Tracy DiSabato-Aust

Tracy DiSabato-Aust, aka "the Queen of Deadheading," has earned international acclaim as one of America's most entertaining and knowledgeable garden writers and professional speakers. She has extensive experience in the United States and abroad, working for over 30 years in the industry, speaking for over 25 years and designing for over 20 years.

Her experience includes stints at Longwood Gardens in the U.S., The Montreal Botanical Garden in Canada, the Kalmthout Arboretum in Belgium, and Knightshayes Court in England. She earned a B.S. and M.S. in Horticulture from The Ohio State University. Her first book, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden, which has been referred to by many as "the bible for perennial maintenance," has become Timber Press' best selling book in their publishing history.

Her second book, The Well-Designed Mixed Garden, brings her trademark exuberance, expertise, and efficiency to bear on frequently daunting elements of garden design, demystifying them with her direct approach. Tracy is a gifted and award winning designer who combines artistic vision with practical horticultural strategies.

DiSabato-Aust is a frequent guest on national garden television and radio gardening shows. She is a dynamic speaker, and in great demand nationally and internationally on the lecture circuit. Venues include England's Royal Horticultural Society Garden, Wisley, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The English Gardening School, the Oxford Botanic Garden, the Smithsonian Institute, the Perennial Plant Association, and numerous botanical gardens and professional association meetings.

She was awarded the 2004 Garden Media Award from the Perennial Plant Association. This award recognizes an individual whose educational and promotional efforts have resulted in a heightened awareness of perennials and the perennial industry.

Tracy has contributed articles or been featured in numerous national and international magazines, books, and newspapers. Magazines include: Fine Gardening (she is a contributing editor), Horticulture, Country Gardens, Garden Gate, Organic Gardening, Midwest Living, American Nurseryman, Real Simple, and Garden Design. The New York Times, the Daily Telegraph in London, England, and the National Post, (Toronto, Canada) have all published articles on Tracy.

When she's not out working in the garden, Tracy is working out in the gym. A self-professed "fitness fanatic," Tracy is a competitive triathlete who also appears in fitness training DVDs. She currently resides in Ohio with her husband and son.

Looking for a speaker for your upcoming event? View Tracy DiSabato-Aust's profile at the Timber Press speakers bureau.

You may also be interested in the author's own Web site, www.TracyLive.com.

Awards for Tracy DiSabato-Aust

• Perennial Plant Association Garden Media Award

 

Interview with Tracy DiSabato-Aust

Timber Press: The first chapter in your new book, The Well-Designed Mixed Garden, is titled "Why a Mixed Garden?" After the success of your first book, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden, why a mixed garden book?

Tracy DiSabato-Aust: I felt there was a need for a current book about mixed gardens that would provide information as well as inspiration about design and dispel the mystery that often surrounds it. As I toured and lectured with my first book, I sensed a need for more education, not just about perennials but about a wide palette of plants and, most importantly, not just about the plants but about how to properly bring a variety of plants together in artfully designed mixed gardens. Also, because I have a passion for so many different kinds of plants, as well as a love for color and design, it was fun for me to have a chance to share that passion through my writing and, soon, through my speaking.

TP: Your statement in the preface – "Being a plant nerd had its benefits!" – attests to the unusual nature of your choice of study among college students. Take us back to the initial crossroads. What inspired you to study horticulture?

TD: I fell in love with plants in high school because of a storage room that my botany teacher had turned into a plant room full of tropical plants under fluorescent lighting. It was a magical place to me. I was particularly fascinated by a large dumb cane [Dieffenbachia]. I thought the huge leaves were incredible. I started working in a nursery at that time, primarily with houseplants, but I soon moved into all the other areas. I loved it. Answering customer questions was a great way to learn, and I would study plant books during my lunch breaks and any free time I had. Everyone I worked with was much older, and they took time to teach me a lot. I was considering a major either in horticulture or child psychology, so I got books out of the library on both topics. My brother-in-law, who is a psychologist, saw the piles of books, ten on plants, two or so on psychology, and he said, "I think that shows your choice." He was right! I actually got a dual degree in my undergraduate work, in horticulture and education, and I worked for some time when I got out of school teaching horticulture to children with special needs.

TP: Is your step-by-step approach to gardening design, depicted in your book, something you learned early on or a principle you have cultivated over time?

TD: I started designing gardens for people when I was still in high school, and I had a basic feel for it. I actually learned the steps early in my college career, but, like any art, it has developed over time with various experiences. My work in England 20 years ago was fantastic – it helped me develop an initial design style. As with most designers, my style and focus have continued to develop over the years.

TP: The charts, lists, and illustrations in your new book have been described as a "feast for the eyes." How did you decide to use these approaches?

TD: I wanted the illustrations, including the photographs in the book, to be as artistic as possible yet also as instructive as possible. Because garden design is so visual, the illustrations needed to have great aesthetic appeal. I wanted to explain color, for example, using models of plants that we as gardeners can relate to. Again, with the charts and lists, I felt there was a need for a reference that would provide thorough information on plants as they related to design and, of course, maintenance. I modeled them in the way that I as a designer and gardener would use them during the process of putting a garden together. They are actually a reference in themselves – I hope they will be used on a regular basis by our readers.

TP: Your book is sprinkled with encouragement for the reader. How do you maintain enthusiasm in the garden when it is not having a "good hair day"?

