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Hello {{First Name | Reader}},

Hope you’ve been doing well, as you garden through late summer where the energy to pull weeds is hard to come by. For today’s issue, I wanted to share a curation of interesting articles from the world of gardening. Check out the article on farmers markets to get the answer to the question in the subject line of today’s email.

Landscape designer Rebecca Sweet breaks down the defining design shifts shaping backyard spaces, highlighting a major move toward resilient, deeply personal, and ecologically minded gardens. The trend report explores everything from rich, jewel-toned color palettes and lush "green-drenched" foliage layering to high-impact keystone plantings and maximalist, abundant bed design. Balancing style with practicality, it also covers functional approaches like firescaping, climate-resilient edible crops, and dark-sky outdoor lighting to reduce light pollution.

On A Way to Garden, Margaret Roach sits down with Lane Selman (founder of the Culinary Breeding Network) to explore why bitter, beautiful chicories are taking the vegetable gardening world by storm. Selman makes a passionate case for moving beyond standard greens to cultivate distinctive, cold-hardy radicchios. It’s an inspiring dive into plant diversity, seed saving, and bringing artisanal Italian culinary traditions straight into your late-season backyard plot.

A national study from researchers at UW–Madison reveals that visiting local farmers markets does far more than just fill your tote with fresh produce. Analyzing survey data from over 5,000 U.S. adults, researchers found that frequent market attendees report significantly higher levels of civic engagement and a stronger sense of neighborhood belonging compared to non-attendees. The study highlights farmers markets as vital "third places" where face-to-face interaction, trust, and community resilience naturally grow alongside the local harvest. Read the article here!

Did you miss the last issue? It was about a recent trip to the Cloister Gardens in New York City. I was there for work, but had to take some time to visit a bucket list garden for the article. If you’ve ever dreamt of reading in a castle garden, this one is for you!

In an insightful editor’s letter for Horticulture, Meghan Shinn reflects on how trading standard notebooks for a structured five-year garden journal completely transformed her planning routine. By comparing year-over-year entries side by side on a single page, she is able to keep her daily notes succinct, easily spot past mistakes and make smarter choices each spring. It’s a compelling case for how a multi-year diary can bring clarity, calmer rhythm, and better perspective to your home plot over time.

I’d love to see some of your summer garden updates! Share photos in the community, or reply directly to this email!

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Written for {{active_subscriber_count}} avid readers. 💌

Until next Thursday,
Ken Welch

Ken Welch is a garden writer with a very serious degree in Horticulture. When his city lacked a community garden, he helped build one. He teaches new gardeners how to grow their own food.

Cibus Est Imperium | Food is Power