Garden Asia

There are not many local garden magazines in Malaysia. One that I found interesting is Garden Asia, a quarterly English magazine published by NRH Publications.





Volume 33 has a picture of beautiful Allamanda flowers on the cover and was out on the shelves in April 2009. The next issue, as told by a bookshop owner, should be out in July. There are lots of interesting facts about tropical flora and fauna, beautiful gardens in Asia and forest parks and healing plants. As such, both young and seasoned gardeners would benefit from reading this magazine.

Plant Variety Rating: 4 | A number of tropical and sub-tropical plants and blooms are highlighted in this issue.

Images Rating: 4.5 | Pictures tell a thousand words. Overall the pictures are very well taken and presented. They included every part of a plant e.g. its fruit, flower and leaf, hence making it easier for young gardeners to recognise the plant. However, most of the pictures do not have caption. It would be helpful if there are captions of plant names for each picture.

Content Rating: 4 | The contents are informative, factual and also interesting. For the featured garden, I would personally have preferred the inclusion of a guided layout drawing or a garden layout, so that it would be easier to visualise the context. All plants could then be mentioned using legends.

Layout Rating: 4.5 | The layout is excellent as it was easy to read this magazine. I like the fact that the well-arranged texts are accompanied by large, crisp and sharp images.

Price Rating: 4 | At RM12.00 a copy, for less than 100 pages, it is considered reasonable although a little above average compared to other local garden magazines. Nevertheless, it's a good buy.



Aside from gardening information, there is a column on 'Cooking with Herbs and Spices'. If you have a herb garden, this column is good for you. What you harvest from your garden can be used to try out the recommended recipe.

'Garden Wise' and 'Herbal Corner' are two columns not to be missed. The remedies are useful for our everyday living and housekeeping.

Another column that is interesting to read is 'Garden Design'. In this issue an easy to maintain garden design is showcased. It was good to learn of the choice of plants for a simple garden.

Overall, by emphasising on plants and gardens, its readers are exposed to more about planting trees and flowers. Hence, cultivating an interest in greening the earth and reducing global warming.