In this day of screens, podcasts, social media, and video, I still find a good gardening book to be both enjoyable and a valuable resource. Many of us garden because we want to connect with the soil and nature. That slowing down is precisely the reason gardeners love gardening books. When the rest of the world is moving fast, a cup of tea and an hour with a good book is sometimes just the thing that’s needed. 

Gardening books also serve as an easy way to gather (hopefully) reliable information. Instead of endlessly searching online, sifting through articles and blog posts, and then forgetting to “favorite” the one we needed, a gardening book is there, organized and easy to find. 

With the shopping and holiday season coming up, a few gardening books are a perfect way to finish your own holiday gift list, or to treat yourself (I call this self-Santa) to something you’ll both enjoy and find useful. Full disclosure: I own all of these books and find them both useful and joyful. They are all well-organized, well-written, and full of factual information. Check them out and add a few to your own bookshelf, or give one as a gift to a gardener in your life.

The Complete Gardener by Monty Don

ISBN: 978-0-2414-2430-8

Monty Don is an English gardener and has hosted many British gardening television shows, including Gardeners’ World. If there is a gardening celebrity, he’s it. But not without reason. This guy knows his stuff. His own gardens are a masterpiece of the intricately designed and the wild, the orderly and the unrestrained. 

While his gardens, and therefore a bit of gardening advice, are English and not stateside, the ideas, knowledge, and helpful advice all translate perfectly to the western side of the pond. Many all-in-one gardening books miss the mark, but this one is excellent. Full of pictures from his home gardens, this weighty volume is a textbook and an inspiration all at once. If you can only have one gardening book, this is it.

Teaming With Microbes by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis

ISBN: 978-1-60469-113-9

If you’ve wondered about soil, wanted to know more about the soil food web, and have a curiosity for what is going on when kitchen scraps turn into humus, this is the book. 

The book starts with the basics: what soil is and how it is formed. Ten chapters describe the role of soil organisms from bacteria to birds, before the second half of the book explains how to apply what you’ve learned to your own gardening. The book is full of amazing images taken with scanning electron microscopes, showing unbelievable complexity. If you want to see what an actual Rhizobium bacterium living on the root of a bean plant looks like, see page 129. 

The Permaculture Garden by Huw Richards

ISBN: 978-0-5939-6110-0

Even if permaculture isn’t your thing (yet), this book is still a fantastic repository of gardening knowledge and know-how. Huw is another Brit, but his easy-to-read explanations of not only how to do something, but also why, make this book worthwhile even for those who don’t intend to turn their entire yard into a permaculture oasis.

From practical garden design ideas to the use of cold frames and how to plant a fruit tree, this book will be an often-read addition to your gardening library. With diagrams, illustrations, and loads of pictures of his envy-worthy garden, it’s a must-have.

Mythic Plants by Ellen Zachos

ISBN: 978-1-5235-2439-6

This gorgeous book by Ellen Zachos delves into the ancient tales and uses of plants like mandrake (yes, the mandrake root made famous by the Harry Potter series), yarrow, and heliotrope. The ancient Greeks, and their gods, made use of these plants, included them in their rituals, art, and cooking, and the intersection is beautifully explained. 

From Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade) being named after the Fate Atropos, who determined how long everyone lived, to Hades making the mint plant smell pleasant as a remembrance of his concubine, Minthe the nymph, you’ll find fascinating ties between plants, ancient history, and modern day.

The artwork is phenomenal, and the combination of botanical knowledge, Greek mythology, and human nature is compelling, making it a fantastic read.

Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein with Julie Chai

ISBN: 978-1-4521-4576-1

Gardeners have fallen in love with anything and everything from Floret Farms, for good reason. If you or someone you know dreams of flowers, bouquets, and growing armloads of beautiful blooms, this book is perfect. With plenty of personal anecdotes from her farm, the author provides guidance on planning and getting started, seed starting, and tasks for spring, summer, fall, and winter. 

Annual and perennial flowers, shrubs, and even pumpkins are covered in detail, along with projects for using them in seasonal displays. This is the book to pop open when your colored pencils and graph paper have stalled and you need ideas, or when the snowstorm outside just won’t quit and you need a pick-me-up. But it’s also the book to grab during the growing season when you aren’t quite sure how to pinch your dahlias, or when to snag your peonies for the best vase life.

The Market Gardener by Jean-Martin Fortier

ISBN: 978-0-8657-1765-7

We don’t all aim to be organic market gardeners growing wagons of produce to sell, but this book has valuable information for all gardeners. After all, if you can grow 2000 heads of lettuce, you can grow five. 

From windbreaks to soil fertility, seedbed preparation to handling pests and diseases, this is the vegetable gardener’s reference, all written by someone who has done it for a living. You won’t find glossy color photographs, but you will find beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, planting charts, tool and resource supplier recommendations, and tons of useful information on both whole-of-garden ideas like soil improvement and growing tips for individual crops. If you or someone on your gift list has the vegetable-growing bug, this book is an excellent resource. 

100 Plants to Feed The Bees by The Xerces Society 

ISBN: 978-1-61212-701-9

Styled more like a field guide, this handy book deserves a spot next to whatever chair you sit in while planning next year’s garden. With sections on native wildflowers, native trees and shrubs, introduced trees, shrubs, herbs, ornamentals, and pasture plants, you’ll find something to fit your yard. Each plant is detailed with photographs, uses, bloom time, soil and sun needs, a map of its natural habitat, and the pollinators that most frequently visit it. 

An introductory section on pollinators, what makes a good pollinator plant, plant selection, and habitat primes you to dive into the pages, making a list of this and that to plant. 

Unlike some pollinator plant references, I like that this book includes not only native plants but also some of our most beloved non-natives, like cosmos, oregano, and mint. If you’ve wanted a handy reference to help you improve your pollinator habitat, grab this book.