Each year the American Horticultural Society (AHS) honors great gardening literature through the AHS Book Award Program. The awards, which are chosen by a distinguished committee of garden writers, began with the announcement of 75 Great American Garden Books as part of AHS' celebration of its 75th anniversary. Awards are chosen and presented to the publisher in the year following publication.

2007
Defiant Gardens: Making Gardens in Wartime by Kenneth I. Helphand
Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide by C. Colston Burrell & Judith Knott Tyler
Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest by Mark Turner & Phyllis Gustafson

2006
The Art of the Japanese Garden by David and Michiko Young
California Native Plants for the Garden by Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O’Brien
Growing Hardy Orchids by John Tullock
The Wild Braid by Stanley Kunitz with Genine Lentine
Yard Full of Sun by Scott Calhoun

2005
American Household Botany: A History of Useful Plants 1620–1900 by Judith Sumner
The Complete Squash: A Passionate Grower’s Guide to Pumpkins, Squashes, and Gourds by Amy Goldman
Encyclopedia of Water Garden Plants by Greg Speichert and Sue Speichert
Plants and Landscapes for Summer Dry Climates of the San Francisco Bay Region
edited by Nora Harlow
Understanding Orchids: An Uncomplicated Guide to Growing the World’s Most Exotic Plants by William Cullina

2004
An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms by Robert Lee Riffle and Paul Craft
The Passion for Gardening by Ken Druse
Time and the Gardener by Elisabeth Sheldon
Tropical Flowering Plants: A Guide to Identification and Cultivation by Kirsten Albrecht Llamas
Your House, Your Garden: A Foolproof Approach to Garden Design by Gordon Hayward

2003
The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest by Rick Darke
An Encyclopedia of Shade Perennials by W. George Schmid
Grounds for Pleasure: Four Centuries of the American Garden by Denise Otis
Melons for the Passionate Grower by Amy Goldman
Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines by William Cullina

2002
Armitage’s Manual of Annuals, Biennials, and Half-hardy Perennials by Allan M. Armitage
Bulbs of North America edited by Jane McGary
The Cactus Family by Edward F. Anderson
The Greater Perfection by Francis H. Cabot
Insects and Gardens: In Pursuit of Garden Ecology by Eric Grissell
2001
Making More Plants: The Science, Art, and Joy of Propagation by Ken Druse
Passionate Gardening: Good Advice for Challenging Climates by Lauren Springer and Rob Proctor
Growing Home: Stories of Ethnic Gardening by Susan Davis Price
The Once & Future Gardener: Writing from the Golden Age of Magazines 1900–1940 edited by Virginia Tuttle Clayton

2000
The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses: Sedges, Rushes, Restios, Cat-tails, and Selected Bamboos by Rick Darke
Creating and Planting Garden Troughs by Joyce Fingerut and Rex Murfitt
The Explorer's Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials by Daniel J. Hinkley
The Pressed Plant: The Art of Botanical Specimens, Nature Prints, and Sun Pictures by Andrea DiNoto and David Winter; photography by John Berens
Washington's Gardens at Mount Vernon: Landscape of the Inner Man by Mac Griswold; photography by Roger Foley

1999
Celebration of Heirloom Vegetables: Growing and Cooking Old-Time Varieties by Roger Yepsen
Earth on Her Hands: The American Woman in Her Garden by Starr Ockenga
The Savage Garden: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants by Peter D’Amato
The Tropical Look: An Encyclopedia of Dramatic Landscape Plants by Robert Lee Riffle

1998
Breaking Ground: Portraits of Ten Garden Designers by Page Dickey
Gardener’s Encyclopedia of Wildflowers by C. Colston Burrell
The Gardens of Ellen Biddle Shipman by Judith Tankard
Hollies: The Genus Ilex by Fred Galle
Moss Gardening by George Schenk
Taylor’s Dictionary for Gardeners by Frances Tenenbaum
A Year of Roses by Stephen Scanniello
A Tree Is Growing by Arthur Dorros

1997
The Collector's Garden: Designing with Extraordinary Plants by Ken Druse
North American Landscape Trees by Arthur Lee Jacobson
Plants That Merit Attention: Vol. II - Shrubs by Janet Meakin Poor and Nancy Brewster

