fertilizing them every few weeks, they return the favor by rewarding you with lovely flowers, tasty fruits, and vegetables.

The feeling of inner peace and relaxation that you get from gardening helps you forget your worries for the time being. You easily seep into the calming mode, only thinking about the good things in life – love, care, hugs, laughter, smiles, friends, and family, etc. You may often obsess over regretful actions of your past and uncertainty of the future, and that’s when you drift into a panic and anxious state. The key is to live in the moment and enjoy the present as there is no time like what you have on your hand right now. The best way to calm your nervous self is to focus on the “now” and that can be done when you smell, touch, and see the beauty of your garden.

Clearly, gardening is the most fun and healthy hobby you can consider. And if you are new to it or want to horn your amateur gardening skills, here we have compiled the best gardening books for your guidance.

Table of Contents Show

1. Rodale’s Basic Organic Gardening

If you are new to the world of shovel and rake, you’ll be smart enough to invest in Rodale’s Basic Organic Gardening. Why is that so? You may wonder. This fun gardening book is an inclusive guidebook that is specifically written for beginners. Whatever may be on your mind regarding gardening, no matter how basic it is, the book discusses it all.

This comprehensive guide will be everything you will need to dive into the world of organic gardening. And if there is a part of you that doubts whether you will be able to pull it off successfully, this book will only make you more confident to pursue this pleasant activity.

2. The Well-Tempered Garden

A gardening book that has it all is undoubtedly The Well-Tempered Garden by Christopher Lloyd. While the book was published a long time ago, in the 1970s, it has all the crucial details and information that one must know before engaging in gardening.

The best part is that it is thoroughly entertaining, providing readers with an abundance of knowledge in the most fun and amusing way. Through his playful tone, Lloyd makes his readers realize that errors are bound to happen during gardening, but rather than scolding, he preaches to learn from bad experiences. Whether you are a beginner or a pro or somewhere in between, you will definitely find something to take away from this meaningful book.

3. The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible, 2^nd Edition

Bored with old gardening techniques and growing the same old tomatoes and peas? Curious to experience something new and exciting but don’t know how to go about it? Start by reading “The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible, 2^nd Edition”.

This book will guide you about advanced gardening as it covers unique tips and tricks for highly-productive gardening. You will find information regarding hundreds of vegetables and ways to successfully grow them.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be an expert to read this book. Even novice gardeners can make the most of the wealth of information covered in this terrific text.

4. The Flower Gardener’s Bible

you are someone who is not that into growing your own fruits and vegetables and are all about blooming flowers, this is just the book for you. The book not only a terrific source to grow your own stunning blooms, but it also discusses the ideal growing site for flowers, how to improve soil conditions, how to keep pests at bay, and lots more!

It also provides pieces of expert advice on how you can maximize the lifespan of your plants – a common struggle that every gardener faces. Follow the comprehensive guideline presented in the book and see your lovely blooms strive and thrive all year long!

5. The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual

Don’t have enough space to grow your favorite plants in the backyard? No worries! Get your hands on this manual to learn how you can grow more than 160 plants in your home. Primaryfully composed by an expert gardener herself – Barbara Pleasant – is the perfect manual to learn how to bring nature indoors.

If the idea of keeping houseplants is a lot to take in, given the amount of struggle you might have to go through to take care of them, get comfortable with this survival guide. The gardening handbook is packed with invaluable pieces of advice for growing indoor plants that will fill you up with confidence to go ahead with the indoor gardening.

You will learn different profiles of indoor plants, their growing needs, common problems, and troubleshooting tips.

6. Plants You Can’t Kill

Are you a newbie gardener and lack the courage to take the plunge into the gardening world? Been there, done that!

“Plants You Can’t Kill” is your major source of confidence boost that will encourage you to try gardening, even if you fail at it in the beginning. The beginner’s book comprises of over 100 easy-to-grow and easy-to-look-after plants, flowers, and vegetables that every novice should consider growing in their garden.

Whether you are a low-maintenance person or neglectful in your conduct, you will discover how easy it is to grow your own organic plants and vegetables with the useful suggestions provided in the guidebook.

7. Best for Small Spaces: All New Square Foot Gardening II

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a spacious yard but that doesn’t mean you give up your gardening dreams. “Best for Small Spaces” is specifically for people who may have a small yard to grow natural goodies.

This influential gardening guide will teach you how you can turn your small yard into a beautiful garden space with no trouble whatsoever. The gardening techniques in this book are ages old; that being said, they are every bit of significant and applicable today.

