8 Gardening Books

Jeff Rugg
Tue, 16 Dec 2025 21:00:00 -0800
Lifestyle

I have been in the garden writing industry for over 35 years, so naturally, I have accumulated some gardening books. Most of them are really good and fun to read. In this day and age, books don't have to be all text. They can and probably should include lots of pictures. I have picked books that I refer to often, and though some of these books may be hard to find, they should be in your gardening library.

"Bulb" is a short title for a big book. Anna Pavord covers in detail more than 540 types of bulbs that gardeners can grow. There are great photos covering every kind of bulb, and Pavord explains everything you need to know about growing all of them. This book came out in 2009 and sold for $40. It is hard to find, but I discovered it on Amazon, used in good condition for just $7. You can't afford to pass up a price like that.

If you love bulbs and want them to bloom indoors, you need "Bulb Forcing for Beginners and the Seriously Smitten" by Art Wolk. He shares the steps you need to know to entice the bulbs to bloom — and not just bloom, but bloom on the exact weekend you want them to. Don't believe me? Art has won the Grand Sweepstakes Award at the Philadelphia Flower Show twice. The book is filled with 300 color photos detailing every step. It sells for $43 on his website, artwolk.com. Or you can pick up his 40-page booklet "Little Blue Book of Bulb Forcing" for just $10.
Updated: Wed Dec 17, 2025

I have been in the garden writing industry for over 35 years, so naturally, I have accumulated some gardening books. Most of them are really good and fun to read. In this day and age, books don't have to be all text. They can and probably should include lots of pictures. I have picked books that I refer to often, and though some of these books may be hard to find, they should be in your gardening library.

"Bulb" is a short title for a big book. Anna Pavord covers in detail more than 540 types of bulbs that gardeners can grow. There are great photos covering every kind of bulb, and Pavord explains everything you need to know about growing all of them. This book came out in 2009 and sold for $40. It is hard to find, but I discovered it on Amazon, used in good condition for just $7. You can't afford to pass up a price like that.

If you love bulbs and want them to bloom indoors, you need "Bulb Forcing for Beginners and the Seriously Smitten" by Art Wolk. He shares the steps you need to know to entice the bulbs to bloom — and not just bloom, but bloom on the exact weekend you want them to. Don't believe me? Art has won the Grand Sweepstakes Award at the Philadelphia Flower Show twice. The book is filled with 300 color photos detailing every step. It sells for $43 on his website, artwolk.com. Or you can pick up his 40-page booklet "Little Blue Book of Bulb Forcing" for just $10.

"Tillandsia II" is a comprehensive encyclopedia about the tillandsia genus of air plants. It covers such diverse topics as the biographical history of the explorers who found them and electron microscope pictures of the structures that allow tillandsias to survive on water in the air. The book is filled with beautiful pictures of tillandsias species and hybrids and the information on how to grow them. Go to the Rainforestflora.com website to get the book for just $50. Rainforest Flora is the company that Paul started, and it sells fantastic tillandsias, bromeliads and staghorn ferns. I have been to his store in California, and I wanted to take home several of everything there (but I only picked up a few).

If you have plants in your backyard pond, you need "Encyclopedia of Water Garden Plants." Greg Speichert was the most knowledgeable plant person I have ever met. He was also extremely kind. He had a water garden plant nursery and knew everything about every plant. He passed away way too young. Fortunately, he and his wife Sue Speichert condensed the important things we need to know about wetland plants into this beautiful book. The hardcover version is on Amazon for $63, but you can find it used for less. Greg and Sue also wrote the "Timber Press Pocket Guide to Water Garden Plants," which sells for only $20.

"The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual" covers how to grow 150 species of houseplants. I have only grown about 76 of the ones in the book, so it looks like I need to step up my game. It gives the same information in the same way for every plant, which makes it easy to compare plants that you already grow to see if the plant you want to grow requires the same or similar conditions. It is on Amazon for $15, but it is from 2005, so you can probably find it used for less.

The bible starts with mankind in a garden, and gardening provides some of the most meaningful passages in the bible, from grapevine pruning to the parable of the mustard seed. By reading the "God's Word for Gardeners Bible," you will enjoy a bountiful spiritual harvest as you read the garden themed essays and devotionals set for an entire year. It is just $24 on Amazon.