Horticulture

What Horticulture does

Horticulture is a specialty consumer magazine — and accompanying digital properties — covering the art and science of gardening for home gardeners, horticulture professionals, and edible gardeners in North America. First published in 1904, the title is owned and operated by Active Interest Media (AIM), a diversified Des Moines, Iowa-based enthusiast-media publisher, and is published from AIM's offices at 2143 Grand Ave, Des Moines. The core product is the Horticulture magazine, delivered as both print and digital editions, supplemented by an e-newsletter product and an extensive on-site content library organized into categories including Plants, Smart Gardening, Edible Gardening, Container Gardening, Gardens (public and private), By Region, and Gardeners. The technology stack is a standard digital magazine publishing platform: a CMS-driven website (hortmag.com), a digital-edition reader deliverable to any device, an email/newsletter infrastructure managed through AIM's dragonforms signup flow (aim.dragonforms.com), and active social channels on Facebook, X (@CoHorts), Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Editorial includes recurring expert contributors (e.g., Chuck Pavlich of Terra Nova Nurseries) and sponsored content partnerships (e.g., Herc Rentals) alongside citizen-science tie-ins (CoCoRaHS).

Horticulture monetizes through three revenue streams: (1) recurring print-and-digital and digital-only subscriptions billed annually through my.hortmag.com, with US/Canada customer service support and mail-in subscriptions; (2) display and native advertising, including sponsored articles that integrate commercial partners into the editorial experience; and (3) affiliate referrals linking readers to gardening supplies and books referenced in articles. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; advertising is handled in-house by AIM sales staff including advertising representative Michelle Kraemer. The title operates exclusively as a consumer-facing enthusiast publication — there is no enterprise offering, no B2B channel, and no disclosed financial metrics.

Horticulture has no independent corporate structure — it does not raise capital, has no funding history, has no subsidiaries, and has no M&A activity. Strategic activity is operational and editorial: a digital-first relaunch in 2025 (migration to hortmag.com), expansion of digital editions and newsletter funnels, and a steady cadence of partnership-driven content (plant introductions, sponsored content, citizen-science editorial). It sits inside a larger AIM enthusiast portfolio that cross-promotes the title across sister sites including Fine Gardening, Garden Gate, Popular Woodworking, and Fine Homebuilding.

Name

Horticulture

Legal name

Active Interest Media

Website

https://hortmag.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Horticulture is a 120-year-old consumer gardening magazine — owned by Active Interest Media in Des Moines, Iowa — delivering print and digital editions, an editorial website (hortmag.com), and e-newsletters to North American home gardeners, horticulture professionals, and edible gardeners via subscriptions, advertising, and affiliate referrals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Gardening Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Home, Garden & DIY Magazines (MPAJAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Newsletter Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAA)

Keywords

• Gardening magazine
• Horticulture publication
• Plant care content
• Garden design inspiration
• Edible gardening resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Des Moines

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Print and digital subscription revenue from readers subscribing to receive regular magazine issues
2. Advertising Revenue: Sponsored content and advertising placements from brands like Herc Rentals featured within magazine and website content
3. Affiliate/Product Links: Revenue from affiliate product recommendations and links to gardening supplies and books mentioned in articles

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Horticulture publishes a specialist gardening and horticulture magazine offered through print subscriptions, digital editions on its online platform, and a weekly e-newsletter delivering plant profiles, cultivation techniques, garden design ideas, and seasonal advice. The publication is geared toward home gardeners, edible gardeners, and horticulture enthusiasts seeking expert-driven editorial content.

