With proven benefits to both physical and mental wellbeing, there’s never been a better time to start gardening. Whether your growing space is a windowsill or a sprawling plot, our edit of 2020’s best gardening books might just help to inspire you…
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Like the idea of growing, but don’t know where to start? Gardener Charlie Hart’s enthusiastic have-a-go approach is infectious and this handbook is all about building confidence and taking away the fear of getting it wrong. Featuring digestible lists of what seeds to plant where, pruning guides, advice on coping with tricky spots, essential pieces of kit and Charlie’s favourite vegetables to grow and eat, this book is perfect for beginners – whatever the size of your plot.
No Fear Gardening: How To Think Like A Gardener by Charlie Hart
This engaging handbook by award-winning gardener and author Mark Diacono is designed to help any budding gardener – no matter the size of your outside space – to grow your own edible garden. Packed with sowing and growing tips, potential problems, information on harvesting and more, the book promotes the idea that you should choose to grow what suits your lifestyle.
Grow & Cook: The Ultimate Kitchen Garden Guide by Mark Diacono
A charming mixture of memoir and botanical history, this book by the Telegraph’s gardening columnist explores the joy that greenery can bring to your life. When Alice Vincent finds herself uprooted, heartbroken and living out of a suitcase in a tiny London flat she starts to plant seeds. She nurtures pot plants and vines on windowsills and draining boards and, as she fills her new space with green, she finds her feet and starts to heal.
Whether you’re starting out or are an experienced grower, this guide by the Head Gardener at East Donyland Hall in Essex contains brilliantly simple instructions. With photos and practical instructions, discover how to plan your space, explore different planting themes and maximise your harvest. The book also features galleries of unusual, exotic, or heirloom options for the most popular crops.
Renowned city garden designer Isabelle Palmer shows how we can make the most of every space. This book features 28 stylish projects with a mix of small gardens, singular containers and window boxes, all of which are easy to manage. Chapters include the basics, how to make a garden in a day, weekend projects, one-pot wonders, window boxes and finishing touches.
Modern Container Gardening: How To Create A Stylish Small-Space Garden Anywhere by Isabelle Palmer
If you aren’t blessed with a sizeable fruit and vegetable patch, then this book on growing in pots may just be for you. Written by the acclaimed gardener at the beautiful Great Dixter house and gardens in East Sussex, this book is packed with advice on what to grow, which pots to use, the varieties to choose, as well as cultivation and care.
Grow Fruit & Vegetables in Pots: Planting Advice & Recipes From Great Dixter by Aaron Bertelsen
Garden writer Laetitia Maklouf is a busy mother of three who has realised that the secret of gardening without becoming overwhelmed is to do something small every day. This book is filled with ideas for activities such as sprucing, chopping, nurturing or tackling a larger project, that can all be managed in five-minute bursts. Before you know it, you will have a beautiful plot and a regular gardening habit.
The Five Minute Garden: How To Garden In Next To No Time by Laetitia Maklouf
Learn how to create a garden that will help boost local biodiversity and mitigate the effects of climate change with this book by Jim and Joel Ashton, aka The Butterfly Brothers. You don’t need specialist knowledge or a large plot to join the rewilding movement and share your outside space with nature. Transform a paved yard into a lush oasis, dig a pond or plant a native hedge; this book is filled with tips and ideas.
Wild Your Garden: Create A Sanctuary For Nature by The Butterfly Brothers
This beautifully written book draws on author Sue Stuart-Smith’s experience as both a psychotherapist and a gardener. With a mix of science, insight and anecdote, it tells the illuminating stories of people struggling with stress, depression, trauma and addiction and the restorative powers of nature. More than a gardening book, this is a moving account of how our wellbeing can be profoundly affected through gardening and the natural world.
The Well Gardened Mind: Rediscovering Nature In The Modern World by Sue Stuart-Smith
Acclaimed gardener and television presenter Carol Klein has collaborated with the Royal Horticultural Society to create this beautifully illustrated, easy-to-follow, practical beginner’s guide to growing fruit, vegetables, salads and herbs all year round. With a simple, environmentally-friendly approach, this indispensable and inspiring reference book is for beginners and experienced gardeners alike.
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Feeling inspired? Read our interview with florist Willow Crossley on the sanctuary of her garden and gardener Anya Lautenbach’s guide to growing a garden from cuttings and seeds
