What’s Happening in Your Neck of the Woods? | Letter from the Editor

I was recently out in Seattle for the flower and garden show. While there, I got to catch up with our Northwest regional reporter, Susan Calhoun. We talked about a bunch of different things, but my favorite part was hearing about what was happening in her Pacific Coast garden right at that very moment. She held me in a trance as she described the blooms on a rare snowdrop cultivar that had just come into flower in her beds. Now I don’t consider myself a galanthophile in any way. But to hear her talk about the joy it brought her made me want to become one.

I always love hearing about what’s happening in other people’s gardens. I like to know what plants are performing well, which tree they just splurged on, or how they’re dealing with the damage left behind after an unexpected cold snap. It doesn’t matter to me that what they’re planting I may not be able to plant in my own Zone 6 garden, or that the conditions they’re dealing with might not mimic what I’m worried about in my landscape. It’s all fascinating and the sort of gardening know-how that I love to surround myself with. That’s what unites us in this passion.

Perhaps you are the same. You love reading about a xeriscape in New Mexico, despite living in Montana. Or you love to swoon over a Zone 9 plant despite living in Zone 5. If that’s the sort of person you are—and I suspect because you are a member of the Fine Gardening community, you are—then I don’t need to point out the array of amazing regional articles we’ve published in the last month. But in case you missed some, be sure to check out tips for growing fruit trees in coastal climes and the best native annuals for the Rocky Mountains. I don’t live in either of these regions, but I walked away from reading these deep dives with plenty of notes that will make me a better gardener in my backyard.

The rest of the content featured in this newsletter is similarly robust and is guaranteed to help you chase away the last of the winter blues. The snow may still be falling where you garden, but rest assured that the snowdrops are on their way.

—Danielle Sherry, executive editor