Using those ancient yet helpful methods, the guidebook teaches how you can grow your very own healthy plants all year long. What works in favor of the book is that it discusses easy-to-follow gardening methods without the inclusion of any complex tool or ingredient.

8. Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children

Looking for a productive yet fun activity for your children? Gardening it is! But the hurdle that most parents face is how to develop an interest in gardening in their kids. And this kid-friendly gardening book is all you need to tackle the problem.

“Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots” comprises of gardening basics along with easy gardening projects that your kids will find easy to follow and implement. For example, there is information for a “Pizza Patch” where you have to build a garden in a wheel shape with each “pizza slice” used for growing a pizza ingredient like tomatoes or jalapenos.

9. The Gardener’s Year

Most people think that gardening is a spring or summer activity but this book defies this misconception, illustrating how it is an all-year-round activity. This interesting guidebook explains how you should be gardening on a month-to-month basis.

It is packed with advice on everything you need to know about the ideal seeds, vegetables, plants, flowers, shrubs for each and every month. For example, it will guide you on what seeds will be ideal to plant in April or how to keep hanging baskets in their best condition in winters. The text is arranged as an easy-to-follow reference guide so you will easily locate the exact information at a quick glance.

In addition to texts, you will also find colored photos and step-by-step diagrams, making it easier to follow the text.

10. Homegrown Pantry

Don’t you hate it when you can’t enjoy summery veggies in the winter and wintry organics in the summer? Well, with this help-book you can relish all your favorite fruits and vegetables all year round. This book is specifically written for gardeners who want to make the most of edible plants from their pantry in all seasons.

You will learn how to grow a wide variety of organic plants such as beans and beets in plenty of stocks so that you can enjoy them whenever you like. The detailed text provides a number of tips to ensure healthy growth methods so that the plants stay best even in severe climatic conditions. The most interesting part of this book is that it illustrates various food varieties that you can grow according to your family’s needs and preferences.

11. Best for Vertical Gardening: Vertical Gardening

This is another great book that strategizes on how you can grow your own vegetables and flowers in a small yard. The focus of the book is vertical growing strategies with the help of trellises, pergolas, string supports, and raised beds.

Growing edibles vertically helps save space while allowing the healthy growth of plants. This type of gardening may sound complicated but the book explains it in an easy language which makes it simple to follow. The growing strategies also help you in understanding how you can make harvesting easier and increase yields.

Readers of this book often applaud how the methods discussed in there are great alternatives to traditional planting methods.

Generally, people think permaculture is for large-scale farms, but it is the type of gardening that can be done in any normal outdoor location. If you want to increase your knowledge about permaculture techniques, it will be wise of you to invest in this book.

Follow the tips mentioned in this book and you won’t only create a flourishing garden but a sustaining eco-system as well. Gaia’s Garden also gives solid suggestions on how one can conserve water and maintain soil fertility whilst relishing every bit of gardening. The text also touches on how you can grow edible trees and build habitats for birds, insects, and animals in your yard. But the best of all is that it teaches you to carry out these tasks within a limited gardening space!

12. Planting: A New Perspective

You can use your gardens to cultivate and produce a wide variety of edible plants and flowers, but it is your garden’s design that elevates the yard’s beauty. Discover various landscape design ideas with this book which focuses on how ecology can help build the most amazing outdoor space.

You will find out tips on picking the right kind of plants based on their features (color, texture, and structure). Apply the knowledge for building your own garden and convert your ordinary looking yard into the most beautiful one.

13. The Education of a Gardener

Written by one of the most prolific garden designers, Russell Page, the Education of a Gardener is a classic and must be read by every garden lover. Although the book was published a century ago, the knowledge encapsulated in the text is timeless.

Page discusses how to plan a garden that complements the surrounding landscape, what plants will look best in your setting, plants suitable for each season, which combination of trees, shrubs, and water features add an enriching effect to your garden, etc. Besides wonderful information, the book will provide endless pleasure to you, mainly because of the wise and witty tone of the text.

14. Epic Tomatoes

The first veggie that may come to mind when you think of home gardening is none other than tomato. Needless to say, it is the most common garden plant that every home garden boasts. However, this doesn’t mean it is easy to grow.

If tomatoes are your favorite veggie and you are adamant to successfully grow them in your garden, this book is everything you need. It will enlighten you with every tip that you need to know for growing over 200 tomato varieties in your yard. What’s more? You will find an insightful guide on basic tomato pests and diseases and how to avoid them altogether.

15. A Gentle Plea for Chaos

A Gentle Plea for Chaos is a thoughtful and equally entertaining gardening book that makes for a perfect bedtime read. In this highly-opinionated book, Osler talks about her own cottage garden which she built with her husband’s help. The writer shares her personal journey of growing many hundreds of trees and beautiful blooms, giving an insight into her overall gardening experience.