75 Great American Garden Books
Adams, James; Landscaping with Herbs
Armitage, Allan M.; Herbaceous Perennial Plants: A Treatise on Their Identification, Culture, and Garden Attributes
Bailey, Liberty H.; Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada
Bailey, Liberty H.; The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Beveridge, Charles E.; Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing the American Landscape
Bradley, Fern Marshall and Ellis, Barbara; Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening
Bryan, John E.; Bulbs Vols. 1 & 2
Bye, Arthur Edwin; Art into Landscape, Landscape into Art
Charlesworth, Geoffrey B.; The Opinionated Gardener: Random Offshoots from an Alpine Garden
Church, Thomas Dolliver; Gardens Are for People: How to Plan for Outdoor Living
Clausen, Ruth Rogers and Ekstrom, Nicholas; Perennials for American Gardens
Courtright, Gordon; Trees and Shrubs for Temperate Climates
Creasy, Rosalind; The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping
Crockett, James Underwood; Crockett's Victory Garden
Cruso, Thalassa; Making Things Grow: A Practical Guide for the Indoor Gardener
Dennis, John V.; The Wildlife Gardener
Dirr, Michael; Manual of Woody Landscape Plants
Druse, Ken; The Natural Garden
Dumbarton Oaks Colloquium; Beatrix Jones Farrand: Fifty Years of American Landscape Architecture
Elbert, Virginie F. and Elbert, George; Foliage Plants for Decorating Indoors: Plants, Design, and Maintenance for Homes, Offices and Interior Gardens
Everett, Thomas H.; The New York Botanical Garden Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horticulture
Fairchild, David; The World Was My Garden: Travels of a Plant Explorer
Foster, H. Lincoln; Rock Gardening: A Guide to Growing Alpines and Other Wildflowers in the American Garden
Frederick, William H., Jr.; 100 Great Garden Plants
Galle, Fred C.; Azaleas
Graf, Alfred Byrd; Exotica Series IV International: Pictorial Cyclopedia of Exotic Plants from Tropical and Near-Tropic Regions
Greenlee, John; The Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses: How to Grow and Use over 250 Beautiful and Versatile Plants
Griswold, Mac K. and Weller, Eleanor; The Golden Age of American Gardens: Proud Owners, Private Estates, 1890-1940
Harper, Pamela J.; Designing with Perennials
Harter, Jim, ed.; The Plant Kingdom Compendium
Hill, Lewis; Secrets of Plant Propagation: Starting Your Own Flowers, Vegetables, Fruits, Berries, Shrubs, Trees, and Houseplants
Johnson, Warren T. and Lyon, Howard H.; Insects That Feed on Trees and Shrubs
Karson, Robin; Fletcher Steele: Landscape Architect
King, Louisa Yeomans; The Well-Considered Garden
Kruckeberg, Arthur R.; Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Guide
Lacy, Allen; Home Ground: A Gardener's Miscellany
Lawrence, Elizabeth; A Southern Garden, 50th anniversary edition
Leighton, Ann; Early American Gardens: "For Meate or Medicine"
Loewer, H. Peter; The Wild Gardener: On Flowers and Foliage for the Natural Border
Lovejoy, Ann; The American Mixed Border: Gardens for All Seasons
Martin, Laura C.; The Wildflower Meadow Book: A Gardener's Guide
Mathias, Mildred Esther, ed.; Flowering Plants in the Landscape
Mickel, John; Ferns for American Gardens
Mitchell, Henry; The Essential Earthman: Henry Mitchell on Gardening
Olkowski, William and Daar, Sheila and Olkowski, Helga; Common-Sense Pest Control
Perenyi, Eleanor Spencer Stone; Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden
Phillips, Harry R.; Growing and Propagating Wild Flowers
Pollan, Michael; Second Nature: A Gardener's Education
Poor, Janet Meakin, ed., Garden Club of America; Plants That Merit Attention: Vol. I – Trees
Pritchard, Tom; Flowers Rediscovered: New Ideas for Using and Enjoying Flowers
Proctor, Rob; Annuals: Yearly Classics for the Contemporary Garden
Rehder, Alfred; Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs Hardy in North America
Rickett, Harold William; Wild Flowers of the United States
Salley, Homer E. and Greer, Harold E.; Rhododendron Hybrids: A Guide to Their Origins, Including Selected, Named Forms of Rhododendron Species
Schenk, George; The Complete Shade Gardener
Schinz, Marina and Littlefield, Susan; Visions of Paradise: Themes and Variations on the Garden
Sinclair, Wayne A. and Lyon, Howard H. and Johnson, Warren T.; Diseases of Trees and Shrubs
Spongberg, Stephen A.; A Reunion of Trees: The Discovery of Exotic Plants and Their Introduction into North American and European Landscapes
Springer, Lauren; The Undaunted Garden: Planting for Weather-Resilient Beauty
Stein, Sara Bonnett; Noah's Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Back Yards
Stout, Ruth; Gardening Without Work
Streatfield, David C.; California Gardens: Creating a New Eden
The Editors of Sunset Magazine; Sunset Western Garden Book
Swain, Roger B.; The Practical Gardener: A Guide to Breaking New Ground
Thaxter, Celia; An Island Garden (reprint)
Tripp, Kim E. and Raulston, J. C.; The Year in Trees: Superb Woody Plants for Four-Seasons Gardens
van Sweden, James and Oehme, Wolfgang; Gardening with Water: How James van Sweden and Wolfgang Oehme Build and Plant Fountains, Swimming Pools, Lily Pools, Ponds, and Water Edges
Vertrees, J. D.; Japanese Maples
Wasowski, Sally and Andy; Native Gardens for Dry Climates
White, Katherine Sargent Angell; Onward and Upward in the Garden
Wilder, Louise Beebe; Color in My Garden: An American Gardener's Palette
Wilkinson, Elizabeth and Henderson, Marjorie, eds.; Decorating Eden: A Comprehensive Source Book of Classic Garden Details
Wilson, Ernest Henry; Aristocrats of the Garden
Winterrowd, Wayne; Annuals for Connoisseurs
Wyman, Donald; Wyman's Gardening Encyclopedia