Into the Garden

The Garden, 2019 images copyright the artist and courtesy of Jackson Fine Art.

My father, who is an octogenarian, has always loved gardening. Recently he became an armchair gardener who enjoys spending time talking about mine. “Oh, how I love seeing those little green shoots, new life!” he told me. His words were poignant, a message of hope and resilience.

Photo by Povy Atchison

The one place we can all go right now is outdoors, recommended for our health, both mental and physical. In this issue, we honor the garden whisperers who coax seedlings from the ground and fashion outdoor spaces as luxe and layered as carefully designed interiors—you’ll find them listed in our Top Mountain Landscape Architects list. And don’t miss the tricked-out sheep wagon in our ML Splurge department, the perfect garden accessory.

The homes in this issue have indoor-outdoor living at their core: A compound at the base of the Grand Tetons takes in views of an entire valley; a remodeled 1990s home in the Country Club of the Rockies was purchased for its location on, and view of, the first hole; a newly built Martis Camp home has a terrace large enough to accommodate a crowd (even spaced six feet apart). In Montana, a couple built a helipad that‘s practical with its barn and guest apartment—as well as fun, with an outdoor dining pavilion.

I need to give a shout-out to my hometown of Sheridan, Wyoming, the place where my love of gardening began—and a virtual incubator of award-winning artists. I’m honored to call the four talents featured in this issue my friends, colleagues and, once, my neighbors—it’s thrilling to see them together in a story.

I recently came across the William Stafford poem “Time for Serenity, Anyone?,” which seems particularly meaningful right now. It begins:

I like to live in the sound of water,
in the feel of mountain air. A sharp
reminder hits me: this world is still alive,
it stretches out there shivering toward its own creation, and I’m part of it.

Happy summer!

THE GARDEN

The Garden, 2019 images copyright the artist and courtesy of Jackson Fine Art.

Both works here (and above) are Untitled, The Garden, 2019, Erik Madigan Heck’s ongoing body of work, depicting Heck’s wife and two young sons in a variety of richly colorful surroundings. jacksonfineart.com.