Open book reviews on these 7 beautiful books written all about flower gardening – from growing cut flower gardens to landscaping with flowers – and everything in between.
I definitely caught the Spring Fever early this year, and I couldn’t resist picking up some books all about flower gardening and growing cut flower gardens.
I have a sweet friend and neighbor to blame for this new obsession, as I kept listening to her chat about the charm of having a cut garden – I began dreaming.
*Speaking of friends, this post is part of our Simply Home Series, where some of my blogging friends are posting content about flowers! Be sure to look for their posts below!
WATCH THIS POST
Check out my YouTube video for this post! I share a lot more in the video and take you right inside the pages.
I’ve been soaking up these 7 incredible books on flowers, and I thought it would be fun to open each of them up with you and briefly show you what is inside. My hope is that it will help you determine if any of these books would help you, and which one(s) might be more tailored to your flower gardening needs and interests.
Truth be told, I don’t intend on growing a flower garden this year. We’ve just built a pole barn home and moved in while it is still very unfinished. We have to use all our time and resources on finishing the inside of the house.
But we have been blessed with 25 acres and my husband and I can’t help but dream and want to learn everything we can about what we can do with all this beautiful soil.
So whether you are ready to dig into flower gardening right now or not, I just encourage you to pick up a book or two and learn all you can – which is really the fun part anyway!
Ok, let’s work through this stack of wonderful books. I’ll briefly go inside and share what topics are included. I’m going to share which 2 are my absolute favorites and which ones might actually be a bit too much information for me at the moment. They are all great, but some will work better for you at the moment than others.
You can click on the links for each book, as well as check out all my favorite books from my home library right here in my Book Shop.
7 BEAUTIFUL BOOKS ON FLOWER GARDENING
(In a very particular order, from my favorite “must-haves” to my “nice-to-have-but-a-bit-too-much-for-me-at-the-moment” books).
1 – Floret Farm’s – Cut Flower Garden
I imagine you’ve seen these beautiful books created by Floret Farm – the first being Cut Flower Garden.
These books are breaking records for a good reason. They are absolutely fantastic! They bring the best of photography and education in the most inspiring way. The Cut Flower Garden is all about growing a cut flower garden, big or small, business or personal. The way it is written and the detailed instructions with imagery make you feel like you can succeed on any level of cut flower gardening. This book (and the next one) is food for the eyes, soul, and body. Truly works of art based on years of experience and knowledge from Erin Benzakein. MUST-HAVES!
2 – Floret Farm’s – A Year in Flowers
This second book by Floret Farms is a worthy companion! A Year in Flowers is all about arranging and displaying flowers through the seasons.
With the same mentality of eating food in season, Erin now walks you through the art of arranging flowers that are in season and creating the most lovely flower displays and crafts. Equipped with all the tools and knowledge you need to begin playing around with flowers! So inspiring! Every page is a delight!
3 – Mastering the art of Flower Gardening
The description on the cover says a great deal about this book, Mastering the Art of Flower Gardening by Matt Mattus.
“A Gardener’s guide to growing flowers, from today’s favorites to unusual varieties.” It is equipped with inspiration and information to seek out exotic and rare seeds as well as a detailed look through the seasons of what flowers he loves and how to successfully grow them. Reading much like an encyclopedia of flowers for Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, touching briefly on some species and diving deep into others. I found his winter displays to be so inspiring and exciting and I’m determined to make the most of next winter.
4 – The Flower Gardener’s Bible
If you are seeking as much info on flower gardening as possible – this is your book – The Flower Gardener’s Bible.
This book is divided into 3 parts.
- The joy of flower gardening, full of information on starting your garden, planning your space, working with your soil, dealing with pests and more.
- A Gallery of gardens which was a delightful walk through a variety of landscaping themes and flower possibilities such as a cottage garden, garden paths, meadows, hillsides, rock gardens and more.
- A feast of flowers is a fully equipped encyclopedia of over 400 types of flowers and how to grow them.
