In celebration of Black History Month and looking forward to Women’s History Month - this week we’re so pleased to air another of our CP LIVE: Dialogues to Grow By conversations, recorded live in front of an audience on the home ground of the Cultivators of Place with whom we are speaking.  This week’s CP LIVE recording focuses on the paradigm-shifting landscape work of Leslie Bennett, who is dedicated to beautifully designed, edible-plant-rich, culturally rooted gardens for all people AND centering Black Women in the American Landscape. It’s a great pairing. The interview and gathering for it took place on an unexpectedly chilly evening in late September 2024. Still, the spirited audience of 80+ people - in full celebratory finery - was not bothered at all. And the event was also an occasion for the first public unveiling of photographic portraits by Rachel Weil of the first eight women beneficiaries of a Black Sanctuary Garden. The portraits are taken of each woman in their gardens - embodying, as Leslie described it, their full and authentic joy and liberation. The whole evening unfolded in the heart of elegant, fruit, flower filled terraced backyard garden - one of the black sanctuary gardens to date. This conversation and all it was trying to express and hold space for was richly integrated with community, with an event specific shared music playlist, with laughter and food. Cultivating Place live is a special project of CP in the form of a limited series of CP interviews done with a curated group of gardeners across the US and recorded as audio and film (by the talented filmmaker Myriam Nicodemus of EM EN) throughout 2024 and 2025. These interviews are conducted in front of an audience of the gardeners’ community in order to support and recognize these gardeners’ accomplishments and contributions to the greater good as a result of their human impulse to Garden. These recorded CP Live experiences will be compiled into a film documentary rolling out in 2026/2027.  The mandate for me in these experiences and interviews is to not only give voice to (as the podcast always does), but actually make visible the many diverse connections animated by the gardening impulse everywhere. What this conversation makes visible to me, and I hope to all listeners, is that gardens are food, beauty, health, and divinity. Gardens are land use. Gardens are community centers, gardens are one form of public policy made manifest by the people. Gardens are authentic joy and liberation. Enjoy! Cultivating Place now has a donate button! We thank you so much for listening over the years and we hope you'll support Cultivating Place.We can't thank you enough for making it possible for this young program to grow even more of these types of conversations. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. To read more and for many more photos, please visit www.cultivatingplace.com.

Many things motivate and drive us to love gardening, plants, and nature. Australia’s Michael McCoy, also known as The Gardenist, is a Gardener, botanist, designer, teacher, and international garden tour guide. In his garden life, motivation always comes back to curiosity. He says: "Behind any answer are 10 more questions leading me forward in the garden, in life!” And, in his garden, "a lot of soul searching goes on." (As it should!) As The Gardenist, he considers his work a “hub for curious gardeners on a lifelong learning curve.” Here, Here! He joins us this week to share more and his enthusiastic curiosity might just spark yours! Listen in! Cultivating Place now has a donate button! We thank you so much for listening over the years and we hope you'll support Cultivating Place.We can't thank you enough for making it possible for this young program to grow even more of these types of conversations. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. To read more and for many more photos, please visit www.cultivatingplace.com.

The Elizabeth Street Garden in New York City’s Little Italy and SoHo neighborhoods is a one-acre public garden founded in 1991 by Allan Reiver, an artist and art dealer who passed in 2021. The lot on which the garden has grown these many years is owned by the city and managed by the non-profit community group, Elizabeth Street Garden. Joseph Reiver, Allan’s son, is the current director of the group.  Since 2013, Joseph, along with the Garden’s community, has been fighting to preserve and protect this special art and community-filled green space - one of few in this section of the city. In 2024, the Garden came under renewed threat of development, this time with increased vigor. In today’s conversation between guest host Ben Futa and Joseph Reiver, we learn how the inspiring story of how the Garden is fighting back - taking a stand against the powerful interests that seek to erase more than 30 years of community, growth, and beauty. This is something of a David and Goliath story: the modest community garden with surprising strength and agility going up against the many giants of New York City bureaucracy, lobbyists, developers. And while this is the story of one green space in one city, it serves as a call to action and a cautionary tale for all green spaces in all urban areas, where they are desperately needed, incredibly valuable to the quality of life for all, and easy to lose if we’re not paying attention. The Elizabeth Street Garden was featured in the 2023 book New York Green by acclaimed writer and photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo. Listen in! Cultivating Place now has a donate button! We thank you so much for listening over the years and we hope you'll support Cultivating Place. We can't thank you enough for making it possible for this young program to grow even more of these types of conversations. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. To read more and for many more photos, please visit www.cultivatingplace.com.

Creativity is one of those anchors-to-windward in unsettled and worrisome times. So is a hands-on, creative project – with bonus points for working with organic materials (natural fibers, clay, or – flowers)! Just in time for Valentine’s Day, and all the spring events cascading from there in the coming months, we’re joined this week by a woman who has artistry, creativity, and hands-on project inspiration in spades to share with us – Passionflower Sue is our guest – and her work might be the end of January inspiration and gift to yourself you didn’t know you needed – but I knew. Passionflower Sue, aka Sue McLeary, is an artist. Very specifically an artist with flowers, and she thinks you probably are too. Whether you’re a professional florist, a friend helping friends with flowers, a parent helping a child (and all their friends) with their corsages and boutonnieres, or a gardener looking to have fun with flowers for your table or your hair, you’re going to enjoy meeting Sue in conversation this week. With a long career in floristry, from designing to event management, to sustainable floristry advocacy and lots of teaching, Sue believes that floristry is an art form, and those of us engaged in it are artists! She “aims to offer immediately useful and relevant educational information that equips and empowers florists- allowing them to express their creativity and make what they crave to see.” She believes (and I am with her): “When we harness our creativity, we create more interesting, artful work that fills us and lifts us.” Her goal is to empower the floristry artist. And it's her “passion to help push floristry forward!” Having had the great pleasure of attending events and learning from Sue – it is my even greater pleasure to welcome her to Cultivating Place this week. Cultivating Place now has a donate button! We thank you so much for listening over the years and we hope you'll support Cultivating Place. We can't thank you enough for making it possible for this young program to grow even more of these types of conversations. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. To read more and for many more photos, please visit www.cultivatingplace.com.

