Reminder – Gun & Garden Magazine Giveaway deadline

Had you considered any other magazines that promote organic gardening but not weaponry? Like, Organic Gardening? Mother Earth News? Small Farmers’ Journal?

I have to admit that when I saw the name of the magazine, I thought “This has to be satire. She can’t be serious.” So I went surfing, and whoa – there it was, a new magazine designed for the Southern lifestyle. :=)

Dear Editor,
I’m writing this letter as a long shot, but the United States is about to lose one of the largest collections of antique and rare roses in commerce. As the rose is our national flower and Americans are getting more concerned about unnecessary chemical use in the garden, it would be a shame to lose such a source of no-spray roses. Vintage Gardens in Sebastopol California sells roses propagated from its collection of over 2000 old and rare roses, many of which are available from no other source in the US. I am writing in hopes that you might do a feature article on old roses and their use in the organic garden compared to roses that require heavy chemical regiments to keep them healthy. There are other historic rose nurseries and the down turn in the economy is threatening many of them with closing their doors forever. There are also heirloom rose nurseries in the south that are in trouble as well, like Roses Unlimited and Ashdown Roses, both in South Carolina and The Antique Rose Emporium in Texas. The loss of so many of these organic friendly roses that are perfect for southern gardens would be a sad aspect of the economic fallout from this recent downturn in the economy. I read your magazine all the time at the book store I work in and can’t recall a recent article on old roses, so it might be nice to do one soon to help generate interest in this group of roses before some of these nurseries are lost forever due to poor sales.
I must add, that I’m in charge of the newstand section at my Barnes and Noble here in Richmond Virginia and have had to up our draw of your magazine to 100 copies an issue due to the increasing demand. Your magazine is great by the way. To be honest, I was mortified when it was published at the title, but I tell customers the gun part is always something really classy like skeet shooting or fox hunts and I’ve come to accept the title of your magazine, not being a gun supporter myself. I promote your magazine in several locations around the store and the more places I put it, the more I sell, which is not always the case with increased customer exposure.

An article about heirloom roses could emphasize how popular and important they still are in southern gardens and also how organic friendly they are. It could also be pointed out how much money the gardener would save over the years by having no need to purchase rose sprays and replacement plants over the years because these roses in general shrug off what little disease they may develop and many of these roses can live well over a century or more! I personally grow a ton of pre-1900 roses and they really are an organic gardeners dream, and I live smack in the middle of the blackspot belt that runs all the way from the steamy deep south through the humid Mid-Atlantic region. Most Alba, Damask, Moss, Centifolia, Gallica, Noisette, and tea roses require no spraying to stay looking great all season. Tea roses and noisette’s can be and already are major feature plants in historic gardens in such historic cities such as Charlottseville, Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans and Atlanta.
I know this request is a long shot, but I really thought it was worth a try. I’ve belonged to just about every rose organization there is in the US, and they all do a poor job of promoting heirloom roses for American gardens, especially the ones that have commonly graced southern gardens for generations.

Thanks for Listening,

Bob Diller

1276 Herman Street

Richmond, VA 23231