I was a member for several years long before the internet came along. Those were lean years for gardeners it seems now...LOL Not so many books or magazines available and our local library's gardenbook shelves were rather bleak and out of date. Most of the flower shows and Botanic Gardens were located far away from GA where I then lived so not much benefit to me, and I had no luck then with seeds so the Members Seed Exchange didn't tempt me. The printed AHS publication seemed at that time not too helpful (Horticulture Magazine in those years was vastly superior...in my opinion) although both publications mostly ignored our Zone 8 and up growing conditions. And when the AHS did finally bring out a "Heat Zone Map", it's been heavily criticized as too few plants have been given heat zone ratings and not too accurate overall it seems. Now, afer all those discouraging words, I feel fairly sure that you as a student planning a career in the field might find the membership very useful... to network on an informal basis with other member-professionals at seminars. etc. might alone be worth the membership cost. I'm sure you've visited the AHS site online...and looked over the list of articles in the current publication...and the member's benefits? Have you asked your profs and fellow students if any are members? I think I might allocate my money first to local or regional garden societies or specialist organizations (if I knew where I was going to live/work after graduation and what plants most interested me), then perhaps join the AHS. No real advice, just some rambling thoughts, I'm afraid. josh Here is a link that might be useful: American Horticultural Society

Remy - you are so right, the old issues of most of these magazines were packed with interesting info and now they are a lot of headlines with nothing underneath. Kind of like our newspapers too. I agree about Country Living Gardener - it became my favorite because of all the photos - I love to see examples. And as fast as I found it, it was gone. I think its Better Home and Gardens that does those special interest publications that come out quarterly. They have great pictures but not horticulture info. You can subscribe to the Buckeye Gardener online for free - that's Ohio State's ag newsletter. I suspect the residential gardening industry has been in decline for several years after reaching a zenith in sales. All the garden centers in my area have branched out into being florists, deli's, gift shops etc. The biggest locally owned garden center in my area has put in a deli and produce section and hired a veteran deli manager from a grocery store chain to run it. I went to 2 Christmas open houses on Friday night with a friend and I couldn't believe the displays, wine, food, music. They are working really hard to keep the business going. One of our big retail outlet garden centers ran an auction for a whole weekend to unload all their seasonal plants - they have their own land and greenhouses out in the country and they always sell off the end of season plants rather than hold them over, but this was wild - they just dumped everything. Well maybe the mag industry will consolidate and we will end up with a good publication.

francescod, Wow, your father is Thomas DeBaggio! I have his herb growing book, which along with the Hill/Barclay herb book have given hours of pleasure and a wealth of knowledge.These are must-haves for anyone growing herbs. We are lucky to have two such great resources from such great gardeners.

Terrene - A bit off topic, but if you can find a local woodturning group, you could try contacting them to see if anyone is interested in your 3 foot diameter Acer platanoides. Norway maple is a nice wood, so you'll be getting rid of an invasive species and having it turned into something beautiful. I'm an amateur turner and have lots of buckthorn. In rooting it out I noticed the pretty orange color just under the bark and decided to try turning it. I've used it for Christmas ornaments which are small enough to use the small diameter wood I have. Makes me feel like all the time I spend removing buckthorn isn't such a total waste since some of it I can use. In addition to the buckthorn (lots and lots and lots!) I have some bittersweet, a couple of kinds of honeysuckle (vine and shrub), pruple loosestrife along the river, and some barberry. I have enough property that I'll never get rid of it all, but on an ongoing basis I work to reduce what invasives are there by pulling, cutting, and judicious use of Roundup. I'm pretty careful what I plant since I'm in a rural area and invasives can really spread into the woods. For instance, I've been waiting to see about Heptacodium. It seems like a great plant, but it's a relatively newly marketed one, and although I've heard nothing about it seeding around, I decided I'd wait to be sure that it wouldn't develop that problem. An example is that only now are the pears (like the Bradford and Cleveland) being seen as invasive in the southeast, long after they have been planted in every other subdivision. Perhaps I'm being overly cautious, but I see what problems are created when plants attract animals that help them seed themselves around, and so I really try to avoid the problem. I get information on invasives here on GW as well as other internet sources and books. I also look around at old fields and other sites where invasives often move in and make sure that I can ID most of the plants there as a way to familiarize myself with pioneer species, some of which are fine or native, but others are foreign invasives. I usually consult several sources before I get a plant I'm not familiar with, and if it either runs through underground roots or is a prolific seeder, I don't buy it. It's way too much trouble to remove a plant I end up regretting (the voice of bitter experience) than to avoid it in the first place, no matter how attractive it may seem.