MAGAZINE REVIEWS
GardenWise
British Columbia's Garden Magazine
© Spring 2001
Canadawide Magazines and Communications
GardenWise is the latest magazine for BC gardeners. Weighing in at 78 pages for the premiere issue, it's packed full of useful information.
When I received my complimentary issue in the mail, I was skeptical because it looked similar to so many other gardening magazines. Call me shallow but I am a sucker for slick design and eye candy, which is why one of my favorite Canadian gardening magazines is Garden Life (awesome photography). Don't get me wrong, their photography is decent but not as artistic as others.
After thumbing through I realized that this magazine was serious about gardening and their list of heavy weight contributors is a reflection of this. I guess there is more to a good magazine than just pictures… they have 6 contributing editors and all of them are highly regarded in the industry.
I found the articles informative and easy to follow, even for beginner gardeners like me. The magazine has a good mix of bite size pieces of information, longer informative articles and handy gardening calendars that remind you of what needs to be done this month and next month.
I really enjoyed the article on Saskatoon Berries and also the article "In Living Colour" that highlights the top perennials by colour (as far as reliability, long-blooming and easy maintenance). I could also relate to the article "Back to The Garden" an article about people leaving their office jobs to work in gardening. My only beef with this article is that everyone is over 40 but I guess that's reflective of the gardening demographics.
The best part though was the last page (EarthWords by Des Kennedy). His article on "The Creatures of Spring" really communicates the excitement of spring for gardeners, "The giddy green surge of germination and growth is our sustaining elixir. The swelling and breaking open of buds, unfurling of crimpled leaves - here is where the pulse begins to quicken, the lifeblood to rise persistent as sap."
I found value in every article so I would say GardenWise is a good balance between useful content and appealing imagery so I would give it a 3.5 out of 5.
-Sharole Lawrence
head petal pusher
www.garden-culture.com
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