Who is Garden Diva?

She’s Doreen Howard, a nationally-acclaimed magazine editor, writer and photographer who specializes in lifestyle, food and gardening.  Her presentations are crowd-pleasers at major garden shows across the country.

Doreen Howard was the Garden Editor at Woman’s Day from 1996 to June 2002, where she learned exactly what it takes to excite 27 million monthly readers—concise text, plenty of outstanding photographs, appealing anecdotes and tips found nowhere else.  It’s a winning format that she uses in her books, guest appearances and magazine articles.  Currently, she edits and writes for special interest publications from Woman’s Day and Harris Publishing, including Gardening & Deck Design 2007, Indoor Gardening 2007, Container Gardening 2006 and Easy-Care Landscaping 2005. 

She occasionally writes a column (One on One with….) for The American Gardener, from the American Horticultural Society in which she profiles a significant figure in the horticultural world.  Her article in the same magazine, Mighty Mycorrhizae, won the 2006 GWA Silver Trowel Award for magazine writing.  She also writes regularly for The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Guide, Midwest Living, Mother Earth News, Green Profit and Gardening How-To.   

Howard is accustomed to public speaking, as she does at least six garden show appearances every spring and speaks nationally in behalf of Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR). She speaks before audiences that range from small groups of 50 to nearly 2,000 at events such as GWAA symposiums, the Philadelphia Flower Show and Gardenscape.  She has appeared on NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates in major cities such as Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Chicago and Milwaukee, either as an interviewee or featured guest.  Howard co-authored the PAR cookbook, which is available to all soup kitchens, America’s Second Harvest food pantries and can be downloaded for free. She also appeared in the public service video on Plant a Row that ran periodically on HGTV.

Besides My Mother’s Garden (Penguin March 2005), she wrote Cooking for Cash (American Media 1993) about how to win a cooking contest.  The book sold 200,000 copies.  In 1997, she collaborated with Betty Mackey and Barbara Pleasant to write Container Gardening (North America Media Group 1997), which sold more than 75,000 copies.  She’s also wrote food and lifestyle chapters in Bon Appétit’s Easy Entrees (Knapp 1997) and Seasons in the Home—Winter (North America Media Group 2005).

Howard has a B.S. in Chemistry from CaliforniaStateUniversity at Los Angeles and worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for 15 years and left the Houston Chronicle in 1992 to specialize in garden communication.  She lives on a glacier moraine near the Wisconsin-Illinois border.

Garden Diva's Lecture Topics

All programs include a slide or Power Point  presentation, extensive information, handouts for the audience and door prizes.

Easy-Care Landscaping

Start from scratch or redo a portion of your yard with fast techniques that create sustainable landscaping that will last for decades with minimal maintenance.  Build a flower bed in 30 minutes, add color with shrubs, create fast curb appeal, make your lawn no-care and more.

Beautiful Edibles

Russian Banana Fingerlings and Red and All Blue heirloom potatoes

How to grow and savor luscious vegetables and fruit.  Green and gold striped tomatoes, blue sweet corn, orange peppers that look like rosebuds, pearly white currants—the plants we eat are as beautiful as any peony, rose or delphinium.  And, they are tasty.  Savor apples with pineapple aroma and flavor, black tomatoes with the complexity of fine wine or lemon cucumbers more refreshing than iced tea on a hot summer day.  Heirloom and unusual varieties are covered, as is a brief primer on building soil for maximum fertility.

Roses Anyone Can Grow

Roses have changed, and it’s about time!  No longer are they the intimidating prima donnas of the garden.  New varieties available in the last five years are easier to plant, maintain and enjoy.  Gone are the days when endless pruning, spraying and dusting are required to produce a vase full of perfect roses.  Easy care tips, the best varieties, landscaping ideas and how to grow roses successfully in containers are covered.

Container Gardening

Containers have become the flower beds of this millennium due to time constraints and their versatility.  Tropical gardens and exotic plants once relegated to greenhouses are now possible with containers, too.  Besides the basics, this program includes new plants on the market, picking the right pot, how to make your own planting soil and over-wintering containers in cold climates.

Yo-Yo Ma’s Music Garden

The world-acclaimed musician set out in 1986 to interpret the six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello composed in 1700’s by J.S. Bach with various artistic methods.  His first thought was to use nature to mirror the music.  Taking the concept further, Ma collaborated with landscape designer Julie Merservy of Boston.  Together, they created the MusicGarden, based on Suite No. 1 for Unaccompanied Cello.  It sits on the shore of Lake Ontario with the spectacular skyline of Toronto behind it.  This slide presentation shows all six movements, from the Prelude to the Gigue, as they are interpreted with plant materials and hardscape.

Rates are dependent upon group size.  Non-profits are given consideration.  Travel expenses and/or mileage are expected for venue more than 50 miles in distance.

Contact:

Doreen G. Howard

Email: gardendiva@charter.net