Creativity is one of those anchors to windward in unsettled and worrisome times. So is a hands-on creative project – with bonus points for working with organic materials – natural fibers, clay, or – flowers! Just in time for Valentine’s Day and all the spring events cascading from there in the coming months – we’re joined this week by a woman who has artistry, creativity, and hands-on in spades to share with us – Passionflower Sue is our guest – and it might be the end of January inspiration and gift to yourself you didn’t know you needed – but I knew.
Sue McLeary is an author, teacher, and artist. Very specifically an artist with flowers, and she thinks you probably are too. Whether you’re a professional florist, a friend helping friends with flowers, a parent helping a child (and all their friends) with their corsages and boutonnieres, or a gardener looking to have fun with flowers for your table or your hair, you’re going to enjoy meeting Sue in conversation this week. Or, Passionflower Sue, as she is known.
Sue believes in the artistry of floristry. She has inspiration, tips, tricks, tutorials, and training to take your floral artistry to the next – ever more passionate – level. Sue goes on from the mint patch to practice her floral artistry for several seasons and weddings and events, she starts her family, and by 2010 she opened her own studio under the name of Passionflower.
She’s with us this week to share more – and what better way to warm up the end of January than a little floral artistry – whether doing it or dreaming about it in the coming seasons. With a long career in floristry, from designing to event management, to sustainable floristry advocacy and lots of teaching, Sue believes that floristry is an artform, and those of us engaged in it are artists!
She “aims to offer immediately useful and relevant educational information that equips and empowers florists- allowing them to express their creativity and make what they crave to see.” She believes, and I am with her: “When we harness our creativity, we create more interesting, artful work that fills us and lifts us.” Her goal is to empower the floristry artist. And It is her “passion to help push floristry forward!”.
Having had the great pleasure of attending events and learning from you Sue – it is my even greater pleasure to welcome you to Cultivating Place!
Follow Sue Online:
And on Instagram:
All Photos courtesy of Sue McLeary, Passionflower Sue. All rights reserved.
If you enjoyed this program, you might also enjoy these
Best of CP programs in our archive:
Mastering The Art of Being a Plantsman, Matt MattusCultivated: The Elements Of Floral Style, Women Working In The World Of Plants
JOIN US again next week, when guest host Ben Futa kicks off February in conversation with Joseph Reiver of the Elizabeth Street Gardens in New York City. If you have not been following the hard work of Elizabeth Street Gardens – a long-time beloved public garden in the city – and its striving to stay open in the face of potential development – you will find this conversation catalyzing – in support of this one public garden, but in support of all open access public gardens and green spaces everywhere! That's right here, next week.
Cultivating Place is made possible in part by listeners like you and by generous support from
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, it's Jennifer-
With the ending of January and the welcoming of February - I want to wish Cultivating Place a very happy birthday! As of February 2025, we enter our 10th year of production. I hope you can imagine the smile on my face. Our 10th year of production….that’s a mature old age for a radio program and podcast my friends.
And there’s more: with this completion of another circle around the sun, listening and talking with all of you - all around this great generous planet – cultivating your places in all your ways for all of your reasons – we are not just one year older, but we are growing up yet again. The Cultivating Place program and podcast, a co-production of North State Public Radio, is now a family member of the IRS and State of California, a certified 501c3 organization for the public good: The Cultivating Place Foundation. Cue the sound of horns or non-toxic non-wildlife scaring fireworks here!
The Foundation is home as well to CP Live, the ongoing in-person curated CP interviews supporting gardeners Cultivating their Places, and growing our world. The first six of these events rolled out in 2024, and the next cohort will take place in 2025, and by 2026 we hope to be rolling out the documentary series by filmmaker Myriam Nicodemus of EM EN.
The Foundation is also home to CP Events, which include CP Live but also our seasonal virtual community Communings – the first of which took place earlier this week. It was a full house of big hearted lively and passionate gardeners supporting each other and their places through their human impulse to garden.
Like any great garden – there is a rich diversity of life going on under the canopy of the Cultivating Place Foundation. I hope you take a few minutes to check out the updated website to learn more – and subscribe to our email list to be kept updated. We promise to not send too many emails and no solicitations.
