There may be a few gardeners who over the years have kept a secret or two, but as a rule we are sharers. Our gardens are open books, intended to be read, and we know intuitively that the only ideas we have that ever go anywhere are the ones we pass along. This beneficence is really what the American Horticultural Society is all about: spreading the word about the most up-to-date gardening information and sharing knowledge with gardeners new and experienced.

Last fall, for instance, intern Mohamad Chakaki joined us for the last stages of the growing season and stayed on to develop a "conifer walk"-a self-guided tour of the many conifers here at River Farm that he has left for future visitors to enjoy. After completing his work with us in December, he followed the sun to Arizona for a second internship before moving, in April, to still a third internship back here at-of all places-the National Arboretum, where he is specializing in dogwoods and, once again, in conifers.

This is not just a cycle of coincidence. We gardeners often move in the same circles because we have so much to learn from and to teach each other. So I doubt it will come as too much of a surprise if I tell you that Sue Martin is the curator with whom Mohamad is currently working, and that she has a featured article on native conifers in this issue of The American Gardener print copy (see pages 33 to 37).

Our collective resources are truly spectacular, and the generosity of spirit among gardeners makes them accessible to a degree that must be the envy of other disciplines. No two gardens are the same, so there is something to be learned from each.

As for Mohamad, he was back here volunteering at River Farm just the other week as if he'd never been away. When you come right down to it, our world is all one big garden, really, that we work in together, and it's pleasant for all of us to go forward in such good company. m

Janet Walker is director of horticulture at River Farm.