Gardening books
Our pick of the latest gardening books
Best Mother's Day garden gifts to make her feel special
Still looking for the perfect Mother's Day garden gift? We've compiled a list of excellent gardening presents for Mother's Day 2025.
Dr James Compton: ‘I am fundamentally lazy and put off gardening chores’
Our resident botanist Dr James Compton talks about his new collaboration with Hans Walter Lack and Martin Callmander
A World of Sweet Peas: A new book on the history of this remarkable plant
A new book on one of the UK’s favourite flowers is filled with beautiful photography, but is more than a coffee-table tome, says cut-flower grower Georgie Newbery
There are plants that make wasps drunk – discover 10 facts about wildflowers that will surprise you
Author and botanist Chris Thorogood picks ten wildflowers that have a remarkable relationship with their pollinators and other plants from his new expert book on wildflowers
Gardening mistakes: gardening celebrities reveal their worst gardening failures
Feel like you're always making mistakes in the garden? You're not alone. We asked gardening experts about their gardening failures
Win the top 14 gardening books of the year
Scandal, stories and innuendo that make English landscape gardens more interesting than you ever imagined
Is there anything new we can learn from Tim
Richardson’s guided tour of some quintessentially English (and one Welsh) landscape gardens, asks Stephen Parker
The best gardening books in 2024: leaf through these highly-rated reads
Discover the best gardening books to read in 2024, recommended by a range of horticultural experts for Gardens Illustrated
The best gardening gifts: top gift ideas for gardeners in 2025
Here's our selection of fantastic gardening gifts in 2025, tailor-made to suit the gardener in your life.
‘I didn’t harvest a single carrot. That was a sharp lesson’: Charles Dowding on his no-dig journey and how to compost well
No-dig expert, market gardener and author Charles Dowding talks about his new book, the books he reads, and what he’s up to next
What is a 'lost' garden? Discover remarkable stories of lost gardens of London and the world in two new books
Two new books approach the topic of ‘lost’ gardens’ in different ways – both of them beautifully illustrated and both scoring a success, says Tim Richardson
Monty Don: 'We underestimate in this country how privileged we are in terms of climate, soil and general horticulture conditions'
Gardener, television presenter and author Monty Don talks about his new book, how he fell into writing and TV presenting and why UK gardeners are 'billionaires'
TV gardener Carol Klein on her life to date and what comes next
Gardener, television presenter and author Carol Klein talks about her new book, the books she loves, her current challenges and what she’s up to next
Take a tour of the world’s top botanical gardens and discover the important work that they do
This superb tour of the world’s botanical gardens highlights their vital role in saving the planet’s flora, says Claire Masset
Jamaica Kincaid on her love of gardens: ‘When I’m writing, I’m thinking of gardening’
Jamaica Kincaid, the novelist, essayist, teacher, garden writer and gardener, talks about exploring the colonial history of plants
Richard Mabey's new book is filled with musings on his first garden to call his own and his remarkable life with plants
Part memoir, part rumination on the relationship
between humans and the natural world, this new book
from Richard Mabey is a delight, says Alys Fowler
What to read on holiday: 10 perfect fiction books for gardeners and garden lovers
Alice Vincent picks out ten fiction books that gardeners will love to read on holiday and beyond
Feeling climate anxiety? This book may be the antidote to feeling stressed about what can be done
This call to action – for gardeners and communities – to do more for wildlife is just the tonic for anyone feeling overwhelmed by the climate crisis, says Cleve West
Discover Richard Sudell, a lost design hero of 20th century British suburbia
Richard Sudell is a lost design hero of the 20th century, according to a new book from Michael Gilson. Reviewer Tim Richardson explains
‘No one ever said gardening was a job option’ - Frances Tophill on finding her way
The TV presenter, gardener and writer Frances Tophill talks about her new book documenting the first growing year in her own small garden
The best floristry books to read in 2024
Our reviewers give their verdict on floristry books, giving advice on growing flowers for cutting and arranging.
Rachel de Thame: ‘I’ve still not cracked the common pitfall of sowing too much’
Gardener, writer and TV presenter Rachel de Thame talks about her new book and the books on her shelves, how to attract wildlife to our gardens, and how her gardening style has evolved
Manoj Malde: "My guilty gardening secret? Not composting"
In his new book, Your Outdoor Room, designer and TV presenter Manoj Malde aims to equip us all with the tools we need to design a garden that truly meets our needs
Top ten books about plants you need to have on your shelves
Looking for the best books about plants from essays, to plant identification and inspiration? Head gardener at Hepworth Wakefield Katy Merrington rounds up ten of the top books to invest in