ARTOBER ON CP, WILD BY DESIGN, THE ART OF PLANTING with DESIGNER BEN O'BRIEN
- Jennifer Jewell
- Oct 2
- 5 min read
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 O’Brien of Wild By Design, who create "artfully crafted, richly planted, lovingly tended gardens". Based in Ontario, Ben O’Brien believes that the best gardens captivate, delight, and deeply resonate with people; they respond to, reveal, and amplify the magic of a place; and they are those born from a genuine love of plants.
The month of October is also ART-tober here at Cultivating Place. As we gear up for our inaugural art of CP auction, we’ll be speaking with artists, designers, and creative folks working in the context of plants. It’s my pleasure to kick off this inspiring month by sharing our conversation forward.
Our world needs more people like Ben – individuals with a fervent passion for making plants and gardens more visible, accessible, diverse, vibrant, and full of life – everywhere.
Our world also needs more skilled and dedicated managers for these designed plant communities – plantings that in many places are still quite novel and unknown. We need an army of devoted designers and stewards, growers
and cultivators, each of us working with and within our neighborhoods to empower more people to grow more plants in more places.
To me, this is the fundamental calling of Cultivating Place: to live a life with and on purpose, especially in the context of plants. If any of this speaks to you, I hope you might consider joining Ben, myself, Benjamin Vogt of Prairie Up, and Lindsey Spaulding of Spaulding Restoration on Tuesday, October 14th for the next installment of our collaborative half—day virtual seminar, Growing
a Natural Garden Design Business. We’ll share what we’ve learned, we’ll build community, and we’ll set you up for success if you’re ready to pursue your own version of living with and on purpose.
Ben, I’m so pleased to welcome you to Cultivating Place!
Follow Ben online:
and on Instagram:
All photos courtesy of Wild By Design, all rights reserved.
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JOIN US again next week, when we're back in conversation with one of favorite artist gardeners, Frances Palmer. An artist, a gardener, a writer, teacher, and flower lover, we're speaking at much greater length about her newest book, Life with Flowers. One of Frances' famed pots is included in our end of month Art of CP Auction!... That's right here, next week. Listen in!
Cultivating Place is made possible in part by listeners like you and by generous support
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in honor of Bailey Shaw
supporting initiatives that empower women and help preserve the planet through the intersection of environmental advocacy, social justice, and creativity.
Thinking out loud this week...
Hey, y'all, it's Ben—
If you’ve listened to some of my previous conversations on Cultivating Place, you know I prefer to describe businesses like ours as “local and independent” rather than small, because I think the “small” mindset can be self-limiting and inhibit our full potential. That said, a team of one, or two or three, is by definition small when compared to other firms comprised of dozens of team members. To be a solopreneur requires that you were nearly all of the hats it requires to own and operate a business.
The tradeoff, though, is the freedom that Ben mentioned. The freedom to follow our curiosity, ask questions, and pivot our work in a way that continues to fulfill us as a creative individual and professional.
If something feels like it isn’t working or isn’t in alignment anymore, we have the power and agency to change it. It isn’t always easy, and sometimes just making the decision is more difficult than the actions that follow. The freedom of choice that a decision is ours to make, can be wildly empowering.
Observe obsessively. I suspect most gardeners are adept in this skill, whether we realize it or not – and, it IS a skill, so it can be practiced, honed, and developed, too.
Observation, along with curiosity, unlocks meaning and purpose. By getting quiet and still, by listening, documenting, meditating – we become more connected with the beings and communities humming around us, and not just the human one. One of the many super powers of plants and gardening is how
they remind us we’re connected while helping us to connect, and I think observation is a key gateway to that superpower.
Over the past few years, I’ve gradually cultivated my own practice of observation, reflection and documentation related to my gardening, and that has unlocked SO much. Mine takes the form of floating flower arrangements on our back porch, an ephemeral reflection of the phenology of a moment in time. Part journaling, part meditation, part therapy, part note-taking, it has
become an indispensable practice.
How do YOU observe obsessively? I’d love to hear your take.
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Cultivating Place is a co-production of North State Public Radio, a service of Cap Radio, licensed to Chico State Enterprises. Cultivating Place is made possible in part listeners just like you through the support button at the top right-hand corner of every page at Cultivating Place.com.
The CP team includes producer and engineer Matt Fidler, with weekly tech and web support from Angel Huracha, weekly communications support by Sheila Stern and Carley Bruckner, transcripts by Doulos Transcription, and regular guest hosting by Abra Lee and Ben Futa. We’re based on the traditional and present homelands of the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of the Chico Rancheria. Original theme music is by Ma Muse, accompanied by Joe Craven and Sam Bevan.
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