I recently asked talented garden writer Barbara Pleasant if she would be interested in doing an e-interview for BellaOnline. You may recall the recent review I wrote of her Garden Stone book. If not, I have added a link to the review in the related links to the right of the interview.

1. Which came first, your love of gardening or writing?

They evolved together. Writing is a craft, like sewing or carpentry, and it takes time to learn how to do it. As I learned how to write, I also learned how to garden. It's a happy marriage of two things I like to do, so I think I have the greatest job in the world.

2. Your website is beautiful. Do you do your own photography?

The photographs at my website are mine, and I often provide photos that are used in my magazine articles. However, most of the photos in my Garden Stone book were done by Dency Kane, a fantastic garden photographer based in New York. Good garden photography is both easy and hard – easy because your subjects are so beautiful and usually stand still, and hard because getting the light right is critical. You can't shoot in sun because glare creates white spots on leaves, but photos taken in soft early morning light, or the golden light of late afternoon often turn out great.

3. The tidbits you post on your site are fascinating. Are you planning to compile them in book form?

I have written such a book for the South, called The Southern Garden Advisor, and for several years I contributed similar snippets to the National Gardening website (nationalgardening.com). When one of National Gardening's editors moved to my area, she took over that column, and I missed writing about my garden. I added the "Tidbits" page to my website so I'd have a place to share helpful information on timely topics.

4. What are some of your favorite plants and why?

I love to cook (and eat), so garden-fresh veggies and herbs are always a top priority. My current garden is small, so I can't grow everything every year, but that's okay. Last year I grew a lot of peppers and eggplant, and this year I'm growing more beans and squash. I love playing with flowers, too, and I have a couple of beds – one in sun and one in shade -- where I'm learning more about color, my latest flower gardening obsession.

5. How much time do you spend in your garden?

Except in winter, I like to do a little gardening every day. Sometimes that's only ten minutes spent caring for houseplants, or sometimes it's a couple of hours digging and working outside. Just before bed, when I take a few minutes to sit quietly and review the day, I often think of the time I spent gardening as the best moments of my day.

6. Is there a special project you will be working on this year?

One of the great things about gardening is that there are always new things to try. I always grow a few flowers I've never grown before – last year it was salpiglossis, and this year I'm trying some of the colorful new heucheras. With my veggies, I'm doing more with hand-made trellises, which will help me make better use of my limited space.

7. When did you start gardening?

My dad gardened, so I was around it when I was growing up, but I didn't start gardening on my own until I finished college. I turn 52 this year, so I guess I've been gardening for 30 years! Answering this question is making me feel old…

8. Is there a special person who nurtured your love of gardens?

My dad, of course, but I can neither name nor count all the people who have nourished my interest in gardening. Gardeners are incredibly creative, generous people, and I am constantly inspired by their ideas and enthusiasm.

9. What has been the most significant event in your gardening career?

The most significant event in my garden writing career came a few years ago, when I changed my fundamental approach to my work. Instead of thinking about making money or doing impressive things, I realized there was a better way. I began thinking in terms of service to fellow gardeners, and approaching each project as an opportunity to help people connect with the green world and enjoy their gardening time to the fullest. Right away, my writing work and my gardening time became infused with new energy that simply amazes me.

10. You've written five garden books that are very different from each other. Did you have a special reason for this?

If I have a specialty, it is science-based garden writing, in which I make horticultural science accessible and useful to readers. Researching and writing books on insects, diseases, and weeds gave me the foundation I needed to enter the more artful world of garden design, which was a necessary journey for the Garden Stone book. But gardening is such a huge, diverse, field that you can never run out of new areas to explore. For the past year, I've been working on a new book that's intended to take the fear factor out of growing houseplants. It has been a fascinating project, and I'm especially excited about helping readers who want to keep beautiful blooming houseplants alive and growing.

11. What are you currently working on?

For the next few weeks, I'll be studying pollinating insects for a feature in Mother Earth News magazine, and I'll spend a lot of time starting seeds under lights for this year's garden. I've also been helping to organize a local plant rescue group, and we hope to do our first projects when native wildflowers begin emerging in early spring. We will be digging and replanting native plants that would otherwise be lost to new construction.

12. Is there any question you wished I had asked?

Since this is a Bella interview… It is my belief that women are healthiest and happiest when they have a satisfying creative outlet. Women who sense dissatisfaction in their lives might try gardening as a way to soothe that ache, and approach it as a pastime undertaken purely for its powers of creative enrichment.

To find out more about Barbara Pleasant, please visit her lovely website. Ms. Pleasant says, "When I worked with a gifted friend and web designer, Catharine Henderson, one of our goals was to create a soft, inviting website that would be pleasing to women. She did a fantastic job." She is definitely right. I really enjoyed looking through her site.