A Seasonal Schedule for Northern Gardener® Magazine

In 2023, Northern Gardener® shifts to four print publications plus one shorter email supplement. This is based on extensive analysis, feedback from member surveys and research of other publications. Here is the new schedule and the key ways this is a healthy evolution for our beloved, 150-year-running flagship product. 

The main factors in the decision to move from six smaller issues to four larger, season-focused books each year?

Money: The initial impetus was financial. We have not raised subscription and membership costs in over a decade, even as the cost of printing and postage has steadily increased (and actually skyrocketed in the past year). Reducing the number of print editions allows us to cover these costs while keeping Northern Gardener® affordable and accessible to our broad community.

Environment: A spring 2022 survey showed that society members share our concern about the environmental impact of our mailings. Less editions means less paper and less shipping. We are also reinvesting some of the cost savings to start using high quality recycled paper. Gardening is the epitome of caring for the earth, and this shift is in alignment with our core values as a gardening community.

Seasonality: While saving money and the planet are highly motivating, the biggest benefit is that our publication can now naturally follow the seasonal flow of gardening. The spring edition can guide us through the frenzy of new prep and planting, and the winter edition can soothe and console us in the quiet time of reflection, planning and celebrating. Each issue will be longer to allow for more seasonal-focused features. The popular This Season in the Garden column will be expanded to truly reflect the season, not an arbitrary 2-month block.

Quality: What is NOT changing is our commitment to high quality writing, photography and design, and the laser focus on growing here in the north. In our spring survey, members rated the magazine content an incredibly high 4.62 on a scale of 1 to 5. We are building on that excellence with more features and seasonal focus.

While our spring survey respondents were overall remarkably open to this shift, we respect that some of you have reservations about this change. To be honest, our staff and board also needed time to adjust and explore the reasoning we shared above. Thanks for your ongoing support and your honest communication through this transition.

Please continue to share your thoughts. We love hearing from you—call us at 651-643-3601 or email us anytime. And we cherish the honor of continuing to serve the community through publishing Northern Gardener®.