Steam in the Garden magazine was founded by Ron and Marie Brown in July 1990 because Ron, an avid small-scale live steamer, felt there were too few hobbyists in the United States and Canada and that the hobby was too centered on European- and British-profile prototypes.

Early issues of the magazine were printed on a duplicator and stapled in the upper left-hand corner of the page. Later issues were put together with plastic comb binding. The first three editions were reissued as a combined publication because all the extra copies sold out.

The husband-and-wife team built the magazine up from nothing, created an ancillary business selling hand-crafted locomotives and published six times per year.

For more than 20 years, Steam in the Garden has provided hobbyists with do-it-yourself building guides, locomotive and rolling stock reviews, coverage of local and national steamups, live-steam history, tips and tricks and generally kept the North American live-steam community bound together.