Two tiny statues of a green frog and a white mouse, both holding open books, sit on a bed of moss.
Book Fetish

Bookish Decor for Your Garden

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Laura Sackton

Senior Contributor

Laura Sackton is a queer book nerd and freelance writer, known on the internet for loving winter, despising summer, and going overboard with extravagant baking projects. In addition to her work at Book Riot, she reviews for BookPage and AudioFile, and writes a weekly newsletter, Books & Bakes, celebrating queer lit and tasty treats. You can catch her on Instagram shouting about the queer books she loves and sharing photos of the walks she takes in the hills of Western Mass (while listening to audiobooks, of course).

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Every year around this time, I get newly excited about my garden. It’s June! Buds are popping, leaves are unfurling, the sun is shining (hopefully), the rain is falling (gently), and I basically want to spend all my time digging in the dirt, admiring flowers, and reading in the hammock. I recently moved to a new place with lots of gardening potential, and it has me dreaming especially big this year. I’m making lists of plants, yes, but also planters and pots, fun lights and stepping stones, bird baths and whimsical garden statues. You know what I mean.

Here are a few of the most delightfully bookish garden goods I’ve come across. Yes, I would like to fill book-shaped planters with trailing flowers. Yes, I would like to scatter my garden with silly little statues of dragons and gnomes and animals reading. Yes, I love the idea of images of my favorite books peeking out from moss-covered stones. If you, too, dream of a beautiful garden that announces your love for books (and makes for a perfect outdoor reading nook), this list is for you.

I know not everyone has access to big gardens, so I’ve included all sorts of items. Some (like DIY plans for garden beds) will only work if you have a lot of space. But many of the smaller items will be just as delightful on your porch or balcony garden, or even on your kitchen windowsill, next to a potted herb. You don’t have to have a big yard to enjoy a bookish garden — you can bring the bookish garden inside!

A cement planter consisting of two saucers shaped like books, and a rectangular planter with a succulent in it sitting on top of them. Quotes are inscribed on the spines.

This charming library planter would be perfect in any garden, patio, or deck. You can customize it by choosing the colors, what quotes you want on the book spines, and how many books you want in the stack. $40+

A small pot decorated with pages of text from an old book, and a border of twine wrapped around the top edge.

Add a bit of whimsy to your garden with this indoor/outdoor pot decorated with old book pages. It’s especially great for small spaces, or porch or balcony gardens. $20

Four bookmarks illustrated with bookshelves stacked with books with blank spines and small plants. Behind the bookmarks sits a small planter filled with soil and a torn up bookmark.

How cute are these multi-use bookmarks? Use them to mark your place in your current read, and then plant them in your garden! The paper is studded with wildflower seeds. $5 each or 4 for $16.

Several colorful hand-painted wooden signs are nailed to a large tree. Places names from books—Hundred Acre Wood, Terabithia, Neverland, Avonlea, Sleepy Hollow—are written on each sign in different fonts.

Add some whimsy to your garden with these signposts to your favorite fictional places! Each sign is hand-painted, and you can specify the location, colors, and any images you want included. $50

A small round green door is set at the base of a small stump, surrounded by plants, mini tools and baskets, and a tiny path made of small stones.

This tiny hobbit hole door (6″ x 6″) is perfect for a fairy garden or secret garden for kiddos. Set it in front of a tree or in a shady nook and then let your imagination run wild. $35

A large flat stone painted to look like the cover of The Very Hungry Caterpillar sits in a small patch of garden.

These garden stones are hand-painted with the cover of any book you’d like — you can even send the artist a picture of the particular edition you want. I’m definitely imagining a garden path full of stones painted to look like my favorite books. $46

A small silver statue of a smiling dragon with a book open in its lap.

Add this sweet dragon statue to your tiny garden, or to a small collection of pots on your porch. This little dragon and their book will also fit perfectly in indoor planters or window boxes! $27

A green flag showing the quote below in large capital letters, a colorful stack of books, and several cacti of different shapes and sizes.

Announce your love for books and growing things with this old-school garden flag. Quote reads: “If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need.” $11+

A small silver statue of a gnome with a long beard and pointed hat, sitting on a stack of books with another open book in his hands.

Every garden needs a gnome, right? Obviously. And what’s better than a gnome? A gnome who’s reading! This one is even sitting on a stack of books. $50

Two tiny statues of a green frog and a white mouse, both holding open books, sit on a bed of moss.

I don’t even have a mini fairy garden, and I am having trouble resisting this tiny statue of two very-contented looking frog and mouse friends. Mouse seems to be chatting away happily, while frog just wants to keep on reading. $14

A tan doormat that says: Not Now I'm Reading, with an illustration of three books.

Don’t have a big garden? No problem: just put this bookish doormat on your front step, add a pot with a succulent or two, and presto: bookish garden! Plus, everyone who comes over will know immediately what you’re about. $32+

Three large rectangular cedar raised garden beds sit on a driveway.

If you’re looking for a bigger DIY project, check out these downloadable plans for cedar raised garden beds. Once you’ve built them, you can customize them however you want to create the bookish raised beds of your dreams. $13

Now that you’ve filed your cart with all these goodies for your garden, why not check out a big stack of gardening books from the library? This comprehensive list of gardening books is a great place to start. If you’re excited about growing veggies, these books will help. And if you’re looking for tips for gardening in the city, check out these fantastic books about urban gardening!