Personal growth
Gardening is my happy place. Planting things in the ground, watching them grow, tending to their needs—it’s a joy, a peaceful discipline, a meditative break from the stresses of my day. I know there are a lot of others out there who feel the same need to get their hands into the soil, to watch plants and flowers bud and bloom or to grow their own produce and see the efforts of their harvest on the dinner table.
That is just one of the reasons why our April issue, with its Special Section focus on home and garden topics, is near and dear to my heart. This month we look at two Costco suppliers: CedarCraft and Bower & Branch. CedarCraft creates innovative planters made from rescued cedar, while Bower & Branch, a supplier through Costco Next, provides everything from full-grown trees to flowering plants and shrubs. Bower & Branch also offers consultants (they call them “plant whisperers”) who can help you plan your new landscape.
Most likely, those plant whisperers will talk to you about the zone you live in, and how it pertains to what you should be selecting to grow and thrive on your property. This is the topic of our cover story, which lays out how to use plant hardiness maps to identify your zone and choose the right plants that will stand a better chance to survive, grow and thrive. (By the way, if you aren’t into maintenance or have water challenges or live in a no-grow zone, be sure to check out the article on artificial turf.)
After a day of gardening, it’s time to relax and (in my case, because my talents do not extend to the kitchen) have my husband crank up the new Kirkland Signature™ grill and enjoy a well-deserved outdoor meal, as we take in our lovely backyard landscape.
Coming next month
- Bestselling novelist Danielle Steel is our May cover story.
PUBLISHER
Sandy Torrey storrey@costco.com
EDITORIAL DIRECTORS
U.S. T. Foster Jones 425-313-6748 tod.jones@costco.com
Canada/U.K.Stephanie E. Ponder 425-427-7134 sponder@costco.com
U.S. TEAM
Katie Coleman katie.coleman@costco.com
Will Fifield wfifield@costco.com
INTERNATIONAL TEAM
Christina Guerrero cguerrero2@costco.com
Dan Jones daniel.jones@costco.com
COPY EDITOR
Miriam Bulmer
Cindy Hutchinson
CONTRIBUTORS
Linda R. Bernstein, Samantha Davis-Friedman, Sheri Flies, Judy Gelman, Marilyn Gist, Julie Kendrick, Marisa Moore, Melinda Myers, Vicki Shanta Retelny, Marc Saltzman, Ellen Schwartz, Chad Sokol, Laura Tobias, Andrea Tomkins
ART DIRECTOR
Lory Williams lwilliams@costco.com
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTORS
David Schneider, dschneider@costco.com
Brenda Shecter bshecter@costco.com
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Ken Broman, Steven Lait, Chris Rusnak
EDITORIAL PRODUCTION MANAGER
Antolin Matsuda amatsuda@costco.com
PRINT, PAPER AND PREPRESS MANAGER
MaryAnne Robbers mrobbers@costco.com
PRINT PRODUCTION SPECIALIST
Grace Clark graceclark@costco.com
PUBLISHING ADVERTISING MANAGER
Kathi Tipper-Holgersen 425-313-6581 ktipper@costco.com
ASSISTANT ADVERTISING MANAGER
Susan Detlor 425-313-6916 sdetlor@costco.com
ADVERTISING SPECIALISTS
Raven Stackhouse 425-416-1632 rlstackhouse@costco.com
ADVERTISING COORDINATOR
Aliw Moral 425-313-2558 mmoral@costco.com
ADVERTISING COPYWRITER
Bill Urlevich
ADVERTISING PRODUCTION SPECIALIST
Josh Livingston
ADVERTISING GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Christina Muñoz-Moye
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
Michael Colonno 973-664-7797 michael.colonno@mediapartnersgroupllc.net
BUSINESS MANAGER
Jane Johnson
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Rossie Cruz rcruz@costco.com
CIRCULATION COORDINATOR
Luke Okada
ONLINE PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Dorothy Strakele connection@costco.com
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