One of my goals in 2024 is to spend some time reviewing new gardening books just hitting the shelves. My goal with these posts is to showcase new and notable garden books that you may not hear about otherwise. Reviews help authors (especially debut authors) get their books out there. Plus, reading new gardening books helps to keep up to date on the latest gardening trends and topics, as well as scientific and technological advances. Since this blog is about both gardening stories and sustainability, I feel reviewing the new gardening books coming out is consistent with the topics I try to write about.

Since I’m writing this in January, it’s currently snowing where I am (and over much of the country too). There’s not much for us gardeners to do in winter but dream of the snow melting and getting out there in the garden. Hope springs eternal for us gardeners. So I especially enjoyed taking some time this winter to indulge my imagination with some books on gardening.

Some of the new gardening books I’m reviewing today are available to you immediately.  Others, I may have obtained as an advance reading copy (ARC). But I promise any new gardening books not available as of this posting will be released soon. So, if you’re reading this when I’m posting and looking for new gardening books in early 2024, don’t worry. You won’t have to wait long if a topic interests you. Also, preorder! That helps authors too!

First, A Disclaimer

This page contains some affiliate links. As a book-lover, I want to support independent bookstores with this post, and shopping and promoting through Bookshop.org is one way to do it. You won’t pay any more for the book by using the links. (In fact, by shopping with Bookshop.org you may pay less.) But I may receive some compensation for sending you their way if you choose to buy the book. Join me in supporting indie bookstores!

New 2024 Gardening Books in Print

Big, vibrant pictures, diagrams, and worksheets make gardening books in print (or e-book) ideal. Gardening is such a treat for all the senses that it helps when an expert gardener takes a show-not-tell stance. Pictures can help to narrate a story and show the passage of time. Diagrams can show nuances between plant varieties or explain some of gardening’s more complex scientific concepts. Worksheets are ideal ways to take the knowledge in print into our own hands so we can apply it to our own gardens. There’s some of that with each of these books.

Drawn to the Garden

Let’s start with my favorite!

As I recently commented on this author’s Instagram @cqgardens, “You are a genius. I was lucky enough to secure an early copy and I think you are so talented. Thank you for your art .. paint and word!” As it happens, this genius author is also a talented actress in England, and it shows in her showy descriptions and exuberance for life.

How can I describe how much I enjoyed this book?! I laughed so hard at her descriptions of plants, cried at her heartfelt accounts of her and her mother, and giggled at the irreverent tongue-in-cheek allusions … all with a gardener’s bent and a love of life. Part memoir, part tips-and-tricks, part pop-culture-reference humor, this is a garden book you shouldn’t miss. Her unquestionable command of the fine art of snarkasm cannot be denied!

In addition to her love of the garden, in this book Caroline is kind enough to gift us all with her own recipes too. As a lover of Mediterranean food, I too can almost live on a diet of dishes made with olive oil and fresh garden produce.

Why I Chose This Book

As a garden artist myself (I do paint in watercolors, like the author’s self-illustrations, but acrylic is my love) I was “drawn” as it were, to this artistic expression of a gardener. I thought we would have a lot in common. I was beyond correct about that!

Let’s Plant & Grow Together: Your Community Gardening Handbook

Maybe you’re looking to start or join a community garden (legal considerations included). Or maybe you’re just looking to make your own backyard a little more space-effective (community gardens always have space constraints). This book is AMAZING. I had my doubts about this one, but I was very pleasantly surprised with the amount of thought and detail that clearly went into this book.

Some book descriptions can be a little click-bait-y but this book’s official description is legit. Raskin really does talk about the advantages and disadvantages of certain kinds of community gardening spaces. He covers renting individual plots, shared plots, community orchards, animals included, Community-Supported-Agriculture (CSA), roof gardens. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on temp gardening on rented land (yours truly can relate).

Unlike a lot of gardening books, pictures in this book aren’t as important as the information itself. This book generally features photos of smiling people and (mostly) kids digging in the dirt. Fun and Insta-worthy, but doesn’t tell me anything. The information in this book, however, is GOLD.

Why I Chose This New Gardening Book:

I’ve always been curious about the community garden spaces that I see when driving or walking the streets of urban areas. Who takes care of them? How does an interested person get involved? This new gardening book looked like it was going to have all the answers for me. I also had the opportunity to get an ARC so I could review it prior to publication, but it will be available for you just a few days after I post this review, so I urge you to take a look if you’re as curious about the process as I was.

The Complete Language of Herbs: A Definitive and Illustrated History – Pocket Edition

The initial version of this gardening book came out in 2022, but it’s being re-released in 2024 in a pocket edition size. Now, you don’t have to lug around a 10.5 inch book with you to the garden.

Real world applications are included alongside the mystical in this book. Interested in native (and non-native) herbs that produce dyes? Maybe you want to ward off insects in companion plantings? While the illustrations of the plants leave something to be desired, it is at least a highly useful guide to making sure you’re truly familiar with the plant since the botanical names of the plants are included (along with a host of also-known-as (AKAs)). Who knew Garlic Mustard (which I have written about before) was also called Jack-by-the-Hedge? I didn’t! I also now know the scientific name for the plant that creates the rooibos tea I love so much, and that’s not nothing.

