April 15, 2012
The proverb, “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” perfectly describes the history of Landscape Ontario magazine.

Back in Jan. 1973 Landscape Ontario was created, and with it a new magazine by the name Landscape Ontario. It was to be the “official voice of Ontario’s horticulture industry.”

In 1987, Landscape Ontario and Landscape Trades were amalgamated. At the time an announcement stated, “The new national magazine under the name Landscape Trades was to publish 10 times per year,” reaching 5,000 readers.  

Then in 1989, the Publishing Committee reported that a monthly newsletter under the name News Update had been developed. It was the same year that the board announced the appointment of Tony DiGiovanni as the new LO executive director.

LO began negotiations in 1991 to purchase Horticulture Review from publisher Rita Weerdenburg. After LO purchased the publication, Weerdenburg and two of her staff Sarah Willis and Kim Best joined the LO staff in Oct. 1991, and News Update ceased to exist. Horticulture Review was to cover Ontario news and features.

That name was maintained until November 2011, when the nearly 40-year-old circle was completed, with LO’s membership magazine taking on the name Landscape Ontario. The more things change...