The top 10 gardening books of 2023 to gift this Christmas

There has been a bumper crop of new gardening books in 2023, with a range of titles to satisfy both beginner and the more experienced gardener.

From revealing new gardening ideas and insights, to sharing clever fixes to common problems, RHS Book Publishing Manager Helen Griffin shares some of her top picks, which won’t fail to delight your loved ones on Christmas morning. Or if you are just looking for a good read this winter, some of the most popular gardening titles are available to borrow as e-books, audiobooks or physical copies from the RHS Library.

Happy Christmas, happy reading and happy gardening!

10 of the best gardening books of 2023

1) The Cut Flower Sourcebook

By Rachel Siegfried
Published by Filbert Press, 2023, 256pp, RRP £35

Perennials are any plant living for at least three years. The term is also commonly used for herbaceous perennials which grow for many years (To compare: annual = one year, biennial = two years).

perennials

Unlike annuals, which have come to dominate our cut flower patches,

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.

2) Garden Style

By Heidi Howcroft and Marianne Majerus
Published by Mitchell Beazley, 2023, 320pp, RRP £40

Total immersion in the dreamy look-book Garden Style will help anyone wanting to find, or re-invent their garden’s design. Comprehensive, wide-ranging, nuanced and detailed: every one of the 640 sumptuous photos in this large and exquisite catalogue pitches a different design: from formal to loose, plant-filled to architectural, pint-sized to productive. A colourful distillation to drink in during the winter months.

3) A Fenland Garden

By Francis Pryor
Published by Apollo, 2023, 352pp, RRP £27.99

Time Team’s Francis Pryor and his archaeologist wife Maisie, share their thoughtful garden-making in A Fenland Garden. Through their love of the land, they unearth some great garden stories and historical insights.

A decade after discovering Flag Fen’s Bronze-age landscape in Peterborough and reconstructing it for the world, our intrepid archaeologists buy a farmer’s field in South Lincolnshire and transform the depleted landscape, one hedge at a time. The account spans 40 years of anecdotes, experiences and pioneer lessons, like the Neolithic inhabitants 3,000 years before them. A marvellous chronicle that’s part Time Team and part Beth Chatto’s We Made a Garden, it gently exposes wildlife and horticultural treasures and is illustrated with plans, family photographs and a timeline.

4) Planting a Paradise

By Arthur Parkinson
Published by Kyle Books, 2023, 208pp, RRP £22

With its multiple recipes for bulb lasagne, this book won’t fail to charm a flock of new and experienced container-gardeners. Also new for 2023 is his memoir Chicken Boy: My Life with Hens.

5) The Green Gardening Handbook

By Nancy Birtwhistle
Published by One Boat, 2023, 336pp, RRP £14.99

This grow-your-own manual from former Great British Bake Off winner Nancy Birtwhistle joins her Green Living series, spanning fridge storage hacks, to what to wear when gardening. A readable chomp through the edible garden, this instant bestseller mixes sustainable hints, household tips and, as you’d expect, quick and tasty recipes. Warmly encouraging and bursting with good sense, there’s a lot to take-away from Nancy’s ‘good life’ garden, which she shares with her husband, dogs and hens.

6) Why Women Grow

By Alice Vincent
Published by Canongate, 2023, 286pp, RRP £16.99

7) What Gardeners Grow

By Bloom
Published by Frances Lincoln/Bloom, 2023, 336pp, RRP £25

At first glance, Alice Vincent’s Why Women Grow and Bloom’s What Gardeners Grow seem similar, but upon closer inspection, they couldn’t be more different. Both titles attempt to answer the eternal gardening questions of ‘what?’ and ‘why?’

In Why Women Grow, Alice asks 50 women what drew them to gardening, and the reasons are as affecting to the reader as the author. Meanwhile, What Gardeners Grow offers readers a directory of 600 plants chosen by top international growers who explain their often deeply personal reasons for their choices. Both books are beautifully illustrated, and excel in different ways. However, the important truths within Alice Vincent’s book will stay with you long after you’ve put it down.

8) A Year Full of Veg

By Sarah Raven
Published by Bloomsbury, 2023, 384pp, RRP £27

9) The No-Dig Children’s Gardening Book

By Charles Dowding
Published by Welbeck, 2023, 64pp, RRP £12.99

Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings.

mulching

This kids’ guide follows Charles’ biggest and best-ever no-dig book for adults, 2022’s glamorous mustard-bound bible, No Dig. It’s finally time to trade in the spade.

10) Rekha’s Kitchen Garden

By Rekha Mistry
Published by DK, 2023, 192pp, RRP £18.99

Follow Rekha’s Garden & Kitchen on social media for more grow your own inspiration including recipes and reels.

Discover more of the best gardening book of 2023 on the RHS podcast