The Best Herb Books

The best books about herbs

Growing herbs has so many benefits. Herbs add beauty to your garden, flavor to your food and offer a huge range of cosmetic and medicinal benefits. While many herbs are easy to grow and use, there’s still a lot to learn about herbs!

The best way to learn how to grow herbs, in my opinion, is to get your hands in the dirt. But I’m also a big fan of well-written, evidence-based books. Here’s my list of the best herb books, including the best herb books for beginners and the best books about medicinal herbs.

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Best herb book for beginners AND best all-around guide to growing and using herbs

Homegrown Herbs: A Complete Guide to Growing, Using and Enjoying More Than 100 Herbs

This was the first herb gardening book I bought and it’s still the one I turn to first when I have an herb question. What’s great about it is that it covers both growing and using herbs. The photos are decent, though there’s just one per herb in most cases.

If you’re only going to buy one herb book, start with this.

Best Medicinal Herb Books

While herbs are generally safe to use freely in cooking, consuming them medicinally can pose some risks and should be done with care. If you’re going to work with herbs medicinally, it’s vital to understand how to prepare and consume them properly. These books will give you a solid, safe foundation on your herbalism journey.

Rosemary Gladstar is a legend in the field of herbalism and herbal medicine. If you’re interested in learning how to use your herbs for healing and medicine, you need her books in your library.

Besides having decades of experience in growing herbs and using them for internal and external medicine, Rosemary writes in an informal, informative way that feels friendly and accessible, even to brand-new herbalists.

If you’re only adding one book about medicinal herbs, make it this book.

Here’s another workhouse from Rosemary Gladstar that you’ll want to own.

Any list of the best medicinal herb books needs to include this beautiful, thorough work. It’s a wonderful companion to the Gladstar books in my library.

Other Great Herb Gardening Books

I’m always biased towards more books. But when it comes to gardening and using herbs, I think you really can’t have too much information on hand. If you already have the books above, or if you want some other options, I also highly recommend adding these to your library.

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