I am so proud of my new gardening book, Homegrown Pantry, which will be out in late March. The team at Storey Publishing has worked hard to create a truly wonderful volume, brought to life by the awesome photgraphy of Kip Dawkins. It’s almost ready to go to the printer, and I am so excited to share my lifetime of gardening, cooking and preservation of delicious things to eat. |  Life is full of mysteries, but one thing I know for sure. We are meant to enjoy each day that we spend on Earth, which happens quite naturally when you nurture a garden. |
| I have the best job in the world: Contributing editor to Mother Earth News and Mother Earth Living magazines.Author of books to help gardeners grow along with their gardens.Lecturer to garden clubs, shows, botanical gardens, Master Gardener organizations, and the wonderful Mother Earth News Fairs.Cool horticultural assignments from random companies and magazines that stretch me in new directions. Some lovely awards hang on my office wall: Honorary Alabama Master GardenerFirst runner-up to the Herald Award, given by the American Nursery and Landscape AssociationTwo-time winner of Garden Writers Quill and Trowel Award in magazine writing2002 and 2009 winner of the Garden Writers Garden Globe Award in book writing for Garden Stone and The Complete Compost Gardening Guide, both from Storey Publishing.2005 Distinguished Alumni of the Year, New College, University of Alabama2012 Silver Award of Achievement from the Garden Writers Association for magazine column – my Gardening Know-How column in Mother Earth News.2012 Silver Award of Achievement from the Garden Writers Association for electronic media – my twice monthly blog at GrowVeg.com. Before all that, I grew up and got an education: Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. Graduated from Davidson High School in 1971. More trivia: I attended Leinkauf Elementary School, now recognized as the oldest still-standing elementary school in Alabama.B.S. from University of Alabama, followed by two years working as a mental health counselor in New Orleans, Louisiana.Master of Social Work from the University of Alabama, followed by five years working child welfare in Tuscaloosa and Huntsville, Alabama. Then I learned the craft of writing and changed careers: Contributing Editor to Organic Gardening magazine, 1984 to 1990. Contributor to numerous books, including Gardening for Dummies, The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, Seed to Seed, and The Gardener’s Home Companion.Author of four books for the National Home Gardening Club: Container Gardens, Annual Flowers, Gardening Essentials, and Better Gardens, Less Work.Author of Lawns and Groundcovers and Beds and Borders in the Southern Living Gardening Guide Series; the series book on Container Gardening co-authored with Lois Trigg Chaplin. In my spare time: I love to cook, hike, read, and of course, garden! After living in the mountains western North Carolina I moved to Floyd, Virginia, within whistling distance of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have a grown daughter, two dogs, two cats, and six chickens. I plan to get more chickens in the spring! .  |