Ferguson, Nicola 1949–

PERSONAL: Born December 23, 1949, in Belfast, Northern Ireland; daughter of Walter G.H. and Dilys H.H. Stewart; married James G.D. Ferguson, June, 1970; children: Jessica, Jim, William. Education: University of Edinburgh, M.A. (with honors), 1972, Ph.D., 1975. Hobbies and other interests: Reading (especially contemporary and nineteenth-century short stories), cooking, swimming, gardening.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—25 Heriot Row, Edinburgh EH3 6EN, Scotland. Agent—Uli Rusby-Smith, 72 Plimsoll Rd., London N4 2EE, England.

CAREER: University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, research fellow in psycholinguistics, 1975–76; writer and photographer, 1976–. Friends of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh, committee member in the 1990s.

MEMBER: Garden Writers' Guild.

WRITINGS:

(And photographer) Right Plant, Right Place, Summit Books (New York, NY), 1984, revised edition, Cassell Illustrated (London, England), 2005.

(And photographer) Take Two Plants: The Gardener's Complete Guide to Companion Planting, David & Charles (Newton Abbot, England), 1998, Contemporary Books (Lincolnwood, IL), 1999.

SIDELIGHTS: Nicola Ferguson once told CA: "I wrote both my books because I wanted books like them myself, and they didn't exist. I provide many of the photographs for my books, as well as for some other publications, and find this helps me produce a fuller written 'picture,' too. I write to highlight and elaborate upon the visual features of plants and to describe their other features, such as their texture, scent, habit, and history. Both my writing and photography are from the point of view of a gardener."