Suzanne DeJohn Cambridge, VT New England Editor "I love plants." It's as simple as that. Suzanne describes her fascination with all things botanical as encompassing a curiosity about the natural world and a passion for the science that explains what she sees, all wrapped up in an aesthetic sensibility that inspires her to find beauty in the simplest expressions of nature. "As gardeners, we must take our cues from nature and follow the principles that govern healthy ecosystems. It's the only way to create an environment that can sustain us now and for generations to come." In 2008, after five years of enjoying the six-month growing seasons of Western North Carolina, Suzanne and her husband decided to move back home to chilly northwestern Vermont to be closer to friends and family. As they did in NC, she and her husband now run a small, pet-friendly bed and breakfast -- Suzanne's B&B, in the picturesque village of Cambridge, Vermont -- and she hopes to start a small cut flower business on the property. Suzanne has worn a variety of hats in her thirteen years with the National Gardening Association, including work in the education, editorial, and IT departments. She coordinated NGA's online question and answer service for six years, and has answered literally thousands of gardening questions. Convinced that gardeners are curious and love to learn, she was inspired to create the Exploring the Garden series of in-depth, online courses that teach the principles of botany in the context of the garden. Suzanne also does Web- and print-based graphic design work for NGA, takes photos for the Web sites, and creates illustrations to accompany articles. Suzanne recently revised Organic Gardening for Dummies. Suzanne's varied background includes a BS in geology from Tufts; University courses in botany, soils, and plant pathology; a stint as a research assistant in plant pathology; and several years as a self-employed artist and graphic designer. She's worked on a landscape crew, as well as on a dairy farm and an organic vegetable farm, and spent several years as a cook at a natural foods store. The common themes running through these seemingly disparate vocations are plants, beauty, nature, and healthy food. Suzanne strives for balance in her life by combining time spent outdoors in her gardens with time spent at the computer, communicating what she has learned about plants and gardening.

The beauty of summer-blooming bulbs backed by colorful fall foliage is short-lived; the evening after I took this photo, we had a hard frost. Beets are nutritious, easy to grow and cook, and are perfect for pickling and canning. A bouquet of homegrown sunflowers brightens our breakfast table. One of my favorite flowers is baptisia, also known as false indigo.

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