In this post, I’ll share a carefully chosen list of 21+ best gardening books that every plant lover should read.
These books cover everything from basic gardening skills to advanced techniques for growing stunning flowers and tasty vegetables.
I’ve read and tested the advice in many of these books, transforming my garden from a patchy lawn to a thriving oasis. My favorite book helped me increase my tomato yield by 50% last season!
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced gardener, you’ll find valuable insights in this collection.
Let’s dig in and explore these fantastic gardening resources that will help you create the garden of your dreams.
21+ Best Gardening Books to Own
1. The Old Farmer’s Almanac Flower Gardener’s Handbook by Old Farmer’s Almanac
I’ve always liked the Old Farmer’s Almanac, which has been around since 1792.
I got their Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook when we started a backyard nursery. It helped us a lot with our veggies. So, I decided to get the Flower Gardener’s Handbook, too.
This book is great for adding flowers to your garden. It gives clear advice and has lots of pictures and charts. The information is easy to understand and use. If you want to grow flowers, this book is a good choice.
It’s part of a series that’s been helping gardeners for many years.
2. Plantopedia: The Definitive Guide to Houseplants by Lauren Camilleri
This book is about indoor plants. It explains how to care for them and make them happy. Houseplants can make any room look better.
They bring a bit of nature inside and can help you feel calmer. The authors, Lauren Camilleri and Sophia Kaplan, give you all the necessary information.
They discuss more than 130 different plants. You’ll learn about leafy plants, succulents, cacti, and rare ones. The book also has tips for solving plant problems. It’s good for new plant owners and those growing plants for a while.
If you want to fill your home with healthy plants, this book can help.
3. The Complete Gardener by Monty Don
This book is by a UK gardener who appears on BBC garden shows. While some of the information is for English weather, there’s a lot anyone can use. It has many photos of gardens he’s made and remade.
You’ll learn about using greenhouses for warm veggies in cold places and starting seedlings.
It also talks about cold frames, natural plant food, growing in wet areas, orchards, berries, hedges, compost, and fighting pests without chemicals.
It’s easy to read but uses plant science names. I liked it so much that I bought my copy after borrowing it from the library. It’s worth the money.
4. The Money-Saving Gardener by Anya Lautenbach
This book is good for new and skilled gardeners. It will save you money before you’re halfway through the garden year.
It has clear guides and pictures to help you grow more shrubs, roses, and flowers from plants you already have. The writer shares tips from her years of gardening.
These help you avoid wasting time and money on failed attempts. Anya writes she’s with you, helping you succeed in your garden.
Her friendly style makes the book fun and easy to follow.
5. Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth
One of the best gardening books, Seed to Seed, teaches you how to save seeds from 160 vegetables.
For each plant, it explains how the flowers work, how many plants you need, how far apart to put them, and how to keep different types from mixing.
It also shows picking, drying, cleaning, and storing seeds. Many say it’s the best guide for home gardeners to learn about saving seeds. The writer has grown all the veggies in the book and tested all the methods she suggests.
It’s useful for anyone who wants to save their seeds.
6. Epic Tomatoes: How to Select and Grow the Best Varieties of All Time by Craig LeHoullier
I grow lots of tomatoes each spring. This book shows me new types I’ve never seen before. One of the best gardening books, Epic Tomatoes, helped me increase my tomato yield by 50% last season!
It talks about over 200 kinds of tomatoes, sorted by color and size. It also gives tips on planting, dealing with pests, and feeding plants. The photos are great, and it’s fun to read.
I’ve read many veggie books, but I wanted one about tomatoes. After reading this, I learned how much I didn’t know, even after 20 years of growing tomatoes.
The writer knows tomatoes; his tips will make you a better gardener.
7. My Gardening Journal: A Weekly Tracker and Logbook by Sarah Simon
This garden journal is both pretty and useful. If you’re new to gardening, the first part has lots of helpful info to get you started. For those who’ve been gardening for a while, it’s great for keeping track of what works from year to year.
The weekly tracker is perfect for noting how seeds grow, which is handy if you’re starting seeds in a greenhouse. The book has many tools and trackers to help you plan and record your garden’s progress.
The book’s beautiful art might even inspire you to try watercolor painting. It’s a good gift for anyone who likes gardening, no matter how big or small their garden is.
