Books
A GardenComm silver award winner, The Less is More Garden is packed with design strategies uniquely suited to smaller spaces, including detailed breakdowns of successful garden layouts, targeted plant lists and real-life ideas for making a small garden feel larger. Beyond maximizing space, the book shows you how to incorporate the crucial elements that make a small space stand out–from scent, movement and color to planting strategies that ensure a garden shines in every season.
Filled with design tips, plant ideas and over 200 photos, Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces, offers inspiration and how-to information for enhancing any outdoor space with vertical elements. An Amazon “Best Books of 2011” selection.
Susan is one of the contributing editors of this Fine Gardening anthology. From the back cover: This collection of the best of the best from the editors of Fine Gardening magazine teaches you the most popular design ideas and easy planting solutions for creating gardens with less dirt and less square footage than you ever imagined.
Speaker
Susan speaks frequently in the Bay Area and across the country to garden clubs, botanical gardens and master gardener groups on garden design and plant selection.
Be Your Own Designer – Secrets of the Pros
In this presentation, Susan takes the most valuable ideas she’s developed through years of client consultations and distills them down into easily actionable advice. She’ll share the important design step that should never be skipped, planting strategies for special situations and guidelines for creating effective focal points. Illustrated with real-life garden makeovers and inspiring photographs, Susan’s advice will help you see your garden with fresh eyes, whether you are planning a major landscape renovation, or looking for a few simple ideas to take your current garden to a new level.
Design Solutions for Small Spaces
How do you make a small garden seem larger? What do you do with awkward spaces? How can you make a garden uniquely your own? Geared towards both small-space gardeners and those with intimate areas tucked into larger gardens, Susan includes from-the-ground up solutions, as well as simple, budget-friendly touches that can be implemented immediately. Featuring inspiring photographs and step-by-step garden makeovers, this presentation will leave you with a wealth of new ideas.
Adding Drama – Creating a Sensory Garden
Whether your garden is your respite from the working world, the family activity center or an entertainment mecca, there’s always room to add drama! Taking her inspiration from a wealth of sources (even vampire movies!), Susan shares planting and lighting strategies that amp up the volume, tips on creating a four-season garden even when space is tight, and most importantly, how to create a garden that feeds the senses.
Designing with Ornamental Grasses and Groundcovers
Ornamental grasses and ground covers are fast becoming the workhorses of the well-designed garden. Based on articles written for Fine Gardening, Susan Morrison shares some of her favorite choices for California gardens, as well as design strategies for incorporating grasses into traditional landscapes, and purposefully using these versatile plants to solve garden dilemmas like erosion control, hot dry sites, lawn alternatives and more. (Note this presentation is geared to Bay Area audiences only)
Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces
More than just living walls, vertical gardening techniques can be used to turn ordinary fences into focal points, disguise eyesores – even grow vegetables! Susan presents highlights and images from her best-selling book, Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces. She’ll also provide an overview of some of the systems available for adding a touch of living art to any garden plan.
What people are saying:
“A ++ Great and amusing speaker, plus she gave us some very creative ideas for the garden.”
Mary Lu, Pleasant Hill Garden Club, California
“Not only was Susan knowledgeable, energized, and extremely interesting, she impressed 82 Master Gardeners with her presentation. In turn, there was a standing ovation for her.”
Pat Voss, Master Gardener, Napa California
“Susan is a veteran speaker at garden shows and not only is she whip-smart about her various topics, she has a wicked sense of humor.”
Boise Flower and Garden Show