CP NEW MOON NEWSLETTER - FEBRUARY 2026
- Jennifer Jewell
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
A large pot of early Narcissus picked for the house in preparation for the cold rain and winter wind here this week.
Happy New Moon of February 17, 2026
"Jennifer and team - Happiest of Birthdays - thanks for being a light in the dark!
Keep sending out those roots and shoots!💚
Peas, Michelle Bruhn"
Founder of: Forks in the Dirt
Happy New Moon,
And very specifically, happy second new moon after the Winter Solstice, which is celebrated by many Asian cultures as Lunar New Year, and is an annual welcoming of the return of Spring. The Chinese New Year, 春节 (Chūn Jié), translates into English as "Spring Festival".
While many regions may not feel Spring-like just yet (in my place, we are in the midst of a cold atmospheric river, bringing much-needed snow to the high country throughout the US West), buds are beginning to swell, and sap to rise as daylight hours lengthen. Here in my place, the current cold front and days and days of rain have coincided with the annual re-blooming of the earliest of our many Narcissus species and Daphne odora in the garden, our regional agricultural mainstay of acres and acres of almond orchards, are likewise in full bloom. In the wild lands, the mid-season Manzanita species, the pipevine, and the wild cucumber vines are sporting their seasonal flowers....it is definitely the leading edge of Spring's annual renewal.
As I witness bumble bee queens emerge from their winter sleep, and the Manzanita flowers welcome them back, to say nothing of my emerging to visit ALL the blooms where I find them, it feels very much like a renewal of vows. Vows that say: I will share my resources with you, and you will share yours with me, all for the benefit of the whole: for the beauty and sustenance of the whole. World without end....
These are vows I have renewed, and will renew, again and again as a Gardener, and these are vows worth witnessing and celebrating again every year, every season, every day. Rejoice, Renew, Re-commit, Gardeners, the world needs this from us.
For the love of tending plants in our places,
Jennifer & The CP Team
PS: IF you are going to be in Seattle for the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival, please make sure to come see me and say hello every day Wed - Sun at 1:30 in the Adams room.
Garden Royalty: two early Queen Bumble Bees (a Bombus vosnesenskii and a B. melaopygus species) nectaring on January-blooming Manzanita species in gardens and woodlands. Butte County, CA
CP PODCAST:
Renewal is a theme in the Cultivating Place podcast always, I think, but maybe especially in these winter to spring months, and especially when the world outside of the garden is cold, and harder than it might be. Just like the plants, I know listeners return to the voice of Cultivating Place for comfort, for encouragement, for renewed sense of purpose and our own place in this world. I like to hope every single conversation is like a warm cup of tea, that holds you, but also grows you strong enough to head back out to grow the world better in your own way....
Since the New Moon of January, Abra chatted with Terry Richardson, an orchid expert, whose work, along with Abra's, is featured in Smithsonian Gardens' More Than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids, currently on view at the National Museum of African American History & Culture in DC. I spoke with Studio Petrichor about their work in LA, especially after the devastating fires of last January; Ben spoke with Tanja Hollander, whose work witnessing the human impulse to mourn tragedy with floral and plant gestures, is a moving testament to our need for plants, and what we can only express through them; and I was joined by Michael Fritts of Golden Feather Tea in Concow, CA to learn more about growing Camellia sinesis for high quality tea in a summer-dry, often fiery, climate.
All good listening as we each begin our own preparations for the return of Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere. Enjoy catching up on your listening with episodes from the last month (click each name or image for its audio link).
Thank you for being here, rejoicing, renewing, and vowing to keep growing along.
CP: THE POWER OF GARDENERS FILM SERIES:
We have been busy working on The Power of Gardeners film series since I last wrote! Filmmaker Myriam Nicodemus has reworked the series trailer for length and impact. See above. Can't wait to hear what you think. I will be opening each of my Keystone series of interviews at the NWFGF in Seattle this week with this trailer, to contextualize the way in which I see Gardeners, and the specific Gardeners I will be interviewing there.
In addition to partnering with Artemis Independent, we are now thrilled to be working with presenting public television station Northern California Public Media as we look toward a Spring 2027 launch for the POG series on PBS-affiliate stations around the country. This entire two-years-and-counting project, the legacy of 26+ years of interviewing Gardeners and sharing their stories, is our renewed vow and commitment to witness, value, and amplify the power of Gardeners everywhere, starting here.
If you would like to speak with us about partnering for pre-screenings events in 2026, screening events in 2027, gift licenses for school or garden groups, etc. please reach out at any time! cultivatingplace@gmail.com
Listen, see, and grow - yourself.
AND FINALLY...HUZZAH, you made it to the end...
Your bonus?
CP has added some additions to our team, and I want you all to be the first to meet them and welcome them among us!
Willard Williams, Jr of Ashland, Oregon and Gabriel Salah-Pfeiffer of St. Paul, Minnesota joined the Cultivating Place Foundation Board of Directors on February 1, 2026. Willard brings a deep love of native plants and ecosystems; Gabe brings a longstanding commitment to community gardening for food and the integrity of our social fabric. Very excited about their voices and visions, and vows, to help steer the growth of Cultivating Place.
LaManda Joy, and Samuel Villagra-Stanton both joined the CP TEAM this month as well. LaManda brings her significant organizational skills to our public facing programs, and Sam brings a film editing background to assist Myriam as she molds our footage into featured stories that grow us all.
For more information on the whole CP TEAM and BOD - check out everyone of us here: Cultivating Place: TEAM
PS: For those of you who are recurring donors (monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, annually) look for your CP-Investor-only invites for 2026 starting by email soon for upcoming gatherings with the CP Team, including an in-person two-day conference and symposium in South Bend, IN in late September.... we'd love to see your there ! Join us!
CP EVENTS:
UPCOMING:
(all underlined headings are live links to registration pages)
February 18 -22, 2026 Northwest Flower & Garden Show Seattle, WA
Link to get tickets HERE! There are 6 complimentary tickets available, just enter promo code: SPKRF8J2 or visit this link while our quota lasts!
March 17, 2026 CP COMMUNING.pre-Vernal Equinox
via Zoom 12 pm PACIFIC/ 3 pm Eastern
March 19, 2026 Audubon after Dark - Story Hour (VIRTUAL)
Audubon of the Rockies
April 12, 2026 KWMR of Marin Presents
A Cultivating Place LIVE event in support of KWMR Community Radio. Jennifer will host a CP Keystone series interview in conversation with Rebecca Newburn, a nationally recognized seed advocate and founder of the Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library.
3 - 4:30 pm
More 2026 events here: CP EVENTS
CULTIVATING PLACE FOUNDATION
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