RESOURCES • BOOKS
Gardening Book
Recommendations
Having a diverse collection of gardening books covering a wide range of topics empowers gardeners with the knowledge, inspiration, and resources they need to create and maintain beautiful, thriving gardens that bring joy and beauty to their outdoor spaces.
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
FLOWERS FOR EVERY SEASON
Floret Farm’s A Year in Flowers
by Erin Benzakein, with Julie Chai, & JillJorgensen
This comprehensive guide, filled with expert advice and stunning photography, covers everything from gardening and buying to caring for and arranging flowers.
The Flower Hunter: Seasonal flowers inspired by nature and gathered from the garden
The book includes simple projects and encourages readers to explore their creativity as seen through Lucy’s garden.
A Year Full of Flowers: Gardening for All Seasons
Sarah Raven shares plant varieties that bring her garden to life each month, offering practical advice from her experience at Perch Hill.
FLOWERING AND CUT FLOWER PLANTS
The Cut Flower Sourcebook: Exceptional Perennials & Woody Plant for Cutting
This book highlights perennials and woody plants that return annually with minimal effort, providing habitats for garden wildlife and adding a natural quality to arrangements.
Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest, and Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms
by Erin Benzakein, with Julie Chai, & Jill Jorgensen
Erin’s debut book is an inspiring guide to growing stunning blooms and creating beautiful arrangements.
Growing Flowers: Everything You Need to Know About Planting, Tending, Harvesting and Arranging Beautiful Blooms
Learn sustainable gardening practices from Niki’s boutique farm in Asheville, NC, and immerse yourself in the world of flower farming.
DAHLIAS
Dahlias: Beautiful Varieties for Home & Garden
by Naomi Slade
Explore a diverse range of dahlias, from classics like Café au Lait to unique varieties like Voodoo and Honka, featuring shapes from pompoms to dinner plates, and even resembling daisies, sea anemones, and fireworks.
Floret Farm’s Discovering Dahlias: A Guide to Growing and Arranging Magnificent Blooms
by Erin Benzakein, with Julie Chai, & Jill Jorgensen
This book offers expert advice on planting, harvesting, and arranging garden-fresh dahlias, an A–Z guide with photos and descriptions of over 350 varieties, and step-by-step instructions for designing stunning dahlia bouquets.
SHRUBS
The Creative Shrub Garden: Eye-Catching Combinations for Year-Round Interest
by Kristine Albrecht, and Brion Sprinsock, with Dr. Virginia Walbot, and Janet Egger
This book includes step-by-step instructions and illustrations for breeding new dahlia varieties from seed. Kristine shares her expertise on topics such as seed collection, germination, seedling care, dominant and recessive traits, pollination strategies, and more.
The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Shrubs: The Art and Science to Grow with Confidence
by Valérie Boujard
Combining Kew's expertise with stunning artworks and advice, this hardback covers plants, soil, light, and maintenance. Discover how to succeed with 50 specimens and 12 easy projects, making it ideal for enthusiasts and beginners alike.
Trees, Shrubs & Hedges for Your Home, Fourth Edition
by Editors of Creative Homeowner
A comprehensive guide to creating and maintaining a stunning landscape. With advice on selecting the best plants for your conditions, plant profiles, and over 1,000 low-maintenance, pest-resistant plants, this book is a valuable resource.
PERENNIALS
Best Perennials For Sun And Shade
This guide simplifies the daunting task of choosing perennials by profiling the easiest-to-grow and best-performing varieties for both sunny and shady locations. Each plant is accompanied by a beautiful color photo for easy identification, along with information on how to grow it and horticultural tips.
The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: The Essential Guide to Planting and Pruning Techniques
by Tracy DiSabato-Aust
A comprehensive guide covering essential practices like deadheading, pinching, and thinning. You'll also find on-trend garden design advice, a monthly planting and maintenance schedule, and tips for gardening with native plants to support wildlife.
Essential Perennials for Every Garden: Selection, Care, and Profiles for Over 110 Easy-Care Plants
by Sally Roth, & Jane Courtier
This book offers a detailed guide featuring 110 low-maintenance plants in a fully illustrated A-to-Z directory. With over 350 vibrant color photos, this book provides step-by-step processes for developing and maintaining a beautiful garden.
GROUNDCOVERS
The Complete Book of Ground Covers
by Gary Lewis
Gary Lewis profiles over 4,000 ground covers in this meticulously researched reference, offering solutions for various conditions like shade, dry soil, or excess moisture. This comprehensive and practical guide is essential for designers, landscape architects, and serious gardeners.
Groundcover Revolution: How to use sustainable, low-maintenance, low-water groundcovers to replace your turf
by Kathy Jentz
Discover how groundcovers reduce resource consumption and maintenance, while boosting biodiversity and mitigating climate change. This guide offers step-by-step instructions for replacing your lawn and caring for your new "quilted lawn."
Covering Ground
by Barbara W. Ellis
Transform your landscape with vibrant ground covers, bringing diversity, elegance, and durability to your lawn. Barbara W. Ellis offers professional planting advice and full-color designs to help you create a low-maintenance, sustainable landscape. Watch as your ordinary lawn becomes a striking display of color and texture.
