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betsntom

What is your favorite Gardening Mag?

betsntom
19 years ago

Hi all. Right now the weather is beautiful and a great time to be outside (here in Florida, anyway). But when the "winter" weather rolls in, it will be a great time to be inside with a good gardening magazine.

Just wondering what everyone's favorite gardening magazines are and why? What sorts of things make a gardening magazine a GREAT one?

Comments (7)

  • earthlydelights
    19 years ago

    Well, better late than never (for a response)

    I like Garden Gate. First of all there are no advertisements, no annoying mail order cards.
    The magazine offers something for everyone and step by step instructions, excellent pictures, groupings of plants by size, color, etc., so on and so forth. and did i mention, no advertisements. and another great thing, when you renew, they offer you a second gift subsription for free. and they have no annoying advertisements.

    i used to like other ones until i found this one.

    how about you, what's your favorite?

  • diggingthedirt
    19 years ago

    I love Horticulture magazine. It has had several multi-part series by some great authors, dealing with things like the mixed border, elements of design, etc, that really go into the subject in depth, which I like.

    I also get Fine Gardening, which is excellent too, though occasionally a little ... thin. For example, they have user-contributed tips every month, and they are sometimes pretty weak.

    I've let my subscriptions to Gardens Illustrated and Garden Design lapse; both were very slick and entertaining but occasionally got into a People-magazine-type celebrity fixation that I couldn't stand.

    Garden Design seemed to use writers who knew nothing about gardening; maybe they were interns on their way to other magazines, or new journalism graduates who couldn't get jobs elsewhere. It also seemed more like a decorating magazine, not dealing with actual design OR gardening.

    Gardens Illustrated, an English magazine, was well done but usually featured estate gardens that were hard to relate to. That one I miss, it sometimes had features by some of the great garden writers from GB - Dillon, Lloyd, etc, so I may have to go back to it.

    Long ago I subscribed to Organic Gardening; last time I looked at it I felt as if I were being screamed at. I DO garden organically, but I don't need to be harranged about it and don't like to read wild claims about it.

  • myohhmy
    19 years ago

    I agree, I love Horticulture magazine. Some articals are just simple but others are in debth. Plus they always feature lots of plants and give very good reviews on them.

    Don't let the name fool you.. I never would have bought the magazine as the name sounds stuffy and high tech. However, I find it very good reading and look forward to each new issue!

    Better home and Gardens I let relapse because the one ones worth having ARE the ones NOT included in the subscriptions. However, their special issues are very informative but $$$ pricy!

    Good topic looking forward to other replys.

  • bigeasyjock
    19 years ago

    Southern Gardening for obvious reasons though I think it a bit slick and not enough dirt! I do like the Rodale stuff (OGM). The Mother Earth news magizine is very good but they are too pushy with the subscriptions. Threatening letters will not get me to re-up the subsciption, rather the oppisite.
    Mike

  • crocosmia_mn
    19 years ago

    I have subscribed to the English gardening magazine BBC's Gardeners' World for years, despite the fact that many of the plants mentioned would not grow in my Zone 4 garden or are not available in the US. I wish there was an American magazine like it. I also subscribe to The English Garden. All other magazines I just get out from the library!

  • stressbaby
    19 years ago

    I agree with Digging, Horticulture and Fine Gardening top the list.

    Garden Design is far too slick, too much design and not enough gardening; I dropped the subscription.

    American Gardener is pretty good, but occasionally feels like a political advertisement to me.

    I get Garden Gate, it's OK, but I find that I never go back and reread it like I do Horticulture and Fine Gardening.

  • debbieisbell
    19 years ago

    I love "The Heirloom Gardener".It is soooooo much more informative than Organic Gardening.

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