The First Time Gardener by Jessica Sowards: Homesteader Jessica Sowards, the warm and energetic host of YouTube’s Roots and Refuge Farm, is the perfect teacher for new gardeners, offering not just know-how but inspiration and time-management tips for success. Jessica wants your first food-growing experience to be a positive one, and she’s prepared to go the distance to make sure tending the earth becomes your new favorite hobby. With Jessica as your guide, you’ll soon discover all the satisfactions, challenges, and great joys of growing your own food garden.
100 Plants to Feed the Birds by Laura Erickson: The growing group of bird enthusiasts who enjoy feeding and watching their feathered friends will learn how they can expand their activity and help address the pressing issue of habitat loss with 100 Plants to Feed the Birds. In-depth profiles offer planting and care guidance for 100 native plant species that provide food and shelter for birds throughout the year, from winter all the way through breeding and migrating periods.
Make Your Own Indoor Garden by Sarah Durber: This book aims to cover the most commonly asked questions by new plant owners and will help people who want to have more greenery in their lives but don’t know where to start. It will advise on the best plant for a variety of home conditions so that everyone should be able to find plants that suit their space. The innate human need to be around nature is called Biophilia, and this book will tap into that need without over complicating things, with the focus on low maintenance, good-looking greenery.
Gardening for Everyone by Julia Watkins: Growing food in your backyard (or even on a porch or windowsill!) is one of the simplest and most rewarding ways to nourish yourself, be self-sufficient, and connect with nature in a hands-on way. Here sustainability expert Julia Watkins shares everything you need to know to grow your own vegetables, fruits, and herbs (as well as wildflowers and other beneficial companion plants). The book covers all the nuts and bolts of creating and caring for your garden followed by a deeper dive into the plants themselves.
Welcome to the Jungle by Enid Offolter: If you’re bored with the same old entry-level houseplants and long for something new, up your game with Enid Offolter. Called “the Houseplant Queen” by the New York Times, Offolter and her company, NSE Tropicals, are celebrities within the rare plant community, with legions of obsessed Instagram followers and plants that sell in heated auctions for thousands of dollars. In Welcome to the Jungle, Offolter shows you how to grow and propagate some of these exceptional botanicals on your own.
The Elegant and Edible Garden by Linda Vater: Discover how to partner ornamental plants with edible ones for a garden that offers both storybook appeal and a plethora of culinary delights. Stylish and celebratory, The Elegant and Edible Garden takes food growing to a higher plane. Host of The Potager Blog, author and garden stylist Linda Vater, shares her vision for creating a garden space where food and flowers grow side by side. Known as a potager, these gardens are formal in their framework yet flexible and personal in their edible yields.
The Healthy Vegetable Garden by Sally Morgan: In The Healthy Vegetable Garden, expert organic gardener Sally Morgan explains how to use natural approaches to cope with the challenges of a changing climate through principles from regenerative gardening, agroecology, and permaculture–all to help your green space thrive. Whether you’re an experienced gardener, homesteader, or market farmer, this A-Z, soil-to-table guide shows you how to reduce chemical inputs; naturally enrich your growing ecology; and create a hardy, nutrient-dense, and delicious crop.
Grow Now by Emily Murphy: Did you know you can have a garden that’s equal parts food source and wildlife haven? In Grow Now, Emily Murphy shares easy-to-follow principles for regenerative gardening that foster biodiversity and improve soil health. She also shows how every single yard mirrors and connects to the greater ecosystem around us. Exquisitely photographed and filled with helpful lists and sidebars, Grow Now is an actionable, hopeful, and joyful roadmap for growing our way to individual climate contributions.
GrowVeg: The Beginner’s Guide to Easy Vegetable Gardening by Benedict Vanheems: For anyone who has ever wanted to tend a little piece of ground but wasn’t sure where to begin, GrowVeg offers simple recipes for gardening projects that are both attainable and beautiful. Benedict Vanheems, editor of the popular website GrowVeg.com, guides aspiring green thumbs to success from the start, no matter what size gardening space you have. Get recommendations for veggie varieties for your first edible garden, plant a miniature orchard, and grow an edible archway.