It fills me with great joy to open the door to May to our travel and outdoor living issue, which features some interesting takes on the topics. This month’s
lineup has inspired me, and I hope it does the same for you. Paige Udermann connects with expert horticulturist
Duane Otto from the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to discuss
creating beautiful, lasting cutting gardens. Their conversation fortified my dream to create a cutting garden in our yard. But there’s a problem. A big problem, and it’s shade. Our backyard’s heavily treed landscape is ideal for keeping an outdoor
space cool and comfortable during summer’s hotter days and providing
protected conditions for brimming hosta beds, too many ferns to count and
smatterings of Jack-in-the-pulpit and lily of the valley. In terms of plotting
out a sun-drenched area to nurture blooms, no such luck. (Forget planting
much on the side yards. The front yard’s slope is slightly problematic, and
much of the garden space is reserved for my first bloomy love: hydrangeas
