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

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Book cover of Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture

Louis S. Bernier Jr. Author Of Permaculture Ecovillages

From my list on sustainable permaculture design.

Why am I passionate about this?

I find these books most compelling because over the years I have become increasingly motivated to study and share the value of appreciating mankind’s responsibility to nature as God’s gift to us! And in doing so, have embraced our obligation as stewards to ensure future generations a “future Earth” cleaner than we found it. The current trend is faulty to the utmost degree, but can be reversed with intelligent design and appropriate education beginning in grade school. This should be everyone’s objective!

Louis' book list on sustainable permaculture design

Louis S. Bernier Jr. Why Louis loves this book

I am so completely dependent upon the simple ingenuity of this book in providing practical advice for symbiotic ecological design integration that I frequently refer to it for my own planning.

Progressing through soil fertility, water conservation, rewilding for beneficial insects and wildlife, and concluding with designing edible food forests, he doesn’t miss a step in efficient biodiversity.

By Toby Hemenway ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Gaia's Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The evergreen classic on ecological gardening, whatever size your garden!

Over a quarter of a million copies sold worldwide!

Working with Nature, not against her, results in more beautiful, abundant and resilient gardens.

In the revised, second edition of Gaia's Garden, Toby Hemenway extends his expert knowledge of permaculture to urban and suburban landscapes. A perfect beginner's guide to ecological gardening, Gaia's Garden dispels the notion that meaningful gardening can only take place on a large piece of land with lots of space to grow.

Readers can expect step-by-step instructions on:

Building and maintaining soil fertility and structure Catching and…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of The Practical Permaculture Project

Louis S. Bernier Jr. Author Of Permaculture Ecovillages

From my list on sustainable permaculture design.

Why am I passionate about this?

I find these books most compelling because over the years I have become increasingly motivated to study and share the value of appreciating mankind’s responsibility to nature as God’s gift to us! And in doing so, have embraced our obligation as stewards to ensure future generations a “future Earth” cleaner than we found it. The current trend is faulty to the utmost degree, but can be reversed with intelligent design and appropriate education beginning in grade school. This should be everyone’s objective!

Louis' book list on sustainable permaculture design

Louis S. Bernier Jr. Why Louis loves this book

I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book because it is perfectly aligned with not just self-sufficiency but also considerate of neighbor-embracing outreach and acknowledgement of appreciation of Mother NatureGod’s creation.

I also appreciated that the author recognizes this as a solution to the global world's problems, which is ultimately realized as "climate change" acceleration.

By Sophie McKay ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Need help to start with permaculture and become self-sufficient as soon as possible? Start with Sophie Today!


The freshest and most delicious food possible is waiting for you... and you don't have to have any experience to get started.

Are you becoming more and more concerned about the global economy and have a burning desire to return to the land in a meaningful way?

What if you could restore your health and vitality in a way that brought you safety and assurance? What if you could work with nature efficiently to grow your own food?

How would it feel to…


Book cover of Sepp Holzer's Permaculture

Louis S. Bernier Jr. Author Of Permaculture Ecovillages

From my list on sustainable permaculture design.

Why am I passionate about this?

I find these books most compelling because over the years I have become increasingly motivated to study and share the value of appreciating mankind’s responsibility to nature as God’s gift to us! And in doing so, have embraced our obligation as stewards to ensure future generations a “future Earth” cleaner than we found it. The current trend is faulty to the utmost degree, but can be reversed with intelligent design and appropriate education beginning in grade school. This should be everyone’s objective!

Louis' book list on sustainable permaculture design

Louis S. Bernier Jr. Why Louis loves this book

I loved this book because Sepp Holzer is proficient in sharing precisely how to take each step of permaculture design with clear descriptions of why they become a cumulative abundant foundation for further development of your permaculture system.

From concepts to practical details, he demonstrates the thinking processes based on principles found in nature that can be applied anywhere.

By Sepp Holzer , Anna Sapsford-Francis (translator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sepp Holzer's Permaculture as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sepp Holzer farms steep mountainsides in Austria 1,500 meters above sea level. His farm is an intricate network of terraces, raised beds, ponds, waterways and tracks, well covered with productive fruit trees and other vegetation, with the farmhouse neatly nestling amongst them. This is in dramatic contrast to his neighbors' spruce monocultures.In this book, Holzer shares the skill and knowledge acquired over his lifetime. He covers every aspect of his farming methods, not just how to create a holistic system on the farm itself, but how to make a living from it. Holzer writes about everything from the overall concepts,…


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of Restoration Agriculture

Louis S. Bernier Jr. Author Of Permaculture Ecovillages

From my list on sustainable permaculture design.

