Winter is always a good time to catch up on gardening related reading but sadly, there are no longer any local BC gardening magazines, and Canadian Gardening too has ceased publication. There are still some US ones like Fine Gardening and Garden Gate, as well as Gardeners World from the UK. All these have digital editions making them easy to read on a computer or iPad or other tablet, but they are not cheap. However there are also various free emailed newsletters you can subscribe to that have all sorts of good information. Here are some of my favorites:
Gardeners World (http://gardenersworld.com ) – more than Monty Don, though he’s reason enough to subscribe! Links to website articles with the usual gorgeous BBC photos and lots of good information about specific plants. These are of course from a British perspective but conditions are not too different for us here in BC.
Fine Gardening (http://finegardening.com ) – the newsletter links to seasonal articles on their website and many are available to non subscribers too. Sometimes there are annoying popups asking you to subscribe though.
Garden Gate (http://gardengatemagazine.com ) – another US magazine with a nice emailed newsletter linking to articles. The January issue featured how to design a yoga garden, patio design ideas and seed starting tips. They too of course want you to subscribe, and are always offering free books as incentives.
GrowVeg (http://growveg.com ) a US based site that has a subscription based garden planner app and an online garden journal. They also have an extensive how to video library on YouTube. The emailed newsletter has links to their website articles for vegetable growing tips. (I have used their garden planning app for 3 years now and find it very helpful for keeping track of crop rotations etc.)
Garden Making (https://gardenmaking.com/ ) Their newsletter is being revived for 2020, and their website features links to Canadian gardening events, places to visit etc.
eGardenGo (http://egardengo.com ) The newsletter links to articles on their website which is all about designing interesting combinations of plants with an emphasis on the Pacific Northwest.
BC Council of Garden Clubs (http://bcgardenclubs.com/resources/newsletter) – the newsletter is mostly club related but it is beautifully presented and always has tidbits of interesting information.
Many local companies and nurseries also produce emailed newsletters, including of course Westcoast Seeds (https://www.westcoastseeds.com/pages/our-newsletter) with suggestions on what to plant each month. I also like the Lee Valley newsletter (https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/garden) which always features one complete lengthy gardening article without requiring a link to their website. You might also wish to subscribe to the Proven Winners newsletter (https://www.provenwinners.com/fun) which showcases their new and favorite varieties. Also they have a very popular Idea Book which has a wonderful selection of recipes for containers.
Be sure to check and see if your favorite nursery has a newsletter! These often have special deals and list any upcoming workshops etc. Even though I don’t get there very often, I like the ones from Art’s Nursery (http://www.artsnursery.com/viewnews.aspx). I also use their website all the time to check their excellent plant database for local planting and care information.
And of course, there is always your local public library for access to gardening books and magazines. I’m not sure how many people are aware that the Fraser Valley Regional Library (http://fvrl.ca) has an option to sign out electronic versions of a stack of magazines. I use this to read Mother Earth News, or occasionally Homes and Gardens and Country Living.