Ruah lives in Conway, with her husband, Steve Dinkelaker, in a renovated barn surrounded by ornamental gardens and a native plant landscape. Her daffodil grove blooms gloriously in early spring.
Ruah earned a B.A. from Barnard College/Columbia University and a law degree from George Washington University, where she was an editor of the Law Review. She practiced law for 25 years in Washington, DC and Boston, before retiring to become a garden writer.
Ruah is the author of The Adventurous Gardener: Where to Buy the Best Plants in New England, a popular guide to the region’s specialty nurseries and winner of a national Book Award from the Garden Writers Association. She is a Trustee of the New England Wildflower Society, with an active interest in Nasami Farm, the Society’s native plant nursery in Whately. Ruah is also a trustee of the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Massachusetts, and a former Trustee of Tower Hill Botanic Garden. She received a Silver Medal of Honor from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for her contributions to horticulture.