Doing question-and-answer shows on live radio is truly living on "the edge." One never knows what the next subject will be. Even after more than 40 years of experience with this medium-from my first gardening Q-and-A show on a local station in Morrisville, North Carolina, to the current monthly features I am doing on National Public Radio-I continue to be amazed at the range of questions I am confronted with.

Our magazine this month confronts a similarly challenging range of gardening topics; fortunately we are able to rely on some of the most knowledgeable and talented horticulturists and garden writers around.

If you were looking for advice on the best native conifers for American gardens, you could hardly do better than to ask Susan Martin, curator of the conifer collections at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D. C. In addition to providing descriptions and growing advice for 10 stately North American conifers, Martin lists compact cultivars best suited for smaller gardens.

Thinning boxwoods at this time of the year is the best way to keep them healthy. With the help of the professional arborists who take care of the trees and shrubs at the American Horticultural Society's River Farm headquarters, we provide tips and step-by-step instructions on properly pruning boxwoods.

Since this is also the time of year all gardeners are looking for plants that add color to the garden, we bring you garden writer Kathy Fisher's article on shrubs that display colorful berries in fall and winter. Not only will these shrubs light up the landscape, they will provide a food source for wildlife during the lean winter months.

Some of the shrubs Fisher profiles were among the many native plants first collected in the wild by American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. As we approach the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark's epic journey through the American West, Associate Editor Rita Pelczar recounts the important role these explorers played in our horticultural heritage.

Speaking of journeys, if you haven't made your winter travel plans yet, author Rick Darke's article on Bok Tower Gardens may convince you to consider Lake Wales, Florida, as a destination. Darke reveals how this prominent public garden has achieved a successful confluence of horticulture and art.

In the final installment of our Millennium Focus series, we review the influence of climate on North American gardening during the 20th century and look ahead at what the next century may hold. While regional weather patterns have been rather unsettled in the last few years, you may be surprised to learn what our meteorological expert has to say about the big picture.

Consider this and all issues of The American Gardener your "life line" to gardening. We are always trying to anticipate what will interest you and provide the latest information you need to be successful and environmentally responsible gardeners.

Ever in green and purple,

H. Marc Cathey, AHS President Emeritus