Osler’s writing is energetic and delightful which makes this book quite interesting to read. In her poetic style, she openly points out what it really takes a garden to tick. What is more captivating is that Osler doesn’t shy away from expressing her emotions that her journey of gardening evokes in her from guilt to bliss to empathy to inspiring.

16. Down the Garden Path

This is another great personal story of the author Beverley Nicholas about his gardening journey which he started off as a novice in England before the Second World War.

What sets this book apart from the rest of the gardening books is that it doesn’t seek to impart expert knowledge of gardening, aiming to impress readers. What it does focus on is the agony and pleasure of gardening which is expressed in a funny tone. Nicholas points out his failures as much as he discusses his triumphs – a combo that makes the book an engaging one.

Someone who has tried gardening or is an avid gardener will be able to relate to the experiences shared by the author.

17. Let It Rot: The Gardener’s Guide to Composting

This text contains all the information that you may need for gardening. It will teach you how to turn your yard garbage and kitchen scraps into something productive – a garden!

By following the tips compiled in the book, you will be saving a lot of your money, curtailing waste but will also be enjoying bountiful harvests. Invest in this book and you won’t see your house garbage the same way; you will make sure to make something more productive out of it and “Let It Rot” will be the perfect guide for that.

This text is for all types of gardeners, be it novice or mature, and it’s written in the most entertaining fashion which makes it all the way more fun to read.

18. Vegetables Love Flowers

For the advanced gardeners out there, Vegetables Love Flowers is your ultimate guide for complex gardening techniques.

Once you have primaryed the art of basic gardening, you will naturally want something more challenging to hone your skills. In this text, you will find all of those planting techniques and most importantly you will learn about companion planting; but afraid not, for the readers’ convenience, the book has made “companion planting” simple to understand.

You will also discover how you can get the most out of your vegetable plants and what kinds of them are appropriate for your growing zone. On that basis, you can consider which vegetable seeds will be ideal for you to pick.

19. Good Bug Bad Bug

The biggest threat to your nourishing garden is bugs that can damage the growing plant in a second. The only way to stop pests from infecting your yard is by learning ways to make them stop from damaging your fresh harvests.

For that, you will need to invest in Good Bug Bad Bug as it will help you point out the types of bugs that are beneficial for your garden and the types that aren’t. You will also discover ways to create a hospitable environment to allow good bugs to stay in your garden while shooing away the bad ones.

One of the admirable features of this book is that it doesn’t preach you to use chemicals in order to manage pests. It discusses other helpful methods to control pests.

20. Growing Vegetables in Straw Bales

Curious to learn straw bale gardening? Get a copy of Growing Vegetables in Straw Bales. Straw Bales may be an advanced gardening method but it is easy to perform. You will be pleasantly surprised by how much you can grow in a small space if you accurately follow the step-to-step guideline.

Read this guide to grow your very own vegetables using straw bales, seeds, and high-quality fertilizer.

21. Container Gardening

“Container Gardening” encourages portable gardening system, shedding light on techniques to grow plants anywhere you like whether it is on your patio, deck, near the driveway, or on the front porch.

This guidebook also teaches how you can shift your plants from the ground into containers so that you can place them wherever you like. The expert planting advice discussed in the book is worth noting as it tells the ways plants can grow together.

22. Bees: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide

“Bees” is an award-winning book that talks about how you can improve your environment through gardening. It provides a wealth of knowledge on what to grow and what not to in order to keep the bee population in control.

By performing this kind of gardening, you will help make this world a better place to live in. The bonus? It features pretty pictures that will persuade you to grow a bee-loving garden.

23. The Dry Garden

Extreme weather conditions and scarcity of water can make “gardening” a difficult activity; but not so if you follow the guideline illustrated in “The Dry Garden.”

This text will help you discover how to make severe weather conditions work in your favor. You will learn various dry-garden techniques that will help you build a beautiful green space without letting you use water in dry conditions.

24. Ultimate Guide to Roses: A Comprehensive Selection

Let’s admit it once you create a garden, one of the first few flowers that you want to plant is roses. And when it comes to gardening roses, nothing is better than this classic guidebook.

Phillips and Rix provide a detailed guide to plant all types of roses. But that’s not it. You will also find a comprehensive guide to growing bulbs, shrubs, herbs and lots more. The text also contains images of every type of rose, making it easier for you to identify and select them.

Each of these books has plenty of information on gardening and we definitely recommend them for anyone with even the slightest interest in gardening.