Gardening Press Overview
This week sees the launch of two new gardening magazines, the monthly Your Garden from IPC and the bi-monthly Gardens Illustrated from John Brown Publishing. In their media packs both publishers emphasize that the gardening market is growing and that there is room for the new titles.
The existing gardening press is split into two groups, magazines that give advice to amateur gardeners and magazines that focus on professional display gardens. IPC’s new title, Your Garden, falls into the first group, concentrating on practical advice for the keen gardener. Gardens Illustrated, on the other hand, with its glossy photographs of ornamental gardens is more comparable to titles such as House and Garden and Homes and Gardens.
| TITLE | PUBLISHER | FREQ | COVER PRICE | AVE PAG | AV AD PAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amat.Grdnng | IPC | W | 0.73 | 56 | 12 |
| BBC G.Wrld | BBC | M | 1.55 | 148 | 60 |
| Garden | Emap | M | 2 | 88 | 40 |
| Grdn Answrs | Emap | M | 1.5 | 140 | 44 |
| Grdn News | Emap | W | 0.6 | 40 | 20 |
| Gardener | HHL | M | 1.5 | 76 | 22 |
| Prac.Grdnng | Emap | M | 1.75 | 124 | 50 |
| Your Garden | IPC | M | 1.45 | 112 | 20 |
| Grdns Illus | JB B | M | 2.95 | 132 | 20 |
| Homes&Grdns | IPC | M | 1.8 | 160 | 50 |
| House&Grdn | C.Nast | M | 2.2 | 190 | 65 |
| Period Hse | DMG | M | 2.2 | 114 | 45 |
| TITLE | CIRC ‘000 | YoY %CH | RDRSHP ‘000 | YoY %CH | RPC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amat.Grdnng | 81 | -15.7 | 490 | -9.4 | 6.1 |
| BBC G.Wrld | 331 | 3.9 | 1606 | 1 | 4.9 |
| Garden | 164 | 11.1 | 366 | 24.9 | 2.2 |
| Grdn Answrs | 103 | 5.1 | 395 | 25.8 | 3.8 |
| Grdn News | 100 | -0.9 | 386 | -12.5 | 3.9 |
| Gardener | 40 | -0.3 | 459 | 22.1 | 11.5 |
| Prac.Grdnng | 87 | -3.6 | 992 | -14 | 11.4 |
| Your Garden | 160* | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Grdns Illus | 109* | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Homes&Grdns | 170 | 9.1 | 1337 | 11.9 | 7.9 |
| House&Grdn | 90 | 1.6 | 952 | 15.7 | 10.6 |
| Period Hse | 35@ | n/a | n/a | n.a | n/a |
Circ is Jul-Dec’92 ABCs except *=IPR & @=PS, Readership is Jul-Dec’92 NRS
| READERSHIP PROFILE – ADULTS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | B | C1 | C2 | D | E | |
| Amat.Grdnng | 3 | 15 | 25 | 27 | 17 | 13 |
| BBC G.Wrld | 5 | 23 | 27 | 24 | 13 | 7 |
| Garden | 11 | 35 | 28 | 14 | 5 | 7 |
| Grdn Answrs | 3 | 15 | 24 | 31 | 17 | 9 |
| Grdn News | 1 | 11 | 22 | 38 | 18 | 11 |
| Gardener | 3 | 15 | 25 | 34 | 13 | 10 |
| Prac.Grdnng | 5 | 18 | 27 | 30 | 13 | 8 |
| Homes&Grdns | 6 | 25 | 28 | 23 | 10 | 7 |
| House&Grdn | 8 | 27 | 27 | 22 | 9 | 6 |
Source: NRS Jan-Dec’92
| READERSHIP PROFILE – ADULTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-24 | 25-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | |
| Amat.Grdnng | 3 | 13 | 34 | 51 |
| BBC G.Wrld | 7 | 14 | 37 | 42 |
| Garden | 3 | 10 | 36 | 51 |
| Grdn Answrs | 6 | 13 | 38 | 43 |
| Grdn News | 5 | 6 | 31 | 59 |
| Gardener | 8 | 14 | 36 | 42 |
| Prac.Grdnng | 1 | 14 | 38 | 46 |
| Homes&Grdns | 5 | 16 | 42 | 38 |
| House&Grdn | 7 | 21 | 40 | 32 |
Source: NRS Jan-Dec’92
John Brown’s Gardens Illustrated is targeting AB adults aged 35 to 64. The appearance of the magazine affirms this, it is printed on high quality glossy paper and is perfect bound. Editorial in the first issue includes features on ornamental gardens and the people that own them, gardens to visit, forthcoming gardening events, book reviews and plant profiles. It contains none of the step-by-step help and advice found in other titles.
Your Garden is aimed at BC1/C2 adults aged 35-55, it is also a full colour glossy although it is printed on thinner paper than Gardens Illustrated and is stapled. The editorial includes features on fuchsias, strawberries and coping with shade in your garden, an hints & tips section, news and competitions.
The two magazines are markedly different in design and layout. The pages in Gardens Illustrated are clear and uncluttered, photographs and pictures are enhanced by large white borders. The front cover of the magazine comprises a large white masthead, a photograph from one of the features with a few subtle lines at the bottom of the page highlighting some of the contents.
In contrast, Your Garden’s pages are busy with colourful sub-headings separating sections, many of the features have separate columns at the side of the page containing checklists and advice. Photographs are given less emphasis and often appear to have been squeezed in with the editorial. The front cover is crowded with contents highlighted in red, purple and yellow. Overall Your Garden is similar in appearance to other titles such as Garden Answers and BBC Gardener’s World.
Given the different markets the two new magazines are targeting it is not surprising they share little in common.