Debra Lee Baldwin specializes in showing how top floral, landscape and garden designers use dynamic, sculptural succulents in a wide variety of eye-catching applications.

Her own garden, featured in Sunset and Better Homes & Gardens, is in the foothills northeast of San Diego, where temps range from below freezing to upwards of 100 degrees.

Succulents, Debra explains, “are plants that drink responsibly. They store water in fleshy leaves and stems to survive dry spells, like when you forget to water them. They’re a terrific option for good-looking, low-maintenance landscapes and containers.”

Debra, a garden photojournalist, got her start writing about homes, gardens, architecture and interior design for the San Diego Union-Tribune, then went on to scout, write and shoot for major magazines. In 2005, her editor at Sunset suggested she do a book on succulents. “That changed my life,” Debra says.

Her first gardening book, Designing with Succulents (Timber Press, 2007) is credited with launching worldwide interest in succulent plants. The second edition of Designing with Succulents (Timber Press, 2017) is “basically a brand new book,” Baldwin says. “It had to be. An awful lot has happened in the world of succulents and design since the title’s initial release.” Illustrated with 400 photos---100 more than the first edition---it encapsulates the essentials of the original along with a decade’s worth of appealing and innovative ideas.

Succulent Container Gardens (Timber Press, 2010), also a bestseller, makes it possible for anyone, anywhere, to grow whatever succulents they like. "Succulents are shallow-rooted and thrive in containers," Debra says. "Simply move and shelter them when the weather turns too cold, hot or wet."

Her third top-seller, Succulents Simplified: Growing, Designing and Crafting with 100 Easy-Care Varieties (Timber Press, 2013), introduces the best succulents for gardens and containers, explains how to grow and use them, and gives step-by-step methods for design-oriented projects. “Succulents Simplified is a guide for novice enthusiasts, a quick reference for anyone seeking a good overview, and a vehicle for design ideas I’m excited about,” Debra says.

In 2017, Debra was honored as "Horticulturist of the Year" by the San Diego Horticultural Society. Around the same time, her YouTube views soared past 3,000,000. In addition to books and videos, Debra shares her photos and expertise via articles, blog posts, newsletters, a 7-lesson Craftsy class, and on her website (www.debraleebaldwin.com). She is an in-demand speaker on the horticultural circuit and keeps in daily contact with succulent enthusiasts worldwide via email and Facebook.

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