Lawton, Barbara (Perry) 1930-

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LAWTON, Barbara (Perry) 1930-

PERSONAL: Born August 26, 1930, in Springfield, MA; daughter of Kenneth W. (an insurance executive) and Elizabeth (a homemaker; maiden name, McGovern) Perry; married Sanford Lawton, Jr. (divorced, March, 1967); children: William C., Cynthia L., Mark R. (deceased). Education: Mount Holyoke College, B.A., 1952. Politics: Republican. Religion: Episcopalian.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—1430 Timberbrook Dr., Kirkwood, MO 63122-6734.

CAREER: Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO, manager of publications and editor of M.B.G. Bulletin, 1967-72; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, weekly columnist, 1972-90; Gary Ferguson, (public relations), public relations counselor and partner, 1972-81; Daniel J. Edelman (public relations), St. Louis, account supervisor, 1981-84; Lawton & Associates (public relations and writing services), Kirkwood, MO, public relations counselor and writer, 1984—; writer and photographer. Kirkwood Planning and Zoning Commission, member, 1986-92; St. Louis Press Club, newsletter editor, 1986-89, board member, 1986—. Gaylord Foundation, trustee, 1987—; Garden Writers Foundation, trustee; affiliated with Master Gardener and Master Composter, 1993—.

MEMBER: American Society of Journalists and Authors, Garden Writers Association of America (past president), Women in Communications, Missouri Press Women, Junior League, Kirkwood Historical Society (past president and garden restoration chairperson).

AWARDS, HONORS: Awards for writing and photography from Missouri Press Women, National Federated Press Women, Garden Writers Association of America, and St. Louis Artists' Guild; Captain Donald T. Wright Award in Maritime Journalism; The Magic of Irises was nominated for the American Horticultural Society Award.

WRITINGS:

Improving Your Garden Soil, illustrated by Paul Kratter, Ortho Information Services (San Ramon, CA), 1992.

(With George F. Van Patten) Organic Gardener's Basics, Van Patten Publishing (Seattle, WA), 1993.

Seasonal Guide to the Natural Year: A Month by Month Guide to Natural Events—Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas, Fulcrum (Golden, CO), 1994.

The Magic of Irises, Fulcrum (Golden, CO), 1998.

Mints: A Family of Herbs and Ornaments, foreword by Steven Still, Timber Press (Portland, OR), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Barbara Lawton has combined her love of gardening, writing, and photography into an award-winning career. Her love of growing things began when she was a child and cultivated small gardens to satisfy her curiosity. As an adult, her work as editor of and contributor to the Missouri Botanical Garden bulletin brought her into contact with horticulturists and botanists from whom she learned a great deal. Today, she is a master gardener in her own right.

Her 2002 Mints: A Family of Herbs and Ornaments has garnered praise from a number of critics. Marianne Binetti of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer predicted that the book would change the minds of people who consider mints to be weeds that rapidly dominate gardens. Alice Joyce of Booklist commented that gardeners will appreciate Lawton's sound recommendations and will value the "thoroughly serviceable guide" to more than sixty-five kinds of mint.

Lawton once told CA: "I hope to write more books on gardening, natural history, and also American rivers."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2002, Alice Joyce, review of Mints: A Family of Herbs and Ornaments, p. 1199.

Horticulture, January, 1999, p. 82.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 18, 2002, Becky Homan, "Go to the Mint: A Kirkwood Author's New Book Explains the Mint Family's Many Uses As Flowers, Herbs—Even Insect Repellents," p. 18.

Seattle Post-Intillegencer, May 9, 2002, review of Mints, p. E10.