Books about Climate Change and Gardening

Rarely are gardening books one size fits all. A book for my son, an expert gardener in Pennsylvania with a strong interest in ornamental plants, would be a poor fit for my daughter, a novice gardener in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California who enjoys a few fresh vegetables for her family. I recently searched for books about climate change and gardening.

Remember that books are not published overnight. It takes months, even years, to write the text, select and place the photographs and diagrams, create a table of contents, and the essential index. Editors and publishers add to the author's timeline. Fortunately, gardeners pay attention to weather and climate. They have long known that change is occurring. Experienced garden writers have created printed books and eBooks about a climate-changing world. How will you find these books? Don't limit your search terms to climate and garden only. Consider including terms like resilient, sustainable, natural, ecology, vegetable, landscape, American, mid-Atlantic, and others of your choice. I recently examined six recently published books suggested by my search terms. While none were poor, I did enjoy some more than others. Each reader's opinion will differ.

The book title, Resilient Garden, Sustainable Gardening for a Changing Climate, includes many of my search terms. Author Tom Massey is a garden designer in England. Quality photographs and diagrams support the printed word. Massey mentions food crops, but information on them is minimal. Scientific and common names identify plants in photographs and are well-described. A hardiness zone is listed, but the Royal Horticultural Society's hardiness zone numbers do not correspond with our U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones. These numbers are confusing to American readers. Massey's reasons for designing a sustainable garden in the face of climate change are well explained. Although it is well-indexed, this book is better when read cover to cover, beginning with page 1, without skipping about.

Another book title that reflects many of my search terms is New Naturalism, Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden. Kelly D. Norris is an award-winning author and plantsman from Iowa. Details and reasons for his ecological planting methods are well described and illustrated with photos. Surprisingly, no scientific names are in the index. There is no discussion of edibles, fruits, and vegetables. Placing the right plant in the right place for a natural and sustainable design is foremost in this book.

Gaia Min's book, Gardening Just Got Real. Climate Change and Rediscovering Food Security with a Home Garden stresses food crops. This experienced gardening author suggests crops that will increase food security in your small-scale garden, whether urban, suburban, or country. Most of her concepts are broad, and the suggested plants are often limited to specific zones. There is no index. It is a quick read that will give you ideas for further research.

The Climate Change Garden, Down to Earth Advice for Growing a Resilient Garden by Sally Morgan and Kim Stoddart covers everything. While the authors are United Kingdom-based, United States terminology appears throughout. There is even a glossary of terms for global readers. The authors give thorough explanations of the need to change our gardening techniques. There are chapters on vegetables and orchards. The reader may explore this book in any sequence using the table of contents and the index. Kim Stoddart released a new book, The Climate Change Resilient Vegetable Garden: How to Grow Food in a Changing Climate, in 2024.

Sue Reed and Ginny Stibolt have written Climate-Wise Landscaping, Practical Actions for a Sustainable Future. My second edition includes a forward by Doug Tallamy. Reed and Stibolt are experienced gardeners and authors. Reed gardens in New England; Stibolt is a transplanted Florida gardener. Their book is user-friendly and well-organized. Action topics are throughout the text, with reasons and techniques explained. There is one chapter about food. The index covers topics well but includes very few names of plants and no scientific names. While I prefer a more complete index, this index reflects the broad topics and materials covered within the book rather than the use of specific plants.

My favorite book does not target Pennsylvania gardens but includes valid concepts for Pennsylvania gardeners. Climate Change Gardening for the South and Planet-friendly Solutions for Thriving Gardens by Barbara J. Sullivan should be on your list of gifts for family and friends in our southeastern states. Although it covers USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5a to 9b, most plant choices are neither ideal nor native to Pennsylvania. Sullivan includes a chapter on growing foods. Her explanation of solutions to ensure a garden of thriving plants is thorough. Sullivan has an extensive appendix with lists of plants for different habits. Please read it and then gift it. I await a similar book for the mid-Atlantic or northeastern states.

Each book details why we should stop picking the plant first and hope it thrives in its new location. We should rely upon soil, light, temperature, and location to guide us in gardening with nature, especially in the ever-changing weather and climate. Reach out to the Extension services of land-grant universities for research-based information about gardening amid climate change.

Books mentioned:

• Massey, Tom. 2023. Resilient Garden, Sustainable Gardening for a Changing Climate. New York: DK Publishing.
• Min, Gaia. 2023. Gardening Just Got Real. Climate Change and Rediscovering Food Security with a Home Garden. Middletown, DE
• Morgan, Sally and Kim Stoddart. 2023. Climate-Wise Landscaping, Practical Actions for a Sustainable Future. Beverly, MA: Quarto Publishing
• Norris, Kelly D. 2021. New Naturalism, Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden. Beverly, MA: Quarto Publishing.
• Reed, Sue and Ginny Stibolt. 2023. Climate-Wise Landscaping, Practical Actions for a Sustainable Future. Gainesville: University Press of Florida
• Sullivan, Barbara J. 2022. Climate Change Gardening for the South, Planet-friendly Solutions for Thriving Gardens. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.