This week on Cultivating Place , Abra Lee is in conversation with Laverne Brockington and Vance Davis, great nieces of Annie Mae Vann Reid, a historic florist and entrepreneur based in Darlington, South Carolina. From the 1920s to the 1960s, Annie Mae tended a thriving floral business that grew out of her hobby flower garden, and grew her community with her. For Laverne and Vance, their aunt's legacy is rooted not only in flowers but in faith and a deep commitment to communit

This week, Cultivating Place welcomes Terry Richardson in conversation with Abra Lee. Terry is known to many as @theblkthumb , an intrepid, enthusiastic, and encouraging orchid rescuer, educator, and storyteller. Terry has helped thousands of people rethink what it means to care for plants, specifically orchids! Terry’s journey began not with expertise, but with curiosity and failure. He is a self-proclaimed “black thumb,” as opposed to the more well-known "green thumb". He

In honor of the new year fresh-faced and open-hearted in front of us, Ben Futa, Abra Lee and I together this week for a first-ever check in as we review 2025 and look forward to all that we will grow together in 2026.\   Including now being on the airwaves on the Western Slope of Colorado on KVNF Community Radio for their winter months! So glad to meet all you Western Slope Gardeners!   Happy Holidays! Follow Us Online: cultivatingplace.org and on Instagram: @cultivating_Plac

For our final Cultivating Place episode of 2025, Abra Lee is looking forward by looking back. She’s in conversation with Philip Norman, a gardener, an historian, and a longtime curator at the Garden Museum in London. From New Zealand to London, Philips's life is shaped by gardens, plants, and the stories behind them. Philip grew up on a family farm in New Zealand, where he learned to garden alongside older neighbors who loved sharing their knowledge. Philip eventually trave

This week on CP, host Abra Lee is joined in conversation by Tracy Qiu, a horticulturist, researcher, advocate, and artist who explores how plants, stories, and culture intersect. Tracy holds a masters in Public Horticulture from the University of Delaware, is a Longwood Fellow , and is finishing her doctoral thesis at Concordia University in Montreal. Tracy's work explores the colonial roots of botanical gardens, and in this conversation, Tracy and Abra will follow Tracy’s jo

This week on Cultivating Place , in honor of this first week of Autumn, and the idea of passing time, looking back, and the importance of...

This week on Cultivating Place , host Abra Lee dives into the world of pathways to plant professions with Jazmin Albarran, Executive...

This week on Cultivating Place , guest host Abra Lee is joined in conversation by someone whose path into horticulture is both surprising...

Guina Hammond is the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Program Manager of Public Gardens and Landscapes. She is also deeply involved...

Juliet Sargeant is an award-winning English garden designer who blends beauty with purpose in every space she creates. Juliet’s unique...

This week, guest host Abra Lee is chatting with Mae Lin Plummer, Director, IDEA Center for Public Gardens at the Denver Botanic Gardens...

This week, in continuing celebration of Black History Month and looking forward to Women’s History month, CP Guest Host Abra Lee is in...

This week, guest-host Abra Lee is in conversation with legendary topiary artist and star of the HGTV hit show Clipped , Mike ‘Gibby-Siz’...

This week, CP Guest Host Abra Lee celebrates the season in conversation with the King of Camellias, Sidney Frazier . Sidney is based out...

This week, when many in the US have time off with family and friends, we note our gratitude for our many teachers: the plants and the...

This week, Cultivating Place Guest Host Abra Lee is in conversation with Reverend Jerri Mitchell-Lee. They enjoy a deep dive into the...