What should you buy your gardener this Christmas? How about a garden magazine subscription?

December 3, 1:02 PMOklahoma Gardening ExaminerDee Nash

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  Magazine subscriptions make great holiday gifts.

As you may have guessed, I'm a huge fan of the internet.  I have my garden blog, Red Dirt Ramblings, and I write for Examiner.com.  However, some gardeners aren't internet savvy.  Plus, magazines offer a lot of bang for the buck.  Because they aren't limited to a computer screen, magazines publish larger and better quality photographs.  Writers also have more time and space to develop their ideas. 

Here is a roundup of gardening magazines I enjoy:

• Oklahoma Gardener.  First, let's think local.  Oklahoma Gardener gives you nine issues for $24.95.  It's a great resource for all things growing in Oklahoma and throughout the southeast.  Although I write for this magazine, I was a subscriber long before.  There are special features on plants which do well in the Sooner State, and unless you join a garden club, it is the only regional magazine you'll find.  Where else will you see profiles on actual Oklahoma gardens?  Try it out.  I think you'll like it.
• Fine Gardening Magazine.  At the national level, there are several magazines to choose from.  This is one the best.  A year's subscription is $29.95, and two years are $49.95.  Fine Gardening Magazine is published by Taunton Press.  It manages to be readable yet scholarly, and the photography is just beautiful. 
• At Organic Gardening, you can sign up for a free trial issue and two years (12 issues) of the magazine for $23.94, or you can get three gift subscriptions for only $23.97.  Even if you or your friends don't garden organically, you can still learn tips, and possibly head in that direction.  Everything we do without chemicals helps us and the planet.
• Horticulture.  Amazon has a year's subscription to this magazine for $19.95.  That's a very good rate, and you can even bundle Fine Gardening, Organic Gardening and Horticulture at Amazon for $73.84.  The gardener in your life would be ecstatic over this gift.
• Better yet, join the American Horticulture Society and get a subscription to American Gardener.  I love this magazine.  It elevates the gardening discussion to a higher plane, and I learn something new every time I read it.  I joined the Oklahoma Horticulture Society years ago, and because the OHS partners with the AHS, I automatically became a member of the AHS.  The OHS is a wonderful society with its own regional publication, Horticulture Horizons, and I always enjoy their meetings.  It's a great two-fer.
• If you're ready to go global, how about subscribing with our friends across the pond?  I subscribe to The English Garden.  It's fun to read, and the photography is exceptional.  I subscribed through Amazon because it was easier than their website.

Those are my top gardening magazines.  What are some of yours?