Who played Flora Gardens on General Hospital? Meet the actress behind the character

General Hospital, a long-running ABC daytime drama, is set in the fictional city of Port Charles. Susan Batten, who is well known in the world of soap operas, plays Flora Gardens in General Hospital. 

Her role as Flora, a saleswoman for a product who likes drama, has added an interesting new layer to the ongoing story of General Hospital. She first showed up at General Hospital on July 5 and 6, 2022. She then came back on May 15, 2023, and July 21 and 22, 2025.

Flora Gardens and her role in the storyline of General Hospital

Flora Gardens is a character that was just recently added to General Hospital, but in the few times she has been on the show, she has been very important in some of its most emotional and dramatic moments. Flora is a star seller for Haven De Havilland's company, Home & Heart, which sells Deception products. Actress Susan Batten plays Flora. Flora is a saleswoman, so her interactions with other characters might not seem important, but they are. 

Flora made her first appearance on General Hospital on July 5, 2022, on Haven De Havilland's live show A Little Bit of Haven. She is shown as a passionate salesperson for Home & Heart, the company that works with Haven. Flora quickly gets along with the other actors on set, especially Sasha Corbin, who is at the center of a number of dramatic scenes during her short stay.

When Flora does a makeover segment with Sasha Corbin, it's one of her first big moments on the show. Flora agrees to get a makeover for the segment because she wants to show off her goods. This scene is meant to draw attention to the products Flora is selling, but it ends up making Sasha feel worse emotionally. While Flora is getting a makeover, she is given a baby papoose, which is a product made for pregnant women. During the live show, she proudly shows it off.

But things get worse when Sasha, who just lost her child, starts to think she is holding her own baby while wearing the papoose. This makes Sasha have a mental breakdown, and she starts to feel the pain of her loss all over again. Flora tries to comfort Sasha, but she doesn't realize that she is contributing to her distress.

Flora knows how much emotional pain she has caused Sasha after what happened on the live show. In a later appearance on May 15, 2023, Flora goes up to Sasha to say she's sorry for what she did that caused Sasha to have a breakdown. Flora really feels bad about what she did, though her intentions were not bad. 

Sasha, who has been dealing with her grief, forgives Flora because she knows Flora couldn't have changed what happened. Flora shows her caring side in this moment when she takes responsibility for her part in the trouble and tries to make things right.

Flora's next big storyline in General Hospital is when she goes back to the Deception team to pitch them a new product. Flora is introducing her brand-new item, "Change Your Moody" baby bath salts, which she hopes will become a huge hit. But her return also brings to light some drama going on behind the scenes. 

During the pitch for the product, Flora starts to think something is wrong when she hears accusations of sabotage being made against Haven and the producers. Before, Flora didn't know that Sasha and Haven were having problems, but she becomes an important part of finding out the truth.

Flora is horrified as she sees the plotting take place, which includes playing baby cries in Sasha's earpiece on purpose to take her mind off the pitch. Haven denies having anything to do with it when Flora confronts him, but Flora is not deterred. In a moment of moral clarity, Flora quits the show because she doesn't want to be a part of any more lying. 

About the Actress: Susan Batten

For many years, Susan Batten was known for playing Luna Moody on One Life to Live, which aired from 1991 to 1995. In addition to All My Children, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and As The World Turns, Batten has played a number of other roles on TV. 

Batten has a lot of experience in the theater world as well. She was a part of the New York City theater company The Edge, where famous actors like Mary-Louise Parker also performed. She has been in a number of off-Broadway shows, such as The Fiery Furnace with Julie Harris. 

Batten has also written and directed movies. He got his MFA in screenwriting and directing from Columbia University School of the Arts. As a screenwriter, she wrote and produced the movie Showing Roots, which starred Maggie Grace and Uzo Aduba. She also co-wrote the Hallmark Channel show Love, Once and Always. One of the best parts of her long and successful career is her role as Flora Gardens on General Hospital.

General Hospital episodes are available to stream on ABC.