Barbara has worked professionally in the field of horticulture since 1977. She writes, consults and lectures on gardening and farming and is owner of Four Season Farm, an experimental market garden in Harborside, Maine.

Barbara writes a weekly column for for The Washington Post called A Cook's Garden. She is also the author of The Garden Primer and Theme Gardens and her writing has been published extensively in national magazines. She is a horticultural consultant to John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds in Bantam, Connecticut and designed display food gardens for the Stone Barns Center For Food and Agriculture in Pocantico, New York.