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The Beginner's Guide to Starting a Garden: 326 Fast, Easy, Affordable Ways to Transform Your Yard One Project at a Time
“Learn how to spend fewer hours and less money on revamping the garden.” — The English Garden
The prospect of revamping your yard can be daunting. Where do you start? How do all the areas come together in a beautiful, cohesive way? In The Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Garden , Sally Roth simplifies the process by showing you how to spend fewer hours (and a minimal amount of money) in the garden by tackling one small area at a time. You’ll find garden plans for ten unique areas—the entryway, the shady areas under trees, and more—that can be linked together over time to create a unified yard, and plants that are dependable, easy to find, and look good year after year. You’ll also learn the basics of good design, which plants offer the most bloom for your buck, and how to avoid the most common planting mistakes.
The prospect of revamping your yard can be daunting. Where do you start? How do all the areas come together in a beautiful, cohesive way? In The Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Garden , Sally Roth simplifies the process by showing you how to spend fewer hours (and a minimal amount of money) in the garden by tackling one small area at a time. You’ll find garden plans for ten unique areas—the entryway, the shady areas under trees, and more—that can be linked together over time to create a unified yard, and plants that are dependable, easy to find, and look good year after year. You’ll also learn the basics of good design, which plants offer the most bloom for your buck, and how to avoid the most common planting mistakes.
284 pages, Paperback
Published February 8, 2017
68 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Sally Roth
56 books15 followersSally Roth is an award-winning author of 20 or so popular books about birds, nature, and gardening, including the best-selling "Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible," and a contributing editor for "Birds & Blooms" magazine.
Her latest book is "An Eye on the Sparrow: The Bird Lover's Bible," which uses quotes from the Bible as a jumping-off point for examining the natural behavior of the birds behind those Scriptures. It's a bird book, and it's for everyone, religious or not.
Sally's also an enthusiastic public speaker, whether it's grabbing a stranger on the street ("Hey, want to see something cool?") or talking to an audience of hundreds ("Hey, want to see something cool?"). She'll be appearing in the Michiana area (northern Indiana/Michigan) in early spring of 2013, as well as other places.
She and her husband Matt Bartmann share their home in the high Rockies with two dogs, one cat, a family of pine squirrels, a hard-working packrat named Sisyphus, a spotted skunk who lives beneath the house, a well-fed bunch of birds at the feeder, and a stable of old Volvos.
Come visit us at www.sallyroth.com. We'd love to see you!
Her latest book is "An Eye on the Sparrow: The Bird Lover's Bible," which uses quotes from the Bible as a jumping-off point for examining the natural behavior of the birds behind those Scriptures. It's a bird book, and it's for everyone, religious or not.
Sally's also an enthusiastic public speaker, whether it's grabbing a stranger on the street ("Hey, want to see something cool?") or talking to an audience of hundreds ("Hey, want to see something cool?"). She'll be appearing in the Michiana area (northern Indiana/Michigan) in early spring of 2013, as well as other places.
She and her husband Matt Bartmann share their home in the high Rockies with two dogs, one cat, a family of pine squirrels, a hard-working packrat named Sisyphus, a spotted skunk who lives beneath the house, a well-fed bunch of birds at the feeder, and a stable of old Volvos.
Come visit us at www.sallyroth.com. We'd love to see you!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
June 9, 2022
A building block approach of creating small flower gardens to beautify the nooks and crannies of your yard. Emphasizes inexpensive, undemanding plants, eye-catching colors and shapes, and utilizing some of those same plants and colors in each of the small gardens to unify the individual gardens into a cohesive, artful showplace. Useful tips and practical advice throughout make this a great resource for beginners who are unsure where to start in the design and construction process.
February 27, 2019
Breezy and encouraging. Lots of photos and inspiration. The "Gardener's Secret" section was especially helpful.
