Resilience

Gardening is a never-ending learning process and sometimes the harshest seasons have the most to teach us. Publishing, whether in print or online, also has its share of tending, toiling, and even the occasional bug. The new Pacific Horticulture is now in its second season. Our reinvented and robust website is home to seven years of archived articles and beautiful photographs, a comprehensive list of West Coast gardening events, and a flexible platform that allows us to stay in touch between print issues . (Whew!)

In this issue, our contributors demonstrate that change is a constant and natural state that requires us to continually adapt and fine-tune our approach and cultivate resiliency. Resiliency can mean transforming our former canopy of towering shade trees downed in a dramatic storm into a stunning new garden feature, or recognizing–and working with–the landscape’s innate ability to regenerate from fire, deforestation, or simply the constant, powerful action of waves and wind on a shoreline.

Gardeners, artists, and dreamers encourage us to look closer at the natural systems around us, whether they be the hardworking earwig tunneling the soil or a towering redwood whose structure is designed to harvest the fog in dry seasons. Clever minds devise ways to outwit deer and master the climatic intricacies of a diverse and varied landscape.

So dear gardener, persist and press on. Weed out and start over, research and replant. Resilience is vital in the garden and gardener alike. Fortunately, we’re not in this alone. Our West Coast gardening community is a strong and generous one. Thank you to all who have taken the time to offer feedback; the passion we’ve heard in your voices confirms that you, like us, are committed to a lasting future for our publication.

Lorene Edwards Forkner, editor