Inspired by Nature

Beginning in 2013, Pacific Horticulture expanded its programming with the creation of  “Changing Times, Changing Gardens,” a series designed to address challenges and trends facing West Coast gardeners today. Since that time, we’ve held seminars in Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Oakland, and Portland. These gatherings of designers, horticulturists, city officials, and home gardeners have inspired many and sparked valuable discussions as we’ve examined the topic from a variety of regional perspectives.

Today’s environmental challenges are more pressing than ever. Pacific Horticulture believes that a beautiful landscape—whether in one’s own backyard or a nearby garden that’s open to the public—speaks louder than words or municipal restrictions when it comes to fostering solutions to growing challenges.

This month’s Summit 2016, our most ambitious Changing Times, Changing Gardens gathering to date, focuses on the creation of unique and purposeful landscapes that are inspired by nature and grounded by place. We will look beyond traditional xeric compositions and explore contemporary urban and suburban landscapes that celebrate seasonal change and abundant plantings, and we’ll examine the natural stories found in both small, private spaces as well as larger public landscapes.

As producers of Summit 2016, our primary goal is to prompt outside-the-box thinking about the breadth of possibilities inherent in landscapes rooted in natural systems. And we hope to motivate change; whether that change shows up in a professional design practice, on a public policy stage, or right in your own backyard.

While Summit 2016 provides an opportunity for attendees to learn from respected visionaries and experts and connect with like-minded folks, our intention is broader than that. This issue of Pacific Horticulture further explores and expands on Summit topics and delivers our message to a much larger audience. In the coming months, we’ll be posting additional resources on the Pacific Horticulture website; we are excited to communicate our story in video as well as our usual text and photos.

Gardens are powerful. We hope you’ll join us, wherever you are, however you can, in support of creating beautiful gardens connected to the world at large.

Thank you to the Blanche Thebom Trust, The Left Coast Fund, and Miller Charitable Foundation, whose financial support has helped support our work with Summit 2016.