For Garden, Shed, or Bookshelf
At GardenRant we pride ourselves on being independent. Not only in our opinions, but in the plants we grow, the books we read, and the products and tools that we instinctively reach for every day. And we’d like to share those picks with you.
Below you’ll find your favorite Ranters and their favorite products listed through affiliate marketing links. We’ve not been cajoled, pressured, wined, dined, or threatened to list them, they are simply great in the opinion of the Ranter who has chosen to recommend them.
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Susan’s Picks
My Garden
Greenbelt, Maryland, US
USDA 7b
1800 sq. ft.
Est. 2011
My garden is lawn-free, thanks to some great groundcovers. It feels private, thanks to shrubs and some carefully trained vines. And the many perennials and annuals keep the garden buzzing with pollinators all season.
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Water Right hoses are lightweight and impossible to kink.
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My Nisaku Hori Hori Weeding Knife works on almost any weed, but especially in cracks.
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The Classic Felco Hand Pruner has been my go-to for decades.
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Fiskars Bypass Loppers are so easy to use, I’d say they cut like butter!
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The Corona 10″ Folding Saw works surprisingly fast.
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Garden Revolution
Larry Weaner and Thomas Christopher
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Roses Without Chemicals
Peter E. Kukielski
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Tomorrow’s Garden
Stephen Orr
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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Barbara Kingsolver
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Green Thoughts
Eleanor Perenyi
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The Essential Earthman
Henry Mitchell
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Lab Girl
Hope Jahren
Elizabeth’s Picks
My Garden
Buffalo, New York, US
USDA 6a
garden size
Est. 1999
My urban, courtyard-centered garden focuses on the sound of water, and the judicious use of art and changing container plantings. It features shade-tolerant perennials and shrubs, with roses, lilies and annuals in sunny spots.
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Find out how cutting back, deadheading, pruning, and other well-timed maintenance activities can drastically improve your garden.
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This has all the information you need to get a garden going.
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All of Christopher Lloyd’s books are recommended. Keep in mind, though, don’t necessarily try what they do at home! The UK is very different.
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Before pouring the contents of your kitchen cabinets into the garden, please read this.
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Also highly recommended.
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A great gardening book, regardless of how old you are. Wonderful advice and good writing.
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Dirr is the man for trees and shrubs.
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Armitage is the go-to for information about perennials; this is a basic reference that’s been updated recently.
Allen’s Picks
My Garden
Louisville, Kentucky, US
USDA 6b
1/3 acre
Est. 1995
A wildish mix of unusual perennials and woody plants make up my partially shady urban garden which also features a sunk garden and adjacent beds inspired by German plantsman Karl Foerster.
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Bosmere Haws 7 Liter Watering Can
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A.M. Leonard Soil Knife
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Utility Sled for Hauling
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DeWit Long Handle Push Hoe
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The View From Federal Twist
James Golden
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The Well Tempered Garden
by Christopher Lloyd
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The Unsettling of America
by Wendell Berry
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The Little Bulbs: A Tale of Two Gardens
by Elizabeth Lawrence
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The Essential Earthman
Henry Mitchell
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The Education of a Gardener
Russell Page
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Thoughtful Gardening
Robin Lane Fox
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Derek Jarman’s Garden
by Derek Jarman & Howard Sooley
Scotts’s Picks
My Garden
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
USDA 6a
3/4 acre
Est. 1999
Our backyard is shaded by a collection of rare trees. Moss paths, stone walls, and beds of perennials almost make it look carefully designed. The front yard is a shambolic sweep of perennials hosting frenzied hordes of birds and insects.
Okatsune pruners work every day without aggravation. Reasonable size, excellent design.
The Senkichi Nejiri Gama hoe cleans up soil within arm’s reach in seconds. When you’re low and close you’re not hoeing out seedlings and plants you want.
Super useful, easy to use, a Dutch Long handled Push Hoe uses a whole different set of muscles that thankfully still seem to work.
A hori-hori is super useful to have. Digs small holes, saws through roots. You can cut your arm off with it if you are not careful, which is why you need the holster.
Backpack sprayers are great for larger properties but also ordinary gardens for larger spraying needs of all the banned stuff in your garage for use around schools or streams. But seriously — super dependable, easy to use, efficient and focused. This is a good one.
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A little Perennial Spade is really good for planting perennials or anything reasonably small when you are on your knees.
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Yes, you can use this rope chainsaw for survivalist fun, but you can also use it for getting in and making tight pruning cuts where you can’t get a normal pruning saw.
This clever little timer regularly waters your garden based on your input for when you’re away. Which you probably never are.
In my opinion, the standard for general knowledge gardening books.
Very useful little book for translating common names to Latin names.
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Life changing. I was all about vegetables until I read this book, and then I was all about roses. Eventually I moved onto being all about ornamentals.
This book made me go off the deep end on organic vegetables and self-sufficiency – which lasted until I read In Search of Lost Roses.
Marianne’s Picks
My Garden
Lovettsville, Virginia, US
- USDA 6b
10.5 Acres
- Est. 2013
I garden in a stream valley surrounded by deciduous woodland, with approximately 3-4 acres of cleared land and a great deal of shade. Alluvial soils drain quickly, but our region averages 43″ of rain a year. Natives, exotics and of course, tropicals and subtropicals rub shoulders.
I have been using a 4″ Pointing Trowel for gardening since I was first introduced to it as an archaeology student. It digs, it scrapes, it has an offset handle. I feel naked without it.
