Listen to titles on gardening, mindfulness and the race to cultivate the hottest chilli pepper

How many hobbies can claim the same emotional, spiritual and practical benefits as gardening? The act of tending to plants – starting them from seed, nourishing them and watching them grow – is not only soul-satisfying, but at the end of it you get a mean salad out of the deal! It’s almost like receiving a bag full of farmers’ market veggies after a tranquil yoga session.

Listening and gardening are a one-two punch of relaxation, mental activity, learning and growing (literally and figuratively). With a simple tap of the green thumb, you can explore a whole world of audio content at – from gardening audiobooks to meditative titles and enthralling podcasts.

Here we’ve listed a few suggestions: a couple of books about gardening to listen to as you plant your veggies and a few to pass the time as you watch your seedlings grow.

Geek out on Gardening

As you pull weeds, till the soil and plant those first, promising seeds, it’s hard not to get excited about gardening. It’s fresh. It’s fun. It’s all you want to talk about when you video chat with your friends (even if they just politely nod most of the time). It’s natural that you’d want to reach for an audiobook about gardening.

If you want to geek out on gardening, Michael Pollan’s your guy. Whether you’re just taking up the trowel or you have the calluses to prove a lifelong obsession, Pollan’s wide-ranging knowledge and zest for plants are as refreshing as light rain to a tomato plant.

In his classic audiobook , the popular gourmand and plant enthusiast eloquently walks you through the evolution of humankind’s reciprocal relationship with plants. How we domesticated them and how they domesticated us. He dives deep into topics like tulip hybridization, which you’d think could get a little dry, but Pollan makes them as colourful as the tulip itself.

In – a title selected by the American Horticultural Society as one of the 75 greatest books ever written about gardening – Pollan is even more wide-ranging. Through a series of essays, he touches on a number of subjects. On the practical end, he offers gardening advice and buying tips. In his more philosophical turns, he waxes on the sexual politics of roses and the virtuousness of composting. He studies the history of the American lawn and his personal history with gardening. It’s engaging, entertaining and inquisitive – the perfect garden companion.

Meditate while You Cultivate

We’ve already discussed how , but when you pair it with gardening it can be even more meditative.

When you think about it, meditation and gardening aren’t that different. They both involve connecting with nature. They both involve focusing on the present. And they both encourage us to ruminate on the cycle of life. To mix in meditation with your cultivation, check out by Mark W. Muesse.