NZ Gardener magazine growing like topsy

Media Release                                                                                                          

14 August 2009

EMBARGOED UNTIL NOON, FRIDAY AUGUST 14

NZ Gardener magazine growing like topsy

More and more Kiwis are getting out and digging their own patches, if the growth of New Zealand’s most-read gardening magazine is any indication.

Continuing its dream run of recent years, Magazine of the Year NZ Gardener is continuing to bloom, growing both readership and circulation over the past six months.

In the past year, New Zealand’s most popular gardening magazine has gained 64,000 more readers (27.4%)1 – the highest year on year lift of any newsstand magazine. NZ Gardener is now read by 298,000 people every month – more than double the number of readers of the country’s second most read gardening title. The magazine has also increased circulation by 5,017 (13.3%)2

As well, the weekly email newsletter Get Growing now has 17,873 subscribers and the fourth Homegrown special edition, which has been on sale for just six weeks, already looks set to outsell the three previous editions. Each edition of Homegrown has outsold the previous one.
NZ Gardener editor Lynda Hallinan puts the magazine’s success down to its ability to tap into a “huge resurgence in veggie gardening”, as people become more concerned about where their food comes from and keen to ensure the nutritional value of what they eat.

“We started noticing this trend a couple of years ago, so it’s not just a result of the recession” she said. “But when you combine the financial effects of the recession with the increased interest in food, concern about the environmental effects of mass production and a desire to get back to home comforts, you get a real social shift.

“We have a new generation of gardeners coming through who have never grown their food before, but they’re passionate about what they’re doing and they want information and practical guidance. Increasingly, they are getting that from NZ Gardener.”

Even though growth of interest in gardening over the past couple of years had been spectacular, Ms Hallinan said she saw no signs of it tapering off.

“Everyone I talk to in the gardening industry says this spring is shaping up to be the best spring for a decade, and NZ Gardener is ready and waiting!”
 

ENDS

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