Tomorrow’s Garden

Welcome to another trip around the sun with Pacific Horticulture—our 40th year in print! Along with celebrating the people and stories of our past, throughout this coming year we’ll be exploring how West Coast landscapes might look in the future.

Changing conditions, shrinking plots, and new findings about the environment challenge comfort and climate zones alike. Pollinator collapse, lack of rain, and steadily warming temperatures has all of us rethinking our accustomed approach to the landscape.

We’re especially excited about our new Water-Sensitive Landscape Design series, pulled together with help from Los Angeles designer Marilee Kuhlman; you’ll find the first article, “Where did the Water Go?” (page 38) in this issue. While “Green is the Color of Nature,” (page 28) offers a fresh perspective on the browning of our drought-stricken landscape.

We’ve also got stories by horticulturists, designers, and garden creators working in technology. They’re restoring Pacific Northwest prairies, creating a colorful, water-wise landscape, and developing web tools and databases filled with beautiful and inspiring images backed up with thoroughly sound information. Clearly, human creativity and problem solving is an abundant fount that never runs dry.

Perhaps Marilee put it best for all of us with her description of tomorrow’s garden:

As gardeners we get to participate in how we correct the mistakes and misunderstandings of the past, keep what makes sense, and create new cities, homes, and landscapes that function and thrive. This re-envisioned garden includes new technologies along with lovely plants. Instead of our choices being limited, they are in fact expanded.

Here’s to a remarkable and productive 2016!