November 14, 2017
By far the best gardening book I've ever laid my hands on. The projects are actually doable, by normal people with normal budgets and normal lives and normal yards. Full of tips and simple, easy to follow directions on how our grandparents and their grandparents did things--simple, easy peasy, it's-not-rocket-science gardening. Just advice on how to maximize your space, budget, fun and the things and plants you already have on hand. Sally Roth where have you been all my life!?!?!??!!!? ❤️🌾🌻
September 17, 2021
3 1/2 stars
I really liked that this book broke gardening down into "building blocks" where you focus on one area of your yard at a time, then move on to the next area, and your yard will look cohesive if you repeat some colors and some plants in each area. There were 12 areas suggested in the book and the book led the reader through each area in turn, starting with the most impactful area in the front yard (by the lamppost). I really liked that the author included tough areas like planting on a slope and hiding unsightly objects. There were a lot of good garden tips sprinkled throughout the book.
There are three main criticisms I have of this book. One is that there are quite a lot of pictures of gardens that could be very helpful if they were bigger. Lots of the pictures are way too small to see anything useful. Two is that the author mentions and lists lots of plants for the various areas, but does not give any additional information about them at all. There is a small amount of description in the text for some of the plants, but the reader for the most part will have to look up the plants in another book or on the Internet to get details such as what color the flowers are, when do they bloom, what amount of sun do they need, etc. Three is the title of the book. I would argue that this book is not for absolute beginners because it doesn't explain much about the plants. Also, the subtitle "326 Fast, Easy, Affordable Ways…" is baffling to me. None of the tips in the book are numbered. So, I have no idea where the 326 comes from. Seems like a marketing gimmick to sell the book.
All that said, I did find the book valuable because it helped me think up a color theme for my garden, helped me focus my approach when there are so many projects I could do, and it gave me confidence to get out there and start gardening my way around my yard.
I really liked that this book broke gardening down into "building blocks" where you focus on one area of your yard at a time, then move on to the next area, and your yard will look cohesive if you repeat some colors and some plants in each area. There were 12 areas suggested in the book and the book led the reader through each area in turn, starting with the most impactful area in the front yard (by the lamppost). I really liked that the author included tough areas like planting on a slope and hiding unsightly objects. There were a lot of good garden tips sprinkled throughout the book.
There are three main criticisms I have of this book. One is that there are quite a lot of pictures of gardens that could be very helpful if they were bigger. Lots of the pictures are way too small to see anything useful. Two is that the author mentions and lists lots of plants for the various areas, but does not give any additional information about them at all. There is a small amount of description in the text for some of the plants, but the reader for the most part will have to look up the plants in another book or on the Internet to get details such as what color the flowers are, when do they bloom, what amount of sun do they need, etc. Three is the title of the book. I would argue that this book is not for absolute beginners because it doesn't explain much about the plants. Also, the subtitle "326 Fast, Easy, Affordable Ways…" is baffling to me. None of the tips in the book are numbered. So, I have no idea where the 326 comes from. Seems like a marketing gimmick to sell the book.
All that said, I did find the book valuable because it helped me think up a color theme for my garden, helped me focus my approach when there are so many projects I could do, and it gave me confidence to get out there and start gardening my way around my yard.
March 22, 2020
The title of this book is misleading. There are not 326 projects laid out that you could tackle one at a time to beautify your yard. Also lots of the pictures are terrible quality and don’t give me great confidence in the authors skill at gardening. Worst of all, the author promotes yucca as a good option for including in your gardens! Yuck! Once planted, never gotten rid of.
It does have a few redeeming points though. There are several sketches of plans for specific project gardens that are well done. It is clear how large of a space you need and how many of which plants to purchase.
It does have a few redeeming points though. There are several sketches of plans for specific project gardens that are well done. It is clear how large of a space you need and how many of which plants to purchase.
February 11, 2017
I love a colourful well planned garden, unfortunately these days it is mostly about paving and grass where I live. I guess people don't know how to make a garden.
