Have you seen this beautiful orchid on the newsstands yet? It’s the July/August issue of Northern Gardener, which features a story on the use of purple (my favorite garden color!) in the garden by veteran writer Susan Davis Price. Photos by the wonderful Jennifer Simonson are of a St. Paul garden where the color purple predominates.

In addition to the purple story, Rhonda Fleming Hayes did a piece on growing unusual berries — gooseberry is the one I want to try. We also had contributions from two garden center owners and expert plantsmen. Martin Stern wrote about what to do when plants are just a bit too hardy and Mike Heger covered the growing variety of varieties of coral bells, a.k.a., Heuchera.

You can find the issue at garden centers all around the state, at Barnes and Noble stores and at Byerly’s and Lund’s grocery stores. Check it out!

—Mary Lahr Schier