The other day, I bought a copy of The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them, edited by Roxanne J. Coady & Joy Johannessen.
Of course, my thoughts turned to gardening, and gardening books in particular. Which gardening books have changed my gardening life?
Then I decided, in the spirit of the book I had just purchased, to ask some of my garden writing friends which gardening book changed their gardening life.
I received several responses, which we’ll get to in a few paragraphs, but first, a few comments, some instructions, and a warning!
Yes, this post comes with a warning that after reading it, you may find yourself trying to find good, used copies of several old gardening books. (I’ll offer you some tips on how to do that at the end.) You might also find yourself meeting several new-to-you garden writing friends of mine. Many have written some excellent books themselves. You may want their books too.
You can thank me later!
I was also going to write “or you could curse me later by wishing an invasion of Asian jumping worms upon my garden.” But I can’t think of a single reader of mine who would be so cruel. You are all the kindest and best. In this season of Thanksgiving, I thank you all for being supportive and kind.
So in that spirit, like a child offering her mom the first violet of the season, I offer you this post, a list of garden writing friends telling us about gardening books that changed their gardening lives.
It’s a bit longer than most posts, so if you are reading this on email, you might need to click over to read it on the web. You might also want to settle into a comfortable chair and grab a hot tea or other beverage of your choice. Maybe get a cookie or two for sustenance halfway through. Oh, and grab some paper and a pen to take notes.
All set? Here we go!
Books That Changed Our Gardening Lives
Ellen Zachos, Author of Mythic Plants: Potions & Poisons from the Gardens of the Gods, said that Making Things Grow by Thalassa Cruso (1969) changed her gardening life. “Thalassa gave me the courage to experiment because she openly talked about her own failures, and if someone like her could fail, then surely I was also allowed (and even expected) to! Plus, she had a great sense of humor.”
Peggy Riccio, horticulturist and owner of pegplant.com, an online resource for gardeners in the Washington, DC metro area, listed The Pleasure of Herbs by Phyllis Shaudys ( 1986). Peggy wrote, “I love the month-by-month structure where each month focuses on a particular herb and covers a variety of ways in which herbs can be used. For example, February features herb lore for lovers, March describes starting herbs from seed, April explains potpourri, May has sweet pillows, and June has tussie mussies. There are beautiful illustrations and loads of herbal information and recipes. The book made me realize how useful herbs can be both in the garden and in the home, plus the month-by-month structure motivates me to try these herbal projects and recipes each month.”
Lois J. de Vries, Executive Director of the Sustainable Gardening Institute and Library, shared two books that changed her gardening life. First was The Woodland Garden by Robert Gilmore (1996). Lois wrote, “At the time I bought it, there were no other books available about gardening in a mature woodland, and Gilmore’s garden setting was very like my own. His naturalistic style and how-tos for creating a sense of enclosure and building a garden around the landscape’s existing features (boulders, ledges, fallen logs) deeply resonated with my own aesthetic and sense of values.” A close second was John Brookes’ The Country Garden ( 1987). “This book introduced me to the concept of borrowed views and how to frame them so that they visually “expand” the size of my garden. This allowed me to incorporate views of the lake across the road as part of my garden (the obverse of Gilmore’s book). It has many excellent examples of garden elements, types of gardens (including a woodland one), and suggested plants to go with each. I turn to both of these books again and again for the timeless landscape principles and examples they contain.”
Teresa Speight, author of Black Flora: Inspiring Profiles of Floriculture’s New Vanguard, wrote back quickly and told me the book that changed her gardening life was Gardening Life by Lee May (1998). Teri wrote, “It was meaningful to see someone who looks like me who could eloquently share his thoughts on the garden. In a garden that to him was perfectly timed right, abundantly planted, Lee May shared his garden experiences, which brought him joy.”