Product overview

Horticulture Magazine is a single unified digital and print publication offering gardening content. The core product is the magazine itself (available via print and digital subscriptions), supplemented by digital edition access for on-device reading and e-newsletter subscriptions for ongoing updates. Content is organized into main categories covering plants, smart gardening techniques, edible gardening, container gardening, gardens (public and private), regional gardening guidance, and gardener profiles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Horticulture Magazine (Print and Digital Subscription) Bi-monthly gardening and horticulture magazine sold via subscription to home gardeners and horticulture enthusiasts, covering plants, garden design, cultivation techniques, and seasonal guidance.
• Horticulture Digital Edition Web-based digital edition of the Horticulture magazine provided to subscribers as an online reading format for current and back issues.
• Horticulture E-Newsletter Weekly email newsletter for Horticulture subscribers delivering plant profiles, gardening tips, and seasonal content to home gardeners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Inspires plant lovers to create thriving, gorgeous gardens

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Herc RentalsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsored content partnership where Herc Rentals provides equipment rental information for landscaping and garden projects. Article 'Tackle Big Landscape Projects with Equipment Rentals' appears as sponsored content on the Horticulture website, providing tips on using heavy equipment for large garden installations.
• CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network)minorOthersCitizen science organization featured in editorial content about how gardeners can participate in precipitation tracking to support climate and weather research.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Fine Gardening: Fine Gardening is a sister publication within Active Interest Media covering plants, garden design, and horticultural techniques for enthusiast gardeners in North America. It directly competes for the same subscriber base and advertiser pool as Horticulture, with overlapping content categories and a similar product-led/subscription model.
• Garden Gate Magazine: Garden Gate is another Active Interest Media sister title focused on home gardening, plant recommendations, and garden design inspiration. It shares Horticulture's target audience of amateur-to-enthusiast gardeners and operates the same print/digital subscription model under the same corporate umbrella.
• Birds & Blooms: Birds & Blooms is a North American gardening and backyard wildlife enthusiast magazine distributed across newsstand and subscription channels. It targets an overlapping gardener-and-nature-lover audience and competes in the same retail and subscription channels as Horticulture.
• Garden Design Magazine: Garden Design is a U.S. gardening publication emphasizing landscape design, plant selection, and garden-making inspiration. It competes with Horticulture for design-minded gardeners and premium design advertisers, operating via both digital and limited print channels.
• The American Gardener: The American Gardener is the official publication of the American Horticultural Society, covering horticultural science, plant profiles, and gardening techniques for an educated audience. It overlaps with Horticulture's professional and serious-amateur segments and competes for society/association-style gardening memberships.

Broad incumbents

• Better Homes & Gardens: Better Homes & Gardens is a flagship Meredith/Dotdash Meredith consumer lifestyle brand that includes substantial gardening editorial coverage. It serves a much broader mainstream audience than Horticulture but competes directly for gardening content eyeballs, subscription dollars, and gardening-brand advertising spend.
• Sunset Magazine: Sunset covers regional Western gardening, outdoor living, and home improvement across print and digital. It overlaps with Horticulture's regional gardening guidance but addresses a broader lifestyle audience and a more geographically defined market, making it a comparable enthusiast-media gardening brand.
• HGTV / Discovery Garden Content: HGTV and its Discovery-family lifestyle properties produce large volumes of digital and video gardening and outdoor-living content that competes for the same gardening attention and advertiser dollars as Horticulture. They serve mass audiences with free content, pressuring subscription-based gardening publishers on reach.

Regional players

• BBC Gardeners' World Magazine: BBC Gardeners' World Magazine is the United Kingdom's leading gardening periodical, published monthly with deep editorial coverage of plants, design, and practical gardening. While UK-focused, its plant and design content overlaps with Horticulture's editorial format and competes for global gardening enthusiasts and international advertisers.

Emerging players

• Epic Gardening: Epic Gardening is a digital-first gardening media brand built around video, blog, and podcast content for home gardeners, with a similar plant- and edible-gardening focus. It represents the new wave of free, creator-driven competitors to traditional subscription gardening magazines like Horticulture.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cohorts
• Facebookfacebook.com/HorticultureMagazine
• Instagraminstagram.com/hort.mag
• Pinterestpinterest.com/hortmag
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/horticulture-magazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Horticulture