EDITORIAL

Jo McCarroll celebrates a milestone.

That’s right! It’s the 77th anniversary of the first issue of NZ Gardener, which went on sale back in September 1944. I have not been able to calculate how many gardens have featured in the magazine over the years, nor how many gardeners have been informed and inspired by the stories we have run or how many plants have flourished due to the expertise writers have shared on our pages. But I did work out that this must be about the 925th NZ Gardener editor’s letter, and roughly the 138th one that has been written by me. You might well be speculating on how I could possibly have anything at all left to say.

Well wonder no more, my best beloveds! I actually have plenty to say this month, as much has been happening at the NZ Gardener HQ.

The more observant will already have noticed we’ve had a bit of glow up. I hope that you still find everything you love about NZ Gardener inside – trustworthy advice from real New Zealand experts from all over the country, stories on awe inspiring gardens and incredible Kiwi plantspeople, great DIY projects and seasonal recipes.

But as well as the above, I think the mag now contains a lot more (seriously though, we actually had to add a heap of pages to our spring issues to fit all the cool new stuff in). We’re running more stories, and sharing more pictures of the spectacular gardens which we feature in every issue. Look out for some of the new writers whom we’re adding to our lineup, and the regular features and different kinds of stories we’re introducing too.

We have tweaked the layout and design, so the whole magazine should be easier and more enjoyable for you to read. (A huge thank-you to talented designer Olivia Tuck who has worked alongside art director Sarah Scully and me on the refresh; and the wonderful Davina Prankerd, owner of Vida Flores in Newmarket, Auckland, who put together the edible 77 on our cover to reflect the 77 recommended crops, helpful tips and great recipes you’ll find inside.)

You’ll also notice that we’re telling you a bit more about our (amazing) contributors: including short bios to give you an idea of where our writers are based and what their own background in plants and gardening is. I hope that lets you see that the writers and columnists who help make this magazine are the best and brightest plantspeople in New Zealand (indeed many of them are recognised across the world for their horticultural knowledge).

But wait, as they say, there’s more. Alongside the popular monthly moon calendar which we have run for several years, we’ve introduced a monthly guide to gardeners who want to follow the maramataka, the lunar calendar developed by Māori over generations which can be used to time your horticultural activities. Huge thanks to ethnobotanist Dr Nick Roskruge, a Massey University professor and chair of Tāhuri Whenua, the National Māori Vegetable Growers Collective, for putting this together.

We’ve added Kaingaki Māra to our masthead too. Many of you will know the Māori word māra, which means garden; kaingaki means to cultivate, weed and plant. So kaingaki māra is the Māori term for a gardener.

That seems apt to me. Because I always say that

NZ Gardener is not just by gardeners and for gardeners.

It is also a magazine that is entirely and uniquely of New Zealand – homegrown, you might well say. And while we have made some changes, that is one thing that has not changed at all. We have always told stories about New Zealand gardens and gardeners, and offered advice and expertise that is based on real New Zealand experience and directly relevant to gardening here. We are proud to be New Zealand-made and New Zealand-owned. We love to think NZ Gardener has reflected and celebrated – and hopefully even inspired – gardeners across the nation for 77 years… and we are grateful to readers like you, because your support is what lets us keep doing so today.