![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/best-gardening-books.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nOne thing I’ve learned over my many years of gardening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter how long you’ve been doing it, there’s always something more to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like most people, I often search the internet to find answers to my questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But sometimes it can be hard to find what you’re looking for. And the information isn’t always correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which is why I also have a large collection of gardening books from reputable sources that I trust. They’re still a great educational tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I thought I would share some of my favorites in case you’re wondering which ones are the best. (And yes, I do actually own all of these \ud83d\ude42 )<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These days, I like to buy the Kindle version of the books because you can search through the text to find all mentions of a particular plant or idea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not to mention I have no room in my house to store more books. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And they’re usually less expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only exception on this list is the last one (Square Foot Gardening). The kindle version is poorly formatted which makes it almost impossible to read, so I had to return it and get the printed version instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
My Favorites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For people who just want “the answers”, here’s the list. For everyone else, scroll down to find out more about each book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Best for beginners:<\/strong> Rodale’s Basic Organic Gardening<\/a>* If you are new to gardening, then this is the book for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rodale’s Basic Organic Gardening<\/strong> contains everything a beginner needs to know to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rodale is one of the leading publishers on organic gardening. And I believe if you’re just starting out, you may as well go organic right from the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This book walks you through all the basics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy it here<\/a>.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you prefer a book that you look things up in (rather than reading something from cover to cover), Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening<\/strong> is a great option that can be used by both beginners and experienced gardeners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It contains an alphabetical listing of everything gardening – trees, shrubs, perennials, fruits and vegetables as well as gardening concepts (such as Animal pests, Annuals, Asian Vegetables, etc.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In all cases, there is a thorough description of the term, concept or plant along with other important information such as problems, pruning, planting, harvesting, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since it is from Rodale, it is an organic gardening book, but it is a great reference even if you’re not specifically looking for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy it here<\/a>.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you you want to learn more about creating and maintaining a flower garden, The Flower Gardener’s Bible<\/strong> is a great resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It starts with an in depth description of everything you need to know to grow annuals and perennials – soil, planting, transplanting, pests, growing from seeds, dividing, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then there is large section that describes different garden styles (eg. cottage garden, rock garden, wildflower garden, etc.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each garden style includes pictures, tips on how to make it work, a design plan with specific plants to create the garden and a list of other plants that suit the style. This is really helpful if you want to start a new perennial garden and aren’t sure where to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, there is an alphabetical list of about 400 annuals and perennials with the basic plant information (such as zones, bloom time, etc.), a picture and a description. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These individual plant listings also include companion plants and suggestions for the best varieties, which is useful when you are trying to narrow down the choices for a flower garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy it here<\/a>.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you already have a perennial garden and need some help knowing how to maintain it, The Well Tended Perennial Garden<\/strong> is what you are looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has a section on planting and growing perennials, but the reason I like this book is for the pruning information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has a large section on pruning, deadheading and pinching back perennials in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then it includes a plant encyclopedia of a few hundred perennials, with in-depth pruning tips for each plant, in addition to standard growing instructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are also lists of perennials by maintenance needs, such as “perennials that will bloom again after deadheading”, “perennials that require division every 2 to 3 years”, “perennials that grow in wet soil”, etc. Which makes it easy to find plants for your garden conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy it here<\/a>.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n For experienced gardeners who just want to find plants to put in a specific location, the Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers<\/strong> is my go-to book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has three sections – the plant selector, the plant catalog and the plant dictionary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I like to use the plant selector and plant catalog sections to find the plants I want to use. Then look them up in the plant dictionary to get a little more information about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are not gardening in North America, the zones listed are based on the American system. However, they give a description of each zone at the beginning of the book so you should be able to figure out which one most closely matches your location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Organic Gardener’s Handbook Of Natural Pest And Disease Control<\/strong> is a great reference for looking up all kinds of plant pests and diseases, and how to treat them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The book is broken up into a number of sections that help you find what you’re looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is another Rodale book, so it is geared toward organic gardening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But they do include some chemical controls as “last chance” options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These are always clearly marked as such, with a description of the harm they could cause. So if your garden is all-organic, you can avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy it here<\/a>.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I’m looking for some planter inspiration, the Container Gardens<\/strong> book is my favorite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It covers the basics (such as planting, drainage, watering, and maintaining containers) but the main focus is on designing them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are tips on how to create showstopping plant combinations, plants to use for different looks (eg. “A few green orbs”), and lots of inspiring pictures, many of which have plant recipes so you can duplicate them easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With sections on hanging plants, using edibles in containers, and indoor containers as well as the standard pots and window boxes, there are a wide variety of options to choose from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy it here<\/a>.