Submission Guidelines for
​The Prairie Garden
We welcome ideas for articles from gardeners living in the short-season gardening zones of the Canadian Prairie Provinces and the northern Great Plains of the US. If you have an idea that you’d like to suggest to us or photos you’d like to share, we’d like to hear from you. Please contact the editor@prairiegarden.ca.
Although there is room in every issue for articles related to both our annual theme and gardening in general, please understand that due to the volume of submissions that we receive, we cannot include all submitted pieces in our publication in any given year. Before you start writing, please check with us to see if your idea fits our needs. Also, please familiarize yourself with the following guidelines.
Who: You are writing for all kinds of people: horticultural experts, professors, grandmothers, good friends, and hardy prairie people in both Canada and the USA. They are informed, curious, and want to learn about practical techniques and ideas that pertain to gardening of all kinds ranging from food to forests.
What: Introduce us to new and interesting trees and plants, share your techniques and tips, and inspire us with your gardening projects. Show us what you know with pictures and words. Consider all the facets of our annual theme, but remember that we also publish articles on general horticulture with every issue.
Please be aware that we do not accept articles that have been published previously in another journal, book, magazine or any other type of print media. This includes articles that have appeared on-line in a blog, newsletter or any other type of on-line media.
Length and style: Please keep your article between 200–1500 words in length. Remember that your audience is ordinary gardeners of all kinds, not scientists or academics. Most articles do not include references, but if you wish to add them, please limit them to three or four.
Plant names: Follow this common accepted citation format.
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Give the common name of the plant first in lower case
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Provide the botanical (Latin) name in italics inside non-italicized parentheses. Capitalize the genus (i.e., the 1st part of the botanical name) and add the species (i.e., the 2nd part of the botanical name) in lower case. You only need to provide the botanical name the first time you mention each plant.
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If you know the cultivar name, add it in single quotation marks. The first letter in each of the cultivar names is capitalized.​​
Measurements: Canada uses the metric system so please provide any measurements in metric format first. Remember that there are no periods following metric abbreviations. Because we do have a readership that extends into the northern USA, provide the imperial measurements in rounded brackets after the metric ones. The imperial system does use periods after abbreviations of their measurements.
Examples
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30 cm (12 in.)
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1 kg (2.2 lb.)
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30 mL (1 oz.)
How to submit: Send your material in an MSWord document with the title and your name at the top. If you are using a Mac computer, please convert your document to an MSWord file before sending it along to us. If you have photos, drawings, tables or any other type of visual media that you want to be part of the article, also email these to the editor@prairiegarden.ca. Note that the date for submission of the article and photographs, etc. are different: April 15th for the article and July 15th for visual media.
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In a separate e-mail or file attachment, send your contact info, including a mailing address for your complimentary copy (should the article be accepted for publication) and a brief 40-word biography describing yourself.
About photos: We prefer that you submit your own photos. If you submit photos by others, we need their express permission to publish them. For each photo, indicate exactly what the subject is and who took it. Put this information in the filename.
Examples:
Rose Never Alone by Jane Smith.jpg.
European pasque flower by Harrison Tucker.jpeg
my perennial garden by Trudy Bailey.jpeg
harvested carrots by Peter Thompson.jpg
apple (Malus domestica*) 'Granny Smith' by Mallory Kitson.jpg
*Please note: even though the genus and species names in rounded brackets are normally written in italics, your computer does not allow you to do this when naming a file.
Please ensure all photos are of print quality, i.e., at least 300 dots per inch (dpi), which usually means a file that is 1000 KB (1 MB) or larger. We prefer .jpg or .jpeg format. Photos should be sent as e-mail attachments. Do not send them in the e-mail itself.
About our editing process: Please be aware that all articles submitted to us will be assessed by The Prairie Garden editorial committee. If approved for publication, they will be edited for grammar, clarity, length, and conformity with our stylistic standards.
If you wish to see the edits in Track Changes when you review the final version of your article, please let the editor know. While we read every piece submitted, we frequently receive more articles than we have room for in any one edition. You may be invited to re-submit your work for another subsequent issue.
Please note that any material submitted becomes the property of The Prairie Garden but will be appropriately credited. Images and text that have appeared in our publication may be used for promotional purposes, including in social media.
We thank you in advance for your ideas and contributions to The Prairie Garden!
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Many thanks to Linda Dietrick, previous editor of The Prairie Garden for her contribution to the creation of this set of guidelines.