This book covers a lot of ground in a simple yet informative way. It does not baffle one with horticultural terms, but has plenty of photos, diagrams and tips. The information is written in a sequence looking at homes and how to design areas. I really like this book - I should have read this before I started buying and planting the wrong things in unsuitable places.
This book covers a lot of ground in a simple yet informative way. It does not baffle one with horticultural terms, but has plenty of photos, diagrams and tips. The information is written in a sequence looking at homes and how to design areas. I really like this book - I should have read this before I started buying and planting the wrong things in unsuitable places.
April 20, 2017
Ok maybe I had the wrong idea on what this book was all about. I thought that this was going to be more about an example of different gardens and how to plant them and what works in different situations. This for me was hard to get to where i needed to be. I thought that this was going to be gardening like veggie gardening, among other things, this had too many words. I know that sounds bad...it's the truth for me.
February 3, 2017
This book was well written, had lovely photos and is a great resource to any beginner gardener. Love!
Received from Netgalley for review.
Received from Netgalley for review.
Read
December 6, 2016A very well laid out book. I liked the way the author described the plants and their purpose in the garden. The map of the landscape at the end of each chapter was very helpful.
December 12, 2018
As I try to figure out how to turn our plain lawn into something more interesting, this is probably the single most helpful book that I've read.
To be sure, its philosophy and aesthetic is not exactly what I am after. I am trying to do all natives with an eye to insect/wildlife friendliness. Neither of these is a priority for this book, which is mainly about easy rules for creating pretty, low maintenance gardens.
But I've easily found plenty of information online about what natives are most useful. What I needed was someone to explain how to arrange them.
This book does that well and clearly. Even if you don't intend to use the recommended plants, it gives you plant-agnostic design guidance into which you can be applied to a variety of plants and regions. It has extremely useful hints on a variety of planting situations, such as planting on a slope or around a mailbox.
It is full of fortune-cookie sized tips and hints that I would never have considered but that make a lot of sense and which never would have occurred to me (e.g., tall herbaceous plants tend to flop over on a steep slope)
To be sure, its philosophy and aesthetic is not exactly what I am after. I am trying to do all natives with an eye to insect/wildlife friendliness. Neither of these is a priority for this book, which is mainly about easy rules for creating pretty, low maintenance gardens.
But I've easily found plenty of information online about what natives are most useful. What I needed was someone to explain how to arrange them.
This book does that well and clearly. Even if you don't intend to use the recommended plants, it gives you plant-agnostic design guidance into which you can be applied to a variety of plants and regions. It has extremely useful hints on a variety of planting situations, such as planting on a slope or around a mailbox.
It is full of fortune-cookie sized tips and hints that I would never have considered but that make a lot of sense and which never would have occurred to me (e.g., tall herbaceous plants tend to flop over on a steep slope)
April 7, 2019
I borrowed this from the library during the middling of March, when spring seems so close and yet remains so stubbornly far away. I'd taken out dozens of books and magazines over the winter season, dreaming of warmer whether and ways I could totally transform my acre plot. Roth's book was by far the biggest help.
There's something incredibly reassuring about someone giving such precise directions. Is precise the right word? Probably not. But Roth's ability to break down the various components of a garden made it seem manageable, where otherwise it feels quite overwhelming. I quite liked her suggestions for repetition and there was something about her gentle advice that made it seems acceptable to wait and divide plants, slowly filling the garden rather than blowing the budget on outfitting every corner with perennials and annuals.
I'll be borrowing this book, if not adding it to my shelves permanently. The winters, after all, are long and any ray of sunshine is welcome.
There's something incredibly reassuring about someone giving such precise directions. Is precise the right word? Probably not. But Roth's ability to break down the various components of a garden made it seem manageable, where otherwise it feels quite overwhelming. I quite liked her suggestions for repetition and there was something about her gentle advice that made it seems acceptable to wait and divide plants, slowly filling the garden rather than blowing the budget on outfitting every corner with perennials and annuals.
