Fans pick 100 books like The Regenerative Garden

By Stephanie Rose,

Here are 100 books that The Regenerative Garden fans have personally recommended if you like The Regenerative Garden. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of A Family Guide to Terrariums for Kids: Imagination-Inspiring Projects to Grow a World in Glass - Build a Mini Ecosystem!

Maria Colletti Author Of Terrariums - Gardens Under Glass: Designing, Creating, and Planting Modern Indoor Gardens

From my list on indoor gardening houseplant.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent 25 years working at the New York Botanical Garden! My life’s pursuit of the green has been my greatest achievement. I'm a self-made terrarium designer. I developed my style and skills at NYBG and knew that I had to share this with the world. My books have sold over 14,000 copies worldwide. This is amazing to me and has taught me that my though-ness and step-by-step lessons were worth every word! Horticulture is a subject that comes naturally to me. I happily know the names of dozens and dozens of trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, tropical, desert, you name plants from all over the world and I’m learning new ones every season. 

Maria's book list on indoor gardening houseplant

Maria Colletti Why did Maria love this book?

Patricia has a distinct design that is breath-taking. Her moss creations are pure images of botany at its best. She herself is an experienced botanist and she shares all she has learned in her book for you to utilize. She knows her subject and her how-tos are informative and easy to do at home. This is a great gift for anyone in your life.

By Patricia Buzo,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Family Guide to Terrariums for Kids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Design, plant, and grow a world of your very own—inside a terrarium! Including 15 unique, imagination-inspiring project plans, each accompanied by adorable, full-color photographs, kids and their grown-ups will discover how easy terrariums are to plant and grow. 

*As featured in The New York Times*

Kids love to create, imagine, and have fun. Nothing fulfills all three of those desires quite like designing and planting a terrarium. With the step-by-step project instructions found in A Family Guide to Terrariums for Kids, the results are beautiful, inspiring, and confidence-building. Making these little landscapes develops motor skills, spacial awareness, and provides a…


Book cover of The Complete Book of Ferns: Indoors • Outdoors • Growing • Crafting • History & Lore

Maria Colletti Author Of Terrariums - Gardens Under Glass: Designing, Creating, and Planting Modern Indoor Gardens

From my list on indoor gardening houseplant.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent 25 years working at the New York Botanical Garden! My life’s pursuit of the green has been my greatest achievement. I'm a self-made terrarium designer. I developed my style and skills at NYBG and knew that I had to share this with the world. My books have sold over 14,000 copies worldwide. This is amazing to me and has taught me that my though-ness and step-by-step lessons were worth every word! Horticulture is a subject that comes naturally to me. I happily know the names of dozens and dozens of trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, tropical, desert, you name plants from all over the world and I’m learning new ones every season. 

Maria's book list on indoor gardening houseplant

Maria Colletti Why did Maria love this book?

Mobee has literally spent her professional life at New York Botanical Garden. She knows everything!  Ferns are her expertise. This book is beautifully put together with her creative prowess! She really knows so much about the art of fern growing. I also find her to be a  terrific instructor and her book is a complete access to all she knows. Her projects are wonderful and I actually bought a galvanized wall hanging to plant ferns in just like hers!

Inspiration at its best is mimicry.

By Mobee Weinstein,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Complete Book of Ferns as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Complete Book of Ferns is filled with botanical information, indoor and outdoor growing and care information, details on propagation, display ideas, and even craft projects. This gorgeous book is authored by Mobee Weinstein, the Foreman of Gardeners at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx and a veteran guest on the Martha Stewart Living TV show and other media outlets.

*2021 American Horticultural Society Book Award Winner*
*As featured in The New York Times*

Houseplants in general are in ascendance, but no category is hotter than ferns. From the otherworldly Staghorns—mounted like antler trophies in homes throughout the…


Book cover of Orchid Modern: Living and Designing with the World's Most Elegant Houseplants

Maria Colletti Author Of Terrariums - Gardens Under Glass: Designing, Creating, and Planting Modern Indoor Gardens

From my list on indoor gardening houseplant.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent 25 years working at the New York Botanical Garden! My life’s pursuit of the green has been my greatest achievement. I'm a self-made terrarium designer. I developed my style and skills at NYBG and knew that I had to share this with the world. My books have sold over 14,000 copies worldwide. This is amazing to me and has taught me that my though-ness and step-by-step lessons were worth every word! Horticulture is a subject that comes naturally to me. I happily know the names of dozens and dozens of trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, tropical, desert, you name plants from all over the world and I’m learning new ones every season. 

Maria's book list on indoor gardening houseplant

Maria Colletti Why did Maria love this book?

Marc is brilliant! His extensive knowledge of all things orchids and tropical plants is unending. He has dedicated his career to the horticultural expertise of Orchids.

His professional career and rise to curator of Glasshouses and Orchids at New York Botanical Garden is legendary.

In this book, he shares all care tips, creative projects, and visuals of beauty.

He has these gorgeous terrarium projects that I just had to try to copy.

By Marc Hachadourian,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Orchid Modern as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Orchids have always inspired passion. Their exotic flowers and vibrant colours draw people in, but their reputation as fussy and difficult to grow keep many houseplant fans from adding them to their home decor. But orchids can be easy to grow and Marc Hachadourian, the curator of the orchid collection at the New York Botanical Garden, details exactly how in his new book. Orchid Modern includes basic information on potting, watering, and care. Hachadourian profiles the top 100 plant picks, focusing on varieties that are readily available and easy to grow. Step-by-step projects, including a jewel orchid terrarium, an orchid…


Book cover of The Indestructible Houseplant: 200 Beautiful Plants that Everyone Can Grow

Maria Colletti Author Of Terrariums - Gardens Under Glass: Designing, Creating, and Planting Modern Indoor Gardens

From my list on indoor gardening houseplant.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent 25 years working at the New York Botanical Garden! My life’s pursuit of the green has been my greatest achievement. I'm a self-made terrarium designer. I developed my style and skills at NYBG and knew that I had to share this with the world. My books have sold over 14,000 copies worldwide. This is amazing to me and has taught me that my though-ness and step-by-step lessons were worth every word! Horticulture is a subject that comes naturally to me. I happily know the names of dozens and dozens of trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, tropical, desert, you name plants from all over the world and I’m learning new ones every season. 

Maria's book list on indoor gardening houseplant

Maria Colletti Why did Maria love this book?

Tovah Martin is my houseplant hero! Tovah is a rare bird! Her love of houseplants rings through her writing. She has made gardening and indoor plants her life’s pursuit and it shows. This book is one of several Tovah has written. Her work often appears in Better Homes & Gardens magazine. I have followed her career from day one. Her vision of the plant is joyful and information only someone with this great love of the houseplant can share with you. If you buy one book on how to care for and incorporate the beauty of green plants in your home you must read Tovah's book!

By Tovah Martin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Indestructible Houseplant as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Houseplants are the bane of many homeowners. How can you keep them alive and stop them looking leggy, anaemic and unattractive. In this practical and beautifully photographed book, author, Tovah Martin, author of the Unexpected Houseplant recommends which plants to choose and how to put them together into attractive low-maintenance displays.


Book cover of The No Dig Organic Home & Garden: Grow, Cook, Use, and Store Your Harvest

Bill Laws Author Of Fifty Plants That Changed the Course of History

From my list on backyard veg.

Why am I passionate about this?

Veg. I grow it; I nurture it; I shield it from cold winds, protect it from voracious pigeons, warm it against sudden frosts. And then I share it with friends, family, and neighbours… and we eat it. In between times I might write something gardeny or historical, but you’ll usually find me back on my veg plot, a little urban allotment in the west of England. I do a lot of reading there too! 

Bill's book list on backyard veg

Bill Laws Why did Bill love this book?

Organics, raised beds, permaculture, vertical gardening: there are plenty of exciting new ideas coming out of the veg patch. One of the most persuasive is Charles Dowding’s no-dig brigade. Many of my ‘can’t dig’ friends are joining up too, prevented from wielding a spade by sore backs, arthritis, and other such ailments. This regime of hand weeding and hoeing, and freshening the soil with generous helpings of homemade mulching composts is so much kinder to the planet than plastering it with artificial fertilisers.

