6/1/2022
Harry’s House
Ellen C. Wells
A big deal happened in the horticultural world recently—Better Homes & Gardens revealed their June 2022 cover featuring none other than musician Harry Styles (ask your grandkids about him if you aren’t familiar). To cover the implications of having this global sensation and heartthrob on the cover of a premier magazine, I reached out to the best person I know to cover the topic—horticulture marketing expert and Green Profit contributor (and “Styler”) Katie Elzer-Peters.
“Did my head explode? I think it did,” she said.
“What a power move by both BH&G and Harry. They both instantaneously broke the Internet and opened up completely new markets. The Styles fandom (of which I’m a part) skews younger—from 20-to 40-somethings, mainly. They’re also fiercely loyal. It was surreal for me to log in to Tumblr and see bloggers saying, ‘I’ve got to get that garden magazine. They really did right by him.’ And, referring to Stephen Orr, Editor in Chief of BH&G, as ‘What a lovely man.’ Outreach to the youths—accomplished. Then there’s Styles, who gave his first big interview of his new album cycle (“Harry’s House,” available May 20) to a legacy home and garden magazine instead of Rolling Stone, expanding his footprint in the cultural zeitgeist. I’m excited for the industry. I guarantee you some of the new BH&G readers will stick around the garden world.” GP