A bit oddly for an undertaking that demands working with one’s hands, gardening turns out to be a wonderful pastime on TV, and, less surprisingly, within the pages of books, where writers such as Jane Austen and William Shakespeare have set scenes in gardens. The following books celebrate the TV-ness of gardening, four written by garden TV hosts and one by a TikTok star.

The leading figure in garden TV is Monty Don, host of the BBC’s iconic Gardeners’ World. Don welcomes viewers to his own garden, Long Meadow, teaching how to take cuttings, sow seeds, prune, harvest, and most of all, love what gardening offers. His comforting effect, and cameos by his dogs, helped much of the U.K. and U.S. weather the pandemic lockdowns. Don even asked viewers to share their gardens on air, and many did. Don has been gardening and writing for decades and has a bookshelf to show for it. Try The Complete Gardener (DK. May 2021. ISBN 9780241424308. $30). It is an encyclopedic guide that addresses everything from the weather to the soil. Gardeners of flowers, vegetables, herbs, and more will find guidance, and fans of Gardeners’ World will get a look at 18 of the garden spaces comprising Long Meadow. READ NEXT: Don covers a lot of ground, but readers who are interested in how a garden comes to be will find David L. Culp’s Layered Garden to be fine next reading.

Adam Frost features often on Gardeners’ World, where he also serves as host when Don is on assignment. Frost is deeply engaged, with a can-do attitude. As he tours gardens and introduces gardeners, he highlights form, structure, color combinations, and beauty. In his own home garden, complete with a scene-stealing cat, he crafts spaces of serene loveliness. Frost, a garden designer and builder by trade, wrote How To Create Your Garden (DK. Feb. 2020. ISBN 9781465472854 $22.99), a guide to making a garden from scratch, or fixing the one you have. This is a ruler/graph paper/ mechanical pencil kind of book that gives guidance and insight into all aspects of garden design, not just plant choice. READ NEXT: Those interested in reading more about how gardens come to be will also enjoy Garden Design Master Class, edited by Carl Dellatore.

One more Gardeners’ World host to note is Frances Tophill. Viewers revel in her various segments on the show, which follow her around the U.K. as she visits gardens and gardeners, and on her quest for her own allotment, a long-awaited achievement she celebrated by planting a fruit tree in spring and making pickled vegetables from the first of her harvest in the fall. The Modern Gardner (Kyle. Apr. 2022. ISBN 9780857839435. $26.99) focuses on issues clearly at the heart of Tophill’s gardening ethos: sustainability, creativity, and the many uses of homegrown plants, from food and libations to fabric dyes. The book details how to garden in eco-forward ways from the start, with chapters focusing on house plants, growing produce, cut-flower planting, and crafting an apothecary garden. Recipes of all sorts are mixed in. READ NEXT: Introduce Tophill fans to Alys Fowler (host of The Edible Garden) and suggest they read Eat What You Grow, Fowler’s guide to a wildlife-friendly kitchen garden.

Not all garden TV is based in the U.K. The Magnolia Network in the U.S., run by Chip and Joanna Gaines, offers two shows of note. Homegrown is hosted by Jamila Norman, a gardener who runs a farm on 1.2 acres in downtown Atlanta. She has yet to write a book, but Magnolia’s other gardening show, Growing Floret, stars Erin Benzakein, who has written three. Benzakein trials, develops, and harvests flower seeds from her farm in the Skagit River Valley of Washington State. Her show follows that process. The award-winning Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden (Chronicle. Mar. 2017. ISBN 9781452145761. $29.95) is Benzakein’s most important title. In these pages, readers will find guidance on how to grow flowers for profit or joy. Chapters address planning, soil management, starting seeds, supporting growing blooms, and harvesting. Much of the book is devoted to specific species and varieties of flowers, from amaryllis to zinnias. Benzakein’s clear, inspirational, educational, lovely book has become a key title in the field. READ NEXT: Keep the U.S./U.K. connection going by suggesting In Bloom by Clare Nolan, a British gardener who offers Floret fans more information on growing a range of stunning blooms.

Gardening videos have exploded during COVID, from features on Gardeners’ World to YouTube and more. Getting coverage in the NYT and Vogue, Marcus Bridgewater is one of the leading gardeners on TikTok, where he offers short takes on caring for plants, oneself, and the community. The centering, calm lessons mix a bit of how-to with a lot of happy vibes. Bridgewater’s first book, How To Grow (HarperOne. May 2022. ISBN 9780063141445. $22.99), echoes this approach and offers a blend of self-help and inspirational writing. It is not a how-to-garden book, but rather a how-to-live one, rooted in Bridgewater’s life and outlook. It provides lessons on patience, insight, and self-care—all drawn from what the garden offers. As Monty Don often says, gardens take care of their gardener as much as gardeners take care of gardens. READ NEXT: You Grow, Gurl! by Christopher Griffin, a gardener known for their @plantkween Instagram account, also focuses on gardening as an act of self-nurture. 

Neal Wyatt is Reviews Editor, Library Journal.