Win the best 12 gardening books of 2025

‘I am hungry for colour. I want jam red and acid yellow, violet blue and caterpillar green. I want cinnamon orange with scorched yellow, liquorice and blackcurrant. I want amethyst, putty and smoky blue, the liminal in-between colours, and sharp lemon with tart pink and purple that is rich and electric. We all know instinctively that colour is good for us and it is colour that draws me out into my garden,’ says Lucy Bellamy. Her modern approach to colour in the garden offers beautiful planting palettes and advice on colour in containers and smaller spaces.

Curated by an international team of horticultural experts, this lavish book features 300 of the greatest contemporary gardens across the globe from renowned gardeners, rising stars and owner-makers who have pushed the boundaries over the last 30 years. From cliffside sanctuaries and rooftop jungles to rewilded meadows and desert oases, it captures the radical creativity shaping today’s green spaces. It includes iconic public gardens such as New York’s High Line and Changi Airport Garden, as well as private gems, such as a dreamy hillside garden in Morocco by Umberto Pasti.

Inspired by California’s pioneering Ruth Bancroft Garden – the low-water garden started by the eponymous gardener in 1971, at the age of 63 – this collaborative work offers inspiration for designing gardens that thrive with minimal water, while retaining
the sensory richness we seek to nurture as gardeners. The book’s emphasis on structural planting, mulching and layering of drought-tolerant species could be adapted to drier parts of the UK, using Mediterranean, South African and native British plants. The advice on grouping plants with similar water needs, choosing species for year-round structure and embracing looser, more naturalistic planting would suit not just dry climates, but any garden where reducing water use is a priority. JP

Following the death of her father, an avid rose grower, photographer Ngoc journeyed through gardens the world over – both new and old – immersing in the roses that thrive therein. Across the book’s 11 chapters she exquisitely captures the shifting apricot and copper hues of Rosa x odorata ‘Mutabilis’ at Italy’s crumbling Giardino di Ninfa; the tree- scaling roses of Umberto Pasti’s romantic garden in Morocco; the cascades of rambling Rosa ‘Wedding Day’ at the entrance of Château de la Rongère in France and flares of Rosa ‘Scharlachglut’ in garden designer Dan Pearson’s meadow at Hillside in Somerset.

Bestselling author and popular YouTuber Huw Richards shares offers his ultimate guide to permaculture. With photographs from his own garden, Huw explains why we should all be growing more perennial veg such as globe artichokes, skirret, and even nettles, as well as fruits and herbs. Growing guides for annuals are included too, plus a section on ‘bonus harvests’, a list of overlooked but tasty parts of a plant, such as carrot and beetroot leaves, kale flower stems, and radish pods. He also advises on mixed planting as opposed to growing in rigid rows or blocks, ‘minimal disturbance’ versus no dig – and integrating ducks into the garden.

Designer Jo Thompson is known for her romantic creations blending thoughtful design with loose and environmentally friendly planting. With 30 years of garden design under her belt, Thompson knows her stuff, but she wears her learning lightly and warmly. Thompson goes on to describe 30 individual gardens she has worked on. The range of locations, sizes, themes and design outcomes is impressive. Whether it’s a Victorian walled garden, an ancient estate, a meadow, writer’s retreat, tiny urban back garden or city rooftop, the seashore or riverside, show gardens or a pub, with each of these Thompson shares her process with a clarity and honesty that will appeal as much to the aspiring designer as it will to the amateur.

This book is a beauty. But beyond the glorious photographs and the list of new cultivars you’ll be inspired to try and find seeds to grow, this is much more than something to look pretty on the coffee table. It is written by people who love sweet peas with a passion. Cecilia Wingård is the author of two popular books in Swedish on sweet peas and cut flowers, and co-author Philip Johnson is one of Britain’s leading sweet pea breeders and an expert in the field. The history of sweet peas, their classification, propagation, breeding, their use in floristry – every possible subject associated with these easy-to-grow-if-you-know-how annuals is covered. Read the full review.

Clare Coulson has hit upon a fascinating subject for this book, which explores the private gardens of 18 of the UK’s best designers, beautifully photographed by Éva Németh. By interviewing the designers in their own gardens, Coulson is rewarded with a relaxed openness, which makes for enlightening and intimate biographies, each of which are given their own chapter. Some of the faces and gardens in the book are more familiar than others, but Németh’s photography presents them through a refreshing lens, capturing charming details that perfectly illustrate the designers’ (and their families’) sensibilities. Read the full review.

Plantsman, designer and TV presenter Jamie Butterworth has taken a unique approach to planting combinations, inspired by Jamie Oliver’s 5 Ingredients cookery book. Featuring planting ‘recipes’ for every garden, he has simplified the selection process with a guide that will help readers maximise their time, space and money by choosing beautiful plants that
will thrive in their gardens and look good next to each other. He shares over 60 plant combinations (from as few as two plants to as many as seven), all of which he has tried, tested and grown himself. All are good for growing in pots as well as borders.

The Green Fuse offers a deep and contemplative dive into the culture that
lies beneath our gardens: where they come from, why we make them, and what they mean to us. Poet, lecturer and writer Peter Dale examines gardens and gardening
‘in the light of other cultural activities… the reading of books, the practice of religion(s), looking at paintings, listening closely to music… memorialising, dreaming, idealising’. It is breathtaking in its scope and continually and delightfully surprising. It will feed your mind, spark your imagination and leave you hungry for more. An intricate, magical and deeply satisfying book.

This complete course in planting design is perfect for professionals or semi- professionals wanting to develop their horticultural style. Written by Andrew Fisher Tomlin, a garden designer of note and one of the founders of the London
College of Garden Design, the book is an outpouring of all he knows and has taught. The book is a comprehensive treaty on how to think about plants, how to factor them into a design and landscape, how to propose and present them to a client, and their role in the wider environment. Through clear writing and plenty of space, it tells you what you need to know if you use plants as your palette. Read our full review.

A beautifully curated book from Gardens Illustrated, showcasing 52 of the most inspiring and innovative gardens in the UK and around the world. From small city courtyards to romantic country gardens and from historic estates to public parks designed by top designers, each space takes a fresh, ecological approach that respects the past while embracing the challenges of the future. It features a foreword from Piet Oudolf, who says: ‘Gardening is evolving, and this book highlights both traditional and innovative approaches, making it an invaluable resource for designers and enthusiasts alike.’ Read more about the book.