You can use it to plan any size garden, and it will help you stay organized.
8. Dahlias: Beautiful Varieties for Home & Garden by Naomi Slade and Georgianna Lane
This book starts with a short intro about dahlias. It tells you about their parts and the different types, with pictures to help. Then it shows you many kinds of dahlias that are good for gardens.
There are big, beautiful photos of each type. The last part gives tips on growing and caring for dahlias. It talks about how to make more plants, what they need to grow well, what kind of dirt they like, and how to deal with bugs and plant sicknesses.
Dahlias are great flowers to cut and bring inside. When you cut one, the plant grows even more. They bloom from late summer until the first cold snap in fall.
The book tells you how to keep them safe in cold winters. If you want to grow colorful flowers that last a long time, this book will help you learn about dahlias.
9. Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon
This book explains how plants work. It tells you what happens when you plant a seed, how plants are built, and how they make more plants.
It’s been a top choice for students and gardeners since 1990. Over 260,000 people have bought it. I liked reading it because I learned new things.
It made me see plants in a new way. Now, I know more about how complex plants are.
If you want to understand the plants in your garden better, this book is a good place to start.
10. The Plant Propagator’s Bible by Miranda Smith
This book is very useful and easy to use. You don’t have to read a lot to learn how to grow new plants.
It has a simple part about the basics of growing plants and soil. Each way to grow plants is shown in just two pages with pictures. It tells you what problems you might have and why.
It also lists which plants you can grow with each method. A short section provides more information if you want it. The book uses plant science names to list plants and tells you the best way to grow each one.
It’s the clearest reference book I’ve seen. You can find what you need fast and learn how to grow new plants in just two pages.
11. The Self-Sufficiency Garden by Huw Richards and Sam Cooper
This book is great for learning to grow your food. It’s good for young people who want to save money and know where their food comes from.
The book is well-organized and gives clear options without too much detail. It covers many topics briefly but well. If you want to start a food garden and don’t have experts to ask, this is a great book.
It’s good for beginners because it gives enough detail to understand but keeps things simple. You won’t feel overwhelmed by too much info.
The writers explain things clearly so you can learn how to grow food for yourself and your family.
12. Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille T. Dungy
Soil is one of the best gardening books available, and it changed how I think about gardening. I started reading it to learn about native plants in Colorado. But it taught me so much more.
Dungy discusses how our yard choices affect the world around us. She links gardening to the environment, fairness, history, family, and poetry, which made me see how these parts of life fit together.
I read some parts twice because there’s so much to take in. But it felt like real life over time – past, present, and future. It’s like a tour through Dungy’s garden, from the surface to the seeds and roots.
I think everyone should read this book.
13. Houseplants for Beginners by Rebecca De La Paz
This book is great for new plant owners or anyone who likes houseplants. It’s easy to follow and has lots of info that’s simple to understand. The book groups plants into three types: easy, medium, and hard to care for.
It tells you how to care for each plant, whether it’s safe for pets, how much it costs, and what light, water, and soil it needs. There are also real photos.
You’ll learn how to buy plants, move them to new pots, find the best spot for them at home, and deal with pests and plant problems.
The book covers 120 common houseplants, so you can pick the ones that fit your life best.
14. Grow Food For Free by Huw Richards
This book contains good tips for growing food, even if you’ve been gardening for a long time. It’s also great for beginners and kids, and it has lots of pictures and ideas.
Teachers might find it useful for their classes. Richards explains things clearly, and the pictures help a lot. You’ll learn how to grow your food without spending much money.
It’s perfect if you’re not happy with store-bought produce. I read the whole book, which is unusual for a gardening book with many pictures. But it was fun and easy to read.
It’s a good gift for gardening friends. The advice on garden pests is really helpful.
15. From Seed To Bloom by Milli Proust
This book is great for anyone who loves flowers or wants to start gardening. It tells you how to make a flower bed and arrange flowers.
You’ll learn how to plant seeds, trim plants, make compost, and grow 24 types of cut flowers all year round. The book is easy to read and has beautiful pictures.
It shows you how to design flowers in a way that’s good for the earth. Whether you want to grow flowers or make pretty bouquets, this book has something for you.
