The Gardeners Mindset | Stephen Orr Book Talk

In The Gardener's Mindset, Stephen Orr, garden writer and former editor-in-chief of Better Homes and Gardens, examines the restorative power of gardening through a collection of essays and photographs while revealing his own challenges in the garden and offering advice on growing plants and vegetables at home. Inspired by the great tradition of twentieth-century garden essay collections by writers such as Vita Sackville-West, Elizabeth Lawrence, and Henry Mitchell, Orr helps readers understand not just how to garden but how to think about it. Alongside gorgeous photographs and easy projects that range from cultivating a color scheme to building a wildlife habitat, Orr delves into his personal gardening journey, pulling from the various gardens he and his husband have created over the past decades.

Orr’s distinct sense of wit and wisdom on every page lends the impression of having him by your side while on a personal garden tour. Whether kept on the nightstand as inspiration for the growing season or given as a gift, The Gardener’s Mindset will delight anyone interested in the analog pleasures of being outdoors.

is the author and photographer of three books: The New American Herbal (Clarkson Potter/Random House, 2014), Tomorrow’s Garden: Design and Inspiration for a New Age of Sustainable Gardening (Rodale, 2011) and an upcoming book of essays The Gardener’s Mindset: Connecting with Nature through Plants (Clarkson Potter/Random House, May 2026). He is also the editor of the monograph Nelson Byrd Woltz: Garden, Park, Community, Farm (Princeton Architectural Press, 2013).

Previously he was the editor in chief of Better Homes and Gardens. He was also executive editor at Condé Nast Traveler as well as garden editor at Martha Stewart Living, House & Garden, and Domino magazines. He writes regularly for his local newspaper the Provincetown Independent. After over three decades of living in New York City, he now lives and gardens in Cape Cod with his husband.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Twenty Summers