Meet Susan Heidebrecht, owner of Verdant Visions Horticultural Planning

I first became interested in horticulture when I was a young child. I was interested in plants, nature, and spending as much time as possible digging in the dirt. I had found my calling. Many years later, in 1993, I graduated with my four-year degree in horticulture from Virginia Tech.

I have had a variety of experiences in the field of horticulture. My career has taken me through working as a horticulturist at The Baltimore Zoo (now The Maryland Zoo), to working as a consulting project manager on State Highway landscape projects.

The environment and the natural world are two of my greatest passions. Through the past years I have made small changes in my everyday living to reduce my impact upon the environment. Composting, growing my own produce, and landscaping in harmony with the ecosystem are a few things I have done so far. I enjoy showing others how they too, with small and gradual changes, can live a lifestyle that is more sustainable.

In my "spare" time I enjoy the art of paper quilling, a centuries-old paper art. Paper quilling involves rolling narrow strips of paper around a quilling needle to create small, coiled shapes. These shapes are then assembled to form three-dimensional pieces such as flower arrangements or songbirds. If you would like to see examples of my work, please visit my quilling page. I love creating pieces that are unique and pleasing to the eye.

I look forward to using my horticultural and artistic talents to create the gardens you have been envisioning.