{"id":543,"date":"2025-11-10T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/?p=543"},"modified":"2025-11-10T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T17:00:00","slug":"marianne-willburn-shares-her-go-to-books-gardening-podcasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/?p=543","title":{"rendered":"Marianne Willburn Shares Her Go-To Books & Gardening Podcasts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marianne Willburn is an author and speaker who educates and encourages fellow garden lovers through media both classic and new. A regular contributor to the GardenRant<\/em> blog<\/a>, she also cohosts the podcast The Garden Mixer<\/em><\/a>, which offers practical advice, personal opinions and plenty of humor. She has won three Gold Media Awards from Garden Communicators International for her writing. When she\u2019s not at her desk, Marianne is working on her garden in the woodlands of Northern Virginia or guiding travelers on garden-themed international tours. Catch up with her at mariannewillburn.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Marianne
Marianne Willburn participates in a nursery tour for media professionals.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q&A with Marianne Willburn<\/h2>\n

Scott Beuerlein:<\/strong> You have broad experience across all forms of garden communication. Give us the quick rundown.<\/p>\n

Marianne Willburn<\/strong>: I hear this question and think, \u201cHe\u2019s got me confused with someone else,\u201d but I suppose you\u2019re right. I started as a columnist for small newspapers in 2009, moved online to blogging, was an opinion columnist for The American Gardener<\/em> magazine, wrote two books and joined GardenRant<\/em> as a contributing editor in 2020. I\u2019m still a freelance writer for Better Homes and Gardens<\/em>, The Wall Street Journal<\/em> and other periodicals like Horticulture<\/a><\/em>, and I speak to groups all over the country\u2014as well as taking small groups abroad to visit great gardens.<\/p>\n

And now, strangely but wonderfully, I find myself podcasting weekly at The Garden Mixer<\/em> and trying to navigate the social-media sphere with a smile on my face. No wonder my garden is out of control.<\/p>\n

SB: <\/strong>Let\u2019s start old school. Words printed in books. Is there a place for garden books<\/a> in the modern world?<\/p>\n

MW<\/strong>: That\u2019s a big topic. My answer is yes, but only if publishers recognize and build on the singular advantage that books hold over web-based media. A beautifully written and designed book has the capacity to build and hold focus, which facilitates deep, uninterrupted and\u2014dare I say\u2014unobserved study.<\/p>\n

What is the point of reading a book that has chased an influencer\u2019s influence and reads like a poorly printed version of a quickly consumable website? When gardeners pick a book off the shelf or browse for one online, they are looking for something different: industry-recognized experts with a strong voice, and production values that make them fall in love the moment the pages fall open.<\/p>\n

Publishers are in a tricky place right now, but if they can strive for this kind of experience, they will create books that live well beyond that magical six-month marketing window.<\/p>\n

So, yes, but with caveats.<\/p>\n

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6 garden books on Marianne\u2019s bookshelf<\/h2>\n

Here are three plant-type-specific books Marianne recommends, her go-to for sorting botanical Latin, plus a pair of general gardening books that deserve space in any gardener\u2019s library:<\/p>\n