// LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Growing up, gardening was a chore. On summer afternoons, my father would summon me from my air-conditioned comfort in front of the TV to join him at his sun-drenched plot, where I weeded, watered, and helped pick what seemed a never-ending harvest of corn, potatoes, onions, and watermelons. I considered it such a hassle—the heat, the insects, the heavy sacks of tomatoes and zucchini I had no interest in eating—but even as a moody 15-year-old, I couldn’t help but respect my father’s uncanny ability to work magic with the soil.

Now? Gardening is my jam. I tend kale and tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers in a plot of my own (thanks, @peterson garden), and watching it all grow under the Chicago sun has become one of the highlights of my summer.

That’s the joy of life in this town: We’re an urban jungle, but also a gigantic garden with green space for days—and summer sees Chicago at its most verdant, from the expanse of Grant Park to the planters lining Michigan Avenue. Our motto may be “City in a Garden,” but come summer it may as well be “Garden of Eden” for as lush, alive, and downright paradisical as the city feels.

In this issue, we celebrate those great green spaces, and everything that makes peak season in Chicago beyond compare: buzzy new food and drink destinations like Marisol at the MCA (page 65); trendy new fashions like streetwear from Joe Freshgoods (page 92); and eight wildly over-the-top ways to fill your days, from helicopter tours to air balloon rides—even glamping on Northerly Island (page 68). Whether you’re a gardener or not, this summer there’s no place else you’ll want to be.