Planning for Spring: Yard and Garden Books for Adults

Get ready for spring with these practical and inspiring reads to improve your outdoor spaces. These librarian-recommended reads offer step-by-step help to grow a healthy and beautiful space outdoors.

Updated March 5, 2026
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A northern gardener's guide to native plants and pollinators : creating habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest
Johnson, Lorraine
Paper Book
Few sights are as charming as a hummingbird hovering over cardinal flowers in your backyard or a butterfly lighting on the black-eyed Susans potted on your balcony. Yet pollinators do more than beguile us: they are key to a healthy environment. With many pollinators threatened and their habitats...
Garden allies : the insects, birds, & other animals that keep your garden beautiful and thriving
Lavoipierre, Frédérique
Paper Book
"Explains how your garden can be a thriving, balanced community that gives more to your landscape than it takes." --Douglas W. Tallamy, author of The Nature of Oaks and Nature's Best Hope The birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects that inhabit our yards and gardens are overwhelmingly on our side-...
Good nature : why seeing, smelling, hearing, and touching plants is good for our health
Willis, K. J.
Paper Book
A Next Big Idea Club must-read selection! An Amazon Editor's Pick for Best Nonfiction Book! A ground-breaking investigation into newly discovered evidence showing that remarkable things happen to our bodies and our minds when our senses connect with the...
Nature and the mind : the science of how nature improves cognitive, physical, and social well-being
Berman, Marc G.
Paper Book
A 2026 Nautilus Book Award Winner From the acclaimed founder of environmental neuroscience, Dr. Marc Berman, comes a groundbreaking guide that reveals how interacting with nature can be the secret to improved mental and physical health. Dr. Marc Berman, the...
The well-gardened mind : the restorative power of nature
Stuart-Smith, Sue
Paper Book
One of Garden & Gun's Favorite Books of 2020 A distinguished psychiatrist and avid gardener offers an inspiring and consoling work about the healing effects of gardening and its ability to decrease stress and foster mental well-being in our everyday lives.
The lifelong gardener : garden with ease & joy at any age
Gattone, Toni
Paper Book
"The secret to making the most of later life is to keep doing what you love. With practical advice and gentle inspiration, Gattone shows us how gardening can work for people of any age." --Carl Honoré, author of In Praise of Slowness You can keep gardening...
The complete book of ground covers : 4000 plants that reduce maintenance, control erosion, and beautify the landscape
Lewis, Gary (Gardener)
Paper Book
"A magnum opus of ground covers that deserves a place in every gardener's library." --Tony Avent, founder and owner Plant Delights Nursery Ground covers are widely thought of as utilitarian--we turn to them when we have a problem that needs a solution. Yet these plants also offer a diverse range of...

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