Author Spotlight: Deborah Keever, a gardener and author of “Southern Gardens 101”
Deborah Keever, author of gardening book Southern Gardens 101 Vol. I, is a retired nurse and a self-taught photographer. Her book will be published by Author Reputation Press.
Deborah’s childhood had played a significant role in cultivating her love of flowers. A native of Columbus County in North Carolina, Deborah was raised in a farm where her mother — a licensed nurseryman with specialty in daylilies — planted flowers both for her own garden and for the community church.
At a young age, the author was already exposed to the different kinds of flowers, courtesy of her mother who took her to explore their and their neighbors’ garden. During the growing season, her mother would also take her to other gardens throughout North and South Carolina. It was also at an early age when she learned to cross-pollinate daylilies to produce a new hybrid.
Deborah has always considered the garden as a great venue for social interaction. In fact, she would chat with her neighbors every time they pass by her garden. At other times, she would spend the day taking photos of the new bloom as well as the old ones, thanks to her parallel passion in photography. Because of that, she would end up collecting thousands of flower photos, all of which would figure in her book, Southern Gardens 101.
However, her first book was not about flowers, but about a garden spider — titled Argiope Aurantia. It was inspired after her son found a spider in the garden of her childhood. The spider built its web from bush to the ground. Being her first self-published book, Argiope Aurantia would mark the stepping stone for Deborah’s career as an author.
Deborah’s passion for flowers went on hiatus for quite some time, however, after she became a registered nurse. Following her graduation from Chowan University, she relocated to Raleigh, N.C., where she stayed with her husband Mike. Then she began working as a nurse at Duke Raleigh Hospital.
She wrote Southern Gardens 101 with the goal of inspiring readers to enjoy flower gardening. Deborah currently lives in Clayton, N.C.