Cunnington, Yvonne 1955–

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Cunnington, Yvonne 1955–

PERSONAL: Born October 17, 1955, in Malartic, Quebec, Canada; married John Cunnington. Education: University of Western Ontario, B.A., 1978, M.A. (journalism); McMaster University, M.A. (German), 1994. Hobbies and other interests: Gardening, garden and nature photography.

ADDRESSES: Home—959 Book Rd. W., Ancaster, Ontario L9G 3L1, Canada. E-mail—ycunnington@sympatico.ca.

CAREER: Garden writer, photographer, and lecturer. Canadian Living, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, associate editor, 1980–84; Maclean's, Toronto, associate editor, 1986–88; freelance writer, 1988–. Chatelaine, contributing editor, 2000–04; Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton, Ontarioa, board of directors, 2004—gardening lecturer and instructor.

WRITINGS:

Clueless in the Garden: A Guide for the Horticulturally Helpless, Key Porter Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2003.

Contributor of articles on gardening and landscaping to magazines, including Chatelaine, Gardening Life, Canadian Gardening, and Doctor's Review.

SIDELIGHTS: Yvonne Cunnington told CA: "If there was an unlikely gardener, I was it. Growing up on a farm, where I helped tend a large vegetable plot, I thought that gardening was drudgery. I yearned for more refined pursuits where your hands stayed clean: so I chose journalism, and worked primarily for women's magazines.

"My wholesale conversion to gardening—and eventually to garden writing—began innocently enough in 1991 when my husband and I bought an older home in Hamilton, Ontario. Like the house, the backyard was in dire need of a makeover. In the process of turning it into a garden, I too was transformed.

"Since that time I have earned a certificate in landscape design, and worked as a freelance garden designer (1996–99). This I gave up when we moved to a ten-acre property in the country, which was also in dire need of a makeover. These days, I garden with flowering perennials and lots of ornamental grasses on a ten-acre property with many different garden areas. We host garden tours, including bus tours from the United States and Canada.

"As a garden writer, photographer, and lecturer, I'm passionate about plants and landscape design. I favor contemporary, easy-care, meadow-like garden styles that work with nature, rather than fighting it."