Best Outdoor & Recreational Area Gardening Books of 2025

This book, titled "40 Projects for Building Your Backyard Homestead: A Hands-on, Step-by-Step Sustainable-Living Guide" by Creative Homeowner, is a comprehensive guide to building backyard structures that enhance sustainable living. From garden structures to chicken coops, sheds, fences, and more, this book provides step-by-step instructions, tools, materials lists, and easy-to-understand techniques to build over 40 projects. The book is designed with simplicity, convenience, and budget in mind, making it accessible to even moderately handy individuals. Overall, this book is an excellent resource for those looking to become self-sufficient and save money by doing it themselves.

The Backyard Homestead is a comprehensive guide to homesteading that covers everything from growing and preserving a sustainable harvest of grains and vegetables to raising animals for meat, eggs, and dairy. With easy-to-follow instructions on canning, drying, and pickling, this book provides all the necessary information to enjoy your backyard bounty all year long. Even if you're not ready for complete self-sufficiency, this book is a great way to get started. The well-organized chapters cover all the bases, and the tone is sweet and accessible. Overall, The Backyard Homestead is a must-have for homestead enthusiasts and those looking to produce some of their own food.

The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner is a comprehensive guide for farmers and gardeners, written by Ann Larkin Hansen. The book provides expert advice on what tasks to do around your farm and when to do them, no matter where you live. For each area of the farm, including the barn, garden, orchard, field, pasture, and woodlot, Hansen sets the priorities and provides an at-a-glance to-do list for every critical turn of the year. The book also includes easy-reference charts, checklists, and record-keeping sections to help you keep track of everything. Overall, this book is an excellent resource for anyone looking to manage their farm or garden efficiently.

The Ultimate Guide: Walks, Patios & Walls is an excellent resource for homeowners looking to enhance their outdoor living areas with walkways, patios, and garden walls. With dozens of design ideas, over 500 photos and illustrations, and easy-to-follow, step-by-step sequences, the book covers popular landscape projects such as setting pavers, creating a new patio with tile or stone, and building a wall that will stand the test of time. The book is well-organized and easy to follow, making it a valuable tool for any DIY homeowner looking to improve their landscape design. Overall, this book is a must-have for anyone looking to add value and curb-side appeal to their home.

Palm Beach Living is a stunning book that explores the unique and evolving design trends of the exclusive barrier island of Palm Beach. The book showcases a variety of homes and gardens, from charming bungalows to sleek minimalist houses, all of which embrace indoor-outdoor living. With renowned architects, landscape designers, and interior designers, each home reflects the unique aesthetic of its owner. Guided by Palm Beacher Jennifer Ash Rudick and with photographs by Nick Mele, readers are granted an intimate look at the best in tropical living. Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in interior design and the tropical lifestyle.

BLACK+DECKER Deck Codes & Standards by Bruce Barker is a must-read for anyone interested in designing, building, inspecting, or maintaining a deck. With over 29 years of experience in the construction and building inspection industries, Barker's expertise is evident in this comprehensive and accessible guide. He provides detailed advice, photos, illustrations, and commentary on how to build decks within legal limits and avoid common sources of trouble. The book's emphasis on safety is particularly important, given the high number of deck-related injuries and deaths in the US. Highly recommended for homeowners, builders, and inspectors.

Coastal Blues: Mrs. Howard's Guide to Decorating with the Colors of the Sea and Sky is a must-have for those who love coastal style and charm. Written by design expert Phoebe Howard, the book is filled with inspiring images of beach houses, vacation cottages, and luxurious seaside manors. It offers solid interior design and styling advice, making it a hardworking how-to-get-the-look book. Phoebe's ideas, beautiful blues, and popular designs will delight you, your family, and your guests. This book will be referred to again and again, making it the perfect addition to your coffee table or a great gift book for any design lover.

Planting the Natural Garden is a must-have manual for landscape designers, gardeners, and plant enthusiasts alike. This classic book, authored by Piet Oudolf and Henk Gerritsen, spearheaded the New Perennial Movement, which transformed landscape design with its naturalistic use of hardy perennials and grasses. This revised edition includes scores of new plants and combinations, making its distinctive plant palette available to all. The book is packed with practical information and visual inspiration, celebrating the beauty, design, color, and texture of naturalistic plantings. Overall, this lush publication is an engaging and updated reference for anyone interested in sustainability and garden beauty.

The Ultimate Guide: Decks, Updated 6th Edition by Creative Homeowner is an excellent resource for anyone looking to add a deck to their home. With over 700 photos and illustrations, this book provides clear and concise step-by-step instructions for both DIY and contractor projects. The book covers everything from generating ideas, selecting materials, and using tools to building techniques and expert installation tips. The inspirational gallery of decks from master builders is also a great addition. Overall, this book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to expand their living space and enjoy the outdoors from the comfort of their own home.

Take It Outside: A Guide to Designing Beautiful Spaces Just Beyond Your Door by Mel Brasier, Garrett Magee, and James DeSantis is the ultimate guide to landscape design. The hosts of Bravo's Backyard Envy share their expertise on how to turn any outdoor space into an enviable oasis, whether it's a backyard, brownstone patio, or three-season porch. The book covers everything from zoning your space into functional areas and defining them with furniture and hardscaping to bringing in greenery and adding finishing touches like pillows and lanterns. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to bring the comfort of the indoors outside.