Gardens
Job lot
Ursula Buchan
There comes a moment in every gar- dener's life when it seems right to buy a specialist gardening magazine. No longer do the newspapers and broad-based coun- try magazines quite satisfy you thirst for hard facts. You have learnt the horticultur- al lingo, you buy from specialist nurseries, you visit gardens, and you garden as much as you can. In short, you are an enthusiast and you wish to learn the sort of things which enthusiasts know. At the newsagent's, however, there are at least seven publications on sale, all of which hold out the promise of a lovelier, more fruitful garden. Which is it to be?
In content, every magazine is authorita- tive and up-to-date; they are all hot on new plants, new gardens, new techniques, new gadgets. Not unnaturally, they mostly pre- suppose a certain knowledge and commit- ment. There are, for example, exhaustive, and exhausting, lists of 'Jobs for the Week/Month'. Editors say that these are extremely popular with readers for no gar- dener can always remember what to do when.
In appearance, all the magazines have improved markedly in the last few years; there is now colour on every page and lay- outs are far better. The standard of garden photography has never been higher and the technology is there to reproduce it well. Not surprisingly, the more expensive the publication, the better it looks.
The tone is alniost universally upbeat, encouraging, and amiable, if rather undis- cerning. The message is that no task is too difficult to tackle, and no aspect of the gar- den better, or worse, than any other. `Taste' is obviously a matter of taste. Do not expect the opinionated sparkiness of a car or football magazine, for gardening is a serious business.
All would claim to fill a particular niche, although there is overlap of course. Garden News, for example, EMAP's unpretentious, but sound, tabloid-format weekly newspa- per, is aimed at the keenest of amateur gar- deners, show exhibitors, allotmenteers, specialist growers of dahlias, chrysanthe- mums, and giant vegetables, while IPC's weekly Amateur Gardening, which is in non- glossy magazine form, targets very knowl- edgeable 'but not obsessed', practical, rather than aspirational, weekend garden- ers. Both are topical and newsy.
These two 'weeklies' naturally score over the four 'monthlies' in immediacy. This is underlined by the fact that the monthlies go on sale as early as the beginning of the month before the date printed on the cover, because each one is designed to reach the newsstands just before the oth- ers. It's a game of publishing Grandmoth- er's Footsteps. So, if you rush out to do those recommended Jobs at once, you could be six or seven weeks too early.
The IPC monthly, Your Garden, probably places most emphasis on new gardeners, targeting those who see the garden as part of their lifestyle, rather than an all-absorb- ing hobby. It stresses rewards rather than problems, and even includes, not entirely sceptically, a gardener's horoscope. (I read that this month I can get away with any- thing, but I mustn't forget to prune!) At the same price is EMAP's Garden Answers, a glossy monthly which concentrates on practical tasks and problems. It used to be entirely in Q and A form, but now includes longer articles. The proud boast is that the magazine answered 11,000 readers' ques- tions last year. It is one of the most popu- lar, with more than 160,000 sold a month.
Higher-flown is EMAP's Practical Gar- dening, sub-titled 'Plants and Ideas for your Garden', and written for the 'accomplished flower gardener', and those with larger than average gardens and disposable incomes. There are plenty of in-depth plant and inspirational garden design features, but there is also a 'monthly guide to a bet- ter garden', in other words, a list of Jobs.
All must compete with the Big One, BBC Gardeners' World magazine (average circu- lation of about 300,000 a month), for it is aimed at every interested gardener. It has the advantage of being able to call on most of the television and radio 'personalities', who sometimes take a refreshingly forthright tone. The range is broad: topics include wildlife, gardening and the law, and children's gardening, but, don't worry, there are still plenty of Jobs to do.
Out on its own, for looks and style, not to mention price, is Gardens Illustrated, published six times a year by John Brown, who also owns Viz. This magazine is for the keen, experienced gardener, with plenty of `You don't have to answer right away, but promise me you'll think about it.' spare cash and time, and a liking for horti- cultural gossip. There is inspiration with a capital 'I', although the how-to-do-it `Groundwork' pieces also provide this mag- azine with some respectable dirt under the fingernails. It is sold abroad as well, so there are articles on gardens with unpro- nounceable names in Holland, and roman- tic ones in the United States. And its anonymous Mole column adds a welcome spice of mild controversy. You may be sorry to hear, however, that there are no Jobs to Do.
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