Why am I passionate about this?

I find these books most compelling because over the years I have become increasingly motivated to study and share the value of appreciating mankind’s responsibility to nature as God’s gift to us! And in doing so, have embraced our obligation as stewards to ensure future generations a “future Earth” cleaner than we found it. The current trend is faulty to the utmost degree, but can be reversed with intelligent design and appropriate education beginning in grade school. This should be everyone’s objective!

Louis' book list on sustainable permaculture design

Louis S. Bernier Jr. Why Louis loves this book

The uniquely special flavor of this gem-packed book that caught my attention and kept me riveted from chapter to chapter is the focus on sustainable perennial food crops. Plant it once and forget it. The productivity continues to generate staple foods, building materials, fuel, and useful oils, all while improving the quality of the environment.

I find this very compelling for my conclusion that climate change can be reversed over time. 

By Mark Shepard ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Restoration Agriculture explains how we can have all of the benefits of natural, perennial ecosystems and create agricultural systems that imitate nature in form and function while still providing for our food, building, fuel and many other needs — in your own backyard, farm or ranch.

This book, based on real-world practices, presents an alternative to the agriculture system of eradication and offers exciting hope for our future.


Book cover of The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden

John Greenlee Author Of The American Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn

From my list on creating successful meadow and grass garden ecology.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an expert in grass ecology and champion of sustainable design, John Greenlee has created meadows not only in the United States, but throughout the world for over 30 years. Some of his most notable gardens include the Getty Museum, the Norton Simon Museum in Los Angeles, and the savannas at Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida. In addition to his consulting and design work for commercial and residential clients, John Greenlee enjoys sharing his knowledge by giving several presentations and lectures throughout the year on the use of natural lawns, native grasses, and meadow restoration.

John's book list on creating successful meadow and grass garden ecology

John Greenlee Why John loves this book

I think this book is one of the best organized and easily digestible garden books out there.

Whether you are a seasoned professional garden designer or just a beginner, this book is essential for helping understand how to put plants together in the garden. Roy’s simple and effective methodology can benefit any gardener's attempts to design successful perennial borders without a lot of jargon or pretension.

Roy’s book is both inspiring and informative. Roy’s influence is felt through some of the Midwest’s finest gardens and his maintenance knowledge can benefit any perennial garden, anywhere.

By Roy Diblik ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

“A veritable goldmine for gardeners.” —Plant Talk

We’ve all seen gorgeous perennial gardens packed with color, texture, and multi-season interest. Designed by a professional and maintained by a crew, they are aspirational bits of beauty too difficult to attempt at home. Or are they?

The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden makes a design-magazine-worthy garden achievable at home. The new, simplified approach is made up of hardy, beautiful plants grown on a 10x14 foot grid. Each of the 62 garden plans combines complementary plants that thrive together and grow as a community. They are designed to make maintenance a snap. The garden…


Book cover of The Beautiful Edible Garden: Design a Stylish Outdoor Space Using Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs

Chantal Aida Gordon and Ryan Benoit Author Of How to Window Box: Small-Space Plants to Grow Indoors or Out

From my list on designing your dream garden.

Why are we passionate about this?

We’re Chantal Gordon and Ryan Benoit — the cofounders of gardening/design/DIY blog The Horticult. Our site shows you how to create handsome yet effective habitats for your plants. That includes a collection of mounted staghorn ferns under our citrus trees, a vertical garden for your herbs, and a sleek bog for carnivorous pitcher plants. One of our most popular DIYs is how to build an outdoor theater behind your rosemary hedge. We show people how to create outdoor spaces they can deeply enjoy — whether it’s a patio, balcony, or yard. A key to welcoming someone is good design. The more you like hanging out outside, the better care you’ll take of your plants.

