🌱 3-Star Review: Gardening for Beginners by Lily Jones
While Gardening for Beginners by Lily Jones offers some helpful and accessible information, I found myself wishing there was more depth to it. The content felt more like a personal journal entry than a comprehensive guide — charming, yes, but lighter than I expected. I appreciated the snippets of practical advice and encouragement for those just starting out, but it left me wanting more structure, tips, and visuals to really feel supported in my gardening journey. It’s a nice introduction, but not quite the thorough how-to I was hoping for.

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This is a great start for beginner gardeners like myself. It provides a broad look over what you need to know to start your garden. I was hoping for some more in depth information about the topics touched on, but for an absolute beginner this is a great place to start. It also provides valuable information on how to learn more on things like your soil ph. This would be a really fun gift for someone who wants to start their own journey but is lost on how to start!

Very informative. The story flowed well and the characters were well developed.  I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.



****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

A handy, informative little guide for those just getting into gardening. Would've loved to have more images in the book. Its a basic introduction, with lots of helpful tips! The book is meant to contain a downloadable garden planner, but I was unable to get the file to load. Would've been great to have a printable template to map out your garden!

Very basic information, but a great starting point for those just wanting to start out!

I’ve been gardening for years. Flowers, bushes and shrubs, vegetables, seeds, bulbs, etc. I enjoy it and I remember the excitement of putting in my first vegetable garden. I was anxious to preview this book to see what might be important for a new gardener to know.

This is a quick reading, short book that is superficial and I don’t think it answers questions to the extent that a new gardener would want to know. For example, Chapter 1 says that pH is important, without explaining what pH is and then says testing pH is as simple as using vinegar and baking soda. What does that mean to a beginner? Or to me, a chemist, for that matter?

Other chapters make similar statements, assuming that the reader knows what a word means and how to address the issue. Basics of seed starting is a total of 3 paragraphs, whereas total chapters and books are often written for beginners, as well as experienced gardeners.

Another chapter mentions aphids, a common pest. There are no photos and no specific information provided on treating an infestation, or for powdery mildew and leaf spot disease, both of which are mentioned with a general comment on how to address, but I think a beginning gardener will scratch their heads.

I’m sorry that I cannot recommend this book.

A great little book for someone like me who has just taken up a casual gardening hobby. I liked that the information was very digestable but not watered down.

A nice introduction to the subject for the absolute beginner. Many of us want a garden to enjoy but a blank canvas can be a scary thing, especially if you don’t have much background knowledge, so it’s nice to see a book which gives a good overview of the very basics. Many books on gardening can be overwhelming themselves as the subject is so big but this book is very useful to help you get started and the author does a really good job of getting to the point and making it all informative and engaging. It probably won’t help you build an entire garden without more information, but it’s an excellent way to get the essential information you need to consider and I found it very useful.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

'Gardening for Beginners' is a simple guide to gardening essentials for someone who has no idea about gardening and plants but wants to create their own garden. The guidelines are simple and to the point, as the author does a good job of not dilly-dallying with what they want to convey. Hence, even though the book is short, it contains lots of information, but all the subjects are only touched upon without going into too many details. But, the author provided some examples, and the book is filled with pretty and colourful pictures.

A great fast read for first time or beginner gardners. This book will take you step by step from soil conditioning, garden planning and how to maintain your plants from pests and diseases. I have a few gardening books and none of them mention watering techniques as well as targets different diseases plants can get. This book has it all including how you can build a community around your garden too. A fast read that will have you feeling more comfortable picking up those garden gloves.

Just finished reading this guide to creating my own garden space and it was very useful in helping get me started, I loved how the book was set out into easy and manageable steps, each chapter leading to the next stage of building your garden. I particularly liked the garden planning PDF that comes with the book as it’s basically a checklist of how to get going and keeping on top of your plants etc!
I’ve recently moved into a new home with a well established garden that needs lots of love and care and think this will be such a useful tool to have at my disposal.
My only negative would be - I like pictures in books like this and would have loved more than what is in the book. To see examples of garden designs, particular plants that were mentioned etc.

This was a wonderful book. It's rare that a book like this holds my interest, a great part due to having 10 brown thumbs. I have a patch of land next to my home that has always been a waste. I have made several attempts to make it into a gardens, each one a dismal failure. At least now with this book, I feel like I have a chance to create a beautiful and productive garden. All beginning gardeners should read this one. Read it and give yourself a chance.

I just wrapped up this book, and I absolutely loved it! It dives deep into the gardening world, starting from the basics like laying the groundwork and planning your garden. In one chapter, it talks about adding compost and checking your soil's pH levels. It covers all the essentials, like planting in the sun vs. shade, and watering since some plants need more water—especially if you're growing in pots. There’s also info on pest and disease management, small space gardening, how to grow sustainably, keeping your plants healthy, harvesting, storing, garden design, aesthetics, and even modern tech in gardening. Plus, it really emphasizes the joy of gardening! I’d totally recommend this book to anyone studying horticulture or just getting started with gardening; it's perfect for both!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: My wife and I are laying out our first garden this year. This book is organized really well and user friendly. We will continue to refer to it for the growing season. I really appreciate the author for putting this together in a useable and teachable way. Looking forward to continuing to refer to this book!