Design magazines are like beautiful gardens. They’re quiet, inspiring and you can experience them in your own time, at your own pace. Plus they’re always presenting what’s fresh and new. Maybe that’s why I enjoy creating them both as much as I do. In fact, if I weren’t an editor, I could easily see myself digging into garden design for a living.
When I think about it, editing a magazine is a lot like planning and planting a garden. Stories or seedlings, it all comes down to cultivating the right mix. Perennial favorites need to share space with showy upstarts; there needs to be a natural sense of order and movement, yet plenty of twists and colorful surprises popping up along the way.
With summer in mind, I obsess about not only my home’s gardens, but also what we’ve planted in this issue’s pages. As you leaf through the magazine, I wonder which of the many expert tips will take root, what ideas you’ll pick to grow into personal projects, and how many of the home and garden features we’ve been nurturing for months will cause you to examine and explore their beautiful designs.
As most impassioned garden designers will tell you, their most recent project is probably their best. I confess I feel the same way about this issue. Not only do we showcase some of the most unique and memorable homes and interiors from across the state, but we also spill eagerly outside to cover outdoor spaces that are equally compelling.
If I’ve done nothing else, I hope I’ve planted this seed of an idea with you: Enjoy this issue as you might a stroll through a spirited summer garden—leisurely, inquisitively and prepared to pick from it that which excites you most.
See more inside the Summer 2017 issue.
