Affirm Press has acquired world rights to Hannah Moloney’s new book, Why We Garden.

Hannah Moloney is a TV presenter on ABC’s Gardening Australia, permaculture practitioner, bestselling author and climate activist based in Nipaluna/Hobart.

Hannah’s new book, Why We Garden, explores the responses to one very important question she has mulled over for a long time: why do we garden, even though we don’t have to?

In a world of industrialised agriculture and well-stocked supermarkets, very few Australians need to garden. And yet, every weekend, throughout our cities, suburbs and rural areas, millions of people are out in their little patches coaxing life out of the soil.

But why? This was the question that fascinated Hannah. So she went out and asked. She spoke to politicians, artists, community leaders, activists and thousands of ordinary gardeners – including Tim Winton, Bruce Pascoe, Laura Tingle, Clare Bowditch, Bob Brown, Costa Georgiadis and many more. This book explores their answers – sometimes surprising, often philosophical, always insightful.

Much more than a gardening book, Why We Garden is a joyful, life-affirming exploration of nature, humanity and community by a beloved Australian author.

Hannah said: ‘I wrote this book to put words to confirm a feeling that I’ve long suspected weaves through a lot of us gardeners. A feeling that while we’re out there digging, mulching, watering, pampering and muttering to ourselves, we’re also up to something much more, something bigger than us. We’re remembering what really matters – people, place and the fizzy links of love that run between us all.’

Affirm Press publisher Ruby Ashby-Orr said: ‘Hannah Moloney is beloved for a reason. She brings an infectious warmth, joy and sense of hope to everything she does, including this deeper dive into why gardening is so meaningful to so many of us. Much more than your average gardening book, Why We Garden is a history, a philosophical meditation, a call to arms for anyone who wants to make a better future and an insightful glimpse of humanity at its best.’

Why We Garden will be published by Affirm Press in April 2026.