I found myself standing at the copy machine at the Library feeding it with dimes and nickels over and over again on too many occasions. I finally realized that I would save myself a lot of time, money and aggravation if I would just get the subscription. So, I did. What magazine was it that had me all wound up and excited? Taunton’s Fine Gardening, of course. I had my first encounter with this magazine while looking for some articles on starting some plants from seed. This was the most comprehensive, most updated, most resourceful article I had seen to date, other than getting an entire book out on the subject.
This is a slick, classy magazine from start to finish. Nothing distracting in Fine Gardening, it’s all about gardening. No interior design features or recipe sections to distract me. It comes out six times per year, $5.95 per issue or $29.95 for a subscription. It is not thick and bulky and averages between 80-100 pages per issue.
I tend to read almost everything in this magazine and skip over anything region specific or not applicable, ie. water gardening. While this magazine is beautiful and slick, it is not intimidating like Garden Design which is more fluff than stuff. Fine Gardening has stuff and lots of it.
Over the Fence begins the magazine and this is your basic letter's to the editor, Lee Anne White. A reader’s exchange column. A favorite for me is their Tips area, which is usually 2-3 pages long. Do you have a problem with dogs in your garden? Well, here it gives you a tip on how to use Vicks VapoRub to do the trick (also an effective deterrent for moose). These gardening tips are exchanged by the readers, too. Garden Architecture will give me a feel for laying cobblestones or herringbone bricked paths or a stone path winding through a wooded area. Or it might show me all the newest styles in sundials. These are great ideas that are beautifully photographed and helpful.
Basic is a department of “fun facts” – short and sweet, articles and updates. Always interesting and well supported. Pest problems? Take a look in July/Aug. 1999 Praiseworthy Plants will always give you a new idea of a plant to try that might be brand new. What? A Sedum that rivals ‘Autumn Joy’, I’ve got to read this. The column is very comprehensive and always bookmarked. it profiles underused plants and plants that have won awards or have recently entered the gardening world after proving themselves in the field. Suggestions are welcome.
Reviews covers all the new and notable gardening books. I have found a few of my titles in here and they have been right on the money. Garden Gear will walk me through a very detailed explanation for each product. These are objective reviews and highly interesting. Anything on Deer Deterrents will get me to stop, look and listen. Q & A Since I adore perennials, this question caught my eye I live in Zone 5 and would like to plant perennials in pots. How should I care for them over the winter or since I am reviewing roses this year I have a small garden and would very much like to plant some antique roses. Can you recommend some that are fairly small in size? This gives me reason to pause.
Container Gardening for this department alone, I would subscribe. This is a fantastic department that is informative, helpful and educational. I walk away happy with this area. Last Word leaves you craving your next issue as this is an essay from a different author and different subject each month. The back cover is always Captivating Combinations where most magazines sell the back cover for ad space, Fine Gardening uses it to illustrate good plant combinations. Beautifully photographed and beautifully presented.
That is the backbone of the magazine, what makes up the features always knocks my socks off. The articles are designed to educate. They do it tastefully and with plenty of photographs or plan-o-grams to guide the reader. It could be an article on Container Gardening Ideas and combinations or how to create a ‘Sanctuary on a Street Corner’. I am never disappointed.
They have a very helpful web site: http://www.taunton.com/fg/.
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