Like the plants in her O Street NW Georgetown garden, philanthropist Susan Pillsbury thrives in sunshine. Hour by hour, as her herbs, peonies and trees gravitate to the rays, so does she.

When the morning sun rises in the east, Pillsbury and her husband Mike sip coffee and flip through newspapers in the garden by the Balinese dancing girl statue where thyme, rosemary, cilantro and mint grow.

When the light sparkles in the afternoon, they savor Earl Grey tea by the Cambodian buddha.

Susan Pillsbury may love the smell of the David Austin English Roses, but peonies are her favorite flower. This year she is looking forward to a “profuse peony display.” Photo by Tony Powell.

And when the beams blaze bright and hot as the sun shifts west, they read on the porch, bordered by hydrangeas, admiring the sun from the shade.

Breathing in the sunlight and being among her greenery is second- nature. “I’ve always had lovely gardens,” Pillsbury says of her previous homes in England, Montecito, Mexico and Honolulu. “They are an important part of my life providing a peaceful refuge and are especially comforting in times like this.

“The birds still sing, the squirrels still fight, the hawks still nest in the high trees and yes, even the summer bats will soon return at dusk with the fireflies.

Nature is wonderful and confirms that life goes on in spite of whatever is happening in the wider world.”