B.S. - Plant Sciences & Landscape Systems, 2002 Area of emphasis: Ornamental Horticulture & Landscape Design M.S. - Plant Sciences, 2005 Area of emphasis: Public Horticulture

HGTV.com has become a premier internet source of gardening information of all kinds. Features change continually, and in one week may range from Garden of Aphrodisiacs, Desert Gardening, Avoiding Pests and Disease, Butterfly Gardening, Deck Fountain, Deer Proof!, Garden Arts and Crafts, Temporary Shelter, Summer Reminders, Water Features.

Susan has some very exciting job responsibilities at HGTV.com:
Gather and edit content, and product and guest information from HGTV producers, vendors, manufacturers and show hosts.
Write HGTV show summaries and project instructions for HGTV.com, including capturing frame grabs from video for online articles.
Input and modify content databases when new information arrives.
Work with gardening editor to identify new advances in gardening, including books, tools, products, procedures and trends.
Research and write original articles for the HGTV Gardening newsletter and the gardening category on HGTV.

Susan grew up visiting public and private gardens and developed a passion for horticulture and how people enjoy gardening in their lives. During her undergraduate years at UT, she completed internships at Cheekwood Botanical Garden, Opryland Hotel and Conservatories, and Biltmore Estate. Upon graduating from UT with a B.S, Susan worked as a Horticulturist at Cheekwood; the areas she supervised and maintained included the Color Garden and historic Boxwood Garden.

Susan was involved in many exciting gardening activities while obtaining her masters at UT. She was the volunteer coordinator for the UT Gardens, she was the web master for the UT Gardens homepage, she participated in key garden events such as the annual Blooms Days and Summer Color Field Day. She did much of the design for the UT Gardens, perennial collections and annual displays in particular. Susan was a regular guest for the Garden Girls radio talk show developed by Susan Hamilton and Beth Babbit. While a student, Susan hosted garden tours and gave garden seminars, she assisted with three of courses (Herbaceous Plants, Introduction to Public Horticulture, Public Garden Management and Operations), and she was awarded the Perennial Plant Association's 2005 Young Professional Award.

Susan has been thrilled about the many opportunities for study and hands-on learning at The University of Tennessee. Her particular interests include historic landscape preservation, people-plant relationships, garden design with an emphasis on color displays, and volunteering.