The Queen of Topiary

Linda Vater talks us through the transition from self-taught hobby gardening to becoming a national gardening guru.

- RACHEL PORTER

I doubt you have ever searched a gardening topic without coming across Linda Vater’s name. She is a garden designer, blogger and lifestyle influencer who writes and produces garden media for TV, magazines, Instagram and YouTube. She has a product line on QVC, appears in numerous national magazines, news segments and videos and is the author of The Elegant & Edible Garden. Vater’s passion-turned-career began on her suburban lot in Oklahoma City.

PLANTING THE SEEDS 

Vater’s success evolved from falling in love with the first plant she ever met at the mere age of 7 to inspiring thousands of people daily to follow her mantra to “live a garden inspired life.” She educates her audience through topiary workshops, plant introductions, garden tours, house tours, thrifting strategies, cooking from her garden, garden techniques, garden parties, garden tips and so much more.

Her journey from being a hobby gardener to a wildly successful voice in the gardening world was a process of inspiration, pivotal moments, real-life education, and pure wonder and love for gardening and people. “I am a graduate of the Oklahoma School of Heartache and Hard Knocks,” Vater says.

From her first encounter with a pumpkin seed (which she describes in the preface of her book), to having plants in her dorm room, Vater kept discovering her natural desire was to delve further into the gardening world. Now she lives in a world she created from her love of gardens.