10 Great Gardening Books To Read This Summer While Enjoying Your Artificial Grass

Whether you’re a veteran “plant nut” or new to the art and science of gardening, you’ll have a lot more time to devote to this love, now that you have artificial turf. Instead of mowing, etc. you can be growing things that are beautiful. Edible even.

We’ve pulled together a list of 10 especially worthwhile books that will inspire and assist you (and your kids) to create colorful, fragrant, plantings around the perimeter of your fake lawn and throughout your yard. So pull up a patio chair or take a shady seat directly on your soft, inviting artificial grass, and have a read.

1. Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces

By Michelle Slatalla, with the editors of Gardenista

This author lives in Mill Valley, so she knows Bay Area gardening. She shares whole-garden tips on everything from plants to furniture, hardscape, and tool suggestions.

2. Good Bug Bad Bug: Who’s Who, What They Do, and How to Manage Them Organically 

By Jessica Walliser

Learn how to tell friend from foe in this excellent, illustrated guide.

3. Golden Gate Gardening: The Complete Guide to Year-Round Food Gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area and Coastal California

By Pam Pierce

Veggies and herbs are beautiful additions to any garden, and you can harvest them, too. Well-known Bay Area horticulturist, Pam Pierce introduced this comprehensive book in 1993, and it’s still a favorite (updated, of course) with local gardeners.

4. The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible

By Edward C. Smith

Learn how to grow veggies in wide raised beds. Surrounding the beds with artificial turf walkways keeps everything tidy and provides a gorgeous finishing touch.

5. McGee & Stuckey’s Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers 

By Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey

Get the low-down on creating container gardens to spice up any size or shape space.

6. The Beautiful Edible Garden 

By Leslie Bennett and Stefani Bittner

Who better to inspire you than professional landscape designers? If you weren’t convinced yet to plant edibles, you will become a true believer.

7. Harvest: Unexpected Projects Using 47 Extraordinary Garden Plants 

By Stefani Bittner and Alethea Harampolis

Why do the same old expected things with the flowers or foods you grow? This book reveals unexpected ways you can use 47 plants, from salads and summer backyard beverages to hand creams and herb-infused oils.

8. Foraged Flora

By Louesa Roebuck and Sarah Lonsdale.

These Bay Area ladies share their love for gathering dried flowers and grasses from native landscapes as well as home gardens to create interesting, lasting arrangements.

9. Water, Weed, and Wait

By Edith Hope Fine and Angela Halpin, illustrated by Colleen M. Madden

Waiting is hard when you’re a kid, but it’s part of gardening. This story about a school project engages youngsters while teaching about the basics of raising flowers and food.

10. Secrets of the Garden: Food Chains and the Food Web in Our Backyard

By Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, illustrated by Priscilla Lamont

A lovely story about a real family’s garden that teaches kids to appreciate the broad ecosystem that is a home garden.

Sunset’s Western Garden Book

We saved the #1 must-have for last. Published for 80 years, this tome remains the go-to resource for everything from detailed plant information to inspiring ideas and how-to instructions and tips.

Of course this hearty reference is just the beginning for the iconic Sunset. So while you’re taking a break to enjoy your artificial turf, grab your tablet so you can go online and read up on Sunset’s great gardening ideas and outdoor DIY projects.