Magazines & catalogues for the gardener

Are there any magazines or catalogues that a new gardener such as myself should take interest in?

Catalogues for seeds? Tools? Etc...

Magazines for tips, articles? Stories

I apologise if this is a rubbish thread,

 

Gardeners Woruld magazine is good, (said in a Neal Oliver accent )

No such thing as a rubbish thread around here

 

Catalogues for seeds? That's a question that will probably get numerous answers. Most gardeners have their preferences, I like Suttons, they are a good all rounder but I wouldn't touch Thompson and Morgan, too many members here on GC have had issues with them for seeds and plants.

I don't buy gardening magazines anymore, I think they are to full of pictures and not enough info....with the exception of one and right now it's name escapes me, sorry!

 

I like the magazines for inspiration and rainy days but I tend to only buy them when they come with free seeds I want.
I get most of my knowledge from the internet and trial and error!
I buy plants either from a local market stall (got 4 big cosmos for 2.50- they were £6 each at the range) or reduced at the garden centre. I bought thompson and morgan plugs and they have taken a ridiculous amount of mollycoddling to survive, plus they were slow to arrive. Next year I hope to grow pretty much everything from seed, hence liking the magazines!

 

I have found that Thompson & Morgan seeds are very good, always get good germination results, but their plants are very disappointing and I wouldn't order those again!!!

Val

 

I used to take a regular magazine (Gardeners World I think Amateur Gardening Magazine ... but it was a long time ago, Before Internet ...) Safe stuff goes & comes around, which is fine for a Newbie, not much benefit for an Old Hand. I enjoy The Garden (magazine that comes with RHS membership); tends to discuss some plants in reasonable detail, and review some gardens available to visit.

I keep meaning to subscribe to The Plantsman and Gardens Illustrated - but never get around to it. Maybe I'll ask Santa Claus for those ...

Perhaps, in addition to "what are we doing today" we should have a thread each month for "What will we do in NEXT MONTH" and that might be a useful guide to newbies ?

 

I too enjoy the Garden and find the Plantsman interesting, goes into more detail but can be a bit esoteric at times.
As for catalogues I've been caught out by pictures with no scale or comparison of size a few times so I enjoy the Chiltern Seed catalogue with no pictures just descriptive texts.
These days I tend to use websites rather than getting catalogues for things like roses, dahlias, fruit trees etc.

 

I am decorator as an occupation don't worry I've used hat method 100pf times, [emoji4]

 

I pick up a magazine now and then and usually select one that has the most interesting content at the time I feel like buying but for information I usually use the net or this site - no magazine will compare with the on the spot Q & As here. If you do decide to buy a regular magazine though remember you'll be spending £100+ a year and keep one year's worth of issues and then stop. I have one year's worth of all sorts of magazines; cooking, travel etc and most of the content gets repeated in a slightly different form.

Almost all seed suppliers have a website with most offering a regular newsletter.

 

I used to buy Gardeners World Magazine every month until I then found that they were really repeating themselves. I personally find the specialist ones more helpful now, like Grow Your Own magazine but that's because I'm not really a beginner any more. Amateur Gardening Magazine is the way to go imo.

As for tools. Personally I don't recommend buying new tools. Over the years tool manufacturers have been cutting corners (even the top makers have as well) and it's best off buying vintage. If you can, get yourself to a car bootsale and pick up your tools from there for a couple of quid each.

50% of my tools came here (40% begin inherited - but still vintage and 10% bought new) and I must have saved myself about £50 by new buying new.

Not only that, but some have stories to them. I bought an ex war department shovel for £10 and it's the best shovel I have ever owned. I like to wonder sometimes what adventures it went on before it came into my possession.

 

You can get 5 copies of Gardener's World mag for £5 and cancel the DD before it kicks in http://www.gardenersworld.com/subscribe-five-for-five-pounds/

 

Blimey - £100 for a magazine, I didn't believe you until I looked it up! £1.99 cover price, weekly, 51 issues = £101.49, although the magazine sites I looked at seem to calculate that respectively as £101.49, £107.53, £107.53, £107.53 ... and their "offer" prices of £80.49, £80.64, £79.49 and £69.49 (including P&P I think)

Electronic version offered by Amateur Gardening website (via Kobo Books) £64.99 and via the last of the 4 magazine subs that I checked for £57.99

http://www.isubscribe.co.uk/Amateur-Gardening-Magazine-Subscription.cfm
http://www.magazine.co.uk/magazines/amateur-gardening/
http://www.magazinesubscriptions.co.uk/food-home/gardening/amateur-gardening
http://www.magazinesdirect.com/subscription/amateur-gardening/26489236/amateur-gardening.thtml

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/emagazine/amateur-gardening-41