Top 10 Garden Books of 2018

Here is a list of the best gardening books that came out in 2018 as reviewed in Washington Gardener Magazine. These 10 selections are in no particular order. 

Buy a few of these for yourself and for the plant geeks, garden lovers, and horticultural nerds in your life! (Note that if you click on the links, it takes you to the book's Amazon page and we get a few pennies if you order it from there.)

1. Starting and Saving Seeds: Grow the Perfect Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Flowers For Your Garden  

By Julie Thompson-Adolf

Our reviewer Ashley O’Connor said, "This is a great beginner’s guide, full of visual guides and informational blurbs to have anyone gardening like a master. Thompson-Adolf covers a lot of ground in this book, telling readers everything from biological breakdown of a seed to planning your garden. The book’s photographs and layout are beautiful, full of colorful dotted borders, modern outlined plant illustrations, and thoughtful typography. But make no mistake; the author doesn’t glamorize gardening to her readers. It’s a dirty, disordered labor of love, but, when done right, can be a fulfilling and delicious venture."

2. Houseplants: The Complete Guide to Choosing, Growing, and Caring for Indoor Plants

By Lisa Eldred Steinkopf

Our reviewer Andrea F. Siegel said, "This book does more than try to rescue us from being bad or ignorant plant parents who overwater, underwater, improperly fertilize, watch creeping things suck the life out of leaves, scorch shade-lovers in bright sun, and wring our hands as a small plant overgrows into a jungle. It’s a how-to resource book. The author clearly tells us that we have to meet our houseplants’ needs if they are to thrive. She advises us on how to do just that, so we can reap the health and other benefits of having houseplants. Her book offers guidance for all houseplant lovers, down to the horticulturally challenged or first-timer houseplant owners. The details the author presents in each plant profile—size and growing conditions—provide vital guidance. She advises readers to understand a plant’s complete profile to help create successful matches between us and our indoor plants. She’s encouraging all of us to include houseplants in our homes—to enhance not only our décor, but in our lives."

3. Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness—The Japanese Art and Science of Shinrin-Yoku 

By Dr. Qing Li

Our reviewer Racquel Royer said, "This book about forest bathing or “Shinrin-Yoku” explains the benefits of forest bathing, our human connection to trees—specifically in Japanese culture, and a look into the science behind it all. Overall, this book was a great read and the layout made it easy to take in small chunks at a time. I’ve always understood the profound power of nature, but this book gave an engaging cultural perspective on the importance of nature and scientific proof of how it can better your life. There is not too much talk about gardening, but there are many reminders of why nature is divine, and how we can be mindful of that to improve our health and the future."

4. Practical Organic Gardening: The No-Nonsense Guide to Growing Naturally

By Mark Highland

Our reviewer Erica H. Smith said, "Highland’s book is a good overview of the principles and practices of this complicated system, covering everything from the all-important soil preparation to dealing with pests and diseases naturally. Unlike many other organic gardening texts, it doesn’t remain inside the vegetable garden fence, but also strolls across the lawn and down the landscape paths, although edible plants still dominate the discussion. I’d recommend this book for experienced gardeners who want to take up organic gardening or improve their techniques.  This book is refreshingly up-to-date on scientific information. I cheered at the mention of how adding gravel to the bottom of containers doesn’t improve drainage and, in fact, creates a perched water table that stops the soil from draining properly. There are many other examples that show how closely Highland is following horticultural findings. The sections covering soil composition and conservation, keeping the garden watered, and interacting with both pest and beneficial insects are all terrific. The book also covers plant propagation, garden planning, lawn maintenance, and many other topics."

5. Success with Hydrangeas: A Gardener’s Guide

By Lorraine Ballato



Our reviewer Andrea F. Siegel said, "What with the ongoing development of new hydrangea cultivars—smaller shrubs, reblooming plants, hardier plants, showier blooms, and foliage—these days, there’s a lot more to know about them. Among the hydrangea books out recently is this one by horticulturist/garden writer/instructor Lorraine Ballato. Hers is a highly organized 13-chapter book to help you make sense of the increasing choices and understand what the plants need to thrive. The book’s easygoing style makes all the material understandable. The nearly 150 color photos are helpful because they show hydrangeas up close, as well as in varied settings. A lot of explanation is devoted to pruning. Whether your plant blooms on old wood, new wood, or both plays a large role in what and when to prune to have flowers at all. That’s one good reason to understand as much as possible about the characteristics of your particular hydrangea."

