Magazines Archives - Proper Landscaping Inc.

Feb 25

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Do you know the new rules of networking?

By Vas Sladek | Education, Magazines | No Comments

New networking rules

When you go to a networking event or work party, it’s normal for people to ask “What do you do?” But this will only lead to work talk and it’s unlikely you will find out any details about your new contact. You will miss out on what David Berkins calls “multiplex ties” in his Harvard Business Review article (Special Issue, Fall 2022, pp.26-27).

If you ask better questions, you can find out that your new contact goes to the same gym or plays online chess on the same server. Perhaps your kids go to the same school or you both like stand-up comedian Bill Burr. These multiplex ties connect you better and can lead to a deeper connection.

Better questions to ask

Here’s a list of questions you can ask instead of the tired “What do you do?”

What excites you right now?

What are you looking forward to?

What’s the best thing that happened to you this year?

Where did you grow up?

What do you do for fun?

Who is your favorite superhero?

Do you support a charitable cause?

What is the most important thing I should know about you?

Meeting Red Seal Vas

Now let’s pretend you’re meeting me at a party and you ask me the second question on the list: what are you looking forward to? I will happily tell you that my day-job boss is moving his landscaping company to a four-day week. It’s a bit of a test but why not try something new? There’s logic to the move.

The four work days will run longer to nine hours per day. If I show up on time and my attendance is perfect, I will get paid for forty hours. Workers who slip up, call in sick a lot or show up late won’t get the full forty hours.

The most exciting part is having three days off. In summer, I suspect this will be gold. I can go visit my sister on her ranch outside Kamloops and drive back on a Monday when traffic is lighter.

I’m also excited about having more time for my landscaping side-gigs. Last year when it got busy with weekend activities and clients demanded service, the weekend was packed. Now with the extra weekday off, there will be less pressure on the weekend. And the potential to make extra income will go up. Now that’s something to look forward to.

The company’s truck fleet will rest for one extra day and there will be fewer staff on the payroll which should improve the company’s finances. The only question mark is how the workers will handle a slightly longer day physically.

Conclusion

Memorize all or some of the questions above and use them next time you meet new people. You could discover that your new contacts have a lot more in common with you.

May 06

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Bad news for people who enjoyed Garden Making magazine

By Vas Sladek | Education, gardening, Magazines | No Comments

All good things must come to an end. Sadly. One example is the Canadian garden magazine Garden Making. I received the bad news from Garden Making magazine last year. Because of declining advertising revenues, lack of subscribers, and the high cost of hiring good writers and photographers, the magazine didn’t make sense financially. So the beautifully produced print edition had to go. Great! Not what I wanted to hear.

The last No. 32

The last print edition of Garden Making magazine.

So imagine my surprise in late March when I discovered Garden Making magazine issue no.32 in my mailbox. Yay! Did they find new money to continue? No. This was just one last issue called Garden Solutions. Which made me wonder if there was a solution to problems with publishing print copies of a garden magazine in the internet age.

The editors called their magazine a labour of love. And it really was. They hired good writers and photographers and every issue was a learning experience. Now all that remains is the online version. And I’m back to buying copies of Fine Gardening (USA) and Horticulture (USA). Sadly, there is nothing in printed form left in Canada.

Digital format

Maybe I’m overreacting because I subscribe to Horticulture magazine in digital format. Not because digital is better necessarily but because it is much, much cheaper. Viewed on my iPad, it’s totally acceptable and there is nothing to recycle. I just have to print any interesting articles for my files instead of cutting them out like I used to.

So now if you want to enjoy the Garden Making magazine you have to go online. I have to get used to it. It was just hard to let go of a beautifully designed garden magazine full of helpful information.

What publications do you read?

Sep 04

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Garden Making magazine scaling back

By Vas Sladek | gardening, Magazines | No Comments

Garden Making magazine is the best garden magazine in Canada. It’s beautifully designed and full of interesting articles. So it was a bit distressing to read that the magazine’s publishing schedule is changing. Welcome to our digital age.

The magazine will not be published this fall. The next issue will come out in February 2018. You almost have to ask what the point is of publishing a magazine just twice a year. I will still buy it because I find consuming electronic garden magazines difficult. My Horticulture subscription is electronic by necessity, not by choice. I find the foreign print subscription charges way too high. So I get it delivered to my iPad.

Market realities

According to a letter from the publisher fewer people are subscribing to magazines and advertisers are diverting their spending to digital media. Those are the market realities. So I am encouraged to visit gardenmaking.com. And maybe I will.

But I also make frequent visits to my local Chapter’s and it’s obvious that magazines aren’t dead yet. Fine Gardening is my favourite US-based magazine and highly recommended.

I think Garden Making can do quite well in the digital landscape. They have a nice list of subscribers. And they also follow others in offering free e-books and tips in exchange for people’s e-mails. Then comes the digital format magazine and plenty of upsell. I know it. Get ready for it.

Electronic magazine publishing must be a breeze compared to print. The publisher and editor both admit in their editorial that publishing the print magazine is more about labour of love than profits. I believe them.

Clippings

I love to save clippings of interesting articles and plants. And as the files accumulate my wife tells me frequently what she thinks of this habit. Now it looks as though I will have to start making new folders on my laptop. Perhaps some change is good.

