I am a gardener, writer, photographer, and artist. Most of my childhood was spent outdoors, experiencing nature and learning about the world. Now, as an author, publisher, and artist, my aim is to promote appreciation and protection of the environment. My best known books are The Gardener's Home Companion (Macmillan, 1991), Cutting Gardens (Simon & Schuster),and Gardening Made Easy. As an independent publisher of garden books (B. B. Mackey Books), I work with many authors on books about rock garden, regional gardening, and the gardening life.

Several awards have come my way.

The Gardener's Home Companion won an award for writing from the Garden Writers Association.

Cutting Gardens was selected as a main title for the Garden Book Club.

Creating and Planting Garden Troughs, (by Murfitt and Fingerut) which I edited and published, was named a book of the year by the American Horticultural Society.