Cultivating Place

On Cultivating Place today we celebrate National Pollinator Week in the US when we’re joined by British biologist, conservationist and Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex in England, Dave Goulson. A gardener and bumblebee expert, Dave is the founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust dedicated to growing the awareness and appreciation for the life and importance of the bumblebees - and all insects of our world - join us! For photos visit cultivatingplace.com. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.

It is now officially summer vacation for most public school districts in the US. Today, Cultivating Place takes a little field trip to visit Sacramento high school teacher Kevin Jordan’s garden program which adds fresh air and fresh thinking in the classroom and out, in all weather and all seasons. Join us! For photos visit cultivatingplace.com. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.

In the global gardening world, Piet Oudolf is synonymous with a naturalistic planting style - rich in sweeps of grouped flowering perennials (often North American wildflower and prairie plants) and characterized by dramatic seasonal dynamics and ecological grounding . A new film "Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf" opens in New York this month celebrating this man and his work. On Cultivating Place this week, we learn more when we’re joined by filmmaker Thomas Piper. Join us. For photos visit cultivatingplace.com. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word Humane as this: Being characterized by consideration of other, compassionate. This week on Cultivating Place we’re joined by Nancy Lawson author of – The Humane Gardener, Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife. Join us! For photos visit cultivatingplace.com. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.

Entryways of Civility, Pathways of Kindness: A Reflection and Social Justice Garden on the Campus of Southern Connecticut University in New Haven, CT. Originally conceived to celebrate the lives and lights of four women Alumnae of Southern Connecticut State University who were killed while trying to protect the students in their care during the course of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT in 2012. In honor of the intentions of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend and the power of gardens to make the world a better place, we hear more about this new and powerful garden on Cultivating Place this week. Join us. For photos visit cultivatingplace.com. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.

Unprecedented – Never to Happen Again. This Zen idiom refers specifically to the transient nature of time and each and every moment no matter how seemingly mundane. This sacredness in the everyday is at the heart of our Dispatches from the Home Garden this week when we visit an American tea garden in Tivoli, New York. Join us! For photos visit cultivatingplace.com. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.

Art in the garden, art from the Garden – these are concepts familiar to most gardeners and yet for many of us also perhaps still largely unplumbed. This week, we visit with Iranian-American artist and plant person, Melody Overstreet to speak more about the culture of plant and land based art and the crafting of pigments, inks, dyes and watercolors. Melody shares her cultural, artistic and plant based journey with grace and in a way that interweaves her art with her world view and ethics. Melody will be on the campus of California State University Chico on Saturday May 26th to teach a workshop on naturally crafted, locally sourced pigments for the Friends of the Chico State Herbarium. Link to registration information is at cultivatingplace.com. For photos visit cultivatingplace.com. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.

They are in your garden by the billions, they are in your food, in your house, and all over your skin. They partner us in all we do and they make all that we do well possible to start with. Listen in to this week's Cultivating Place, when we’re joined by science and food writer Eugenia Bone to talk more about her own foray into better understanding the world of the amazing and powerful world of Microbia. It’s a focus that is expanding for us all. For photos visit cultivatingplace.com. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.

The second best time to become a gardener and nature lover is right now. The first best time, is as a child. This week on Cultivating Place, we’re joined by Nora McDonald and Katherine Somerville of the American Horticultural Society and by Fiona Doherty of Cornell University’s Horticulture Department and Garden Education. They talk with us about the history, impact of hopes of the American Horticultural Society’s Children & Youth Garden Symposium. This year’s symposium is being held in July at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Join us! For photos visit cultivatingplace.com. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.

Happy California Native Plant Week! The California Floristic Province is home to on the order of 6,500 native plant species and there are those among us who love and want to ensure the long life of the genetics and habitats of every single one. Today, in celebration of California Native Plant Week, we’re hearing from a selection of those voices, including Native Plant Home Gardener Vincent Bellino. Join us! For photos visit cultivatingplace.com. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.