I have always been a book worm but flower books bring a whole new level of book obsession! When I want to really understand a certain flower I look for books as they always contain incredible information and can be referred to time and time again. I’m going to share some one of the general books I think are essential for starting off your flower or garden book home library. You can find them easily to purchase and most are available in libraries, you can reserve them and they’ll arrive to your local library.

Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein with Julie Chai

Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakin with Julie Chai. The first flower book I ever bought and I happily pick it up and enjoy reading it all the time. It is jammed packed with information and if you are new to flowers it will introduce to so many that you most likely won’t have heard of and you will be so determined to grow after you see them. There’s information on starting to grow flowers, and then it divides into seasons, with what to grow and some projects to try. Even though it is an American book, it is applicable to Ireland and Europe.

2. In Bloom by Clare Nolan . Clare Nolan is a writer, grower and stylist from the UK. This book is a beautiful book and Clare’s taste is exquisite, you will want every variety she recommends. Her eye for colour and knowledge of plants make this an excellent read. It has a great guide to what’s flowering each season and Clare’s arranging will allow you to see how plants translate from the garden to the vase. Highly recommend.

As you can see from the image, there is a wealth of information on every page.

3. The Cutflower Sourcebook Exceptional Perennials and Woody Plants for Cutting by Rachel Siegfried. This book does exactly what the title says, it provides you with incredible information on perennial plants for use on a flower farm or in the garden for cutting from. Rachel Siegfried is the grower, along with her partner Ashley, behind Green and Gorgeous, a flower farm in the UK. Because the book is based on UK it is very comparable to Ireland climate wise so the plants are very relevant. Warning, you might end up using this book as a shopping list.

4. The Flower Recipe Book by Alethea Harampolis and Jill Rizzo of Studio Choo . One of the first books I ever bought on flowers and have great memories of showing different pages to my mother. It really introduced me to the idea of arranging with flowers, this might seem strange, but I had only been growing flowers awhile and it was enough of a thrill to pop some homegrown flowers in a vase! The book provided endless ideas for arranging and showed me how flowers could be transformed into something more. They use a wide range of interesting flowers too. A book of joy!

5. The Flower Farmer’s Year by Georgie Newberry. Georgie might be known to you from her flower business Common Farm Flowers and this book is jam packed with information and advice. Again its a UK book so all the plants she mentions are very suitable to the Irish climate. The information is very practical and applicable.

6. A Year Full of Flowers by Sarah Raven. A beautiful book and it is a month by month guide to growing and what is flowering. Sarah goes into great detail on many flowers recommending varieties and growing tips. This is a book you will endlessly refer too. She also has a vegetable book in the same series and a growing in pots, both are great reads too.

7. The Flower Farmer by Lynn Byczyski . I believe its the original flower farmer’s book, it is legendary! Jam packed with information and great case studies on different growers. Photo to follow

I hope you enjoy these recommendations. You can borrow most from the library so please don’t feel that this is a shopping list or feel the need to spend any money. I’ve built up my collection over a few years and have been known to drop very obvious hints around my birthday and Christmas to my nearest and dearest!!

Happy reading and dreaming!

Maria

Flower Book Recommendations

London Flowers