TD: I always tell my audiences when I speak that they shouldn't be intimidated when they see all the pretty pictures at garden lectures or in books. They need to remember we normally show our gardens or our clients' gardens only on "good hair days"! In reality they don't always look great, and I often say to visitors that it may be best to view the gardens from the porch, a distance. After all, isn't this the nature of all living things? Do we look great all the time? It only helps us appreciate even more the "good hair days"!

TP: Tell us about working with the artists who did your book's beautiful plant illustrations.

TD: For me, working with the artists and the illustrations for the book was one of the most fun aspects of its creation. To have the opportunity to work with such talented artists as Megan H. King and Stacey Renee Peters was a great experience, and I feel very fortunate to have had their involvement. The illustrations and watercolors that they did really convey the emotion of my work in a way that I didn't think was possible. Stacey, one of my watercolor teachers, assisted tremendously with the color theory information as well as providing the watercolors for that chapter. Megan was responsible for the watercolor and color-pencil renderings of my designs. Given the complexity of the plant material and designs, this was a huge undertaking. Her success helps to bring the gardens to life on the pages in a way that I have never seen before.

TP: Are you interested in interior design as well as garden design? Surely many design considerations overlap, except for the living nature of plants.

TD: Yes, I am interested in interior design, and that interest continues to grow. However, my focus is normally outside — when I am inside, I'm particularly fond of the interior space that we created in our conservatory. It has cobalt-blue tile with bright accent tiles, yellow walls with red windowsills, purple raised beds and plant benches, and a sand-colored concrete floor to mimic the Caribbean, where we go to windsurf. It has wonderful energy with the colors and the plants, particularly on a drab winter day. Our interior spaces are married to our gardens, and so the theme in the gardens carries into our home and vice versa.

TP: How did you select the highlighted gardens that are photographed for your book?

TD: I wanted to select gardens that were of various sizes, styles, and functions to give the reader as many ideas as possible to fit with their design objectives. Even if they have a small space, they can select a small vignette from one of the large gardens that will work for their needs.

TP: "With art in the garden, no rules are the rule, so enjoy!" Explain what you mean by this statement.

TD: I think art in the garden is a very personal thing, and people should express themselves and, most of all, have fun. "Rules" in art or design in general give us guidelines or boundaries so we can then choose how far "outside the lines" we want to go.

Books by Tracy DiSabato-Aust

 

Upcoming Tracy DiSabato-Aust events

Northwest Flower and Garden show
February 21, 2009  11:45 a.m.

Seattle, Washington

Tracy Disabato-Aust will give a talk on "The Art of Pruning Perennials ."

Contact: Janet L. Endsley janet@gardenshow.com

Tracy Disabato-Aust at Al's Garden Center
February 22, 2009  Noon–3 p.m.

Al's Garden Center, Portland, Oregon

Disabato-Aust will give a talk on the subject of her new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants.

Contact: Emma Alpaugh ealpaugh@timberpress.com

Middleburg Horticultural Symposium
February 28, 2009  1–4 p.m.

1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe, Illinois

Tracy Disabato-Aust will give a talk on the subject of her new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants.

Contact: Elaine Burden Elaineburden1@aol.com

Philadelphia Flower Show
March 2, 2009  11:30 a.m.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Disabato-Aust will give a talk on the subject of her new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants.

Contact: Marilyn Reynolds 215-988-8800 mreynolds@pennhort.org

Tracy Disabato-Aust at Phipps Conservatory
March 14, 2009  9 a.m.

Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Disabato-Aust will give a talk on the subject of her new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants.

Contact: Nancy Knauss NKnauss@phipps.conservatory.org

Tracy Disabato-Aust at Tohono Chul Park
March 20, 2009  2 p.m.

Tohono Chul Park, Tuscon, Arizona

Disabato-Aust will give a talk on "Designing with Color and Texture for Visionary Effects."

Contact: Jo Falls 520-742-6455 x228 jofalls@tohonochulpark.org

Tracy Disabato-Aust at the Columbus Museum of Art
March 28, 2009  9 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Rochester Civic Garden Center, Rochester, New York

Disabato-Aust will give a talk on the subject of her new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Plants.

Contact: Christine Frolick rcgccf@frontiernet.net

Tracy Disabato-Aust at the Columbus Museum of Art
March 29, 2009  9 a.m.

Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio

Disabato-Aust will give a talk on "High-Impact, Low-Care Plants for the Artistic or Not-So-Artistic Gardener."

Contact: Nancy Johnson Nancy.Johnson@cmaohio.org

Tracy Disabato-Aust at Arnold Arboretum
April 2, 2009  7-8:30 p.m.

Boston, Massachusetts

Disabato-Aust will give a talk on the subject of her new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants.

Contact: Carol Ely carole@c-ely.net

Tracy Disabato-Aust at the Toronto Botanical Garden
April 15, 2009  7 p.m.

Toronto Botanical Garden, Toronto, Ontario

Disabato-Aust will give a talk on the subject of her new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants.

Contact: Rebecca Golding programs@torontobotanicalgarden.ca

Tracy Disabato-Aust at the Idaho Botanical Garden
November 7, 2009

2355 N Old Penitentiary Rd., Boise, Idaho

Disabato-Aust will give a talk on the subject of her new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants.

Contact: Elizabeth Dickey 208-343-8649 Elizabeth@idahobotanicalgarden.org

Tracy Disabato-Aust with the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons
December 13, 2009  2 p.m.

Bridgehampton, New York

Disabato-Aust will give a talk on the subject of her new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants.

Contact: Charlie Savage archibooks@optonline.net