"Heidi" wrote in message
. com...
Hi all,

I'm just curious as to how many folks see value in subscribing to
gardening magazines. I have subscribed to two of the biggies for a
little over a year now. There are some beautiful pictures, however
often the plants in large vignettes are not identified. One magazine
always highlights some rich couple's gardens, the ones done by
professional landscapers, and the ones that you really need to have some
$$$ to afford. Well, it is nice to see these photos, but I'd like to
see some pictures of gardeners more like me. A few more practical
gardens. The other magazine has too many articles and ads for garden
furniture. For either, when a plant is identified, I find it is not
something carried in the local nurseries where I live.

Do you all think they are worth it? Anyone else get annoyed that the
featured gardens always show some wealthy couple lounging around in
pricey furniture, next to their outdoor shower, which is being fed by
their faux waterfall, etc...

Heidi


For what it's worth, and to me it's worth something, I have subscribed to
some pretty decent and big gardening magazines now for well over 20 years. I
started out years ago with Mother Earth Magazine, then to Rodales Organic
Gardening until Mike McGrath left as editor. Somewhere I outgrew my need
for Organic Gardening, but what I learned from them was worth it and has
surfaced in my knowledge since then despite that I haven't felt the need to
subscribe in awhile. It used to be a good publication for learning and
checking out information and new plants.

Once my level of gardening and knowledge increased, I ventured out and tried
Horticulture Magazine. I still subscribe to it. There has never been an
issue that hasn't taught me something, made me smile, showed me a plant I'd
love to have, (they give sources for those plants if it's at all possible
and I think were the first gardening magazine to do that). It doesn't
matter that I don't have a natural grassland in Marin County, California, I
enjoy reading and learning how other gardeners accomplish and solve their
various problems and dreams. I stumbled onto Garden Designs when it first
came out because for awhile I was quite insatiable when it came to ANY
gardening magazine and I read and sampled just about every one. I still
subscribe to it as well because despite that there are things in it that
don't appeal to me personally, it is a very well thought out magazine. I
love the little snippets at the bottoms or sides of the pages in the front
and back that pertain to the article or subject on that page.

These magazines don't go out for the rich and well off. They are there to
inform us, to show us ideas and yes, they advertise products that some of us
can't afford, but that's life in general honey. I don't fault them for
that. It's like a given that if I want to watch regular television I have to
put up with the commercials for things I don't buy or want. The commercials
pay for that programming I'm watching. Well the ads and products that run
those nice ads pay for the bulk of the magazine that allows me to buy it and
read it each publication.

I also subscribe to Fine Gardening. I have every issue. And that last part
is thanks to another gardener when I first came onto this newsgroup putting
his collection up for sale and we struck a deal across the country. (I sent
him advance money for half of the issues which surprised him and he sent me
the second half before I sent the next payment, as I was in short financial
straits at the time but really wanted those back issues. My honesty paid off
and my best friend got the duplicates). I still subscribe to Fine Gardening
and it's never let me down for articles and information either.

I also subscribe to another absolute favorite that I stumbled upon after
moving over here to Eastern Tennessee but which is available to anyone. I
happened to hear one Tuesday morning the voice of a nice gentleman on the
NPR station I had discovered over in North Carolina reading a short piece
out of his quarterly magazine. It was a riot. And I could relate to it
completely. At the end of the 12 minutes he closed with what later turned
out to be the normal closing every Tuesday for another year and a half, that
if anyone wanted a copy of the article he had read, to send a SASE to him
care of the radio station or him at his P.O. box and he'd send it out ASAP.
It was Pat Stone, former writer and editor of an older Mother Earth Magazine
who had decided when ME had temporairly ceased publication in the early 90's
to start up his own magazine. But not your normal publication. He wanted
something different. His baby? Green Prints/The Weeders Digest.

His was not HOW to garden or gardening, it was ABOUT gardening and such.
Like this newsgroup is. And he didn't publish but four times a year, or
seasonal which was fine with me except once I subscribed to his quarterly
publication (I also got my first article published with him and it was
incredibly moral lifting. Enough to inspire me to keep attempts at writing
to this day regardless of wheather or not he prints it g) I really wished
he published more because the writings were excellent. I wanted more.

In between all of those tried and true magazines and such I have tasted
various successes and failures. There was a brief shining star of a
gardening magazine called Beautiful Gardens that was awesome, but it was
ahead of it's time. There were no ads and I suspect that is why it died it's
rather quick and untimely death.

Bottom line, to ME I will say that the big gardening magazines are worth the
money. I adore that Fine Gardening features tight shots of someone's garden
combinations. Something that became obvious to me one day as I was looking
at the back of one. I realized in my own way I was trying to achieve the
textural and visuality the featured picture was sharing. I was thrilled.
It might seem simple, and obvious but that's how I felt.

Don't let the majority rule you on this one. I personally think that good
garden magazines don't appeal to the "rich and yuppie" as much as they
appeal to gardeners who like a good read, a good laugh or idea. Oh and
just to let you know, I not only subscribe to those I mentioned above, but I
also KEEP all the issues on my shelves for later accessing for a plant, an
article, information for how to (one nice thing that Horticulture did was
starting in 1987 they began the illustrated Step by Step which was
incredibly informative to me) not to mention that Roger Swain contributes
still to Horticulture magazine despite that he's no longer hosting Victory
Garden on PBS. (I STILL miss him!!)

I hope this helps despite that the majority still thinks they're a waste of
money. I always make a concerted effort to keep my subscriptions up on my
select magazines. It's nice to get something in the ol' mailbox, not to
mention concerning so much about what I love to do, garden and stories about
gardening. Might I suggest you take stock again and check out Fine
Gardening, give Garden Design a lookie see, and get a year's subscription to
Green Prints? Pat's compilations of garden stories is incredible and worthy
of the investment. (I have all of those too, and getting the first issue
was difficult, I had to beg adn plead his wife to make me a Xerox copy of it
since it was out of print and I sent her $10 for her trouble. She complied
and put the lion's share of that ten spot onto another few issues.

Of course, this is just MY opinion........GBSEG
madgardener up on the ridge, back in fairy holler, overlooking English
Mountain in Eastern Tennessee zone7, Sunset zone 36