This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

RE: [GWL]: Is garden reading seasonal?



I think a major variable is age.  Older gardeners, over 55 to 60, may have a
bit more time and would read magazines as they are received.  The 35 to 55
folks are so busy they may not take the time during the growing season, but
I think it is more like Nan refers; there is no time for anything fun all
year round.
Recently I read that the United States is way way behind Europe and Japan in
terms of the number of vacation days and in terms of the number of hours a
week worked.  All the other industrialized nations are moving toward fewer
working hours and more vacation days.  We are moving in the opposite
direction as a society.  We work more hours per week then we did ten years
ago and we don't even take all the vacation days we deserve.  That is a
trend that does not bode well for reading gardening magazines much less
doing any gardening.
I see the independent greenhouses and garden centers selling more and more
of these containers and hanging baskets already planted with 5 different
annuals.  People don't have time to even arrange their container gardens.
Then I read in Green Profit that yet again we will be blessed with over 1000
new varieties of annual and perennial flowers in the marketplace next
spring.  These new varieties have not been tested regionally for the most
part.  No has time to look at what is available much less make any
distinctions about 1000 new plant products on top of the 1000 new plant
products we got last year.
In my befuddled view the consumer (70% are not gardeners) buying at the big
boxes or at the independent garden center is just getting more confused, not
more turned on.  The fertilizer department and the pesticide department in
all retail outlets is confusion city; there is not help or guidance.  Those
are two subjects not terribly well covered in the gardening literature, and
then remember that over 70% of the customers don't look at gardening
literature; never have and never will in its current manifestation.
So what is your point, Ball?
It is to observe that gardening literature in its heydays of the 80's and
90's was at best reaching only 30 to 40% of the Americans who were actually
growing plants.  It would seem logical to suggest that maybe the problem is
not finding a writing market for gardeners, but rather to begin to invent
and produce plant care information in a form that has value to the 40
million yardeners in this country spending 70% of the dollars in the lawn
and garden industry.
That very attractive market is why I have a trademark on the word
"yardening".

Later,

Jeff Ball

============================================================
Tips and tricks, introductions to breaking technologies,
Updates on proven software tools, new ideas for old problems.
Find it all in the developerWorks newsletter.
http://click.topica.com/caaacCMbUrGSSbVSZwBf/developerWorks
============================================================

Pass the word to garden writers, editors publishers, horticultural businesses about our list.

==^================================================================
EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bUrGSS.bVSZwB
Or send an email To: Gardenwriters-unsubscribe@topica.com
This email was sent to: topica.com@spamfodder.com

T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail!
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register
==^================================================================
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index