Contributors
Writers & photographers, Summer 2026 issue of Northern Gardener
Susan Barbieri
gardens in St. Paul, Minn. and has been a writer and copy editor for the Star Tribune, Minnesota Monthly and Pioneer Press.
Michelle Bruhn
is a Minnesota gardener, writer, speaker, local food advocate and co-author of Small-Scale Homesteading (Skyhorse Press, 2023).
Meg Cowden
is garden writer, speaker and author of Plant Grow Harvest Repeat (Timber Press 2022) based in Orono, Minn.
Eric Johnson
is a longtime contributor to Northern Gardener, blogger and lifelong gardener in Roseville, Minn.
Debbie Lonnee
Debbie earned a B.S. in horticulture from the University of Minnesota and has spent the last 30 years at Bailey Nurseries. She collaborates with breeders around the world, bringing new plants to the company.
Diane McGann
is a cold-climate gardening expert, University of Minnesota Tree Care Advisor, master gardener and Ask Extension panelist. An award-winning writer, she maintains perennial and shade gardens on 4 1/2 acres in Stillwater, Minn.
Jamie Miller
has been a Hennepin County Master Gardener since 2023.
Jennifer Rensenbrink
grows a host of other delicious treats in her south Minneapolis garden.
Josie Smith
is a creative writer with a background in radio/television news. She enjoys storytelling through her own business ventures.
Emilie Snell-Rood
is a biologist at the University of Minnesota and has been gardening for decades to feed her family and butterflies.
Taylor Tinkham
is an editorial illustrator, Hennepin County master gardener volunteer and food preservation consultant living in south Minneapolis.
Tracy Walsh
is a garden and portrait photographer whose work has appeared in Fine Gardening and HGTV Magazine.
Editorial Team
Rebecca Swee
Editor in Chief
Rebecca earned a B.A. in communications and photojournalism, wrote outlines for National Geographic magazine and managed membership communications and marketing at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo before joining Northern Gardener in 2017.
Debbie Lonnee
Horticultural Editor
Debbie earned a B.S. in horticulture from the University of Minnesota and has spent the last 30 years at Bailey Nurseries. She collaborates with breeders around the world, bringing new plants to the company.
Susan Barbieri
Copy Editor
Susan has been a features editor, copy editor and writer for a variety of publications, including the Star Tribune, Minnesota Monthly and the Pioneer Press. She has a large yard in St. Paul that she’s filling up with a few plants at a time.
Rose Daniels
Creative Director
Rose heads a creative studio that focuses on design and art direction for clients like Bon Appetit magazine and Lakewinds Food Co-op. She loves tending to her houseplant jungle.
Betsy Pierre
Advertising Sales Manager
Editorial Advisory Board
Elise Bremer
is a writer and editor for the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minn., and a former florist. Elise gardens in Minneapolis.
Emily Ford
is the Senior Gardener at Glensheen, a historic house museum on the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth, Minn. She strives to continue preserving a historic landscape while bringing new ideas to the grounds.
Michael Heger
owned niche perennial nursery Ambergate Gardens and now lectures, writes and consults on issues related to gardening in northern regions. He is the coauthor of Growing Perennials in Cold Climates (University of Minnesota Press, 2011).
Gail Hudson
is a multiple Emmy® award-winning journalist, writer, photographer and video producer. She earned a master’s degree in horticulture from the University of Minnesota, where she was honored with the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award in Horticulture. Gail contributes to national gardening publications and has been writing and photographing stories for Northern Gardener since 2014. A Minnesota Horticultural Society board member, garden coach and landscape designer for homeowners in Minnesota and out-of-state, she volunteers at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and gardens with perennials, annuals and vegetables—and a water garden, too!
Esther McGinnis
is an associate professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at North Dakota State University and directs the NDSU Extension Master Gardener Program.
Mary Hockenberry Meyer
is a professor emerita in Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, where she manages the Grass Collection.
Robin Trott
is an Extension Educator with Douglas County.
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