This week, Guest host Abra Lee is in conversation with legendary topiary artist and star of the HGTV hit show Clipped, Mike ‘Gibby-Siz’ Gibson. Mike is based out of sunny Columbia, South Carolina, where he owns and operates his own business, “Gibson Works.” Abra and Mike talk about all things Topiary arts in their lively conversation! Diving into Mike’s time on HGTV’s hit show Clipped, how he built his company, and where his love of the plant arts germinated. Listen in! Cultivating Place now has a donate button! We thank you so much for listening over the years and we hope you'll support Cultivating Place. We can't thank you enough for making it possible for this young program to grow even more of these types of conversations. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. To read more and for many more photos, please visit www.cultivatingplace.com.

This week – in the wind, rain, snow, and fires of early 2025 so far – it is good to be able to focus on SEEDs this week – seeds remind us so tangibly of our ability to get small, to slow down into a fortified dormancy of resilience, rest, and regrowth – and the possibilities inherent in all of those states. And this week, Cultivating Place does just that in conversation with Dan Brisebois, host of The Seed Farmer Podcast and author of the newly released The Seed Farmer: A Complete Guide to Growing, Using, and Selling Your Own Seed. Dan’s goal is to get everyone to grow, save, and know seeds. Based on Tourne-Sol Cooperative Farm outside of Montreal, Canada. Dan is an avid writer, thinker, and educator on seed growing, farming, and better farm management as a pathway to happier and more prosperous farms and farmers. In his experience, seed is integral to all of that. In our conversation Dan discusses his germination story in becoming a farmer, co-founding a cooperative farm, and becoming a seed farmer educator. He also shares the importance of what he calls the First Seed Mindset. Listen in! Cultivating Place now has a donate button! We thank you so much for listening over the years and we hope you'll support Cultivating Place. We can't thank you enough for making it possible for this young program to grow even more of these types of conversations. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. To read more and for many more photos, please visit www.cultivatingplace.com.

Nicole Burke, founder of Gardenary and author of "The 5-Minute Gardener," shares her passion for making gardening accessible to everyone, even the busiest individuals. She discusses how dedicating just five minutes a day can lead to significant personal growth and community well-being. Nicole highlights gardening's power to transform our relationship with food and encourages listeners to embrace their gardening journey. Her insights emphasize the importance of cultivating habits that nourish both body and soul, all while fostering a stronger connection to nature.

To ring in the New Year, this week on Cultivating Place, guest host Ben Futa is in conversation with Bo Dennis, lead farmer and designer of Dandy Ram farm, located in rural Maine. Dandy Ram is an LGBTQ+ flower farm and floral design studio that sustainably grows and designs florals for weddings and ships evergreen and floral products nationally. Dandy Ram is committed to bringing joy to the world, without ever losing sight of what a just and sustainable relationship with the land and its people looks and feels like, as well as prioritizes. With the concept of new year and fresh starts in mind, the conversation explores prioritizing rest, balance, and joy, especially given a career that is so deeply tied to the seasons. Ben and Bo talk favorite plants, community building, and living authentically. Listen in - and From all of us at Cultivating Place: Happy 2025! May it be beautiful, biodiverse, and BRAVE! From my seat, the act of being still and the art of noticing are perfect intentions for any season. Enjoy! Cultivating Place now has a donate button! We thank you so much for listening over the years and we hope you'll support Cultivating Place. We can't thank you enough for making it possible for this young program to grow even more of these types of conversations. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. To read more and for many more photos, please visit www.cultivatingplace.com. All images courtesy of Bo Dennis, Dandy Ram Farm. All rights reserved.

Happy Winter Solstice season! In celebration of the planetary moment of the longest night and the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, which took place on December 21st, this week we revisit a conversation about getting STILL. We hold a moment of stillness to notice and honor our places, our selves, and our many companions in time and space. We revisit our conversation with Artist/Photographer Mary Jo Hoffman all about her more than a decade-long daily photographic practice and her new book: Still: The Art of Noticing. From my seat, the act of being still and the art of noticing are perfect intentions for any season. Enjoy! Cultivating Place now has a donate button! We thank you so much for listening over the years and we hope you'll support Cultivating Place. We can't thank you enough for making it possible for this young program to grow even more of these types of conversations. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. To read more and for many more photos, please visit www.cultivatingplace.com.

This week, CP Guest Host Abra Lee celebrates the season in conversation with the King of Camellias, Sidney Frazier. Sidney is based out of sunny Charleston, South Carolina, where he sits as Vice President of Horticulture at Middleton Place - a historic home and garden there is believed to be the oldest landscaped garden in America. Camellias were first planted in America near the end of the 18th century in the four corners of Henry Middleton's parterre, overlooking the Ashley River. Sidney shares with us the historic legacy of Camellias at Middleton Place and gives us some fun tips and tricks on how to care for these magnificent plants. Enjoy, and Happy Winter Solstice on the 21st.  Cultivating Place now has a donate button! We thank you so much for listening over the years and we hope you'll support Cultivating Place. We can't thank you enough for making it possible for this young program to grow even more of these types of conversations. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. To read more and for many more photos, please visit www.cultivatingplace.com.