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, I couldn’t stop at just one for this category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are into putting lots of containers in your garden and having all-year interest, then you might want to check out A Year Full Of Pots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It provides some tried and tested rules for choosing plants for your pots as well as varieties that do well together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And they have the most beautiful bulb containers that I have ever seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy it here<\/a>.* <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Encyclopedia of Landscape Design<\/strong> is just what it says, everything you need to plan an outdoor space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It goes through the steps of how to design garden, common garden styles, structures, furniture and accessories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It includes examples of garden designs, tutorials for building structures, instructions for planting the garden, and even some suggestions for plants based on size and type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So it’s a great all-round reference if you are designing your own garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the reason I like it so much is because of the pictures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are tons of them. So even if you aren’t designing a whole garden, it’s a great way to get ideas to add to your yard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Which also makes it a great coffee table book if you get the hard cover version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy it here<\/a>.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re interested in growing produce in your garden, The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible<\/strong> is all about using raised bed to grow vegetables and get the most out of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This book covers everything you need to know about raised bed gardening (most of which also works if you aren’t using raised beds):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plus a few things I wasn’t expecting. Like how build an unheated greenhouse and grow lettuce in it in the winter!<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end, there’s an alphabetical plant encyclopedia of many vegetables and herbs along with sowing times, growing conditions, and best varieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy it here<\/a>.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you like the idea of growing vegetables in your garden, but don’t have a lot of space, then the All New Square Foot Gardening<\/strong> book is for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Square foot gardening is something I want to try, since I like growing vegetables but don’t want to give up much of my flower garden to do it \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n This book tells you everything you need to know about growing herbs and vegetables in a small area:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note<\/strong>: Don’t get the Kindle version of this book, it has a lot of display issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy it here<\/a>.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, that’s it for my list of the best gardening books. Hopefully, you’ve found a few that are helpful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you an avid green-thumb looking for the best gardening books out there? Whether you are a novice gardener or an old pro, we’ve got the perfect selection of titles for you. From tried-and-true tips to innovative techniques and modern ideas, these must-have picks will get your gardening juices flowing. One thing I’ve learned over…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34,5221],"tags":[5145],"class_list":["post-43329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gardening-tips","category-resources","tag-affiliate"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":34,"label":"Gardening Tips"},{"value":5221,"label":"Resources"}],"post_tag":[{"value":5145,"label":"affiliate"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/best-gardening-books-2-720x720.jpg",720,720,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Wanda Simone","author_link":"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/about-us\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":34,"name":"Gardening Tips","slug":"gardening-tips","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":34,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":36,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":34,"category_count":36,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Gardening Tips","category_nicename":"gardening-tips","category_parent":0},{"term_id":5221,"name":"Resources","slug":"resources","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5226,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":5221,"category_count":4,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Resources","category_nicename":"resources","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":5145,"name":"affiliate","slug":"affiliate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5150,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":153,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43329"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49051,"href":"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43329\/revisions\/49051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Best reference book:<\/strong> Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening<\/a>*
Best for creating a flower garden:<\/strong> The Flower Gardener’s Bible<\/a>*
Best for perennial pruning:<\/strong> The Well-Tended Perennial Garden<\/a>*
Best for selecting plants:<\/strong> Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers<\/a>*
Best for diagnosing & solving problems:<\/strong> The Organic Gardener’s Handbook Of Natural Pest And Disease Control<\/a>*
Best for container gardening:<\/strong> Container Gardens: Over 200 Fresh Ideas For Indoor and Outdoor Inspired Plantings<\/a>* or if you’re interested in year-round containers (including lots with bulbs): A Year Full Of Pots<\/a>*
Best for garden design planning<\/strong>: Encyclopedia of Landscape Design<\/a>*
Best for vegetable gardening in raised beds:<\/strong> The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible<\/a>*
Best for square foot gardening:<\/strong> All New Square Foot Gardening<\/a>*<\/p>\n\n\n\nBest Gardening book for beginners<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/basic-organic-gardening-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Best gardening reference book<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/ultimate-encyclopedia-of-organic-gardening-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBest for creating a flower Garden<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/the-flower-gardeners-bible-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBest For Perennial Pruning<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/the-well-tended-perennial-garden-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBest for selecting plants For Different Conditions<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/encyclopedia-of-plants-and-flowers-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Best book for diagnosing & Solving plant problems<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/natural-pest-and-disease-control-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Best container gardening book<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/container-gardens-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/A-Year-Full-Of-Pots.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBest For Garden Design<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/encyclopedia-of-landscape-design.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBest For vegetable gardening In Raised Beds<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/the-vegetable-gardeners-bible-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Best for square Foot Gardening<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.fromhousetohome.com\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/all-new-square-foot-gardening-1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Other gardening ideas you might like<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Have suggestions for other good gardening books? Tell us in the section below.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"