By Charles Dowding, Stephanie Hafferty,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The No Dig Organic Home & Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

No dig organic gardening saves time and work. It requires an annual dressing of compost to help accelerate the improvement in soil structure and leads to higher fertility and less weeds. No dig experts, Charles Dowding and Stephanie Hafferty, explain how to set up a no dig garden. They describe how to: Make compost, enrich soil, harvest and prepare food and make natural beauty and clean ing products and garden preparations. These approaches work as well in small spaces as in large gardens. The Authors' combined experience gives you ways of growing, preparing and storing the plants you grow for…


Book cover of The Pruning Book

Robert Pavlis Author Of Garden Myths: Book 1

From my list on practical gardening.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love gardening and learning about unusual plants but I find that many gardening books don’t provide a lot of useful advice. I grow over 3,000 different types of plants and have a background in chemistry and biochemisty. I teach gardening to new gardeners and garden design to more experienced gardeners. My students want to learn practical things like solving pest problems and growing plants with more flowers. I am always on the lookout for books that provide them with hands-on practical advice they can use right away. 

Robert's book list on practical gardening

Robert Pavlis Why did Robert love this book?

I have known Lee Reich through his writings for a number of years and I find his books factual and practical. He simplifies gardening down to some basic principles and then tells you exactly how to copy his style in your own garden. 

Pruning can be a daunting task for those who have not done very much of it, but it can be quite straightforward. In The Pruning Book, Lee simplifies the process of understanding why you need to prune something and then he shows you exactly when and how to do it.

By Lee A. Reich,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Pruning Book as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It sounds simple enough, but pruning can confound even the most competent gardener. This new edition of Taunton's award-winning book explains the dos and don'ts of cutting back; from humble houseplants to the most amazing exotics, readers learn how to make the right cut the first time, every time. With straightforward prose, over 250 photographs and 135 drawings, this essential reference walks gardeners through the process of pruning everything from ornamental trees and bushes to topiaries and bonsai. This demystifies the timing and techniques that result in the most successful pruning for healthy growth and good form. Updated with the…


Book cover of The New Sunset Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide

Ann Ralph Author Of Grow a Little Fruit Tree: Simple Pruning Techniques for Small-Space, Easy-Harvest Fruit Trees

From my list on garden books to revisit again and again.

Why am I passionate about this?

California’s San Joaquin Valley is so congenial to plants I thought it made me a gardener. When I got my first job in a retail nursery I quickly realized how little I knew. Twenty years in the nursery trade expanded the depth and breadth of my garden skills. I owe my horticultural education to knowledgeable colleagues, an unending stream of interesting questions from nursery customers, and especially to Ed Laivo who introduced me to an ArcticGlo nectarine that commanded my attention.

Ann's book list on garden books to revisit again and again

Ann Ralph Why did Ann love this book?

For more than half a century the Sunset Western Garden Book was the first and last word for Western gardeners. This compendium established a zonal system specifically for the nuanced West, and provided exhaustive, accurate, updated, and unbiased information, plant by plant, variety by variety, from A to Z. It offered a selection guide for specific situations suited to inland heat and the temperate coast. It provided basic information about planting, pests, soils, pruning, and weeds. I sold hundreds of copies of this indispensable volume to nursery customers. My co-workers did the same. That the sun has set on this essential field guide to gardening in the West is a bitter pill. Our Western gardens are diminished without it.

By The Editors of Sunset,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The New Sunset Western Garden Book as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As surely as gardens change with the seasons, gardening is ever changing. New plants, techniques, materials, and lifestyles are constantly broadening the choices you have and reshaping the way you garden in the West. In response to this natural evolution, the editors of Sunset-the West's most trusted source of gardening information for more than 80 years-have completely redesigned and updated The Western Garden Book in this new 2012 Ninth Edition. Following the best-selling success of the previous editions of The Western Garden Book, this edition includes a fresh new look, thousands of color photographs, fresh illustrations, and an easy-to-follow format.…


Book cover of The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener: How to Grow Your Own Food 365 Days a Year, No Matter Where You Live

Lisa Steele Author Of Gardening with Chickens: Plans and Plants for You and Your Hens

From my list on gardening for creative gardeners.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a New Englander, born and bred. I am a 5th-generation chicken keeper and lifelong gardener. An author and Maine Master Gardener, I live on a small farm in Maine where I raise chickens, ducks, and geese and grow all kinds of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. My mom was a 3rd-grade teacher and my dad was incredibly artistic, so that combination resulted in me being an avid DIYer. I love to build and make and paint and raise and grow all kinds of things.

Lisa's book list on gardening for creative gardeners

Lisa Steele Why did Lisa love this book?

The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener is an invaluable gardening resource, especially for those of us who live in the northern climates. Nova Scotia-based author Niki Jabbour proves firsthand that it is possible to grow all kinds of vegetables in even the coldest of areas. Her cold frames from which she plucks handfuls of carrots and leafy greens when they’re buried in snow are reason enough to buy this book.

