Marjorie Harris (born 15 September 1937) is a Canadian writer of

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

, particularly in

gardening Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of Aesthetics, aesthetically pleasing area ...

Early life

Marjorie Kathleen Harris, nee Stibbards, was born in

Shaunavon, Saskatchewan Shaunavon ( ) is a town in southwest Saskatchewan. At the junction of Saskatchewan Highway 37, Highways 37 and Saskatchewan Highway 13, 13, it is 110 kilometres from Swift Current, 163 kilometres from the Alberta border, and 74 kilometres from ...

, the eldest of three children of Bernard and Kay Stibbards. Her father’s work as a Baptist minister led the family to move to many different places over the years, including Goose Bay, Labrador, and

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia. During the Second World War, she lived with her mother and siblings in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, while her father was overseas as an air force chaplain. She attended

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, and graduated with a B.A. in English in 1959.

Writing career

Harris’s writing career began when she began working for Maclean’s magazine in 1966. She went on to be a freelance journalist for

Saturday Night (magazine) ''Saturday Night'' was a Canadian general interest magazine. It was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1887 and was Canada's oldest general interest magazine. The magazine ceased publication in 2005. History ''Saturday Night'' was first establish ...

Chatelaine (magazine) ''Chatelaine'' is an English-language Canada, Canadian women's magazine which covers topics from food, style and home décor to politics, health and relationships. ''Chatelaine'' and its French language, French-language version, ''Châtelaine'' ...

, Weekend,

The Canadian ''The Canadian'' () is a transcontinental passenger train operated by Via Rail with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario, and Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Pacific introduced this serv ...

, Artscanada,

Quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. It serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of every nat ...

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eati ...

Financial Post The ''Financial Post'' is a financial news website, and business section of the ''National Post'', both publications of the Postmedia Network. It started as an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the ...

magazine,

Flare A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala, bengalo in several European countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illuminatio ...

, and the

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

, writing on topics including design, art, and feminism. In the 1970s, she was associate editor at Chatelaine for several years. In 1988, she decided to focus her writing on gardening and plants, and began to write articles on the subject for the ''Toronto Star'' and ''Toronto Life''. For her first gardening book, ''The Canadian Gardener'', published in 1990, she and photographer Tim Saunders travelled across Canada, talking to dozens of gardeners to get their best advice. She was editor-in-chief of ''Gardening Life'' magazine and wrote regular columns on gardening for ''The Globe and Mail.'' Much of her writing has focused on her own garden in midtown Toronto, a narrow plot that she has cultivated carefully to make the most of the space. She strongly promotes ecological gardening principles and growing native plants that are adapted to Canadian conditions.

Broadcasting career

Harris has written and produced documentaries for

CBC radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

. She had a radio host job at CBC Radio’s

Metro Morning Metro Morning is CBC Radio One's local morning program in Toronto, airing on CBLA-FM. The program airs from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. weekday mornings, and has frequently been Toronto's highest-rated radio program in its timeslot. ''Metro Mornin ...

as “The Urban Gardener.” For many years, she was a regular guest on This Country in the Morning hosted by

Peter Gzowski Peter John Gzowski (July 13, 1934 – January 24, 2002), known colloquially as "Mr. Canada", or "Captain Canada",Mary Gazze Canadian Press via The ''Toronto Star'', August 23, 2010. Retrieved 2016-06-27. was a Canadian broadcaster, write ...

, a popular CBC radio program. In 2003, she appeared in the Recreating Eden TV series episode “A Perfect Life.” Harris has also created several short videos for YouTube aimed at home gardeners and contributed gardening advice to CBC Life.

Awards

McMaster University Distinguished Alumni Awardhttps://alumni.mcmaster.ca/s/1439/17/interior.aspx?sid=1439&gid=1&pgid=2443

Personal life

Her first marriage was to television producer and musician Barry Harris; she has two children, Christopher and Jennifer. Currently, she lives in Toronto with her second husband, writer Jack Batten.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Marjorie 1937 births Living people Canadian garden writers McMaster University alumni People from Shaunavon, Saskatchewan Writers from Saskatchewan Writers from Toronto