UNIQUE FOLIAGE PLANTS
Gardening with Foliage First: 127 Dazzling Combinations That Pair the Beauty of Leaves with Flowers, Bark, Berries, and More
by Karen Chapman and Christina Salwitz
Discover a gardening book that challenges the fleeting nature of flowers by emphasizing the use of foliage for long-lasting gardens. With 127 combinations tailored for sunny and shady gardens, this book provides strategies to create enduring, beautiful landscapes.
Fine Foliage: Elegant Plant Combinations for Garden and Container
by Karen Chapman and Christina Salwitz
This book showcases over 60 plant combinations designed to complement various garden settings, whether in sun or shade, path or meadow, porch or poolside. Each combination is illustrated with on-site photographs and explained in "Why This Works" text, accompanied by close-up photos and care tips.
The English Gardener’s Garden
by Phaidon Editors, Toby Musgrave, and Tania Compton
Explore over 60 of England's most exquisite gardens spanning seven centuries in "The English Gardener's Garden." Each entry features stunning photographs and concise text detailing the garden's historical and stylistic significance, making it a valuable resource for garden designers and enthusiasts alike.
WINTER GARDENS
Winter Gardens: Reinventing the Season
by Cedric Pollet
Discover 20 stunning gardens across France and the UK, celebrated for their beauty even in the barest of seasons. Through captivating photography and insightful text, Pollet reveals the secrets behind these enchanting landscapes.
Designing and Creating a Winter Garden
by Sally Gregson
Learn how to design a new garden or revamp an existing one with winter as the focal season. Explore design concepts, such as utilizing low winter light and incorporating vibrant colors, as well as maintaining your garden in winter. The book also provides a comprehensive catalog of plants.
Winterland: Create a Beautiful Garden for Every Season
by Cathy Rees
Discover how to create a captivating garden all year round with Winterland. Practical advice on garden care and coexisting with nature's creatures enhances your gardening experience. Experience the beauty of winter and deepen your connection with nature.
SUPPORTING WILDLIFE
Planting for Wildlife: A Grower’s Guide to Rewilding Your Garden
by Jane Moore
Learn how to go organic, make a pond, and turn your space into a sanctuary for birds, bees, and hedgehogs. With simple projects and planting guides, you can re-connect with the natural world right on your doorstep.
Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard
by Douglas W. Tallamy
This practical guide shows homeowners how to turn their yards into conservation corridors. By taking action now, you can help preserve wildlife and the planet for future generations.
The Complete Gardener: A Practical, Imaginative Guide to Every Aspect of Gardening
by Monty Don
This revised edition covers the most important aspects of gardening, with a focus on organic techniques and providing habitats for local wildlife. With photos taken from his garden, this edition reflects Monty's latest approach to gardening.
CONTAINER GARDENING
A Year Full of Pots
by Sarah Raven
Raven offers expert advice on choosing containers, compost, and plants, as well as essential techniques like planting and watering. With stunning photography and seasonal planting plans, this book is a must-have for gardeners.
Modern Container Gardening: How to Create a Stylish Small-Space Garden Anywhere
by Isabelle Palmer
Palmer provides advice on selecting containers, soil, and plants, along with creative planting ideas. This book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to create a beautiful and functional garden in a limited outdoor area.
Containers in the Garden
by Claus Dalby
With practical advice and creative ideas, Dalby covers all aspects of container gardening, from choosing containers and plants to creating stunning displays that thrive throughout the seasons.
BULBS
Tulips: Beautiful Varieties for Home and Garden
by Jane Eastoe
With over 3,000 variations, Tulips offer diverse textures suitable for any setting. "Tulips" presents over 50 stunning varieties, detailing bloom times, size, and appearance, with engaging commentary, easy-to-follow advice, and glorious photography.
The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Bulbs: The art and science to grow your own bulbs
by Richard Wilford and Kew Gardens
The new guide offers 12 inspiring projects and detailed information on 66 important species, complemented by Kew's botanical illustrations. It covers popular flowering times and presents bulbs for interest year-round.
Daffodil: The remarkable story of the world's most popular spring flower
by Noel Kingsbury
"Daffodil" explores the global fascination with this iconic flower, tracing its history from the tombs of the Pharaohs to today's explosion of varieties. With over 25,000 cultivars, the book offers engaging narratives, plant portraits, and revealing photography.
GARDEN TASKS & LOW-MAINTENANCE GARDENING
The New Low-Maintenance Garden: How to Have a Beautiful and Productive Garden and the Time to Enjoy It
by Valerie Easton
Learn to design with maintenance in mind, simplify routines, work with nature, and incorporate home-grown produce. This book shows real gardens that embody these techniques, helping you enjoy your garden without guilt.
A Year in the Garden: Annual Planner and Journal
by Nina Montenegro and Sonya Montenegro
A planner designed for vegetable gardeners and plant enthusiasts to track their gardening progress throughout the year. It includes blank monthly calendars, weekly planners, productivity tools, high-quality paper with a dot-grid, a ribbon marker, lay-flat binding, and an elastic closure.
Pacific Northwest Month-by-Month Gardening
by Christina Pfeiffer & Mary Robson
This comprehensive guide offers essential tips and step-by-step instructions for successful gardening in the region. Featuring stunning photography and up-to-date information, this book covers everything from annuals and perennials to trees, groundcover, shrubs, and lawns.