Chantal and Ryan's book list on designing your dream garden

Chantal Aida Gordon and Ryan Benoit Why Chantal and Ryan loves this book

As primarily ornamental gardeners, we’ve fallen back on the old excuse about tomato plants being ugly as the reason why we don’t do edible gardening. It’s a lazy excuse! The Beautiful Edible Garden shows that its titular premise is so not an oxymoron. And it hits the two things we look for most in a garden design book, which are: (1) hyperspecific plant recommendations and (2) solid design principles we can learn from and put into action. Through lucid, inviting instructions and scrumptious photos, The Beautiful Edible Garden offers gold like how to select “anchor plants” to establish structure in a landscape, blueberries and culinary sweet bay being top picks. And the transformational effect of planting a “focal point” plant — which has us hankering to bring in a persimmon tree. 

By Leslie Bennett , Stefani Bittner ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Learn how to artfully incorporate organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs into an attractive garden design with this stylish, beautifully photographed guide.

We’ve all seen the vegetable garden overflowing with corn, tomatoes, and zucchini that looks good for a short time, but then quickly turns straggly and unattractive (usually right before friends show up for a backyard barbecue). If you want to grow food but you don’t want your yard to look like a farm, what can you do? The Beautiful Edible Garden shares how to not only grow organic fruits and vegetables, but also make your garden a place of…


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Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces

Isa Hendry Eaton and Jennifer Blaise Kramer Author Of Small Garden Style: A Design Guide for Outdoor Rooms and Containers

From my list on inspiring you to design your dream garden.

Why are we passionate about this?

We are garden designer Isa Hendry Eaton and lifestyle writer Jennifer Blaise Kramer, co-authors of Small Garden Style. We love getting and sharing inspiration on good garden design to pull our lives more outdoors. In our book, we show you how to use good design to create a joyful, elegant, and exciting yet compact outdoor living space for entertaining or relaxing. Our stylishly photographed guide is a fun way to create lush, layered, dramatic little gardens no matter the size of your available space, be it an urban patio, a tiny backyard, or even just a pot by your door.

Isa and Jennifer's book list on inspiring you to design your dream garden

Isa Hendry Eaton and Jennifer Blaise Kramer Why Isa and Jennifer loves this book

We love a garden book that works hard as a guide, and this book does just that!

It’s a handbook that feels like a trusted magazine with real-life garden tours and lifestyle tips such as “Steal This Look” (our fave!) for everything from stone and ironwork to plants and water features. We couldn’t appreciate more the way an author can break down a garden’s style and feel and help us replicate that look we love at home.

Gardenista is a go-to when we want a design refresh!

By Michele Slatalla ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Gardenista as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Our homes' outdoor spaces can and should be as welcoming and carefully considered as our living rooms; when treated as extensions of our homes, these spaces enrich our lives immeasurably. That was the guiding principle when, under the direction of editor in chief Michelle Slatalla (whose New York Times style columns were weekly must-reads for a decade), the team behind Remodelista.com launched sister site Gardenista.com. Like Remodelista, Gardenista caters to an older, more established audience (75 percent of readers are over the age of 35) and is known for its sophisticated, well-edited aesthetic. The book contains lushly photographed tours of…


Book cover of The Road to Le Tholonet: A French Garden Journey

Amelia Dalton Author Of Pages from My Passport

From my list on the lives of those who pushed the boundaries.

Why am I passionate about this?

I ‘fell’ into being at sea by chance, through my father’s insistence I join him on a Scottish fishing boat for a week. I discovered I adored exploring unknown islands and lonely beaches, discovering wildlife and resilient small communities. In the 1990’s a female working amongst fishermen and commercial shipping was unknown, it was a wholly male, chauvinistic world. Using these skills I found a job being paid to explore – a dream job, pioneering but frequently lonely and dangerous. It resulted in my expanding the range and world of small expedition ships into areas with no infrastructure, unexplored and uncharted, lonely, empty coasts from the Arctic to Singapore. 

Amelia's book list on the lives of those who pushed the boundaries

Amelia Dalton Why Amelia loves this book

I have loved travelling with Monty Don on this gentle, thoughtful, and evocative book is a joy. 

In addition to his huge knowledge of plants, he is an informed historian, and writes beautifully. The book is full of surprises as he takes one meandering through the byways of France sharing his passion for plants, places, and interest in people which all come shining through.

By Monty Don ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Road to Le Tholonet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is not a book about French Gardens. It is the story of a man travelling round France visiting a few selected French gardens on the way.