Kathy Purdy, known for blogging and writing about gardening in a cold climate, wrote, “A Year at North Hill: Four Seasons in a Vermont Garden by Wayne Winterrowd and Joe Eck (1995) showed me that a cold climate was no impediment to a beautiful, sophisticated garden. The month-by-month format helped me develop a maintenance routine as a young gardener. I still like to read this book every year. “
C. L. Fornari, radio host and the author of the upcoming book, Hydrangea Happiness: Planting, Pruning, and Blooming, wrote, “The book that changed my gardening life was Mrs. Greenthumbs: How I Turned a Boring Yard into a Glorious Garden and How You Can, Too, by Cassandra Danz. I read it in 1993, and I loved how funny and often irreverent it was. Cassandra combined no-holds-barred advice with out-and-out passion for plants.”
Natalie Carmoli, Public Relations Specialist for Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs and popular garden speaker, shared with me that Complete Guide to No-Dig Gardening by Charlie Nardozzi (2020) changed her gardening life. She wrote, “About 5 years ago I moved to a new property with one acre of almost pure sand soil. I needed a way to build new flowerbeds that fed my shrubs and perennials as their roots grew deeper into the soil. Plus, I had a LOT of yard waste to deal with. This book made building new, raised garden beds so easy, and as the mounds break down, I know my plants are benefiting from all the organic material that I already had! I even share the info I learned from it (with credit) in some of my talks!”
Dee Nash, author of The 20-30 Something Garden Guide: A No-Fuss, Down and Dirty, Gardening 101 for Anyone Who Wants to Grow Stuff, and garden coach, who many of you know is also my podcast co-host, told me that the garden book that changed her gardening life was Theme Gardens by Barbara Damrosh (1982). Dee wrote, “It made me dream of what could be. It taught me about butterflies.”
As for me, one of the books that changed my gardening life was Gardens in Winter by Elizabeth Lawrence (1973). Elizabeth, whom I quote on every Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day post, introduced me to the concept of perpetual spring, the idea of selecting plants for your garden so there is always something new coming into bloom, even in the wintertime. She is the reason I grow autumn crocuses, Christmas roses, witchhazels, and other winter-blooming and winter-adjacent-blooming plants.
Notice I wrote “one of the books.” That’s because I own and have read so many gardening and gardening-adjacent books—too many some might say, but I don’t listen to those people— that I could write a rather long post about how each one changed my gardening life in both subtle and profound ways. I’m sure the same is true for all the garden writers who responded to my request to share their garden life-changing book. They probably all immediately thought of several different books.
But there is only so much time…
And now it’s your turn. What gardening book changed your gardening life?
A couple of closing notes and thoughts
I hope you found some new gardening books to put on your to-be-read pile!
You will notice that I only linked to the websites or linktrees of my garden writing friends, to point you to where you can find more information about them.. That’s because I want you to visit them and check out what they have to offer. Several have written excellent books themselves and will have links on their sites where you can find their books for sale.
As always, I encourage you to shop for new books at a local independent bookstore. If they don’t have a book in stock, they are happy to order it for you. If you don’t have a bookstore nearby, you can also shop online at bookshop.org, a site that supports independent bookstores.
For older books no longer in print, I think the best place to find them is on bookfinder.org. It will serve up a list, in price order, of almost anyone, anywhere, who has that used book you want for sale. It searches eBay, AbeBooks, Amazon, etc. Do be careful, though, and check descriptions and publishing years, especially if you want the book as originally published, and not a print-on-demand copy of an old book. Also look on Amazon for eBooks, if you prefer those. Often, old gardening books are converted to eBooks and are free or as cheap as 99 cents.
Okay, that’s enough book-buying advice. I hope you find your next life-changing garden book from the list above!
Happy Reading!
P. S. Secret Diary of a Garden Fairy, pictured above, sadly doesn’t exist. But if you should find some garden fairy writings, let me know.
A fun and interesting read, thanks! Being an exceptionally enthusiastic plant propagator(sp?), my book would be Making More Plants by Ken Druse. Now, instead of muddling along faking it, I know what I’m doing!
Another great book. I have that one on my shelf, too!
Well I just finished reading Gardens of Texas by Pam Penick, and while I don’t know yet if it changed my life, especially because I don’t live in Texas. But I do know that it delightful, and truly beautiful. Loved every page full of eye candy!