​Peggy Bowers

 

Peggy has loved animals and the great outdoors for as long as she can remember. The youngest daughter of a Navy family, Peggy grew up just outside of Charleston, SC. Days were spent running in the woodlands and exploring the streams with her Rough Collie Lassie by her side. As a teenager she enjoyed long rides through the low country on her horse Blaze with her German Shepherd Dog Chief along side. After graduating high school Peggy pursued her degree in horticulture and started a life long love affair with plants.

 

The Horticulture Years

Peggy has spent four decades working various aspects in the world of horticulture. Originally from Charleston SC, she honed her plant knowledge and design skills working in high-end independent garden centers. In 1995 Peggy entered the world of public gardens when she was hired as the Rosarian at Historic Dumbarton Oaks in Washington
DC, one of renowned landscape architect Beatrix Farrand’s most beloved gardens. While at Dumbarton Oaks, Peggy had the project management and execution responsibilities for implementing a complete renovation of the iconic rose garden, as well as recreating a
historically accurate depiction of the original flower borders. Peggy’s next stop in public gardens was at the American Horticultural Society’s headquarters at River Farm where she was responsible for the maintenance of the historic twenty-six acre river front property. Working with mostly volunteers and a limited budget, Peggy created beautiful floral displays using bulbs, annuals perennials and shrubs ranging from formal borders suitable for weekly weddings to the much-loved Children’s Garden. Peggy also led the creation of a 3-acre native plant meadow overlooking the Potomac River. With the awakening of sustainable gardening practices Peggy designed and created a multi-award winning garden called the Green Garage featuring sustainable earth-friendly gardening practices, native low maintenance plants, and ergonomic garden tools. The Green Garaged made its debut at the Philadelphia Flower Show winning the Philadelphia Horticultural Society’s gold medal for sustainable design. The Green Garage then
journeyed across the continent to follow up with a highly acclaimed presentation at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle.
In 2006 Peggy left River Farm to take on the responsibility as Garden Manager at the George Washington Mount Vernon Estate, which welcomes more than 1 million visitors each year. While at Mount Vernon Peggy implemented more sustainable garden practices
including “no till” gardening in the historic garden beds. She oversaw the renovation of the historically accurate upper garden and took over maintaining the new native landscape that was installed to enhance the new visitor center. Peggy was assigned the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the $1.5M native landscape surrounding the new Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington. Included in the implementation activities were specifications of appropriate plant choices, as well as hand-selection of every tree that was installed on the site.

Going to the Dogs

After adopting two wonderful dogs Sunny and Bailey in 2001 and 2003, respectively, Peggy started volunteering with the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation (LDR) in 2005 as a foster and later as the LDR Puppy Foster Coordinator and an Adoption Counselor. As a foster specializing in pregnant and nursing dogs, Peggy and her husband David successfully raised over 600 puppies in their home, many with their mothers. After years of watching tens of thousands of wonderful dogs come through LDR and shelter partners, the desire to get dogs into homes – and most importantly, keep dogs in their homes – became a compelling force. Unfortunately, many dogs lacked basic training and many owners were guided down harmful training paths using harsh aversive methods that either caused dogs to shut down or become aggressive. After listening to many heartbreaking stories, Peggy knew that making dogs adoptable is really only half the game – keeping families together was just as vital. Leaving a wonderful career in horticulture Peggy decided to change paths and throw her heart into dog training. After much research into training philosophy, methodology and programs, a meeting with world-renowned positive reinforcement trainer Pat Miller gave her the clear direction she needed. Peggy has spent several years studying with Pat Miller as well as attending workshops and lectures by many nationally-recognized Force Free trainers. Peggy started Sundogs Canine Consulting and Training In Alexandria, VA in 2015 and passed her Certified Professional Dog Trainer Certification in 2016. More about Sundogs CCT can be seen at www.sundogscct.com

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Sundogs

In 2018 after spending 25 in Alexandria VA, Peggy and her husband set out on a new adventure creating Sundogs Bed and Breakfast on 46 acres in beautiful Shepherdstown WV. The blank canvas of rolling hayfields, rock outcroppings, a mature forest and cascading stream was the perfect place to allow Peggy’s design creativity to shine. Utilizing the existing beauty of the property. They have planted over 95 native trees, countless shrubs, native perennials and grasses creating a welcoming oasis for both their guests and native pollinators and birds. The design and its implementation is living example of maintainable sustainable gardening practices.