As the earliest signs of spring unfurl in the mild climates–think snowdrops manzanita, the earliest narcissus, wild iris and Daphne odora , hmmm!–the earliest pollinators are paying even more attention than we are. This week we learn more about some of our earliest and BEST native pollinating bees – the orchard mason bees. We’re in conversation with Thyra McKelvie, who loves “these sweet little bees". And it was this love that brought her to gardening in her adulthood. Based

In these dark, cold days of February, when too much rain or snow, and WAY TOO MUCH ICE, or not enough rain or snow, might be getting you down, we take this week, just in time for Valentine’s Day, to embrace, lean into, and love the comforts of tea. We're in conversation with Michael Fritts, founder of Golden Feather Tea in Concow, CA, to explore the history, cultivation, the rituals and the rewards (which are many) of tea. After more than 15 years at it, and despite massive

For our final episode of January, we honor gardening and Cultivating Place  often in spite of the odds. It ’s been a full year since the devastating fires of Los Angeles, California in January of 2025. Many lives were lost, many acres and homes were burned. And many gardens, cultivated spaces, and gardeners were profoundly impacted. This week, we check - in with two humans who are cultivating their place with care in the wake of this catastrophe. Leigh Adams and Shawn Maestr

January is prime seed-dreaming and seed-catalogue season. With that in mind we’re revisiting a favorite conversation all about generosity, mutual care, good seeds, and seed people. Who doesn’t need more of all those as we continue to lay the foundation for this new year? Ken Greene – who goes by K - is a seed person. He is the co-founder of the Hudson Valley Seed Library , which in 2004 became the first public library based seed lending library in the US; in 2008 he went on t

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

Dr. Jared Barnes is a big G gardener – and has been since his earliest expressions of self as a toddler. Now a professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, Jared is also a writer under the name of Meristem , and the host of The Plantastic podcast . where he exclaims that: "Plants can’t talk, but we can! The Plantastic Podcast is a show for plant killers, green thumbs, and everyone in between." He wants everyone’s expression of self t

This week on CP we kick off ARTOBER. Host Ben Futa is talking all things Wild By Design, the Art of Planting, in conversation with Ben...

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 , we lean into The Art of CP, exploring how the act of Cultivating Place is artful, and how the creative...

This week on Cultivating Place , we celebrate late summer and fall on the horizon in conversation about one of fall’s stars in the...

As autumn and harvest begins to color the edges of our awareness, this week on Cultivating Place we’re joined by two people whose work...

Looking back, even just this year, Cultivating Place has had multiple conversations with plantspeople from around the country about the...

Hot August nights turn to bright August nights at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, WI. The Garden's annual GLEAM light show is...

Cultivating Plac e and Cultivating Place Live  are made possible in part through the generosity of the Catto Shaw Foundation. Are you...

This week on Cultivating Place you are in for a real summer adventure on a global garden armchair tour of sorts with a plantswoman who...

THIS WEEK on CP - OUR NEXT CP LIVE podcast! And we head to Indiana with our very own Ben Futa! Botany & Co. in South Bend, Indiana is...

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

To welcome the fullness of June, this week on Cultivating Place , Guest host Ben Futa is back and in conversation with Marc Sardi, a...

This second week of May, we welcome gardener and plantswoman Holly Shimizu, whose four decades of work in some of America’s notable...

Happy May Day! This week on Cultivating Place, we welcome May, with all of her floral and plant profusion, revisiting a conversation we...