Debra Lee Baldwin

Debra Lee Baldwin specializes in showing how top floral and garden designers use dynamic, sculptural succulents in a wide variety of eye-catching applications. 

Her own garden, which has been in Sunset and Better Homes & Gardens, is in the foothills northeast of San Diego, where temps range from below freezing to upwards of 100 degrees. 

Succulents, Debra explains, “are plants that drink responsibly. They store water in fleshy leaves and stems to survive dry spells, like when you forget to water them. They’re a terrific option for good-looking, low-maintenance landscapes and containers.” 

Debra, a garden photojournalist, got her start writing about homes, gardens, architecture and interior design for the San Diego Union-Tribune, then went on to scout, write and shoot for major magazines. In 2005, her editor at Sunset suggested she do a book on succulents. “That changed my life,” Debra says. 


Books by Debra Lee Baldwin