Grow a New Garden by Becky Searle is a fantastic guide for anyone wanting to create a vibrant, healthy garden, whatever size space. Becky, a qualified ecologist and experienced gardener and garden writer, has moved many times and each time has created a thriving garden with the ecosystem at its heart.
Published by Chelsea Green, Grow a New Garden will guide and inspire you to grow the garden of your dreams!
Grow a New Garden
This comprehensive and accessible book contains everything that you need to know to grow your own beautiful garden, whether you’re
– starting with a blank canvas
– a weedy overgrown neglected plot
– wishing to improve your garden
– creating a growing space in rented accommodation
– or planning a complete overhaul
The beautifully illustrated book is packed with practical tips and advice and is guaranteed to inspire everyone whether they are beginners or more experienced gardeners. Written by an organic grower with many years experience, it explains how you can create the space of your dreams affordably, in a natural and sustainable way.
Warm, friendly and accessible
Many “how to” gardening books can be daunting and off-putting, written in a style which seems to be more about the author showing off their expertise rather than encouraging people to get outside and get growing.
Copyright Chelsea Green/Becky Searle
In Grow a New Garden, Becky’s warm, friendly and accessible writing makes the reader feel inspired. Her knowledge and enthusiasm demystifies gardening techniques and terminology as she generously shares her expertise, based on many years of practical growing experience and scientific study.
Plan – Design – Create
Grow a New Garden covers everything that you need to know to create an abundant and beautiful outdoor space, whatever your budget and lifestyle. Whether you’re making a garden in a small rental courtyard, in a new build plot or revamping a large overgrown garden, Becky guides you through all the steps needed to design the garden of your dreams.
Her tried and tested expert tips include:
- Visioning your garden
- Identifying your goals to make the garden that’s perfect for your desires and needs
- Plants, materials and design themes
- Creating fantastic soil
- Encouraging wildlife with biodiversity
- Managing pests and weeds in a natural and sustainable way
- Learning the basics of plant care
- Choosing the right plants
- Working with awkward spaces
Copyright Chelsea Green/Becky Searle
It all starts with soil
Grow a New Garden includes a detailed, inspiring and informative chapter on one of the most important elements of a healthy garden: the soil. Written in an authoritative (she really knows her stuff about soil!) yet easy to understand way, Becky explains the science behind what makes a healthy soil ecosystem. This chapter is especially brilliant and I encourage anyone with an interest in gardening to read it.
Grow a New Garden – Find Out More
Find out more about Grow A New Garden in this informative article by Becky, which includes some helpful tips for How to Start a Garden From Scratch, How to Plan a New Garden and Planning Your Plants.
Grow a New Garden by Becky Searle is available from all good bookstores and libraries.
About the author
photo credit Becky Searle
Becky Searle is an ecologist, freelance gardening writer and kitchen gardener. She promotes natural, organic and science-backed gardening in a lively, enthusiastic and understandable way. Becky writes for national publications and was shortlisted for the Garden Media Guild’s Environmental Journalist of the Year in 2022 and 2023.
Becky has written the Allotment Planner (pub 2024) and created The Seed Collector’s Kit: Plant Your Garden from Seed wing 50 Informative Cards, Five Collection Envelopes, and a Practical Handbook. Illustrated by Rachel Pedder Smith and published by Skittledog 2025
Follow Becky’s work on her fascinating Instagram channel, and her website Sow Much More.
Reviewing your product, book, event, etc
An expert in the field, I review books, events, hospitality (restaurants, hotels etc), tools and products.
I judge products and books for awards and magazines. These include Garden Media Guild, Guild of Food Writers, Soil Association BOOM Awards and Grow Your Own Awards at GLEE.
Please contact me if you would like me to consider reviewing your product.
If I have been paid for the review, I will always make it clear in the review.
Full disclosure
Grow a New Garden by Becky Searle was gifted to me for a review. Also, she is a good friend and I wanted to read her book! I have not been paid to write the review.
Links
Some of the links in this review are affiliate. I may receive a small percentage if you buy using these links. The book is also available on other online shops and in real life small bookstores. Smaller book stores will be able to order Grow a New Garden in for you. This helps to keep local economies thriving.
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