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Susan Calhoun is a certified landscape designer with over 25 years of experience in projects ranging from private residences to commercial and show gardens.  She has a strong connection to her community and uses sustainable practices, “green” materials, and recycled products to open new avenues for her business.

Designer, Writer, & Speaker

Susan Calhoun

A “Plantswoman,” by definition, is someone with a passion for plants and their cultivation. Susan Calhoun, president and principal designer of Plantswoman Design, is just that: someone passionate about plants and their cultivation. An avid gardener in her own right, Susan is continually on the hunt for noteworthy and unusual plants that make an otherwise ordinary landscape stand out from the rest. You can see that passion in her designs and her writing.

Susan Calhoun is a certified landscape designer with over 25 years of experience in projects ranging from private residences to commercial and show gardens. She has a strong connection to her community and uses sustainable practices, “green” materials, and recycled products to open new avenues for her business.

When not in her own garden, Susan has been helping homeowners for over 25 years across Puget Sound create stunning green spaces that exceed expectations. Training first in Seattle, then in the UK at Harlow Carr Botanical Garden. She is Certified by WALP and WSNLA. Susan stays up to date on the latest gardening and landscape innovations and employs sustainable gardening principles. Her work has been featured in Sunset Magazine, Fine Gardening Magazine, Monrovia Blog, and many other national and local publications. Susan has been a long-time contributor to the Northwest Flower & Garden Show creating award-winning gardens for seven years.

Susan joined the elite club of garden writers in 2020 with a full 8 page feature about a garden on Bainbridge Island for Fine Gardening Magazine. Since then, several of her gardens have been featured in the print magazine as full-sized articles written by her. Expanding to Regional reports – Northwest Region for the on-line magazine she writes twice a month, as well as numerous contributions to Tool Shed, Plant profile features, and What the Experts are Growing features.

Communicating how important and fulfilling gardening can be is very important to her. One of her highest compliments is when a client says ‘You made a gardener out of me’. By creating outdoor spaces that encourage and calm she wants to reduce the impact our busy world has on clients by immersing them in the natural world. Including spaces for pollinators, animals, and native forest dwellers in the planning and planting of her gardens also offsets our impact on the natural world.
Keeping it that way with ongoing advice on organic solutions for pests and fertilizers ensures that the new gardens continue to contribute to our eco-system.

Education

Degree in Horticulture and Landscape Design, 1998
South Seattle Community College

Garden Internship, 1998
RHS Garden Harlow Carr, England

Associations

Washington State Nursery and Landscaper’s Association
Washington Association of Landscape Professionals
Garden Writers Association
Garden Writers of America

Honors and Awards

Northwest Flower and Garden Show

  • 2009 – Sustainable Patio Garden Feature
  • 2010 – Natural Swimming Pond with Bog Filter, Silver Metal
  • 2011 – Display Garden, Bronze Metal
  • 2013 – Display Garden, Gold Metal
  • 2014 – Display Garden, Gold Metal
  • 2016 – Display Garden, Silver Metal
  • 2017 – Display Garden, Silver Metal
  • 2020- Display Garden Silver Metal

Home Plus Magazine Top 50 Landscape Designers – 2000 and 2001

Public Speaking

Presentations

  • Woodinville Garden Club on Bio Diversity in the Garden
  • Morgan Stanley Customer Appreciation Day in Bremerton Convention Center, August 22.
  • Northwest Flower and Garden Show 2016 – Carpet Gardening.

Interviews

  • ‘Growing a Greener World’ series on PBS
    • Interviews and presentation of garden installations.
  • King 5 Evening Magazine regarding weather changes.
  • Plant Talk with Steve Aiken from Fine Gardening Magazine

Publications

Features

  • Sunset Magazine – 8 separate features
  • Walls, Walks and Patio and Outdoor Living, 2007
  • Features in the LA Times, Vancouver Sun, Bremerton Sun, West Sound Home and Gardens, and the Seattle Times
  • Plantswoman Design Blog – Weekly blog at plantswomandesign.com
  • Fine Gardening Magazine – Regional Picks: Plant Pick 2013
  • Fine Gardening Magazine – Regional Picks: Plant Combinations 2015
  • Fine Gardening Magazine – “Keeping it Low “ 7 page feature. 2016
  • Fine Gardening Magazine – Dry Shade Done Simply 2020 6 pages
  • Fine Gardening Magazine – Designing a Shade Garden with Deer 2021
    7 page feature
  • Fine Gardening Magazine – Designing a Garden within the Woods 8 page feature. August 2022
  • Fine Gardening Regional reporter for Pacific Northwest Region 2019- present – twice monthly articles for on-line magazine
  • Several more 1 page features for Fine Gardening.

Fine Gardening Magazine

Susan is a regular contributor to Fine Gardening Magazine.  Head over to www.finegardening.com to see more from Susan's work and expertise.

Let Susan and Plantswoman Design help you with your garden!

Address: PO Box 10505, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Phone: 206.842.2453 or 360.394.2453
Email: info@plantswomandesign.com