15 Editor-Approved Garden Books You Need in Your Collection

From fences made with dried ocotillo in the Southwestern desert to the foggy fern-filled gullies of the Pacific Northwest, some of the most diverse and interesting landscapes found around the West are highlighted in this stunning book. This is an incredible source of inspiration for those who want nature to be the driving force for their backyard design.

This is for those looking to master the layering of color, structure, and texture in a low-water, yet plant-filled garden. It’s filled with gorgeous photos paired with a comprehensive plant directory that will convince you that drought-tolerant can also be dazzling.

Understanding your individual climate is the first step before selecting the right plants for your garden. This book covers both native and climate-adapted plants for the summer-dry, winter-wet climates of North America’s Pacific Coast with an emphasis on regional biodiversity and embracing the wild.

If you’re meadow-curious, this book takes a more naturalistic design approach with a practical focus on growing and implementing wildflowers. Gorgeous examples teach you how to incorporate wildflowers into existing landscapes and meadow-style plantings along with 15 step-by-step projects and an essential plant list.

If you can find a copy of this, grab it! Not just for Californians, this book is packed with inspiration for anyone looking to lose the lawn with a focus on adding a diverse combination of plants. From greenswards and meadows to succulent and kitchen gardens, this is your go-to for lawn alternatives.

Ecological designer and author Félix de Rosen shows us how commonly overlooked structural design choices can change the way we rest and play outdoors. From fences to garden borders, this book helps us understand purpose, function, and how we can bend the rules to create a place where we can engage with care, reciprocity, and creativity.

I’ve read many flower books, but Jac has taken special care cataloging an incredibly impressive number of flowers for this tome. Not only is it packed with tips on how to care for and grow each bloom, but it also includes companion-planting suggestions plus inspiration on how to implement pairings in different styles of gardens. This is a new modern garden staple.

Take the guesswork out of growing your own fruit. Whether you are interested in micro-orchards or a singular statement tree, this book guides you from planting to pruning and all the care tips between. More than just a gardening manual, it’s designed to help you understand the why behind the how, allowing you to easily apply techniques and grow healthy bountiful trees.

Attention patio potters and balcony gardeners, this book is for you! From the best kinds of plants and fruit trees to select to the types of pots to place them in—this book also provides visual inspiration on how to group together different types of containers for stunning statements no matter your square footage.

Whether you’re looking to start a garden from scratch or reimagine your current raised bed layout, this book beautifully takes you through the steps of selecting the perfect site and materials to easily build your dream garden. This book proves that beauty and bounty can be achieved in a garden of any size.

Paying close attention throughout a plant’s full life cycle is a beautiful way to closely connect with nature. Seed saving has become an enjoyable ritual for me, a celebration of a successful growing season and hope for the harvests ahead. Written for the home gardener and the more seasoned horticulturist alike, this book covers crop selection, pollination, roguing, and the processes of harvesting and storing seeds, honoring traditions, and encouraging a joy for understanding of the art and science of seed saving.

From enhancing your kitchen culinary selection to tapping into the medicinal wonders of plants, this book is for anyone wanting to step up their herb game. Learn to propagate, harvest, cook, and wildcraft. This is the one-stop shop for learning everything herbalism.

Covering 18 distinctive projects set across urban, suburban, and rural spaces, this book explores how thoughtful design and awareness of local ecology can make gardens both beautiful and sustainable. While not Western-focused, the ideas and inspiration can be implemented in any garden with an emphasis on land restoration, conservation, and rewilding.

An unofficial handbook of sustainable practices during my time in horticulture school, this book introduces the principles of permaculture in an easy bite-sized manner. Filled with project inspiration ranging from digging bio swales into slopes for water capturing to building an herb spiral for maximum harvest in a small space, this book encourages you to create a more diverse, natural, and productive garden that rewards you in beauty and self-sufficiency.

An invitation to welcome nature back into our neighborhoods and cities, focusing on a hybrid of both the wild and the cultivated and how they can flourish together. It’s both a post-wild manifesto and practical guide on how to incorporate and layer plants into plant communities that thrive within our more urbanized environments.