- Starting your own garden can be overwhelming, so it helps to do your research and figure out what kind of garden you want to grow based on your needs, goals, and available space.
- "Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture" by Toby Hemenway is a classic and comprehensive guide to backyard gardening.
- It details an inspiring theory about creating small-scale yard eco-systems and includes easy-to-follow instructions that will make sense to both beginners and experts.
Tis the season to get outside! And gardening is a great way to get your nature on. It's therapeutic, good exercise, productive, and relaxing all at once. But what if you're a beginner and don't know where to start?
I hit the books to find the very best gardening resources in the bookstore. You'll notice that four out of five of our picks are specifically for second editions of bestselling classics. That means these powerhouse guides have been tried and tested for years, and then updated to address reader requests so you get the very best.
From my own personal favorites, to expert-recommended stand-outs, I dug through gardening texts available on Amazon, my city's library, and a few reviewer books from publishers to find the best.
Whether you're looking to design a secret flower garden in your backyard, turn your lawn into your own private vegetable farm, or just want to beautify your fire escape with a few choice potted plants, you'll find your starting point in one of our top gardening book picks.
Here are the best gardening books for 2019:
- Best overall: "Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture" by Toby Hemenway
- Best for beginners: "The Garden Primer" by Barbara Damrosch
- Best for edible gardens: "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" by Edward C. Smith
- Best for container gardens: "All New Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew
- Best for sustainable gardens: "Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening" by Fern Marshall Bradley
Updated on 05/30/2019 By Malarie Gokey: Updated prices and formatting. Added links to related gardening buying guides.
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