The best gardening books you can buy
The best overall
The original edition of "Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture" first came out in pre-Y2K days and was widely regarded as an inspiration to eco-minded gardeners everywhere.
Author Toby Hemenway stresses the importance of choosing companion plants that work together and help each other grow. His ideas about how to encourage natural symbiosis and creating backyard habitats for helpful insects and critters helped urge the wave of interest in organic gardening from a trend to an all-out movement.
Now, the second edition has been named the winner of the 2011 Nautilus Gold Medal Award and is one of the top ten gardening books of 2009 in The Washington Post's rankings. It has become required reading for small-scale gardeners everywhere.
As fellow bestselling gardening author, Paul Stamets puts it in his review of the book, "Toby Hemenway's "Gaia's Garden" will be recorded in history as a milestone for gardeners and landscapers — a fusion of the practical and the visionary — using the natural intelligence of Earth's symbiotic communities to strengthen and sustain ecosystems in which humans are a partner, not a competitor."
"Gaia's Garden" is, of course, also a favorite of novice gardeners who almost uniformly give it 5-star status on Amazon. Reviewers love how the author puts difficult theories into simple, actionable words. A helpful tip: One reviewer said they recommend reading the last chapter first, since it's sort of a summary. Then you can break down the rest of the ideas more easily.
My very favorite part of this book is the illustrated planting maps showing which plants work best together. The idea for more natural circular growing patterns over my stuck-in-the-past in-ground rows is definitely going to influence my veggie-plot design next spring.
Pros: This book provides easy-to-follow instructions along with a great intro to basic gardening theory
Cons: Although there are several photos and illustrations, other books on this list have more visually appealing full-color eye-candy
Buy "Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture" on Amazon for $22.97The best for beginners
"The Garden Primer" is just what the name describes. It's a beginner's resource designed to teach the basics. It also works really well as a reference book where you can look things up even after you've got your garden going.
The book starts with the ABC's of "What Plants Need," then covers everything from what kind of tools you'll want when you're just starting out, to how to buy plants at the store, to how to keep your soil fertile year after year.
There are also chapters on each general type of plant, i.e. bulbs, vegetables, ground cover, houseplants, you name it, so even experts might find out new things perusing the pages. It's a terrific way to get the facts on how to garden, but I also loved the author's style which makes you feel like you're reading for pleasure, not just for information.
As a reviewer from the Seattle Times said, "Barbara Damrosch's writing has the snap of a good snow pea and the spice of an old rose." And as one Amazon reader wrote, "This is easily one of the best gardening books ever written."
Pros: This book covers the essentials in a way that makes gardening feel accessible, even to novices
Cons: The book is labeled 100% organic, but the instructions sometimes say to use treated wood, which would make your garden technically non-organic
Buy "The Garden Primer" on Amazon for $19The best for edible gardening
The well-organized structure and detailed glossary of "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" allows readers to jump right in anywhere in the book to learn about just one topic, or can start from the beginning to get a full education in edible gardening.
As one of several hundred five-star reviewers wrote on Amazon, "Each page [of the glossary] includes: the name of the vegetable, information about it, where they like to been sown and grown, seed depth, germination soil temperature, days to germination, when to sow indoors…when to sow outdoors…growing pH, growing soil temperature, spacing in beds, watering, light needed, nutrient requirements, rotation considerations, and seed longevity."
Those on the newbie end of gardening will love the "easy step-by-step directions on planting," combined with "lots of great pictures," as Amazon user, Lynn G. explains. But if you'd like to read more broadly into basic concepts of gardening, some sections of the book cater to that desire as well. I really liked the sections on "good" and "bad" garden bugs, and how to get away with less weeding.
As the number one bestseller in Amazon's Vegetable Gardening category, you won't be surprised that it's an all-around great resource for home growers of edible gardens. It's also the number six overall bestseller in Amazon's Gardening and Landscape Design category, which includes thousands of texts.
The author, Edward C. Smith, has reportedly spent decades with his wife living on a self-sufficient, off-grid property, where they feed themselves all year round from their garden. It's easy to trust a source that has such success when they walk the walk, as well as talk the talk.