That said, I admit that this book’s descriptions of what plants can do often land in the “out there” category. (Will chewing celery seeds really help keep someone upright on their broom when they fly so they don’t fall off?) The myths in this book would probably make a fabulous basis for a fantasy novel, or Halloween discussion with the kids. There’s truly something for everyone interested in plants in this book.

Why I Chose This Book:

Knowing that flowers have meanings (red roses for love, etc.), I was hoping that this book would give me some insight into herbs. The book turned out to be a little different than I’d expected. Not to say that’s a bad thing. The historical and popular feelings about what “magic” properties plants are thought to have driven some of humanity’s scientific research of today. Yesterday’s thoughts about warding off evils could be tomorrow’s cure for cancer.

What the Bees See

I am a good photographer (99% of the photos on this blog are either my own or my husband’s excellent art) … but I am not in this photographer’s league. Burrows uses UVIVF (Ultraviolet-Induced Visible Fluorescence) to capture photographs of flowers the way that bees might see them. In the book, Burrows and his scientific compatriots are quick to recognize that humans can’t possibly see the world the way bees do because of the bees’ compound eyes. But with Burrows’ amazing pictures, we can imagine it based on the bees’ superior visibility of flowers in the ultraviolet range.

With scientific diagrams worthy of my favorite high school teacher (Hi, Mr. Hall!) this book makes the “visible” spectrum easy to understand. I use quotes because, as stated, bees have a different visible spectrum than humans.

The beauty of the photography highlights the importance of bees in our garden environment. And I, for one, am here for it.

Why I Chose This Book

First of all, look at that cover photo! Yes, I was expecting something like a coffee table book. Let me tell you I was not disappointed!

New 2024 Garden Audio Books

Gardening books in audible format are a real draw since they’re so much rarer. Not having to make the time to sit down and read makes audio books like these easy to consume. You can do something else (running, driving, or maybe even gardening) while listening to the book and learning new ideas, facts, and stories. Plus, most audio books come with accompanied pdfs so you don’t lose anything with the audio format.

All the Presidents’ Gardens: How the White House Grounds Have Grown with America

Originally published in hardcover 27 April 2016, the new version has been updated and freshly released with paperback, eBook, and audio options.

Have you ever wondered why the buildings of the National Mall in Washington D.C. are laid out the way they are? Why build a greenhouse of glass like the U.S. Botanic Garden (which I visited over the holidays) when most hot houses of the day had very little glass? When were those tall trees planted on the White House’s South Lawn and how did they choose what trees to plant? What about the cherry blossoms that D.C. is so famous for? (I made a site visit there during cherry blossom season myself last Spring.) How did the White House Rose Garden get its name? And who inspired it?

McDowell answers all these questions and more in this inspiring book about the transient occupants of America’s First Families as they come and go, leaving a little piece of themselves behind in the landscape and architecture of the United States’ Capital.

You will lose something without being able to see the historical pictures, like the imagined image of George Washington supervising the building of the White House as envisioned by the great N. C. Wyeth. Happily, the audiobook comes with a PDF of the book’s inspiring imagery. So, you can refer to the PDF later, even if you can’t look at the pictures at the same time.

Why I Chose This New Gardening Book:

I admit that I was originally drawn to this book since I live in the DMV (Washington D.C., Maryland, Northern Virginia area). Both the National Mall and George Washington’s Mount Vernon are regular visits for me. (You can read my Mt Vernon Garden Tour here). A previous book I’d read last year Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf (2011) (Thanks, Papa! He gifted me the book for my birthday) contained a lot of the information in the early chapters. It’s always a treat to read two authors talking about the same topic. This newly updated gardening book goes beyond the previous version. It continues beyond the founding fathers, through the American civil war, and up to the current American President and First Lady (as of this writing) Joseph and Jill Biden.

The Made-from-Scratch Life: Your Get-Started Homesteading Guide

The narrator’s voice for this one was gentle and easy to listen to while I ran around (both on the running trail and running errands).

I must admit that I found the religious connotations of this book mildly distracting from the book’s overall excellent message, but other readers may enjoy it because of it. She is brilliant with her scientific descriptions of how to avoid canning catastrophes and other problems of preserving one’s own food. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, but in her narrative she’s quick to recognize that others have different circumstances, and she gives great advice for all.

Despite what I said earlier about most audio books coming with associated pdfs, this one strangely didn’t. Even the audio narration talked about “the accompanying pdf,” but none was provided. Not sure if that was a glitch or not … *shrug*.

Why I Chose This Book:

With the hefty price tag associated with the audiobook, it’s almost not worth it unless you have an audible subscription and an abundance of credits. (I admit, I had a credit expiring when I was looking for newly releasing gardening books so this provided a perfect opportunity.) The version at Libro.fm which Bookshop.org links is far cheaper.

Happy 2024 Garden Book Reading!

Stay warm out there! And while you’re cooped up indoors, I hope you check these books out. They’re each amazing in their own way. Each offers it’s own glimpse into the spring season that is just around the corner!

In other news, if you discovered me over the past year and have been enjoying my blog, thanks for giving me a chance! As this article is being posted, it has been ONE YEAR since this blog went live. I remain delighted with the gentle growth of this blog over the past year. I cherish each and every one of you who subscribe, share a post with your friends or groups on social media, or pin one of my articles to Pinterest. (You can find and follow me on Pinterest – where I’m very active, btw! And I’m also trying to get better about Instagram.) I don’t pay to promote this blog in any way. So I appreciate your support all the more. THANK YOU! Here’s to another year!