First published on September 1st, 1905 as The Canadian Florist, the magazine was launched by the Horticultural Publishing Company Limited as a four-page, bi-weekly national trade publication to represent the interests of professional florists in Canada.
“The company intends to leave no stone unturned to make the paper a success and asks for the support of the florists of Dominion as long only as the paper continues to deserve their confidence. We feel confident the trade will rally to our support and make it possible to publish a paper of which no florist in the Dominion will have any reason to be ashamed and which in time can be made the equal of any florist paper on the continent.”
Available by subscription for $1.00 a year, the magazine published 24 issues a year until two more were added in 1907. Originally published as a small four-page paper, the staff at The Canadian Florist secured enough advertising to warrant four extra pages. A year after the magazine’s conception, the average size was 16 pages per issue. In December 1906, The Canadian Florist started a book department – “Our catalog is the best of its kind in Canada, and should be in the hands of every professional florist.”
In 1955, the magazine celebrated its golden jubilee with 2658 paid subscribers, the greatest number in its entire history. In 1961, the magazine became known as Canadian Florist, Greenhouse & Nursery magazine. By 1980, with the exception of a few postal strikes, the publication had presented industry news on a bi-weekly basis since its conception.
In 2001, Annex Publishing & Printing (publisher of Cut&Dried magazine) bought Canadian Florist, Greenhouse & Nursery magazine from Peter Heywood, and the two magazines were amalgamated, which resulted in the revival of Canadian Florist magazine. Cut&Dried was launched in 1993 with the mandate to publish original Canadian floral arrangements in full colour, and these design portfolios were continued in Canadian Florist.
The new version of Canadian Florist published eight times a year, and each issue included the C&D Design Portfolio and the C&D Design Workshop with Kathy Mustard. In 2005, Annex Publishing moved from Delhi to Simcoe, and this past year also saw Canadian Florist go four-colour throughout the magazine. Today, the staff at Canadian Florist magazine continue to devote the pages of the magazine to the welfare and prosperity of florists in Canada.
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