Nine of the Best New Gardening Books

HOW TO GROW PLANTS FOR FREE
Increase your stock of plants easily and for free by propagating them yourself. RHS How to Grow Plants for Free demystifies the art of taking cuttings and explains the other ways you can multiply your garden plants. Propagating your own plants is fun, inexpensive, and a sustainable way to garden. An introductory section explains the botanical science behind all types of propagation and the book is then split into self-contained practical chapters detailing each of the different types of propagation.

RHS How to Grow Plants for Free: Creating New Plants from Cuttings, Seeds and More, £14.99 (Out 4th May)

RHS THE LITTLE BOOK OF CUT-FLOWER GARDENING
This is the perfect introduction to growing your own blooms. Whether your cut-flower patch is a handful of pots or half an allotment, you’ll find accessible information on successful and sustainable growing, to keep your plot healthy and as productive as possible. As well as introductory chapters on planning and gardening basics, there are details on how to cut your flowers and extend their vase life, and how to dry flowers for everlasting arrangements.

RHS The Little Book of Cut-Flower Gardening: How to grow flowers and foliage sustainably for beautiful arrangements, £14.99 (Out 4th May)

YOUR MAGICAL GARDEN
Based on author Clare Gogerty’s own experience, Your Magical Garden will encourage you to look at your outdoor space with a witch’s eye. Each chapter is based on one of the Five Elements and offers details about the element and its potency, how to work with it in your garden, what plants are associated with it, and corresponding remedies, rituals and spells. You will learn how to create spiritual features, such as a moon gate, leaf mandala, scrying pool and fire pit, as well as ways to care for nature, such as rewilding to create a haven for plants and wildlife.

Your Magical Garden: Harness the power of the elements to create an enchanted outdoor space, £14.99 

THE GREEN GARDENING HANDBOOK
Nancy Birtwhistle is a Sunday Times bestselling author, lifelong gardener and Hull-born baker who won the fifth series of The Great British Bake Off in 2014. Motivated by protecting the planet for her 10 grandchildren, Nancy decided to change how she used plastic, single use products and chemicals in her home. Sharing her tips online, she amassed an engaged international following of devoted fans interested not only in her delicious recipes but also in her innovative ideas and time-saving swaps that rethink everyday house and garden tasks to make as little an impact on the environment as possible.

The Green Gardening Handbook: Grow, Eat and Enjoy, £14.99 

THE CUT FLOWER SOURCEBOOK
In 2008 Rachel Siegfried founded Green and Gorgeous, a flower farm and floral design studio in Oxfordshire where she and her partner Ashley Pearson grow hundreds of varieties, carefully selected for their cut flower credentials, on four acres of land. The flowers they produce are sold directly to the public through their farm shop, and used for wedding work and as teaching material in their popular workshops. Rachel’s gardening background brings a unique perspective which puts seasonality and sustainability front and centre of her work.

The Cut Flower Sourcebook, £25 

HOUSE OF FLOWERS
With 30 step-by-step projects for every season this is the go-to guide for burgeoning flower arrangers. Expert florist Ashlee Jane leads you through her inspirational ideas for floral designs to bring the calming presence of flowers and foliage into your home. From small place settings and everyday bouquets to show-stopping displays for a mantlepiece or staircase, with styling tips throughout, Ashley shows you how to fill your home with flowers all year round.

House of Flowers, £25 

REBEL GARDENING
You don’t need a big garden to reconnect with nature. This beginner’s guide to urban gardening from passionate gardener and YouTuber Alessandro Vitale is a great source of knowledge and inspiration for anyone who has limited space and time. Learn how micro-organisms work to feed your plants, how to make your own fertiliser, and how to recycle and reuse everything in your garden and never create food waste again.

Rebel Gardening: A Beginner’s Handbook to Organic Urban Gardening, £18.99 

A YEAR FULL OF VEG
New from Sarah Raven is this month-by-month guide to cultivating the best seasonal veg. With her wealth of experience, she shares the most reliable and bountiful varieties to grow, her tried-and-tested favourite crops, and unusual vegetables, herbs and salads that you can’t buy in shops. As well as planting inspiration, Sarah reveals expert tips and techniques for growing and harvesting flavourful crops from January through to December.

A Year Full of Veg, £25 

THE HERB GARDENING HANDBOOK
Andrew Perry is the brain behind Urban Herbs, which began in 2011 on a few window ledges, and has grown to a whole herb farm. Urban Herbs supply restaurants and cocktail bars, and trade at BBC Good Food shows, regional markets and food festivals. Andrew works with local authorities to create community herb gardens and runs classes for children at inner city schools, showing them how growing can be rewarding for both body and mind.

The Herb Gardening Handbook, £12