Only room for one in this garden

That sound you heard was a shotgun going off. Gardening Life moves under the sole ownership of St. Joseph Media, effective September 30. It ends an 8-year partnership between St. Joseph (and, before that, Toronto Life Publishing Limited) and House & Home Media (publishers of the hugely successful Canadian House & Home).

Gardening Life's unusual partnership came about during a shakeout after a flurry of launches of gardening titles 10 years ago.

St. Joe's will move the now wholly-owned Gardening Life and its staff under the Style Group umbrella, helmed by Vice-President and Group Publisher Giorgina Bigioni. The Style Group publishes Fashion, Fashion 18, Wish and Wedding Bells.

In a joint press release, Tony Gagliano, St. Joseph Media chairman and Lynda Reeves, President of House & Home Media, said nice things. Reeves said: "We are confident that the capable and experienced team at St. Joseph Media will lead Gardening Life into its next great stage of publication, and we wish them well." Gagliano said: "We are thrilled to gain full acquisition of one of the leading specialty consumer magazines in Canada."