Heroes Of Horticulture: Lauren Springer

By Ross Shrigley and Emily Goldman of Plant Select® | Updated 4/8/25

When Lauren Springer's book, The Undaunted Garden: Planting For Weather-Resilient Beauty, was published in 1994, it was a wake-up call for gardeners, designers, and horticulturists. Until her book debuted, no one at that time understood how gorgeous water-smart gardens in the interior west's climates and soils could be.

Lauren's beautiful photos and intimate writing style illustrated how to create a sense of place, and everyone wanted an "undaunted" garden! A plant's beauty and purpose were revealed through Lauren's work, and so began a regional movement towards lush-looking western gardens with tough and resilient drought-tolerant plants. Lauren challenged growers to ask themselves, "Why aren't we offering more environmentally sustainable plants?" It's no wonder Plant Select® became an organization in 1997, led by a committee of forward-thinking horticulturists, including Lauren. It was this same year that The Undaunted Garden won an American Horticultural Society Award for one of the 75 best gardening books of the 20th century.

Lauren's signature garden designs unabashedly embrace a diverse palette of native plants and regionally attuned exotics. Waterwise plants weave together, colors and textures give you goosebumps, and seasonal shifts are celebrated. Her designs result in dynamic year-round beauty that also benefits wildlife. Lauren grows many of her plants, and has introduced many plants to the regional trade and garden designs across the country. Her work graces botanic gardens, municipal gardens, and non-profits like Plant Select®.

If you're looking for expert garden design advice, download a free Lauren Springer Garden Design from Plant Select® plants.

Additional books by Lauren include 

• Plant-Driven Design: Creating Gardens That Honor Plants, Place and Spirit (2008)
• Waterwise Plants for Sustainable Gardens: 200 Drought-Tolerant Choices for all Climates (2011)
• Passionate Gardening: Good Advice for Challenging Climates (2000)

Lauren Springer is the 2025 winner of the Landscape Design Award from American Horticultural Society's Great American Gardeners Awards. 

"This award is given to an individual whose work has demonstrated and promoted the value of sustainable horticultural practices in the field of landscape architecture.

For over four decades, Lauren Springer has revolutionized garden design in the western U.S. with her plant-driven, site-specific approach. Starting with her groundbreaking book The Undaunted Garden and continuing through her current work with The Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins, CO, she has introduced resilient, water-wise plants and sustainable landscapes that sparked a regional gardening movement. 

By expanding the plant palette and influencing programs like Plant Select, Springer has created a new language for gardening, empowering professionals and enthusiasts alike to craft sustainable landscapes in challenging climates and foster a deeper human-plant connection."