Landscape and garden news, tips and advice

Hort Week subscriber numbers fall nearly 23%

Figures from the independent audit organisation, ABC, reveal that Haymarket Publishing's Horticulture Week lost nearly 23% (2,128 copies) of its subscribers in the last twelve months - this is on top of the near 10% paying subscribers it lost in the previous audit period.

Total net circulation fell from 9,451 to 7,323 in the period 1st July 2009 to 30th June 2010.

Here's a summary breakdown 2009/10 with 2008/09 in brackets:

• Total average net circulation per issue; 7,323 (9,451) -22.5%
• Single copy subscription sales at full rate 2,724 (3,454) -21%
• Subscriptions discounted between 50% and 100% of full rate 2,381 (2,308) +3%
• Controlled free circulation (non-requested) 2,528 (2,479) +2%

Toby Buckland rejoins Amateur Gardening

BBC Gardeners' World presenter Toby Buckland is rejoining the Amateur Gardening magazine.

As of the 26 June issue (out this Saturday, 19 June), Toby will become one of the magazine's weekly columnists, sharing tales from his home garden and allotment in Devon.

Toby, a professional nurseryman, was Amateur Gardening's Grow, Cook and Eat writer before
leaving in autumn 2008 to present Gardeners' World.

Amateur Gardening has had a long history of Gardeners' World presenters writing for the magazine including Percy Thrower, Peter Seabrook, Stefan Buczacki, Arthur Billitt, Alan Titchmarsh and Monty Don.

Embedding hyperlinks into printed media

There is no doubt, in the last three to five years, printed media has been ravaged by the relentless advance of the internet with many print titles either being consolidated or shut down as they fail to compete with the 'here and now' instant media.

The last two years especially, has witnessed a steeper decline with traditional media and publishing losing ground due to the major advanced in digital (especially mobile) media.

Traditional media companies are challenged with stemming the fall in subscribers and revenues, but there is little they can do to make printed media a more appealing medium - today's generations are attached in some way to the latest mobile media and they are demanding that technology provides for them.

Publisher Yell Group cautious on customer confidence

A little over three years ago, Yell Group - comprising of Yellow Pages directories, online advertising and specialist phone listings - enjoyed its highest ever share price of 639.50 pence but since the 16th February 2007 it has been downhill and today it languishes at just 29.60 pence: falling nearly 9% yesterday.

On May 18th 2010, Yell said that it made a profit of £46.8 million, compared to loss of £1.14 billion last year but what was telling, and obviously spooked the markets, was the shock departure of both its CEO, John Condron, and chief financial officer John Davis.

Digital media paywall draws nearer

As the Times and Sunday Times prepare to close their websites to the casual reader next month and start to charge its readers a fee, traditional and digital media world, as a whole, will be waiting with baited breath to see how it goes - it will be a pivotal moment.

Newspaper and magazine publishers have long argued that their content is worth a price - after all, they have writers, photographers and other staff to pay for - but it's at odds with the freedom mentality that grips the internet.

New and improved Amateur Gardening magazine hits the news stands

The guys at Amateur Gardening gave me a shout back in early March and asked me if I'd cast an analytical eye over their revamped magazine when it hits the news stands on the 3rd April 2010.

Front cover...I have to say that there doesn't appear to be an awful lot of difference here. Look at the photo at the top...the left hand side is the latest edition and the right is from December 2009: OK different colours and content but nothing to tell me there's been a revamp.

Similarly - unless you are bit of fonts fanatic - the inside sees little change in terms of style: granted, colours and layout move with editions, but that's what you'd expect in a magazine anyway.

Trade magazine advertising fell by more than a quarter in 2009

To the online community it's not going to come as a big surprise but for magazine lovers, 2009s ABC figures, barring miracles, aren't going to make happy reading when they are published at the end of August.

According to America's Publishers Information Bureau, US advertising revenues for 2009 were down 18.1% on 2008. The number of advertising pages that were generated fell by 25.6% (although some commentators are estimating that real declines could be as much as a third).

The six monthly figures for consumer gardening mags has already provided us with a clue as to how the UK's business-to-business publications might fair.

Landscape Juice visitor statistics for February 2010

It's been just four years since Landscape Juice started out and it's fair to say that the first year of development contributed very little in the way of visitors.

It's a different story today and I'm delighted to say that February was a record month for Landscape Juice.

Consumer gardening magazine figures to December 2009

The six monthly ABC audited figures to 31st December 2009 have just been released, and they do not make good reading...I would even go as far as to say that they are brutal: for some publishers, these numbers must represent what must be right on the edge of financial viability?

What is wrong...are these severe declines due to editors not catering properly for their readership, is it the severe recession or is it the Internet?

All three grow-your-own mags (Kitchen Garden, Grow Your Own and Grow It) appear to be non ABC registered...combine that with the cancellation of the Edible Garden Show...what does this tell us about the grow your own fad?

Debate: where will printed publications fit into garden media?

What is the future of printed garden media? It's a question I have constantly asked on this blog over four years now and, to date, the subject has never really got the airtime it deserves.

I have to declare an interest; I have a website: it would appear - to a casual visitor or a magazine publisher - that I want to see the back of print at the earliest opportunity.

This is not the case: don't shoot the messenger: the truth will always out and now, I feel, is the right time to invite all interested parties into a debate.