Owners, intrigues, affairs, marriages, feuds, thwarted ambitions and desires, the largely unnamed ordinary gardeners, wars, plots and natural disasters run through every garden older than a generation or two and fill every corner of the grander historical ones. Families marry. Gardeners are poached. Political allegiances forged and shattered. The human trail crosses from garden to garden.

They sit in their surrounding landscape, not as isolated islands but attached umbilically to it, sharing the…


Book cover of Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt

Carol Fisher Saller Author Of The Bridge Dancers

From my list on nature providing strength and healing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m not an expert in gardening, forestry, or herbal medicine. But like everyone else, I have a growing awareness that our planet Earth is entirely dependent on thriving forests and insects and even weeds. We owe it to our children and future generations to learn about and protect our precious resources. Although I live in the big city of Chicago and have a tiny backyard, last year I turned my little grass lawn into prairie! I have creeping charlie, dandelions, creeping phlox, sedge grass, wild violets, white clover, and who knows what else. (Luckily, my neighbors are on board.) I’ve already seen honeybees and hummingbirds. It’s not much, but it’s something I can do.

Carol's book list on nature providing strength and healing

Carol Fisher Saller Why Carol loves this book

Many of us tend to view gardens only from the surface up.

This book dives underground to show how many living things in the dirt are working hard to help us garden. Worms and insects that we might find “gross” are actually essential for airing the soil and warding off invaders.

Plenty of things grow just fine without human help because they have all the helpers they need under the earth. This book shows how nature goes about its business, plants and insects and animals all working together to green the earth.

Bonus: Neal’s illustrations are anatomical wonders, showing worms and bugs with legs and feelers in a friendly light. Squeamish children (and their parents) might make a few buggy friends as they read.

By Kate Messner , Christopher Silas Neal (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A companion to the new Over and Under the Pond and Over and Under the Snow, this sweet book explores the hidden world and many lives of a garden through the course of a year.

Up in the garden, the world is full of green-leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthworms digging, snakes hunting, skunks burrowing and all the other animals that make a garden their home. In this exuberant and lyrical book, discover the wonders that lie hidden between stalks, under the shade of leaves... and down…


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Designing with Succulents

Isa Hendry Eaton and Jennifer Blaise Kramer Author Of Small Garden Style: A Design Guide for Outdoor Rooms and Containers

From my list on inspiring you to design your dream garden.

Why are we passionate about this?

We are garden designer Isa Hendry Eaton and lifestyle writer Jennifer Blaise Kramer, co-authors of Small Garden Style. We love getting and sharing inspiration on good garden design to pull our lives more outdoors. In our book, we show you how to use good design to create a joyful, elegant, and exciting yet compact outdoor living space for entertaining or relaxing. Our stylishly photographed guide is a fun way to create lush, layered, dramatic little gardens no matter the size of your available space, be it an urban patio, a tiny backyard, or even just a pot by your door.

Isa and Jennifer's book list on inspiring you to design your dream garden

Isa Hendry Eaton and Jennifer Blaise Kramer Why Isa and Jennifer loves this book

As plant lovers who live in Santa Barbara, where succulents and aloes are ever-present, we love this book as it feels like a big authority on such a specific subject.

The book offers a crash course in choosing and planning succulents, and reading it makes even a novice feel like an expert. In addition to learning plant names and growing tips, Baldwin offers fun ideas like covering the top of a henhouse with low-maintenance plants.

Plus, the book is bursting with color, so every page is a visual thrill.

By Debra Lee Baldwin ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Designing with Succulents as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Designing with Succulents is inspiring, practical, and complete-a treasure for any gardener who loves these otherworldly beauties." -Kathleen N. Brenzel, Sunset Succulents offer dazzling possibilities and require very little maintenance to remain lush and alluring year-round. No one knows them better than the Queen of Succulents, Debra Lee Baldwin. This new, completely revised edition of her bestselling classic is a design compendium that is as practical as it is inspirational. Designing with Succulents shares design and cultivation basics, hundreds of succulent plant recommendations, and 50 companion plant profiles. Lavishly illustrated with 400 photographs, you'll find everything you need to visualize,…


Book cover of Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
Book cover of The Practical Permaculture Project
Book cover of Sepp Holzer's Permaculture

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in gardens, gardening, and permaculture?

Gardens 48 books
Gardening 90 books
Permaculture 15 books