I'll be borrowing this book, if not adding it to my shelves permanently. The winters, after all, are long and any ray of sunshine is welcome.
June 23, 2018
oh this was such a nice book to look at and read...I don't consider myself a beginner gardener but am by no means an expert either. This book was perfect in every way....gave lots of ideas on how to create garden spaces and neat pictures and diagrams and also talked about different kinds of plants strengths and weaknesses. I also liked how it gave so many helpful hints and suggestions on options for gardening and ways to save money and make your outdoor spaces beauteous. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants some really neat ideas for beautiful landscaping/gardening/planting spaces.
July 15, 2019
I enjoyed this - I really like her philosophy of starting small beds around the corners of your property and expanding as you get the cash. There are good example beds and lots of ideas for plants. The reason I gave it fours stars is that she is pretty cavalier about hardiness zones and not planning for sun exposure: ‘you can just move the plants if they don’t do well’ This is probably the most challenging thing that I’ve learned as a beginning gardener, and has cost me the most cash. She also doesn’t mention garden mentors, such as extensions or master gardening clubs. They’ve helped me so much!
January 14, 2021
I am giving this book a 3 star rating due to the fact that I have not yet tried any of the fantastic sounding ideas inside. This a dreaming book, a "gray season" book when you are ready to get back to gardening but the weather has issues with that desire. I took a lot of notes and will update this review when I actually try some of the projects inside.
May 14, 2021
I would describe this author/gardener as loosey-goosey. Useful tips here, but content often felt redundant—perhaps the book was not meant to be read straight through. I thought the author was unrealistic about the costs and effort involved in gardening, but maybe she’s been lucky to live in easier-gardening areas than Oklahoma. I didn’t love the writing style, but I definitely learned things.
October 17, 2018
This was a good book to give you the impetus to look at your outdoor space and just get started with it. It gives you the starting point, and the drive. It does not give you in-depth charts and planting guides, as such, but plenty of inspiration.
June 15, 2024
This author clearly knows what she’s talking about, and the one-section-at-a-time approach is great for beginners. I hope my neighbors are as generous with their divided perennials as she says they might be…
September 7, 2024
5/5⭐️
Amazing book! Has actual layouts of gardens for different shapes and sizes with diagrams of what to put where & the plants all labeled! Amazing resource!
I will 100% be re-checking this out in January / February!
Amazing book! Has actual layouts of gardens for different shapes and sizes with diagrams of what to put where & the plants all labeled! Amazing resource!
I will 100% be re-checking this out in January / February!
August 26, 2017
I will be referring to this often as I begin to work on transforming my yard. Great ideas!
June 4, 2018
Good recommendations and I used advice to start my first shade garden!
October 12, 2018
I went through a whole stack of gardening books from the library, and this is the only one I read cover to cover. Helpful, approachable, and attractive.
March 18, 2019
Good Tips
This was an informative read for a beginning gardener or if you’re an experienced gardener planning new beds. Many good tips about saving money.
This was an informative read for a beginning gardener or if you’re an experienced gardener planning new beds. Many good tips about saving money.
May 10, 2020
Good ideas in this book. Gardens pictured are not amazing though and often the same garden from different angles throughout the book.
June 29, 2020
Ok. The best part was the small section about propagation.
April 15, 2021
Lot’s of great tips and useful advice. Small sections at a time. That’s what I will be focusing on.
December 28, 2022
This was very informative and helpful. I’ll have to pick it up again once spring is here and I have a better idea of our space. Very do-able projects and advice.
October 30, 2023
This is a good gardening book. The title doesn't do it justice.
March 21, 2024
Excellent, practical, and interesting. Strongly recommend!
April 22, 2024
More of a how to on building an aesthetic moreso than how to approach gardening for beginners. It had lots of pretty pictures.
June 14, 2025
filled with tips, instruction, & ideas + perfect for beginning gardeners
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews