Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Practical and hands - on . |
| Disadvantages: |
Not mainstream, so not always on the news - stand . |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
No famous names.
No gardening personalities supplementing their incomes.
No scary stainless-steel-and-mirrors garden designs which real people cant afford, and wouldnt be seen dead with even if they could.
No Diarmuid Gavins, and better still, no Chris Collinses.
And at two and a half quid, better value than any two of the mainstream glossy gardening mags put together.
And Organic Gardening, in my humble opinion, has become even better since the editor moved to Shetland.
Here we have a real and realistic approach to the garden. Where other magazines write their features six months in advance, then publish them in the pre-determined issue, regardless of season or weather, we have, for example, an editorial in OGs February issue thus At time of writing, my feeling is that our ancient ancestors may have been right after all about the sun having died.
Yes, this is a magazine we can relate to.
And please dont let the Organic in the title put you off. This is no extreme publication. This is simply a magazine full of practical advice, based on organic principles, and geared towards plants and the growing thereof whether for food or ornamentation.
If you want info on the latest decking, slightly better than wot the Joneses have next door, save your 2.55. You wont find that here.
You will find some excellent, practical editorial from Gaby Bartai Bevan, not to mention snippets of news from the organic and environmental scenes, and some great book reviews.
Regular contributors include Joyce Russell, whose expertise in growing under plastic is conveyed in such a readable and readily-understandable style; Piers Warren, who has the knack of making the history of any plant interesting even to the non-gardener; Dave Ingram, who seems to know even more about compost, muck and dung than yours truly; and Gunars Ulmanis, who can delve deeper into a given plant than any gardening writer I have ever read.
Add to this, real how-to stuff from occasional contributors, carefully targeted to be appropriate at the time of publication, and you have here a magazine which operates very successfully at two levels.
It offers down-to-earth practical advice for amateur gardeners, whether novice or experienced. And it also promotes organic principles without ramming them down your throat.
So there you are.
A balanced review from Aspen. No controversy; no upsetting people. It can be done.
Mike Clark 2003.
| More Reviews |
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Review of Organic Gardening by
merlina
Advantages: informative and sense of community
Disadvantages: don't like the new look
...publication only for real die-hard organic types. But it's not. There's subject matter in here for everyone with either a great deal fo expertise in the subject or a complete beginner. Amateur journalism (and it is obvious that most of the people who write for this are amateurs) usually really annoys me - but here it has a warm and informal feel that really works with the tenor of the publication. You just know that these people *know* what they ...
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very helpful
14.08.2000
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15.03.2003
