Garden shows are crowded. That’s what I remember most about the first time I met Susan Calhoun. It was nearly 18 years ago at the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival in Seattle, and as an exhibitor, she had built an amazing show garden. After jockeying my way between dozens of people to flip through her portfolio, I was convinced that one of her projects would be perfect for Fine Gardening. The following spring I found myself getting onto a plane, into a rental car, and boarding a ferry to see Susan and to photograph one of her gorgeous designs for our publication. 

It was nerve-wracking. 

I was an assistant editor, brand-new to the job and convinced that I would embarrasses myself by mispronouncing a botanical name or sleep through my 4 a.m. alarm and mess up the entire photoshoot. But none of those things happened. (Well, I likely botched a plant name, but Susan was too gracious to point it out.)

In the nearly two decades since, FG has worked with Susan on numerous feature articles. What truly amazes me is the variety of spaces she creates—from a hillside tropical jungle to a wooded native plant oasis; from large, multi-acre projects to tiny seaside courtyards. But regardless of the size, scale, or budget, they’re all approachable. Even 20-something me felt at ease in that first impressive garden because there were moments throughout when I honestly thought, “Well, I could do that in my yard.” And therein lies the most important tenet of good garden design: It needs to have universal takeaways.

We occasionally get letters from folks lamenting over a certain garden we have featured. “Looks incredible—now all I need is a million dollars and 15 acres,” someone will write. Let me reassure you: I have neither a million-dollar gardening budget nor a giant piece of property. But there is seldom a single space we publish that doesn’t contain something interesting for me to copy in my own humble beds.  

In this issue, you’ll get to see a part of Susan Calhoun’s personal garden for the first time in Fine Gardening. It is a modest-sized border with ornamental grasses as its core, which Susan created to give her privacy and year-round interest without having to plant a wall of obtrusive (and costly) evergreens. And aside from being gorgeous, the space is just so darn relatable. I can picture a similar design both at my house and at the estate of a tech entrepreneur. 

Every garden has lessons to share, whether it’s built on a convention-center floor or along a pristine coastline. We just need to be open-minded enough to realize what they are.

– Danielle Sherry, executive editor

See Fine Gardening Issue #219 here