U. Maryland Garden Teaches, Feeds, and Solves Runoff
This garden on the campus of the University of Maryland isn't about prettifying the campus, though it IS an improvement. It's about teaching students how to grow food, manage stormwater [...]
Susan Harris
Susan’s a garden writer, teacher and activist in the Washington, D.C. area. Co-founder of GardenRant, she also wrote for national gardening magazines and independent garden centers before retiring in 2014. Now she has time for these projects:
- Founding the pro-science educational nonprofit Good Gardening Videos that finds and promotes the best videos on YouTube for teaching people to garden.
- Creating DC Gardens, the nonprofit campaign to promote the public gardens of the Washington, D.C. area, and gardening by locals.
- Creating and editing the nonprofit website Greenbelt Online to serve her adopted hometown of Greenbelt, Maryland (a “New Deal Utopia” founded in 1937).
Susan rants about anything that misinforms or discourages gardeners – from old-school quacks to mistaken do-gooders to local laws that mandate conformity.
Contact Susan via email or by leaving a comment on one of her articles.
Plant-Based Seasons Greetings at the U.S. Botanic Garden
This time of year, visitors entering the U.S. Botanic Garden get this rather somber view of the U.S. Capitol across the street. Inside, from now until New Year's Day, the [...]
Houseplanters Who Do YouTube
Monika's houseplant-filled terrace somewhere in India The article "Meet the Plantfluencers" in the New York Times seemed to demonstrate that the much-pursued Millennials DO garden - just not [...]
That Day I Thought Gardening had Given me a Heart Attack
The other day I was working in this garden, digging up and planting large clumps of these Black-eyed Susans, when my body suddenly scared the bejesus out of me. My [...]
High Line Now a Completed Work of Art
I first visited the High Line - New York's famous elevated park along an abandoned railroad track - in 2013 when it was new and incomplete but already stunning, especially in [...]
The Campus Gardens of a Real Plant Geek, with Friends
Horticulturist Sam Bahr, like so many people who work at the University of Maryland, is someone I first met as a neighbor in nearby Historic Greenbelt. He got his coveted job [...]
The Grand Gardens of Baltimore
Baltimore may be best known nationally for its murder rate and The Wire on HBO, but in horticulture circles it's known for plants and gardens. So I happily signed up for [...]
On the Dissing of “Ornamental Plants”
Anyone else bothered by the term "ornamental" to distinguish certain plants from those that are considered useful, usually edibles? For example,Wikipedia uses this petunia to illustrate the term and offers this [...]
“Invasive” Ground Covers and the Case for Allowing Periwinkle
I have a beef with the inclusion of Periwinkle (Vinca minor) on my coop's list of banned plants - banned because they're considered invasive (despite NOT being listed on [...]
Eco-Landscaping at 2 Libraries – a Hit and a Miss
In my quest for examples of low-maintenance, more eco-friendly civic landscapes, two libraries near me were recommended by Scott Aker, head of gardens at the National Arboretum and a former resident [...]
How to Stop Using Bedding Annuals in City Landscapes
Help! My town really could use some examples of alternatives to bedding annuals for its civic landscapes, alternatives that are more sustainable and better-looking to the modern eye. (I know, [...]
Finally! Perfect Privacy Screen Hides my Ugly View
The townhouse I moved into 6 years ago came with a rather junky spot just beyond my back yard, marring my view from the house, porch and garden. So began [...]