Everyone loves Felco, and I’m not saying I don’t, but my ARS VS-8 Hand Pruner is a less expensive, sturdy alternative with a terrific spring action that allows you to open it with a little squeeze.
CobraHead Mini Cultivator is a wonderful little tool, particularly for weeding or preparing soil for sowing. I prefer the mini over the original.
I couldn’t have planted over 10K bulbs on my property without my Power Planter Flower & Bulb Auger. You can’t use it for every job (see my post on the subject), but it makes short work of a wrist-intensive job.
The DeWit Perennial Planter is the perfect size for down on my knees digging. So sturdy – it’s my go to when I don’t want to pull out the spade.
ARS Heavy Duty Long Reach Pruner – Essential when you have vines you planted and vines you didn’t plant trying to take over the world.
The EGO Cordless String Trimmer rescued me from exhausting myself trying to get a gas-powered trimmer started. Now it’s a matter of “see job, do job”, instead of waiting to deal with it later. I recommend the entire EGO series.
Womanswork Hip Holster Tool Belt — A low profile, hard wearing belt for trowel, knife, string, scissors, that I can also clip my leather pruner holster to.
A wonderful mix of wit, information, and obstinacy. Techniques are adaptable for all gardeners –though the plants may not be.
A beautifully written book on the pleasures and pains of garden-building, from one of our foremost plantspeople.
Should be required reading for all gardeners — and garden writers. Breathtakingly honest.
I love this book for its simplicity. Easy to understand & follow, without all the shiny frills.
Anne’s Picks
My Garden
Chepstow, Wales, UK
USDA 9
4 Acres
Est. 1987
We have been making our garden from two fields for 36 years. It is a mix of formal hedges and informal planting surrounded by woodland and meadows. Good soil, and extremes of weather are rare.
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Felco Folding Saw F600 – so sharp!
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Cordless 6-inch Mini Chainsaw – for when the folding saw is too much work.
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Barebones Wooden Handled Hori Hori – I’m in agreement with Susan, Allen, Scott & Ben on this one, though I prefer a wood handle.
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100 FT Expandable Garden Hose-Flexible Water Hose with 10 Spray Nozzle – These miraculous hoses are light and they don’t kink. Be sure to have an expandable hose repair kit to keep it functioning well.
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Any smart phone will do. I take pics all the time for my posts. It tells me what plants are doing, how parts of the garden are looking, what we did when and so on. Essential.
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Planting The Natural Garden
Piet Oudolf and Henk Gerritsen
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What Are Gardens For?
Rory Stuart
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Autobiography of A Garden
Patterson Webster
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The Education of a Gardener
Russell Page
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Vista: The Culture & Politics of Gardens
Tim Richardson & Noel Kingsbury
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Gardens of Illusion
Sara Maitland and Peter Matthew
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A Gentle Plea for Chaos
Mirabel Osler
Lorene’s Picks
Lorene Edwards Forkner
My Garden
Seattle, Washington, US
USDA 8
1/4 acre
Est. 1990
I’ve been creating (and recreating) gardens on my urban lot in West Seattle for more than 30 years. My already mild growing conditions are further moderated by nearby Puget Sound. My plants must be beautiful, wildlife friendly, or delicious.
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A Garden Tarp with Handles is easy to drag around in crowded borders to collect weeds and trimmings.
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Felco Number 2 Pruners – my favorite.
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Hand tools with offset handles – because leverage is your friend in the garden.
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Large Flexible Trugs carry compost, garden trimmings, water, you get the drift.
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Berry & Bird Short Handled Digging Spade – because I’m short.
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Nitrile Garden Gloves – The more the better so you always have a dry pair.
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Garden Allies
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Dan Pearson & Midori Shintani
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Gardening in Summer-Dry Climates
Nora Harlow and Saxon Holt
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The Earth in Her Hands
Jennifer Jewell
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Epitaph for A Peach
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Derek Jarman’s Garden
Derek Jarman & Howard Sooley
Ben’s Picks
My Garden
Okehampton, Devon, UK
USDA 8b
.06 acre (250 m2 )
Est. 2021
I have a small rural garden on the edge of Dartmoor, in the South West of the UK. The area can be very wet or very dry, there seems to be no ‘in between’. My garden is packed with plants that need little attention from me.
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I have an A4 sketchbook that I use purely to make notes about plants. It acts as a large notebook for interesting quotes, references to things in books and magazines, plus information about plants such as where seed was collected etc.
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2B pencils are perfect for making notes in notebooks, but also for writing labels as pencil marks are less likely to fade in sun than marker pen.
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Small curved pocket knife for string etc. Not a multi-tool one like a Swiss Army Knife (when do I really need a bottle opener when I’m working in the garden?!)
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Long-handled spade/shovel. It’s so much easier digging with a long handle than a short border spade.
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Seed envelopes – because somehow folded pieces of paper holding seeds get thrown out.
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Waterproof Tool Box – Trying to be organised! I use the Stanley ‘Fatmax’ boxes because they’re durable and fairly light.
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Hori-Hori. I never go to work without it. I prefer a wooden blade — especially working in the cold, but beyond that it’s just a straight-edged blade for me.
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Silky Gomtaro Saw – This thing is expensive but brilliant, especially with its replaceable blades. It’s become inevitable that I cut myself every time I put a new blade in.
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Insulated cup with a lid — the lid keeps the bugs/soil out, insulated because as soon as I put the cup down, I’ve forgotten where it is!
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Manual of Woody Landscape Plants
Michael Dirr
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Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs
Michael Dirr