Still, the magazine’s new reduced publishing schedule is not what I wanted to hear. I really looked forward to receiving my quarterly issues. I would have loved to see bi-monthly issues.

What do YOU read? Leave comments, if you can.

Jul 21

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“Caring for plants” Korean short story

By Vas Sladek | gardening, Magazines, Reviews | No Comments

As I was browsing through the magazine section of my local public library I noticed a short story in the New Yorker magazine (July 10 & 17, 2017). Caring for plants, by Hye-young Pyun, translated from Korean. Sure, why not.

It all starts with our protagonist in hospital, badly crippled. There was a car accident and, sadly, we learn that the wife didn’t make it. This is where gardening comes in. The wife loved her garden. She cared for her flowers and shrubs but now the garden looked rough and abandoned.

I have some experience with abandoned gardens. One of my earlier blogs deals with a true story from Japan. The wife commits suicide and her husband lasts barely a year or two. Their little front garden is still there but it no longer gives anyone pleasure. It is sad to see the weeds and over-grown plants.

Our protagonist eventually gets well enough to go home but he’s still in rough shape. His first caregiver is a riot and by far the best character in the story. Then she gets fired. And the mother-in-law enters the picture. We know she is sad and mad. She never liked the cripple.

When she isn’t helping her son-in-law, she is out in the garden. She knows that this was her daughter’s favourite spot so she does what she can to keep it up. Then she starts digging holes in the far corner of the garden.

Our protagonist is slowly recovering and still has to crawl to make it to the washroom. Then he mentions to his physiotherapist that she has been feeding him extra pills. Wasn’t that unusual? Perhaps. The physiotherapist, too, gets axed.

Now the mother-in-law starts talking about money and budgets. The son finds it odd and then discovers that his resignation at work had been submitted without his prior knowledge.

Then one day, he crawls to the window and sees his mother-in-law planting new plants in the holes she had dug. But wait. Is that an extra large hole in the far corner of the garden? Here we get to exercise our imagination. Perhaps tomorrow there will be a large tree delivered? Or is it meant for our crippled son-in-law. It’s up to you to decide how he ends up there. An overdose looks imminent. I think.

If you have some extra time at night or on the weekend, read this short story and let me know how you think the story ends.

Mar 21

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Canadian Gardening ceases publication!?

By Vas Sladek | Education, Magazines | No Comments

Excited, I picked up my March 16, 2016 issue of Canadian Gardening magazine only to discover a letter attached to the back. The letter informed me that with the current issue the magazine is ceasing publication. Really? Too bad.

My remaining issues will be substituted with Canadian Living magazine-“the magazine that will inspire you and motivate you to live your best every day.” I can’t wait. What about my garden?

Published by TVA Publications, this was their statement, published online here.

“TVA Publications has decided to concentrate on its strongest brands and will allocate the required staff and resources to keep strengthening their positioning. In that context, we will cease the activities of the Canadian Gardening magazine. The final issue will be the Spring 2016 issue (hitting newsstand on March 21, mailed to subscribers on March 8).

This consolidation strategy is the best way for the company to optimize the reach of its flagship titles in a fast-changing market. TVA Publications will maintain a strong presence in every segment of the industry – fashion, beauty, home decor, cooking, celebrities & entertainment. We remain fully committed to print magazines as a core component of TVA Publications’ business strategy while continuing to develop its brands on other platforms.”

My question is, why drop gardening? With the death of Gardenwise magazine, we are left with the excellent magazine Garden Making. I wonder for how long. All I can do is subscribe and cross my fingers.

Feb 06

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Red Seal Vas on periodicals

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Landscape Industry, Landscaping, Magazines, Resources | No Comments

As the 2016 season approaches, I try to finish my dusty magazines from last year. Below are the key periodicals I read. Because my budget is limited, I subscribe to some and buy interesting issues from the others. What do YOU read?

Horticulture Magazine (USA)

It has nice detailed plant and how to articles. I get the digital version because shipping for paper copies to Canada is too high. Lee Valley sells paper copies in the store

HC1SI

Arborist News (International)

This comes bi-monthly and is included with your ISA membership. It’s the main magazine for arborists. Includes quizzes, scientific tree articles and book reviews.
Warning: ISA also publishes a book catalogue full of great but pricey books. I never seem to have the budget for everything on my wish list.

Gardenwise, Canadian Gardening and Garden Making (Canada)

Good coverage of Canada. The best part of Gardenwise is the chores page that outlines what to do in your garden for a particular month. Garden Making is the newest and prettiest of the three. It has nice how to articles and lots of plants.

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Fine Gardening (USA)

Great photos but this magazines can seriously add to your food bill as you throw it into your food cart. Covers all of USA so my interest is in the Pacific Northwest. I enjoy the how to articles on pruning. Plenty of botanical names.

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Landscape Management (USA)

A magazine for landscape company owners and managers. The most interesting issue is the one with top annual revenues. The numbers will blow you away.
You can get it for free if you own a landscape company in Canada. You can also check out the online version at www.landscapemanagement.net.

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Success magazine (USA)

Every issue comes with bonus audio CD. I listen to it on the way to my sites. Articles cover important topics related to business and personal success. I am also a fan of publisher Darren Hardy. His book “Entrepreneur Rollercoaster” is a must read. Darren also has a daily blog you can subscribe to. Available at local stores.

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What do YOU read?

Magazines