Debra lee baldwin biography definition

You've probably noticed that Jeanne Meadow, "America's Succulent Sweetheart," is magic on camera. She delights in sharing her garden and showing succulents in creative plant-pot pairings. My YouTube channel's12 "Jeanne" videos have had , views; short ones on Instagram, around 66, (#jeannemeadowsgarden). Her love of out-of-the-ordinary plants and one-of-a-kind art pots shines in a new video: Jeanne Meadow's Treasures from the Succulent Show ().

On-screen, Jeanne is a cheerful, carefree, spare-no-expense succulent collector and design expert. But her situation reminds me of what Glen Bell, founder of Taco Bell, told me when we were working on his biography back in the '90s: "Everyone envies me but no one would trade places with me." Glen, who became a multimillionaire after selling Taco Bell to PepsiCo, suffered from Parkinson's.

In at age 50, Jeanne retired when she sold her interest in the medical research company she helped develop. She and husband Barry bought and remodeled a large home on /2 acres in Fallbrook, CA. She dove into gardening, waterwise plants and succulents, and hired Steve McDearmon of Garden Rhythms to design the landscape. In , I wrote about it for Country Gardens, a Better Homes & Gardens' publication. In , Timber Press chose Jeanne's to be one of five noteworthy gardens featured in my book, Designing with Succulents (2nd ed.).

Jeanne is lovely, kind, caring, generous, insightful and down-to-earth. Spending time with her in her world-class garden is one of my favorite things to do. But would I trade places with her? Several years ago, Jeanne was diagnosed with a bone disorder characterized by calcium depletion. (She wryly calls herself "the brittle-bone babe.") It severely limits what she can do, and she's often in pain. She has the best medical care, researches every possible treatment, eats right, and keeps her muscles strong. But were she to bend over or be hugged too hard, her spine could shatter.

Description for Succulent Container GardensHardcover. With their colorful leaves, sculptural shapes, and simple care, succulents are beautiful yet forgiving plants for pots. This title provides what the beginners and experienced gardeners need to know to create the container displays of waterwise plants. Num Pages: pages, color photos. BIC Classification: WMQR. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: x x Weight in Grams:
Define your individual style. With their colorful leaves, sculptural shapes, and simple care, succulents are beautiful yet forgiving plants for pots. If grown in containers, these dry-climate jewels—which include but are not limited to cacti—can be brought indoors in winter and so can thrive anywhere in the world. In this inspiring compendium, the popular author of Designing with Succulents provides everything beginners and experienced gardeners need to know to create stunning container displays of exceptionally waterwise plants. The extensive palette includes delicate sedums, frilly echeverias, cascading senecios, edgy agaves, and fat-trunked beaucarneas, to name just a few. Easy-to-follow, expert tips Read moreexplain soil mixes, overwintering, propagation, and more. Show Less

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Debra Lee Baldwin is an award-winning writer and editor based in Southern California. Throughout her year career, she has authored an inspirational biography, and has written hundreds of feature articles and columns about architecture, homes, gardens, landscaping and interior design, and people who have made significant contributions to our culture. Debra has won awards from the Garden Writers Association of Read moreAmerica, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the San Dieg

Wildfires making national news are a wake-up call for us Southern Californians who live near canyons and wilderness areas. Hot Santa Ana winds blow from the desert, desiccating already stressed plants and threatening to push backcountry brush fires all the way to the sea. We&#;ve had no rain for months and everything is tinder-dry.

My husband and I were evacuated from our home near San Diego during the wildfires of It was just a precaution; the fire never came closer than 11 miles. But for several days, while at our son&#;s house, we watched the news and wondered about the wind. Had it died down? Which direction was it coming from?

After we returned and unpacked two cars loaded with irreplaceables, I read an email from Suzy Schaefer, with the subject line &#;Succulents saved our home!&#; Suzy is the owner of the garden on the cover of my book, Designing with Succulents.  The next day, I visited the Schaefer garden in Rancho Santa Fe and took photos. The story was picked up by the Associated Press, I wrote an article about it for the Los Angeles Times (which is on my website) and Suzy and I were on local television, discussing why succulents are so remarkably fire-retardant.

The wildfire came down a canyon near Suzy&#;s art studio (left). A succulent groundcover stopped the flames and a stand of Aloe arborescens (center) shielded the structure. The collapsed leaves protected the plant&#;s vital inner core, which remained green despite the fire&#;s intense heat.

This is what the canyon looked like the day after the fire.  A home across the street burned to the ground.

This jade plant (Crassula ovata) was in the Schaefer garden. Ironically, the scorched branches look like frost damage. Succulents by definition are plants that withstand drought by storing water in fleshy leaves and stems. This makes them slow to catch on fire. Consequently, they&#;re good perimeter plants for gardens in fireprone areas.

I took this photo the

I recently received this email from a sweet lady who loves succulents and wants to sell her designs: &#;I would love to talk to you sometime, have lunch, and/or communicate via email and get some tips on how I can best develop my business. My passion is creating succulent containers and sharing information on succulents.&#;

If you have a similar dream&#;to express your creativity and sell the results&#;here are suggestions based on my observations of successful succulent container garden designers:

~ Set goals. Define what it is you want to accomplish, i.e. &#;Sell my designs to a high-end clientele within 30 miles of home.&#; Then delineate what steps you plan to take to get there, i.e., &#;Sell at farmers markets, show photos of my designs on my website and social media, and do potting demonstrations for garden clubs.&#; Consider composing arrangements to display, along with your business cards, for your hair salon, dentist&#;s office, nearby succulent specialty nurseries and garden boutiques, upscale restaurants and other small businesses with whom you have a relationship and who serve your target clientele. Find five locations and freshen or change the arrangements weekly.

~ Don&#;t compromise on quality. Everything you do should express who you are, exude confidence, and offer the subliminal assurance that you&#;re WORTH IT. Whatever you&#;re not good at, hire it done. (Consider it an investment, because it is. It&#;s also a tax write-off.) Your website, logo, business cards, social media pages, photos, text&#;even your personal appearance&#;should show your clients that you&#;re the real deal, you&#;re serious about what you do, and you&#;re committed to excellence&#;and therefore they can count on you to provide it. You want them to brag to their friends that they discovered you. Good word-of-mouth is golden.

~ Go the extra mile. Treat your clients like royalty and make them feel special. Gi