Customer Reviews

Garden Design (1-year auto-renewal)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have subscribed to Garden Design for some time, and have given it as Christmas presents. As someone else noted, the cover is seductive, and I think that is how I got hooked years ago. The little quotes on the bottom of every page make me read the magazine through multiple times. I keep my back copies to reference whenever I need an idea for my garden (especially useful in the rainy winter months).

Be aware that this is not a magazine that is heavy on gardening, but it is heavy on design. You will learn very little about horticulture, but a lot about what is trendy and stylish, and I guess like many fashion magazines the fun here is in being a voyeur.

Would I ever paint the wall around my back yard hot magenta as one designer did? Probably not -- but I thought about painting it terra cotta. Would I ever buy the $2000 umbrella and stand to dine under -- definitely not, but I would love to dine under one.

So Garden Design is fun and frivilous, inspiring and thought provoking. Just don't look for information about what is wrong with your tomatoes.

Pros: It is beautiful to look at. The feel of it is nice and the photography is top notch. It showcases innovative design & people in the industry.

Cons: Not very practical in terms of instruction. It's good for getting ideas but there isn't much instruction on how the garden shown got to that point. It has a lot of product reviews that are, for the most part, for very expensive products.

I don't look forward to reading it as much as say "Fine Gardening" which I read cover to cover.

Garden Design Magazine is a publication dedicated to the planting, care, and display of plants, shrubs, trees, flowers, etc. This magazine ranks as one of the best known publication about general landscaping and it offers some nice ideas for shrubbery, plants, and general enhancements that can add greatly to your home's curb appeal.

One fact that might surprise first time readers is that Garden Design Magazine is not a magazine about gardening per se, i.e, planting vegetables and taking care of them. Rather, this is a magazine about landscaping, backyard entertainment, and related topics and even though I do not possess a green thumb, I still find Garden Design Magazine a publication to my liking. The main reason I like this publication is because I enjoy the different ideas offered and I like the fact that it talks about more than just plants. This magazine is also interested in helping you redesign your patio and look for new and fun ways to entertain guests in your backyard. This is why I tend to turn quickly to the departments and featured articles that talk about new products for enjoying the outside of your home and the different ways you can redesign or enhance your patio to make it more attractive and more guest- friendly.

Garden Design Magazine contains many attractive photos of lush garden landscapes and it is great for discovering new and better ways to select trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers for general home improvement. However, there is one fact about Garden Design Magazine that could surprise some readers: It isn't a how- to magazine, in the usual sense. It doesn't offer step by step instructions or charts/tables to follow. Instead, it is a visual magazine with articles that stimulate the imagination.

Garden Design Magazine is written more for the affluent homeowner who has a large yard and plenty of money to burn. It is true that most anyone can benefit from the articles in this magazine and the many design ideas. But the features, new products, landscaping designs, etc., that will stand out in your memory are usually those that feature a large, expensive home with a beautifully manicured lawn. Many of these design ideas and entertainment options are quite attractive, but the money necessary to transform one's home in this manner could easily cost several thousand and even tens of thousands of dollars. Yes, there is some good, practical advice in Garden Design Magazine, but there is also a good deal of fantasy.

Garden Design Magazine is a good publication that I will continue to enjoy for the forseeable future. My favorite sections are those involving patio design ideas and entertainment suggestions because these are the ones I relate to best. I also like the photography and the general presentation, which is very classy and elegant. It adds up toa nice magazine with many features for all to enjoy.

I bought this magazine through Amazon as a gift for my Mom. I didn't find out until after the purchase had been made that the magazine does not ship all the time due to a low number of subscribers and that it MAY NOT COME AT ALL! Amazon said in the e-mail that they warned me that this would happen before I made the purchase, but I didn't see it and it definitely wasn't obvious. A classic example of trusting Amazon and not reading the fine print in the purchase order. Just really disappointed and less trusting of Amazon going forward. FYI - it's been 4 weeks and counting - still no sign of the first issue...

I'm an average homeowner who wanted to learn something about garden design. Three years later I still know little to nothing about garden design from this rag. It's all about "How trendy can I be" designers instead of design. If your interest is in reading about "designers" who like to spend obscene amounts of money on questionable and impractical garden designs, then this might be the magazine for you. But if you're interested in basic garden design fundamentals and ideas, you'd be a lot better off spending your hard-earned money on "Fine Gardening" or "Garden Gate" Mazazine.

Every one of my 3 years of Garden Design quickly found it's way into my recycle container.

I've been a subscriber for 4 years, it was given at first as a gift ( nice idea, that).
NOT a how -to.
Not even educational about plant specifics, as Horticulture Mag. is.
But, very inspiring, and worth saving stacks of them for those dreary late winter and muddy early spring days when one is tired of looking at the drab landscape. This magazine provides stunning color and design concepts to translate into one's own garden space.
One of the few magazines I keep on hand for bursts of motivation and ideas.
A drawback is that it is published 7 x a year, sometime in 2 month intervals, sometimes comes once a month, and it is hard to immediately know when a issue does not arrive on schedule. ( which has happened recently).

With a "Garden Design" in the name, you'd expect a magazine that gives you garden design content, right? Wrong. This magazine consists of a few articles (lots of ads) with pretty pictures of east/west coast gardens. Nothing on layout, not much information on plant species, and zero information on obtaining plants. I've gotten more ideas and information out of Better Homes & Gardens (1-year auto-renewal), Complete Landscaping (This Old House Complete) and This Old House (1-year).

Garden Design is like an Architectural Digest wannabe for gardens. Pretty pictures, furniture/accessories that aren't affordable for most people, and a lot of ads. At least Architectural Digest gives you a floor-plan of their high-end places. Garden Design does not give a garden layout. Garden Design also does not do a good job of covering (1) gardens in the Central US - those states that have ALL seasons, (2) gardens that are in tricky locations (ie, hillsides, shade, etc), or (3) gardens that are challenged by life (pets & kids).

There are very, very few ideas to be gleaned from this magazine's pages. My verdict: Pretty, but useless. My copies went into the free bin at the library.

I have no interest in $7000 patio chairs nor $2000 patio side tables so I don't feel like paying for a magazine that features items like these.

This magazine is a joke and not worth reading. Don't waste your time or money.

I'm not really happy with this magazine. It is heavy with ads and light with content.

I adore this magazine. It really fills a gap. There are so many magazines which give practical advice but this magazine is truly inspirational and international with its many articles on landscape design which are so beautifully illustrated. Keeps me up-to-date with trends, old and new gardens and the latest products.