With over 30 years experience of working with disabled people who would like to start or continue gardening, Thrive has accumulated a wealth of knowledge. 

Sharing this knowledge with others is an important part of our work, so to help you start or continue gardening at home on your own, or with family and friends, or in gardening groups and clubs, we publish a small range of leaflets, fact sheets and books.

Publications are available through our main Thrive website, where you can search for titles, access free pdf documents, and buy other titles using our secure online payment facility.

You can either find out more about the full list of publications available from Thrive, or read about selected publications listed below, which we feel might be of particular interesting to users of the Carry on Gardening website.

Gardening after a stroke and with heart disease:

gardening for hearts and minds
Getting your life back after stroke or heart disease is a significant challenge and an important part of people’s recovery is building up their strength to help them overcome their physical challenges. Gardening at home is a good way of doing this and Thrive’s guide, gardening for hearts and minds, has practical tips and ideas and a set of activity sheets showing the benefits of gardening jobs such as sowing seeds, planting containers, pruning and weeding.

Published with funding from the Department of Health, and advice from The Stroke Association and British Heart Foundation, this guide will show you how just 30 minutes of gardening a day can help recovery.

The guide is free for NHS patients within England if ordered through your NHS heart or stroke heart professional. Alternatively you can order a guide direct from the Thrive website.

Find out more about Gardening for hearts and minds

Gardening with sight loss:

Getting on with gardening - Volumes 1 & 2 
For visually impaired gardeners, each of the A4 size ring binders is packed with tried-and-tested gardening techniques gathered from many years of work with visually impaired gardeners. Both volumes have large, clear, diagrams in print or tactile versions. 

• Volume 1 has information on seed sowing, potting, gardening outside, tools and equipment, raised beds, preparing the ground, planting and watering.
• Volume 2 expands your knowledge with sections on taking cuttings, container growing, more gardening outside, protected growing, pruning, the lawn, pests and diseases and labelling.

Find out more about Getting on with gardening V1&2

Getting on with growing food

Written as the next edition in the Getting on with Gardening series, this book has 172 full colour pages of information on how to grow your own fruit and vegetables.

The methods described have been tried-and-tested by people who have sight loss and you’ll find top tips from members of the National Blind Gardeners’ Club. The book covers all areas for planning your food garden, getting ready, seed sowing, planting and watering.

A month-by-month year planner tells you when to sow, maintain, plant and harvest vegetable and fruit garden staples throughout the year. We’ve kept things simple, so you can get started without fuss. The book also gives advice on how to extend your vegetable growing season through most months of the year by using protected growing.

Finally, we cover the basics of crop rotation, feeding, composting and pests and diseases.

Find out more about Getting on with growing food

Getting on with growing in containers

This book shows how using containers can provide exciting, flexible and managable growing spaces. Getting on with growing in containers will be invaluable whether you are new to gardening, or are more experienced.

The methods described have also been tried-and-tested by people who have sight loss including top tips from Thrive members with sight loss. So whether you fancy a few herbs growing on your windowsill, or a profusion of flowering plants and vegetables, fruits, shrubs or trees, containers are ideal growing spaces.

The book's getting started section covers choosing a container and growing medium, arranging plants and planting up, maintenance - watering, feeding, plant support, potting-on, protection and pests and diseases.

There are also planting ideas and tips for ornamental containers, trees and shrubs, herbs, vegetables, fruit and houseplants. Lastly there is a useful year planner, a glossery of terms, equipments and suppliers, contacts and information about how Thrive can offer support including joining Thrive.

Find out more about Getting on with growing in containers


Come gardening
A unique quarterly magazine for visually impaired gardeners which is issued in January, April, July and October. The magazine gives top tips for gardening each season, ideas and stories from visually impaired gardeners, and advanced notice of Thrive's gardening weekends and workshops.

It is available in large print, on audio CD or tape, in Braille, or via email. The magazine is available on subscription or is included in Thrive's membership for blind and partially sighted gardeners. 

Find out more about Come gardening

Gardening together
This leaflet is free, so if you would like to start a local gardening club for blind and partially sighted people, but are feeling a little daunted because you’re not sure where to start, we can help. This 40 page guide, which is free of charge thanks to funding from the Big Lottery Fund, draws on the experience of gardeners and professionals who have successfully launched their own club.
 
The guide has advice and information, tips from visually impaired gardeners, programme ideas and useful contact details. Written in a friendly 'Question and Answer’ format, the guide is available in large print, audio CD and Braille. To get your free copy, send us an email or call our Information team on 0118 988 5688. Alternatively, you can write to us:  Thrive, The Geoffrey Udall Centre, Beech Hill, Reading RG7 2AT.

Gardening to improve your emotional well-being

Harnessing the mood boosting power of gardening
Have you ever thought that gardening could change the way you feel?

Ask any gardener why they enjoy gardening and time and time again they will say it "makes them feel good".

Thrive's free leaflet has information and ideas to show how gardening can help.

Find out more about and download a free pdf of Harnessing the mood boosting power of gardening