Shirley Harris is a Master Gardener who is interested in heritage gardens and has written extensively about the association of art history and garden design. Recent trips to England and Northern Europe have increased her awareness of the important role gardens have had throughout the development of civilization.

Shirley was born at Kennedy, Saskatchewan,graduated from Luther College in Regina and is a former teacher. She and her husband Gary live in Wolseley, Saskatchewan where they own a forty-acre garden centre consisting of a 1912 guest house, show gardens and arboretum. In the late 1990s they received an environmental award from the Canadian Tree Foundation for the planting of many trees and shrubs on the property, as well as for the maintenance and care of their mature trees. Their passion for plants, art, black and white photography, books and antiques has been brought together in a unique store, Heritage Furnishings, also located in Wolseley. Shirley continues to design gardens and especially enjoys the mature and colourful gardens around her home.