This book is such a wonderful resource!
5 – Annuals, Perennials, and Bulbs
This book is nicely organized by Annuals, Perennials, and Bulbs.
You can learn the unique characteristics of these 3 different varieties as well as be instructed on the unique flowers that fall into each category. Nice little how-tos are weaved into the pages with helpful images, and you get another great index/encyclopedia resource for how each flower type will grow best.
6 – The Flower Garden
The highlights of The Flower Garden are in the photography.
While parts 2 and 3 touch very briefly on planting and growing a garden, the bulk of the book is an encyclopedia of a variety of flowers, with lovely pictures to go with it. If you just want a quick reference book with imagery (aka – a good coffee table book) this one is delightful.
8 – The Well-Tended Perennial Garden
This book is beefy thick and highly focused on A Well Tended Perennial Garden.
It’s great for an encyclopedia of perennial flowers, but I did find it a bit overwhelmingly so – for my stage of gardening. However, I know many who want to focus solely on perennials and I think this would be a great resource for that.
SUMMARY OF FLOWERS
I hope you’ve enjoyed this review of these 7 books on growing flower gardens! I recently shared another post/video on my favorite books for raising chickens (another impulsive result of our longing for Spring), and I have a few more book reviews I want to do with you yet! My husband picked up a few books on growing herbs, and he has been hooked. Watch for that post and video soon!
I’d love to hear if you have any favorite books in your library. I’m not one to pick up a lengthy novel, but I am a sucker for beautiful books that help me learn and grow in many skills.
You might also enjoy these other flower posts I’ve created:
- Rearrange Grocery Store Flower Bouquets
- How to Make the Most of your Floral Arrangements
- How to Layer a Fall Floral Arrangement
I hope you’ll take some time to click around to see what my friends are posting about flowers!
Thistlewood Farms: How to Decorate with Flowers for Spring
Tidbits: Look Inside these 7 Books on Growing Flower Gardens
Maison de Cinq: Decorating with Flowers on a Budget
Seeking Lavender Lane: Tulips for Spring
Shades of Blue: A Spring Floral Arrangement
So Much Better with Age: How Flowers Bring Joy & Calm
Thanks for reading!
MORE POSTS YOU’LL LOVE
Spring Master Bathroom Refresh
34 Inspiring and Beautiful Spring Decorating Ideas
Hi Cami,
When you plant your raised bed gardens, make sure you mulch them well.
Make enough 9-gage wire hoops for each bed and cover the beds with a floating row cover until the flowering vegetables need to be pollinated. This will keep moisture in and bugs and birds out.
Remove when it gets too hot, though!
Wish you a good vegetable and herb harvest!
Frauke
This is really a great article and a great read for me. It’s my first visit to your blog and I have found it so useful and informative. Thank you
What a great post! I love any resources on flowers—some of my favorite books. 🙂
Happy day friend!
karianne
Cami, when you finally get your flower garden you can make some money by selling your flowers at the Farmers Market. I have been to a few Farmers Markets in several states. Flowers were very popular. I have grown flowers and vegetables in pots, so that is another idea until you get your house finished. I especially like Earth Boxes. I grew my tomatoes and peppers in those for years before moving to Utah.
Such a great idea, Cami. I know nothing about growing flowers in my garden and wouldn’t know where to start. This is definitely a great resource!
Hugs, Jamie
What a great idea Cami! I’ve been wanting to plant more flowers in our yard (something I talked about in the post, actually!) and I’ll be sure to check out some of these!
Happy Spring to you my friend!
Sheila
xo
Headed over to check out your post! We desperately need some landscaping, but all in due time. Thanks for coming by Sheila!
Okay, I need all of these, perfect way to brighten up the days during this gloomy time.
Thanks Deb! Definitely fun to read!
Thanks for the review of these books it’s always nice to have information about some good gardening books. I have one by Martha Stewart and have been thinking about purchasing more.
Can’t go wrong with Martha! Thanks for stopping by!