Pros: A comprehensive guide to growing your own food geared to get the highest yield with the least work
Cons: The scope is mostly for middle-range gardeners, so experts and complete novices may not find what they need
Buy "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" at Amazon for $16.52The best for small space gardening
Working in a garden and enjoying its rewards is both therapeutic and tons of fun. So why should the joy of gardening be restricted to country and suburban dwellers with tons of open space? Answer: it shouldn't! "All New Square Foot Gardening" is an Amazon number one best seller in the 'urban gardening' category that's well-known by experts everywhere.
The author, Mel Bartholomew, is the inventor of the raised bed grid system of gardening designed as a "revolutionary way to grow more in less space." Notable gardening expert, Mike McGrath recommends the book, saying the original version is "said to be the best-selling gardening book of all time." And that this second edition is even better and more comprehensive.
He also explains that where the raised bed and grid planting system made the book famous, "the real benefit of his technique is rooted in his emphasis on … excavating your rotten local soil and replacing it with "Mel's mix"— essentially a combination of a light soil free mix and high-quality compost."
This legendary bestseller contains the absolute go-to advice for people who are serious about growing tons of productive, beautiful plants in a limited space. I also loved the glossy photographs showing step-by-step instructions for some of the more complicated processes. And that's my only real caveat in recommending this book — that you do need to be prepared to invest lots of time and effort up-front with this process, as you'll have to overhaul your soil.
That said, his system means I have more tomatoes and kale than I know what to do with all summer.
Pros: The advice in this book has become the go-to method for small space home gardeners, and will be sure to net you lots of produce to share with friends and neighbors
Cons: Things are a bit more complicated than seeds, soil and water, you have to invest some effort into following instructions precisely
Buy "All New Square Foot Gardening" on Amazon for $13.86The best for organic gardening
Rodale has been a leading publisher in the organic gardening world for more than 50 years, so the current edition of the "Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening," edited by Fern Marshall Bradley, has just gotten better over the years. Although many of the texts on this list deal with organic gardening, this one has a particularly robust selection of new and updated organic methods and trends.
The newer edition also has a brand-new section that specifically covers "earth-friendly techniques for gardening in a changing climate, covering wise water management, creating backyard habitats, managing invasive plants and insects, reducing energy use and recycling, and understanding biotechnology."
There are sections on vegetables, fruit trees, and all kinds of botanical curiosities, as well as material on community gardening and the wildlife your garden may attract. The encyclopedia format makes the text easy to use as a shelf reference for experienced gardeners, as well as a how-to read-through text for beginning growers.
I also think this book makes for a great coffee-table book with its impressive collection of full-color, glossy images. I would definitely say this is the most attractive of our best gardening book picks. Even if I wasn't interested in all the how-to knowledge and theory, I would still buy this book just to flip through the pictures.
Pros: You'll love the easy-to-use and comprehensive structure, as well as the striking images
Cons: Like many encyclopedias, this book covers tons of topics, but doesn't go overly deeply into any one subject
Buy "Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening" on Amazon for $18.16Check out our guide to the best gardening tools
Having the essential gardening tools ready in your shed or garage makes the work even more of a joy, instead of a chore.
That's why we've gathered up a collection of the best tools for a variety of gardening needs.
- Best pruners: Felco F-2 Classic Hand Pruner and Fiskars Pruning Snip
- Best gloves: Exemplary Gardens Rose Pruning Gloves
- Best thorn stripper: Barnel Thorn Stripper
- Best toolsets: Master Craft Indoor Garden Tool Set and Fiskars 3- Piece Tool Set
- Best watering can: Plastec Indoor Watering Can
- Best gardening hoe: Bond Culti-Hoe with Telescoping Handle
- Best shovel and spade: Fiskars Shovel and Fiskars Spade
- Best lopper and shears: Tabor Tools Bypass Loppers and Fiskars Pruning Shears
- Best pruning saw: Corona RazorTOOTH Pruning Saw
- Best coiled hose: Water Right Professional Coil Hose
- Best edge chopper and weeder: Garden Weasel Edge Chopperand Fiskars Weeder
- Best rake and leaf scoops: Gardenite Lawn Rake and ReLeaf Leaf Scoops
Next Story
I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
One of the world's only 5-star airlines seems to be considering asking business-class passengers to bring their own cutlery
From terrace to table: 8 Edible plants you can grow in your home
India fourth largest military spender globally in 2023: SIPRI report
New study forecasts high chance of record-breaking heat and humidity in India in the coming months
Gold plunges ₹1,450 to ₹72,200, silver prices dive by ₹2,300
Strong domestic demand supporting India's growth: Morgan Stanley
