I love the internet, don’t you? With a few keystrokes, I can instantly get answers to all of my gardening questions.
What kind of fertilizer should I be putting on my tomatoes? What exactly is a straw bale garden? Why does everyone seem to grow marigolds in the vegetable garden? It’s great!
The thing is, sometimes, there’s nothing better than curling up with a cup of tea and one of my favorite gardening magazines.
The internet is excellent for immediate answers, but nothing beats the glossy pages of a magazine, filled with gorgeous photos and interesting articles.
Whenever I open my mailbox and see the latest issue waiting for me, I feel like the kid who got a birthday card from their favorite aunt.
A magazine subscription is a perfect way to learn more abouta particular hobby or interest.
Subscribing to one of these magazines gives you something tolook forward to and gives you a chance to slow down for a bit in thisfast-paced world while keeping tabs on a favorite hobby.
Despite the decline in the popularity of print, many magazines are thriving – especially in DIY areas.
New gardening magazines are popping up all the time among the old tried and true editions, as more and more people become interested in growing their own food or landscaping their homes.
While we can search for the answers to specific questions on the internet, magazines are excellent resources of expert advice, a chance to learn a new skill from a professional, or plan a new project.
In other words, magazines are an excellent way to discover the things you didn’t realize you wanted to know.
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Here are my top magazine picks every gardener would love to have in their mailbox.
1. Country Gardens
Country Gardens is a quarterly publication from Better Homes & Gardens.
The focus of this magazine is flowers, shrubs, and plants specifically for landscaping. They have great houseplant advice too.
Country Gardens is filled with vibrant photographs and articles from expert gardeners – perennials, annuals, bulbs, they cover it all.
Periodically they incorporate other landscape features into their issues like deck and patio projects and other outdoor builds. Indoor projects are popular too, like seasonal centerpieces created with flowers from your garden. Create your dream garden with helpful tips and articles in each issue.
Meredith Corporation, quarterly, US & Canada.
2. Mother Earth Gardener
This quarterly offering is your one-stop resource for all things concerning organic gardening.
Each issue is jam-packed with plant information, growing guides, recipes, and gorgeous photos. And they go beyond the standard – forgive my pun – garden variety vegetables, which means you’ll be introduced to many plants and veggies you may be unfamiliar with.
Their organic focus means you get great advice on pest control that isn’t dependent on pesticides.
If you’re interested in incorporating more heirloom varieties into your garden, I highly recommend a subscription to Mother Earth Gardener.
Stories from readers and great writing make this magazine a joy to read from cover to cover.
Ogden Publishing, quarterly, internationally available
3. Gardens Illustrated
Gardens Illustrated is the Vogue of garden magazines.
Brimming with gorgeous photographs of the most luxurious gardens, this British magazine is the perfect read when you’re stuck in the house on a rainy or snowy day.
If gardening as a fine art appeals to you, this is your periodical.
Take inspiration from some of the most incredible gardens on the planet, and learn tips from renowned gardening professionals. Tour world-famous gardens within its pages.
Gardens Illustrated is a veritable feast for the eyes and every green thumb’s imagination playground.
Immediate Media Co., monthly, Britain, US, Canada
4. Herb Quarterly
Herb Quarterly is an excellent choice for the herb gardener and herbalist. Whether you grow culinary or medicinal herbs, this magazine has something for everyone.
Each quarter’s magazine is packed with things like book reviews, herb spotlights detailing growing and use information, the medicinal history of herbs, and herb-centric recipes.
Herb Quarterly is a great place to read up on the latest scientific and medical herbal discoveries as well.
The magazine is printed on newsprint paper, and the art contained within its pages are all original watercolors, giving it a rustic and beautiful feel. The beautiful pictures are alone worth a subscription.
EGW Publishing Co., quarterly, US, Canada, and International
5. Mother Earth News
While this isn’t technically a gardening magazine, it is a veritable goldmine of gardening information.
Mother Earth News has you covered from, “Hmm, maybe we should build some raised beds this year,” all the way up to, “What on earth are we going to do with all of this zucchini?”
If you are a vegetable or herb gardener with a passion for organic gardening and living simply, this is an excellent all-around periodical. This is a great companion to Mother Earth Gardener if you are a homesteader or a gardener who is looking for a more natural lifestyle overall.
A subscription to Mother Earth News may find you doing more than just gardening on your property. The next thing you know there might be a flock of chickens next to your vegetable garden and a DIY sauna in your herb patch!
Ogden Publishing, bimonthly, internationally available
6. Permaculture Design Magazine
If you aren’t familiar with the concept of permaculture, it’s the mimicking of natural ecosystems within your own environment.
That’s a very simplified explanation of the concept. However, permaculture is an excellent way of utilizing the growing space around your home effectively and in ways that complement the natural ecosystem, you are already a part of.
Permaculture Design Magazine contains plenty of plans and ideas for the home gardener as well as larger-scale projects around the world. You’ll find in-depth articles on responsible agriculture and how you can learn to grow alongside nature, rather than altering it drastically. They have excellent spotlights on heirloom seed varieties.
It’s an incredible resource to learn more about this growing area of gardening.
Permaculture Design Publishing, quarterly, Internationally available
7. Fermentation
Fermentation is an entirely new magazine offering from Ogden Publishing. (Mother Earth News, Grit, etc.)
Just to be clear, this is not a gardening magazine. However, it IS a magazine brimming with some incredible ideas for what to do with all of the fantastic veg you’ll be growing.
Fermentation as a means of preserving food is as old as agriculture itself. The popularity of fermenting is growing in a big way as we learn more and more about the health benefits associated with fermented foods.
Packed with gorgeous photos, recipes, history, and tutorials, this is a magazine every vegetable gardener should have. You’ll find more than your average dill pickle recipe in here. It’s an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning new ways to preserve their harvest.
Ogden Publishing, quarterly, internationally available
8. Subscribe to a good cooking magazine.
There are so many out there, appealing to a wide variety of tastes and styles. If you grow vegetables, you should undoubtedly have a subscription to a cooking magazine.
When you are up to your eyeballs in tomatoes or zucchini, you can bet that you’ll find some fresh, seasonal recipe ideas in your favorite cooking magazine.
Choose one that appeals to the way you cook or your diet. Or pick one that focuses on a style of cooking you want to learn to do. Subscribing to a cooking magazine is an excellent resource to learn new ways to play with your food.
Here’s a few cooking magazines to consider:
Consider subscribing to one or two of these magazines. They’ll put a smile on your face whenever they show up. You’ll be able to keep learning about your favorite hobby, even when you aren’t up to your elbows in dirt.
And don’t forget to recycle your magazines or share them with friends and family if you don’t plan on keeping them.
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