Ellis, Barbara W. 1953-

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Ellis, Barbara W. 1953-

PERSONAL: Born May 19, 1953, in Morristown, NJ; daughter of William Warren, Jr. (an attorney) and Jane Anne (a homemaker; maiden name, Wells) Ellis; married Peter Thomas Evans (a counselor and social worker), October 19, 1985. Education: Kenyon College, B.A. (cum laude), 1975; Ohio State University, B.S. (cum laude), 1978. Hobbies and other interests: Bird watching, nature study, collecting plants, conservation work, drawing, photography, reading, travel.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Storey Publishing, 210 Mass Moca Way, North Adams, MA 01247.

CAREER: Writer and editor. Fred C. Gloeckner Co., New York, NY, executive assistant and producer and editor of horticultural supply catalogs, 1978–79; American Horticultural Society, Mount Vernon, VA, associate editor, 1980–83, publications director and editor, 1983–87; freelance writer and editor in Alexandria, VA, 1987–88; Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA, editor of garden books, 1988–89, senior editor, beginning 1989.

MEMBER: American Rock Garden Society, American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, Garden Writers Association of America, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Hardy Plant Society Mid-Atlantic Group, Perennial Plant Association, Pi Alpha Xi.

WRITINGS:

(Editor) North American Horticulture: A Reference Guide, Scribner (New York, NY), 1982.

(Editor) Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening and Landscaping Techniques, Rodale Press (Emmaus PA), 1990.

(With Susan Rosemacher Frey) Outdoor Living Spaces: How to Create a Landscape You Can Use & Enjoy, Rodale Press (Emmaus, PA), 1992.

(Editor, with Fern Marshall Bradley) The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden & Yard Healthy without Chemicals, Rodale Press (Emmaus, PA), 1992.

(Editor, with Fern Marshall Bradley) Rodale's All New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener, Rodale Press (Emmaus, PA), 1992.

(Editor, with Joan Benjamin) Rodale's No-Fail Flower Garden: How to Plan, Plant, and Grow a Beautiful, Easy-Care Garden, Rodale Press (Emmaus, PA), 1994.

(Editor) Burpee Complete Gardener: A Comprehensive, Up-to-Date, Fully Illustrated Reference for Gardeners at All Levels, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Joan Benjamin and Deborah L. Martin) Rodale's Low-Maintenance Gardening Techniques: Shortcuts and Time-saving Hints for Your Greatest Garden Ever, Rodale Press (Emmaus, PA), 1995.

Easy Practical Pruning: Techniques for Training Trees, Shrubs, Vines, and Roses, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1997.

(Editor) Organic Pest & Disease Control: How to Grow a Healthy, Problem-Free Garden, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1997.

(Editor) Water Gardens: How to Plan and Plant a Backyard Pond, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1997.

Taylor's Guide to Growing North America's Favorite Plants: Proven Perennials, Annuals, Flowering Tress, Shrubs, & Vines for Every Garden, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1998.

Taylor's Guide to Annuals: How to Select and Grow More than 400 Annuals, Biennials, and Tender Perennials, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1999.

(With Joan Benjamin and Deborah L. Martin) Rodale's Low-Maintenance Landscaping Techniques: Shortcuts and Timesaving Hints for Your Greatest Garden Ever, Rodale Press (Emmaus, PA), 1999.

Complete Gardener's Dictionary, Barron's Educational Series (Hauppauge, NY), 2000.

Taylor's Guide to Perennials: More than 600 Flowering and Foliage Plants, Including Ferns and Ornamental Grasses, Houghton (Boston, MA), 2000.

Taylor's Guide to Bulbs: How to Select and Grow More than 480 Species of Spring and Summer Bulbs, Houghton (Boston, MA), 2001.

Deck Scaping: Gardening and Landscaping around Your Deck, Storey Books (North Adams, MA), 2002.

Shady Retreats: 20 Plans for Colorful, Private Spaces in Your Backyard, illustrations by Gary Palmer, architectural plans by Julie Burns, Storey Books (North Adams, MA), 2003.

Also coeditor of other Rodale Press books, including Rodale's Landscape Problem Solver, Rodale's Flower Garden Problem Solver, Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, and The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control. Contributor to gardening magazines. American Horticulturist, associate editor, 1980–83, editor, 1983–87.

SIDELIGHTS: A lifelong gardener, Barbara W. Ellis has written and edited numerous books about gardening and plants. Many of her earlier books on gardening stemmed from her work with Rodale Press. For example, she served as editor with Fern Marshall Bradley of Rodale's All New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener, which Amicus Journal contributor Janet Marinelli called "a useful reference." Rodale's No-Fail Flower Garden: How to Plan, Plant, and Grow a Beautiful, Easy-Care Garden, which Ellis edited with Joan Benjamin, is "written in no-nonsense language," according to Booklist contributor Alice Joyce. Furthermore, as editor of Burpee Complete Gardener: A Comprehensive, Up-to-Date, Fully Illustrated Reference for Gardeners at All Levels, Ellis presents a "comprehensive" guide to gardening, according George Cohen in Booklist.

Ellis has also authored several gardening books, including Taylor's Guide to Growing North America's Favorite Plants: Proven Perennials, Annuals, Flowering Tress, Shrubs, & Vines for Every Garden. Writing in Organic Gardening, Karan Davis Cutler noted that the book "can be praised without reservation." In her book Deck Scaping: Gardening and Landscaping around Your Deck, the author provides information on how "even the most lowly deck can be elevated into a lush garden room," related Booklist contributor Carol Haggas. Another Booklist reviewer, Alice Joyce, noted that the author's "congenial writing style provides plenty of encouragement" in Ellis's 2003 book, Shady Retreats: 20 Plans for Colorful, Private Spaces in Your Backyard.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Amicus Journal, summer, 1993, Janet Marinelli, review of Rodale's All New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener, p. 44.

Booklist, April 1, 1994, Alice Joyce, review of Rodale's No-Fail Flower Garden: How to Plan, Plant, and Grow a Beautiful, Easy-Care Garden, p. 1415; February 15, 1996, George Cohen, review of Burpee Complete Gardener: A Comprehensive, Up-to-Date, Fully Illustrated Reference for Gardeners at All Levels, p. 976; April 1, 2002, Carol Haggas, review of Deck Scaping: Gardening and Landscaping on and around Your Deck, p. 1291; May 1, 2003, Alice Joyce, review of Shady Retreats: 20 Plans for Colorful, Private Spaces in Your Backyard, p. 1562.

Christian Science Monitor, April 18, 2001, Judy Lowe, review of Taylor's Guide to Growing North America's Favorite Plants: Proven Perennials, Annuals, Flowering Tress, Shrubs, & Vines for Every Garden, p. 12.

Conservationist, January-February, 1991, Joan Taylor, review of Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening and Landscaping Techniques, p. 50.

Country Living, May, 2000, Monica Michael Willis, review of Taylor's Guide to Annuals: How to Select and Grow More than 400 Annuals, Biennials, and Tender Perennials, p. 70.

Flower and Garden, November-December, 1998, Jennifer Curry, review of Taylor's Guide to Growing North America's Favorite Plants, p. 8.

Organic Gardening, March, 1999, Karan Davis Cutler, review of Taylor's Guide to Growing North America's Favorite Plants, p. 20.

Publishers Weekly, January 21, 2002, review of Deck Scaping, p. 84.