Vegetable gardening is hot, and novices (and others) need guidance. Can the book publishers be far behind? No, siree.

Probably seven of every 10 new titles that cross my desk have to do with edibles.

This level of interest is good. To me, raising one’s own vegetables, herbs and fruits is the most satisfying form of gardening, and not just for the delight of eating a sweet carrot you met three months earlier as a seed.

• “Homegrown Harvest”

Published in conjunction with the editorial staff of the American Horticultural Society, this volume takes the gardener through the year and is especially helpful in tracking the seasonal progression of the enterprise. The book, edited by Rita Pelczar, is liberally illustrated with photographs. Published by Mitchell Beazley, $32.50.

• “Grow Your Own Vegetables”

Mitchell Beazley put out another gardening how-to book this year that overlaps in content and even pictures, “Grow Your Own Vegetables.” You wouldn’t want to buy both titles for that reason, but the latter has the voice of Carol Klein, one of my favorite garden writers. This is one of the few British gardening books I’ve seen whose makeover for the U.S. market and climates is more than perfunctory. $20.

• “Lavender: The Grower’s Guide”

Although devoted to just one herb, the book is irresistible. What an herb! I love lavender: the look, the fragrance, its sense of nostalgia. There is a knack to growing lavender well, and Virginia McNaughton tells us how with advice on optimum soil preparation and pruning techniques. Some readers may find the botanical terms too much, but for its advice on correct cultivation and the range of varieties, this is the lavender bible I’ve been waiting for. Timber Press, $20.

• Dusting off the library shelf

If you are willing to seek out titles that are not new, I can recommend two extremely helpful books. “Reader’s Digest Vegetable Gardening” (2006, $33) was a joint project of the New York horticultural expert and writer Fern Marshall Bradley and her British-based counterpart Jane Courtier. It is comprehensive without being overwhelming, and useful to beginners and more experienced gardeners. Bradley is the author of the other title, “Rodale’s Vegetable Garden Problem Solver” (2007, $20). This is text-heavy with drawings and perhaps aimed at the experienced gardener.