6. Vegetables Love Flowers: Companion Planting for Beauty and Bounty

By Lisa Mason Ziegler

Our reviewer Jamie Moore said, "Lisa Mason Ziegler had minimal gardening experience when she got married and took over growing vegetables on the family homestead. This book shares the story of her gardening journey and presents her answer to the question of 'What business do pretty flowers have in a vegetable garden?' Flowers in a vegetable garden are both ornamental and functional.  Ziegler calls flowers 'the best dose of medicine' for her garden. The body of the book provides practical information about growing cut flowers, from seed sowing to harvesting advice. This book is well-written, includes effective illustrations, and contains a lot of practical advice. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in building a healthy garden ecosystem full of life and beauty."

7. Container Gardening Complete: Creative Projects for Growing Vegetables and Flowers In Small Spaces 

By Jessica Walliser

Our reviewer Teri Speight said, "This is not your basic how-to book. The author strives to demonstrate not just techniques, but multiple planter options as well—from building a cedar planter to creating hypertufa containers. Walliser points out that one of the main keys to successful containers is using the proper light, fluffy, and blended mixture of ingredients. Providing multiple recipes for creating your own special container soil blend is a plus. Most gardeners will want to know the content of the soil that we are growing our plants in. With the many reference lists, plant recommendations, and tips, Walliser has written a resource-filled and informative book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it empowers any gardener to consider creatively growing in a container or two."

8. 101 Organic Gardening Hacks

By Shawna Coronado

Our reviewer Erica H. Smith said, "If you’re looking for a whimsical, colorful book full of inspiration to make your garden more interesting and successful, check out this new volume from 'lifestyle advocate' Shawna Coronado. Throughout the book, she tries hard to follow current scientific guidelines, along with finding ways to make gardening easier, more fun, and completely organic and eco-friendly. Coronado defines hacking as 'the concept of breaking traditional rules to discover a creative way to accomplish something—a clever trick that saves cash for the thrifty or solves a problem elegantly.' Even if the title is just trendy marketing, beginning and experienced gardeners can find new and/or useful ideas here about both edible and ornamental gardening. How do you want to improve your garden this year? This is a great book to browse through for some ideas."

9. The Budget-Wise Gardener 

By Kerry Ann Mendez

Our reviewer Allison O’Reilly said, "This is a short, but sweet, guide to creating a beautiful outdoor space with as little cash as possible. Mendez uses dynamic formatting and colorful, eye-catching pictures that make her writing easy to follow and informative. Mendez explains how to wisely navigate garden centers and nurseries, mail order companies, and other small plant sellers like farmers’ markets and garden shows. She dives into how smart design choices in your garden can provide ease on the wallet, and how to make container gardening a frugal process. The bulk of this book is valuable advice about saving money while keeping up your gardening hobby. It is full of useful information about a variety of topics—all curated into one place, written out plainly and in strong detail. This book offers great takeaways for gardeners of all skill levels and passions."

10. Essential Native Trees and Shrubs

By Ginger Woolridge and Tony Dove

Our reviewer Jim Dronenburg said, "I admit at the start to a prejudice in favor of this book because the authors are local, which means that the 'personal experience' component of this book is local. Each plant has a short description of the plant and its major uses. Some, not all, cultivars are listed (holly has, at a guess, hundreds; this book lists a dozen). Nevertheless, the selections are carefully chosen for a good spread of size, berry color, and attributes. The book points out that hollies are for the most part dioecious (that is, they are male or female) and lists a good pollinating male. (Other dioecious plants in the book are also identified in their sections.  There is one caveat, which the book itself makes; a native will not prosper where people have altered conditions grimly from what they should be. Research the plant, and if your conditions fit what it wants, go for it.  Otherwise, don’t plant something until you can suit it. Overall, this is a very good book to have, a good read. It belongs in your collection."