Desig House: Let our editor introduce you to the April Issue

Our April issue is out. Let our editor Hatta Byng talk you through the highlights...

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Houses need flowers. Growing up, my mother arranged flowers for parties, and having flowers in the house - whether it be pots of hydrangeas in carefully collected containers, a large arrangement, or a simple vase of roses and blossom on the kitchen table - has always been important to her, and therefore to me. The nicest sort are those picked from your own garden, but ideally you do not want to leave your borders denuded. So, in this issue is the first in a series that I hope will appeal to many of you, even if only to fuel a pipe dream: our garden editor Clare Foster explains how to grow flowers specifically for cutting. Not only are the photographs beautiful, but the series - using the expertise of Rachel Siegfried who runs her own flower farm - is also brilliantly instructive. Follow it, or the potted guide in 'Outside interests', and you should have flowers from April right into the autumn for picking.

The joy of a productive garden is a theme this month, befitting a spring issue. Aaron Bertelsen, vegetable gardener at Great Dixter in Sussex, shares some of the recipes from his new book inspired by the crop he grows. They are delicious looking, wholesome and not too tricky as he's a home cook, not a trained chef. I have a mental block about baking - I can't remember when I last baked a cake. But he's inspired me to give beetroot and chocolate cake a go. Meanwhile, I'm impressed by furniture designer Jake Phipps, the subject of this month's 'Lifestyle', who has proved that moving to the deepest darkest countryside - in his case Yorkshire - can enable rather than hinder the creation of innovative, cutting-edge, even glamorous pieces. And I'm envious of Emily Tobin, our deputy features editor, and the photographer, Andrew Montgomery, who were able to delve, for a day, into the world of the wallpaper conservator Allyson McDermott, witnessing her work first hand.

Finally, this time last year I hosted a conversation at __design Centre, Chelsea Harbour with Jason Oliver Nixon and John Loecke of the __design firm Madcap Cottage. These two American interior designers are known for their whimsical use of colour and heady mix of pattern. Think wallpapered ceilings, painted striped floors and numerous different patterns packed into one room, all fastidiously executed and pulled together. It is no mean feat. And it is not for the faint-hearted. In this issue we show their house in North Carolina. I admire their vision and verve for life and all things interiors related.