In 1799 he published "Description des plantes nouvelles et peu connues, cultivées dans le jardin de J.-M. Cels". This book described plants in the botanical garden of Jacques Philippe Martin Cels (1740–1806). In 1803 he published "Le Jardin de la Malmaison" because Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763–1814) asked him to write it. He wanted to make sure the rare species of plants found in the gardens and greenhouses of Château de Malmaison were remembered forever. The pictures and drawings in the two aforementioned works were performed by famed botanical artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840). Ventenat is also credited with continuing the work on Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard's "Histoire des champignons de la France". This was a landmark (very important) work on mushrooms native to France.