The photos are so nice that I often look at them for fun. It’s a good book to keep on your coffee table.
16. Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening by Matt Mattus
This book is for people who want to grow more than the usual vegetables. It introduces new types of common vegetables and explains their history and how to grow them.
There are nice photos and over 200 detailed write-ups about vegetables and herbs. You’ll learn about special kinds of veggies you might not know about.
If you’ve been growing vegetables for a while and want to try something new, this book will help you. It gives you the necessary information to make your vegetable garden even better.
17. The Elegant & Edible Garden by Linda Vater
This book shows you how to make a pretty garden full of food. It’s called a potager, and it has mixed flowers, vegetables, fruits, and herbs.
Linda Vater, who writes The Potager Blog, explains how to make your garden a nice place to hang out with friends and family. She offers ideas for fancy gardens and simple ones, too.
You’ll learn how to grow food without chemicals, add cool things to look at, and put everything in the right place.
It’s a fun way to make your veggie patch look good and give you tasty food.
18. French Blooms by Sandra Sigman
Sandra Sigman, who’s won awards for her flower designs, wrote this book about French-style flowers. She thinks flower arrangements are like art.
They should be full of color, different textures, and something surprising. Sigman learned a lot in Paris, and now she shows you how to make beautiful flower arrangements for any room in your house.
She provides easy-to-follow steps for decorating mantels, dining tables, bathrooms, and even hand-tied bouquets. Sigman also explains how to care for your flowers and what tools you’ll need.
It has lots of pretty pictures taken in France and shows you how to bring French flower style into your home.
19. The Vegetable Gardening Book by Joe Lamp
Joe Lamp’l’s book is full of expert tips about growing vegetables. He’s learned much from his garden and from talking to other skilled gardeners.
You’ll learn how to start seeds, make supports for tomatoes, bring in helpful insects, and make good soil without chemicals.
The book gives ideas for garden layouts that grow lots of food, ways to make your garden easier to care for, and info on 40 common crops.
It also has a plan for rotating crops, tips on growing food for longer, how to use raised beds, what tools to choose, and how to grow food in any space you have.
Joe also has a podcast called The Joe Gardener Show, where you can learn even more.
20. The Complete Language of Flowers by S. Theresa Dietz
This book lists hundreds of flowers and other plant parts like tree branches, seed pods, and fruits. Scientific names organize it.
It gives common names for each plant, the meaning of the flower, the different colors, and possible powers like love or healing.
It also has interesting facts and stories. Long ago, people used flowers to send messages. Even today, we know red roses mean love. The book has beautiful old-style pictures.
There’s an easy-to-use index in the back for common names. It’s great for writers who want to use flowers in their stories. The only downside is that it doesn’t come in hardcover.
21. The Healing Garden: Cultivating and Handcrafting Herbal Remedies by Juliet Blankespoor
As one of the best gardening books available, this book is really helpful for starting an herb garden. It clearly explains things that usually take years to learn.
I highly recommend this for all gardeners and anyone who loves to cook!
The book covers many plants, how to grow them, and how to use them as medicine. It provides an in-depth look at herbs and gardening.
It’s a great choice for anyone who wants to learn more about herbs and how to grow them.
22. 1,001 Gardening Tips & Tricks by Mary Rose Quigg
This book has many useful tips for all kinds of gardening. It discusses flowers, houseplants, shrubs, vegetables, herbs, and trees. You’ll also find advice on dealing with garden pests and learn about tools that make gardening easier.
It also tells you how to avoid getting sore from gardening work. The book includes poems, sayings, and old stories about plants, which makes it fun to read.
It’s a good gift for anyone who likes to garden.
The Final Word
We’ve explored over 21+ of the best gardening books, covering everything from flower arranging to vegetable growing and houseplants to healing herbs.
Each book offers unique insights and practical advice to help you nurture your green thumb. Whether you’re a beginner looking to start your first garden or an experienced gardener seeking new inspiration, there’s something here for everyone.
Remember, gardening is a journey of continuous learning and discovery. As you read these books, you’ll grow plants and cultivate patience, creativity, and a deeper connection with nature.
So, pick up a book, get your hands dirty, and watch your garden and knowledge flourish.
Happy gardening, and may your efforts bloom into beautiful results!
