I am an avid reader, and dozens of gardening books line my bookshelves. Below are some of my favorites, and many are available as audiobooks.
Click on the title to purchase from Amazon.*
Around the World in 80 Plants
Jonathan Drori
A trip across the globe, bringing to life the science of plants by revealing how their worlds are intricately entwined with our own history, culture and folklore.
The Roots of My Obsession
Thomas Cooper, editor
Thirty essays from the most vital voices in gardening, exploring the myriad motives that cause a person to become a gardener.
Gardening for a Lifetime:
How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older
Sydney Edison
A practical and encouraging roadmap for scaling back the garden while keeping up with the activities that each gardener loves most.
The Art of Gardening: Design Inspiration and Innovative Planting Techniques from Chanticleer
R. William Thomas
Garden inspiration from Chanticleer, one of the most romantic and imaginative gardens in America
Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Classic Children's Tales
Marta McDowell
See how Beatrix Potter's passion for plants and gardening came to be reflected in her work.
Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, Updated and Expanded
Doug Tallamy
How to sustain wildlife with native plants
The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks
Amy Stewart
Discover the surprising botanical history and fascinating science and chemistry of over 150 plants, flowers, trees, and fruits (and even a few fungi).
Tropical Plants and How to Love Them: Building a Relationship with Heat-Loving Plants When You Don't Live In The Tropics
Marianne Willburn
Marianne introduces you to an impressive array of outstanding tropical plants by providing care instructions, easy tips for seeing these tropical beauties safely through the winter, and advice for designing a tropical paradise of your own.
The Heirloom Gardener: Traditional Plants and Skills for the Modern World
John Forti
John Forti celebrates gardening as a craft and shares the lore and traditional practices that link us with our environment and with each other.
Colour Your Garden: Exciting Mixtures of Bulbs and Perennials
Jacquieline van der Kloet
A guide to using bulbs for best effect in the garden by an international expert.
The Brother Gardeners: A Generation of Gentlemen Naturalists and the Birth of an Obsession
Andrea Wulf
The adventure and science of 18th century plant collecting, and the story of six men that created a garden revolution.
Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation
Andrea Wulf
For the Founding Fathers, gardening, agriculture, and botany were elemental passions: a conjoined interest as deeply ingrained in their characters as the battle for liberty and a belief in the greatness of their new nation.
The Layered Garden:
Design Lessons for Year-Round Beauty from Brandywine Cottage
David Culp
Lessons on how to create and maintain a layered garden that will provide interest in all season's from Brandywine Cottage.
Backyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat
Ellen Zachos
Discover 65 edible weeds, flowers, mushrooms and ornamentals commonly found in suburban gardens.
Heroes of Horticulture: Americans Who Transformed the Landscape
Barbara Paul Robinson
American garden creators and plant hunters who transformed the landscape
An Island Garden
Celia Thaxter
American author and poet Celia Thaxter takes you on an adventure through her gardening experiences on the island of Appledore, sharing her indispensable advice on how to grow the perfect flower.
Orchid Modern: Living and Designing with the World’s Most Elegant Houseplants
Marc Hachadourian
The curator of the orchid collection at the New York Botanical Garden shares his secrets to successfully growing these sometimes finicky houseplants.
A Beautiful Obsession: Jimi Blake's World of Plants at Hunting Brook Gardens
Jimi Blake & Noel Kingsbury
An exploration of Hunting Brook Gardens, where exotic plants create a unique fusion of funky foliage, perennial, and woodland styles to make a flamboyant, surprising, experimental garden that is overflowing with ideas for enthusiastic gardeners.
Success with Hydrangeas:
A Gardener’s Guide
Lorraine Ballato
A great guide to growing hydrangeas from a Connecticut gardener.
Roses Without Chemicals
Peter E. Kukielski
A guide to 150 varieties that will change the way you grow roses.
Fruit Trees in Small Spaces: Abundant Harvests from Your Own Backyard
Colby Eierman
Colby Eierman, garden designer and fruit expert, shows how trees can easily be tucked into the tiniest spots and still yield a bumper crop of gorgeous fruit.
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate
Peter Wohlleben
Groundbreaking discoveries show that the forest is a social network where trees communicate and care for each other.
The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: The Essential Guide to Planting and Pruning Techniques
Tracy DiSabato-Aust
The most thorough guide to perennials, from their growth habit to maintenance, propagation and use in garden design.
Groundcover Revolution: How to use sustainable, low-maintenance, low-water groundcovers to replace your turf
Kathy Jentz
Enhance your landscape with a vibrant palette of low-maintenance herbs, perennials and mosses that serve as ground covers.
The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession
Susan Orlean
A wickedly funny, elegant and captivating tale of one man's obsession with orchids.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan
Tim Smit
A fascinating account of the restoration of this Cornwall garden.
Butterfly Gardening: The North American Butterfly Association Guide
Jane Hurwitz
Essential information on how to choose and cultivate plants that will attract a range of butterflies to your garden and help sustain all the stages of their life cycles.
The Wild Trees:
A Story of Passion and Daring
Richard Preston
The spellbinding story of a tiny group of daring botanists and amateur naturalists that found a new world high in the canopies of California redwoods.
Fallscaping: Extending Your Garden Season into Autumn
Nancy J. Ondra & Stephanie Cohen
Design ideas, plant recommendations, garden plans and inspiring photos to help you create a beautiful garden for autumn.
For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History
Sarah Rose
Robert Fortune was a gardener, plant hunter and botanist, and became an industrial spy when he was hired to steal China's guarded secrets of tea.
The Unexpected Houseplant: 220 Extraordinary Choices for Every Spot in Your Home
Tovah Martin
Unusual plant selections for the indoors, with loads of visual inspiration and great advice on growing these plants.
Rosemary Verey's Making of a Garden
Rosemary Verey
One of the world's foremost experts on gardening offers her first comprehensive manual of gardening skills and design, the culmination of thirty years of experience, including an illustrated tour of her own garden.
Du Pont Gardens of the Brandywine Valley
Larry Lederman et al.
Renowned as the first family of American horticulture, the du Ponts created magnificent landscapes and gardens that complement the verdant, rolling lands of the Brandywine Valley.
*Disclaimer: Links from the books are to an Amazon affiliate account, where I earn a commission if you shop.