We have always been an open-access public resource on air, and online – in large part because of the support of all of you. Because of the generosity of the open-access Catto Shaw Foundation which has just awarded CP a 2025 matching grant we would love for you all to help us meet, every contribution no matter how small or large - counts! And we will remain an open-access public resource in perpetuity. Which feels tremendous to be able to share with you!
So please, Check us out – leave us a comment on IG, by email, or through the support button - wishing us all a happy birthday and many happy returns: CultivatingPlace.org.
From our garden hearts to yours – let’s keep growing the world more
beautiful, biodiverse, and brave!
One of the things I love about the CP podcast which is now, as I mentioned earlier, in its 10th year of conversations is that we’ve have never chosen or been forced to take on commercial advertising in order to keep the lights on.
Because of the belief and support of all of you, of partnering groups – like the Catto-Shaw Foundation, our public radio stations, and events. As we grow on this new year and phase, you will be hearing more PSA type notes from me, Abra, and Ben about events or people or books or initiatives by other Cultivators of Place. Not paid or sponsored – just interesting to us and we hope interesting to you – you’ll find all links to these announcements in our weekly podcast show notes. If you have a note of interest, let us know and we will keep our eyes and ears open to add to our CP PGA’s (public growing announcements haha)
We were really excited to hear about the New England Organic Farmer’s Association Winter Conference happening at UMass Amherst on February 1st, and their keynote panel:
Hope for the Future: Inspiring Soil Health Panel
Soil Health as a Foundation of Resilient Food Systems featuring 4 dynamic soil advocates: The Advocate: M. Dagoberto “Dago” Driggs, The Producer: Piyush Labhsetwar, The Academic: Dr. Ashley Keiser.
I am not sure if they will be recoding this panel for those of us not in attendance to learn from – but I hope so and I will let you know.
Also on February 1st , tickets go on sale for the much anticipated Hardy Plant Society of Oregon’s Summer Study Weekend taking place June 27 – 30th– in Portland Oregon. We have two interviews lined up this spring with two of their international speakers – Michael McCoy of Australia’s The Gardenist, and Lucie Willan of the Mediterranean Garden Society and Spain’s Sparoza Garden. The study weekend’s theme is “Nimble Gardening in an Evolving World.” And includes lectures, open garden touring, receptions, and much more. This special event "unfurls" only every two years in the Pacific Northwest.
On February 3rd in my hometown, one of my personal sheroes – gardener, grower, and founder of the Harvests & Habitats nursery in Chico, CA is once again hosting the annual seed and scion swap from 12 to 2 pm with a special seed session for avid seed savers starting at 11:30 am.
The NWFGS is happening in Seattle February 19th through the 23rd and it’s a blockbuster lineup – if you can make it – DO you will feel so invigorated by the energy and ideas.
We recently heard from Sam Mohite, a curator at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, that they are at work on an exhibition titled: “Child and Nature: Effie Lee Newsome and African American Children’s Poetry.” Abra Lee will be a visiting expert/scholar and we will keep you posted as opening day comes into view.
David Newsome, founder of the Wild Yards initiative in Los Angeles weathered the first round of fires in Los Angeles and even announced in the midst of them his very exciting new initiative – the Wild Classroom Project. A five year dream in the growing – bringing native habitat gardens and all that they have to teach us to life in schools and classrooms. As he wrote in his announcement – this is an undeniable GREAT thing!
Also in Los Angeles and impacted by the fires, the Altadena seed library, founded by plant and seed woman Nina Raj is accepting seed donations to help regenerate their growing network of seed exchange boxes. Through the distribution of free seeds, they are working to expand equitable access to shade and green spaces, increase food sovereignty, connect neighbors, and restore local ecosystems. With this in mind, they would love all kinds of non-GMO non invasive seed. Donations can be mailed to 37 Auburn Ave. #8, Sierra Madre, CA 91024 care of Altadena Seed Library. They are accepting seed and plant donations, native and/or edible. You can also check out the GoFundMe HERE.
Finally – for all of you in or around my beautiful birth state of Colorado – really hoping to see so many of you on March 8th – at the remarkable gathering known as Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Conference, celebrating it’s 10th anniversary. Being held at Colorado State University, Fort Collins – registration is open now and I for one am super excited.
WAYS TO SUPPORT CULTIVATING PLACE
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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