Read Debra's blog!

William Wright

Debra Prinzing is a Southern California-based writer who can credit her happy existence writing about gardens and home design to great preparation: a degree in textiles and design and a long career in journalism.

She is the author of The Abundant Garden, created with photographer Barbara J. Denk (Cool Springs Press, 2005). With more than 200 color photographs and intimate interviews with talented gardeners, the book explores the hallmarks of designing a garden of abundance, showcasing nine spectacular landscapes on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The Abundant Garden is available through retail and online booksellers and at garden centers.

In March, Debra was a guest of the Bob Tanem in the Garden, KSFO San Francisco, broadcasting live from the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show

Debra is editor of the 9th edition of the Northwest Gardeners’ Resource Directory (2002, Sasquatch Books). She wrote the Pacific Northwest Garden Survival Guide (Fulcrum Books) in 2004. In January 2005, Cool Springs Press published the Washington & Oregon Gardener’s Guide, which Debra co-authored with Mary Robson.

Debra scouts, writes about and styles gardens, interiors and floral design projects. She is a contributor-at-large for Romantic Homes magazine and covers interior design/retail trends as contributing editor for the trade publication Home Décor Buyer.

Debra’s work has also appeared in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Seattle Times, Fine Gardening, Women’s Day, Better Homes & Gardens (Garden Rooms, Garden Shed and Country Gardens), Victorian Homes, Seattle Homes & Lifestyles, Seattle Magazine, NW Home + Garden, Northwest Garden News and Sunset magazines. Debra served as a senior writer for Sunset Books’ Gardening in the Northwest (2003).

Thanks to my friends at Emery's Garden, I finally got to see my name on a "marquee"!!!

She has lectured on gardening topics for the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, Bainbridge in Bloom, the Center for Urban Horticulture, Sorticulture, the VanDusen Flower & Garden Show (Vancouver, B.C.), Victoria Flower& Garden Show (Victoria, B.C.), Northwest Bookfest, the Center for Urban Horticulture, Home & Garden Shows in Portland and Tacoma, Master Gardeners, garden clubs and specialty nurseries. Major flower and garden shows in Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Atlanta have also invited Debra to lecture for their audiences.

Garden clubs interested in having Debra present a guest lecture can check out some of Debra's most popular lecture topics on the Lectures page.

Debra has also appeared as a guest designer on HGTV’s “Outer Spaces” with Susie Coelho.

A Master Gardener, Debra has studied landscape horticulture and design at South Seattle Community College. Debra is also a national director of Garden Writers Association and a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Her avid “helpers” in her Thousand Oaks garden efforts are sons Benjamin (15) and Alexander (10), who love to learn botanical names for plants. Their current favorite is “Kniphofia.” Her husband, Bruce Brooks, pushes a mean lawnmower and can’t quite figure out how this all happened.

Here is her favorite quote: “…surely, if you are privileged to own a plot of earth, it is your duty, both to God and man, to make it beautiful.” -- Beverley Nichols, 20th century English writer.

Jimi Lott