Deep roots: The Boston Globe’s Carol Stocker profiles America’s oldest gardening magazine, Horticulture.

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Publishing is a ferocious business and most magazines don’t survive five years, never mind 100. Boston-based Horticulture magazine, the country’s oldest gardening magazine, has reached that landmark, and there’s a fat centennial issue with a new cover design and new features currently on newsstands. “There’s a lot of competition. That it’s lasted speaks for itself,” said Leo Blanchette, an avid reader who runs the noted Carlisle perennial nursery Blanchette Gardens. He has collected old Horticulture copies going back to the 1950s.

Tiny baubles: If you missed the rexblog item about it in February, here is a Chicago Tribune article about the “anti-lifestyle” magazine, Rescue.

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With its quick wit and wholesome compositions, the “anti-lifestyle” magazine Rescue strives to persuade readers to forget about striving for Martha Stewart-like perfection and become comfortable as an individual.

“The lifestyle industry right now is completely prescriptive, meaning if you don’t do it this way and if doesn’t look like this, then it’s not going to happen,” says Dan Ho, editor in chief and founder of Rescue.

I guess in an effort to prove that Dan is no Martha Stewart, the Tribune article includes this head shot of him.

Electronic paper update: A few months ago, I mentioned one of my favorite technologies that has been “right around the corner” for as long as I can remember: “electronic paper.” (I pointed to this story and this story.)

Today, Slashdot pointed to a press release announcing that Sony’s new e-Book reader, LIBRIé, is scheduled to go on sale in Japan in late April. This “first ever” Philips’ display utilizes E Ink’s revolutionary electronic ink technology which offers a truly paper-like reading experience with contrast that is the same as newsprint, according to Philip’s press release.

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Its black and white ink-on-paper look, combined with a resolution in excess of most portable devices at approximately 170 pixels per inch (PPI), gives an appearance similar to that of the most widely read material on the planet - newspaper. Because the display uses power only when an image is changed, a user can read more than 10,000 pages before the four AAA Alkaline batteries need to be replaced. The unique technology also results in a compact and lightweight form factor allowing it to be ideal for highly portable applications.

As I said in my original post about this technology, wake me up when the display costs about $100 and it is wireless and will (as always promised) fold up and fit in my pocket.

An absolutely wonderful idea: I think that Martha Graybow’s report for Reuters that “More Retailers May Look to Start Magazines” should be nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. She writes that, “a magazine venture between Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and publisher Time Inc. that is expected to be unveiled soon could help spawn a new generation of magazines sold exclusively at specific stores, such as clothing retailers or even restaurants, industry experts say.” (For more about the history of the “old generation” of such magazines, click here. And for a previous post about the Wal-Mart/Time project, code-name “Shannon,” click here. And finally, for a post about the term one should use to describe a “magazine venture that…is expected to be unveiled soon,” click here.)

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It could draw a huge audience and spur other retailers like Target Corp.’s Target stores or upscale department store chain Nordstrom Inc. to roll out magazines aimed at their own customer bases, said Abe Peck, a Northwestern University journalism professor who specializes in magazines.

“It could help them define who they see as their customers in a medium a lot of people care about - magazines,” Peck said of possible new ventures from other retailers.

I’ll be with Professor Peck next week when I have the honor of making a presentation at the annual “advanced management forum” he runs in conjunction with American Business Media. I will tell him personally how absolutely insightful I believe his comments today are.

In the meantime, if you are a retailer (or wholesaler or a national association or non-profit institution) trying to figure out how you, too, can start a magazine to sell or give away to your customers, let me suggest a really great place where you can begin your research.