EDITOR’S NOTE

Trowel and Error

My garden mystifies me. I just can’t seem to get anything in it to do what it should.

When we purchased our 1961 mid-century modern home, it came with an incredibly overgrown yard.

As we dug through the mess, I was excited to discover that the first owner had a green thumb and a keen eye, having planted sasanqua camellias, rows and rows of azaleas in all colors, ginger lilies and more. There was even a complex irrigation system running from a natural spring through a pump and out spigots into the backyard. Impressive! Many people told us to rip it all out and start afresh, but I thought we had a good foundation, and all it needed was a little pruning.

I can now confess, however, that after years of giving it … well, not as much attention as it deserves … I’m not sure it looks much better than when we started. Nothing seems to grow where it should, resolving instead to grow where it should not. The fig ivy is threatening to consume the roof and chimney, causing our insurance company to recently cancel us outright, despite my best attempts at clipping while perched at the tippy-top of a ladder. Meanwhile, over on the concrete wall I have been dying to cover in fig ivy for three years now, one sad little stem is thinking about it. Maybe.

The little fern I planted under a spigot is thrilled and has suddenly taken over an entire garden bed, while a cypress we planted at the pond’s edge withered and died. Nothing does well where I expect it to, but I turn around and something else is running wild with free abandon. Like the muscadine. Don’t get me started on the muscadine that has totally consumed a live oak tree, a quarter acre of azaleas and most of the driveway. (Sigh.) When I try to pull those buggers down,

I end up on my bottom in the dirt with a 12-inch stem of muscadine broken off in my hand. There is no hope.

The little joys our yard brings me, however, are many, even if I had no effective hand in bringing them about. Our sweet olive — sad and scrawny though she may be — wafts sugary scents towards our back door on warm sunny days. As I write this, the first magnolia blossoms have appeared on our gigantic tree. And leftover sweet potato vines are sprouting (unexpectedly, I might add) from pots we abandoned after last summer. I may have zero control of this little patch of earth, but isn’t it a miracle to behold!

This annual Home & Garden Issue will take you on a lovely stroll through some gardens much more purposeful than mine. The imagery is inspirational, even if it sets the bar a little high. We hope you enjoy reading about it as much as our staff enjoyed putting it together. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU Maybe if I got some better clippers … hope springs eternal. Just like my muscadine. Maggie Lacey EXECUTIVE EDITOR maggie@pmtpublishing.com

WHERE DA GARDEN HOES AT? BELLINGRATH DIRECTOR TODD LASSEIGNE SAYS THOUGH THE GARDEN HOE HAS LARGELY FALLEN OUT OF FAVOR, IT’S A REAL BACK SAVER AND WORTH KEEPING IN YOUR TOOLSHED. (INSERT IMMATURE JOKE HERE.)

LOVE THIS ISSUE

GO FIG-URE I PLANTED TWO FIG TREES IN MY YARD JUST A FEW MONTHS BEFORE HURRICANE SALLY DROPPED A PINE TREE ON THEM. THIS SUMMER, I’M HOPING AND PRAYING THEY’VE RECOVERED ENOUGH TO BEAR FRUIT.

MIX IT UP I LOVE HOW DESIGNER MATTHEW METCALFEBEES MIXES TRADITIONAL FABRICS, BOLD ABSTRACT ART AND ALWAYS A TOUCH OF ANIMAL PRINT. PAGE 44

HOTHOUSE FLOWERS PRINT FABRIC BY SCHUMACHER, VELVET LEOPARD PRINT PILLOW FROM LANDOFPILLOWS.COM

YOU CAN DO IT INCORPORATING AFFIRMING MESSAGES INTO KIDS’ BEDROOMS IS BRILLIANT! SET A POSITIVE TONE FOR THE DAY BEFORE THEIR FEET EVER HIT THE GROUND. DESIGNER CAITLYN WAITE FOUND THIS ONE ON MINTED. PAGE 40

WHERE THE GREEN GRASS GROWS THIS SOIL KIT TEST WILL HELP ME FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET A MORE BEAUTIFUL LAWN. THE IDEA IS GENIUS, AND IT’S LOCALLY MADE! PAGE 20