Good books are a reliable partner in gardening and also make great gifts for gardeners. Below are listed member-recommended faves, by category. This is by no means a comprehensive list of great books for urban gardeners, but contains many of our favorites appropriate for the high desert, southwestern gardener who doesn’t mind to be challenged! (Some authors are well represented because they have so much to say…)

*OUTDOORS*

Small Garden by John Brookes

Designer Plant Combinations by Scott Calhoun

Hot Pots: Container Gardening in the Arid Southwest by Scott Calhoun and Lynn Hassler

The Hot Garden: Landscape Design for the Desert Southwest by Scott Calhoun

Yard Full of Sun: The Story of a Gardener’s Obsession That Got a Little Out of Hand by Scott Calhoun

The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses by Eliot Coleman

Beyond the Lawn: Unique Outdoor Spaces for Modern Living by Keith Davitt

The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food by Tanya L. K. Denckla

The Backyard Beekeeper – Revised and Updated: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden by Kim Flottum

City Chicks: Keeping Micro-flocks of Laying Hens as Garden Helpers, Compost Makers, Bio-reyclers, and Local Food Producers by Patricia Foreman

The American Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn

by John Greenlee and Saxon Holt

Grasses: Versatile Partners for Uncommon Garden Design by Saxon Holt and Nancy J. Ondra

Complete Book of Cacti & Succulents by Terry Hewitt

How to Grow More Vegetables: And Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine by John Jeavons

The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan

Native Gardens For Dry Climates by Sally Wasowski

EDUCATIONAL

The Self-Made Tapestry: Pattern Formation in Nature by Philip Ball

American Horticultural Society Pruning & Training by Christopher Brickell and David Joyce

Edible Herb Garden by Rosalind Creasy

The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability by Paul Hawken

Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway

Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability by David Holmgren

Creative Concrete Ornaments for the Garden: Making Pots, Planters, Birdbaths, Sculpture & More by Sherrie Warner Hunter

Arts and Crafts Gardens by Gertrude Jekyll

Toolbox for Sustainable City Living: A do-it-Ourselves Guide by Scott Kellogg (Author), Stacy Pettigrew (Author), Juan Martinez (Illustrator)

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands (Vol. 1 of 2): Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain into Your Life And Landscape by Brad Lancaster

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv

Renewing America’s Food Traditions: Saving and Savoring the Continent’s Most Endangered Foods by Gary Paul Nabhan and Deborah Madison

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan

The Omnivore’s Dilemma for Kids: The Secrets Behind What You Eat by Michael Pollan

Beyond Ecophobia: Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education (Nature Literacy Series, Vol. 1) by David Sobel

Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Douglas W. Tallamy

A Kid’s Herb Book by Lesley Tierra

From Earth to Herbalist: An Earth-Conscious Guide to Medicinal Plants by Gregory L. Tilford

Building inside Nature’s Envelope: How New Construction and Landscape Preservation Can Work Together by Andy and Sally Wasowski

PHILOSOPHY & ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT

Nature’s Ghosts: Confronting Extinction from the Age of Jefferson to the Age of Ecology by Mark V. Barrow Jr.

Plan B 4.0 by Lester Brown

One-straw Revolution: Introduction to Natural Farming by Masanobu Fukoka

Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken

The Echoing Green: The Garden in Myth and Memory by Jennifer Heath

Flora Mirabilis: How Plants Have Shaped World Knowledge, Health, Wealth, and Beauty (National Geographic) by Catherine H. Howell

Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan

Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education by Michael Pollan

Landscaping Revolution: Garden With Mother Nature, Not Against Her (The Contemporary Gardener) by Andy Wasowski and Sally Wasowski

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

HOUSEHOLD

Fine Cooking Fresh: 350 Recipes That Celebrate the Seasons by Fine Cooking Magazine (Editor)

Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard: A Complete Planting Guide for 40 Vegetables and Herbs, from Bok Choy and Chinese Parsley to Mung Beans and Water Chestnuts by Geri Harrington

Cooking Green: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint in the Kitchen–the New Green Basics Way by Kate Heyhoe

Savoring the Day: recipes and remedies to enhance your natural rhythms. Judith Benn Hurley

tips — 1/4 lav 1/2 cut oats into food processor and then storage jar. process 1/2 cup almonds until smooth and into jar. turn to mix.

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability by Lierre Keith

Vinegar: Over 400 Various, Versatile, and Very Good Uses You’ve Probably Never Thought Of by Vicki Lansky

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan

The Farmer’s Market Cookbook: More Than 100 Recipes Using the Freshest Ingredients by Richard Ruben

Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal by Tristram Stuart

A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes by David Tanis and Alice Waters

HOLIDAY

Green Christmas: How to Have a Joyous, Eco-Friendly Holiday Season by Jennifer Basye Sander, Peter Sander, Anne Basye

NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY OF NEW MEXICO recommended book list

AMAZON – GG recommendations 

Whew.