By Niki Jabbour, Joseph de Sciose (photographer),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In "The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener", Nova Scotia-based gardener and writer Niki Jabbour shares her secrets for growing food during every month of the year. Her season-defying techniques, developed in her own home garden where short summers and low levels of winter sunlight create the ultimate challenge, are doable, affordable, and rewarding for gardeners in any location where frost has traditionally ended the growing season. Jabbour explains how to make every month a vegetable-gardening month. She provides in-depth instruction for all of her time-tested techniques, including selecting the best varieties for each season, mastering the art of succession planting, and maximizing…


Book cover of The Findhorn Garden: Pioneering a New Vision of Man and Nature in Cooperation

Heidi Wedd Author Of Wild Flower Walker: A Pilgrimage to Nature on the Bibbulmun Track

From my list on nature spirits.

Why am I passionate about this?

Following a herbal and homeopathic pathway for 20 years has taken me on many insightful and inspiring tangents. One of those being the passion to commune with nature spirits and learn directly from herbs.  This practice has led me on many a fine adventure (one of which Wild Flower Walker contains) and continues to be a rich source of teachings and growth. I have been teaching these practices for the last 11 years and offer courses in Shamanic Herbalism; Herbal Alchemy; & Plant Spirit Communication. These books have been treasures and catalysts for me and I hope they will open your heart further to the rich world of nature spirits.

Heidi's book list on nature spirits

Heidi Wedd Why did Heidi love this book?

Any reading on nature spirits has to include a book or two from the Findhorn community or Dorothy Maclean - one of its founders and plant spirit communicator. I recommend this one as it contains not only insights from many plant devas and landscape devas, but a broad overview of the formation of the Findhorn Community itself - which occurred in direct communication and cocreation with the plant devas themselves. A fascinating and eye-opening read. 

By The Findhorn Community,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Findhorn Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Members of the Scottish agricultural community present the history and philosophy of their extraordinary gardens


Book cover of A Little History of British Gardening

Marta McDowell Author Of Unearthing the Secret Garden: The Plants and Places That Inspired Frances Hodgson Burnett

From my list on the English love of gardening.

Why am I passionate about this?

My husband sums up my biography as “I am, therefore I dig.” I live, garden, read and write in Chatham, New Jersey, and have had a long, open love affair with the gardening style “across the pond.” At the New York Botanical Garden I teach English garden history, and I’m a regular contributor to the British gardening journal, Hortus. In my writing, I follow the relationship between the pen and the trowel, that is authors and their gardens. I’ve written books about children’s authors Beatrix Potter and Frances Hodgson Burnett, and, as you might imagine, the research trips to the UK were a special bonus.

Marta's book list on the English love of gardening

Marta McDowell Why did Marta love this book?

To understand the British love of gardening, I put Jenny Uglow’s chatty book top of the list. Reading her prose is like listening to a favorite teacher, one who tells a good story while slipping in the pertinent facts.  "If I were a crow, flying across Britain in the 10th century,” she writes, “I would see forest and fields, iron forges and salt pans, small towns and settlements - occasionally I could circle over a deep park, or swoop down and feed on an orchard of ripe fruit, or pull worms from the newly turned earth in a small allotment."  She takes us from Roman villas and monastery herbers to palace gardens, Sissinghurst’s herbaceous borders, and the futuristic Eden Project.  She loves her subject, and so will you.

By Jenny Uglow,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Little History of British Gardening as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Did the Romans have rakes? Did the monks get muddy? Did the potato seem really, really weird when it arrived on our shores?

This lively 'potted' history of gardening in Britain takes us on a garden tour from the thorn hedges around prehistoric settlements to the rage for decking and ornamental grasses today. It tracks down the ordinary folk who worked the earth - the apprentice boys and weeding women, the florists and nursery gardeners - as well as aristocrats and grand designers and famous plant-hunters. Coloured by Jenny Uglow's own love for plants, and brought to life in the…


Book cover of A Family Guide to Terrariums for Kids: Imagination-Inspiring Projects to Grow a World in Glass - Build a Mini Ecosystem!
Book cover of The Complete Book of Ferns: Indoors • Outdoors • Growing • Crafting • History & Lore
Book cover of Orchid Modern: Living and Designing with the World's Most Elegant Houseplants

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in gardening, permaculture, and houseplants?

Gardening 88 books
Permaculture 10 books
Houseplants 19 books