RAISED BEDS, RAISED VOICES: ABRA LEE IN CONVERSATION WITH PHILADELPHIA'S GUINA HAMMOND
- Jennifer Jewell
- 17 hours ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 1 hour ago
Guina Hammond is the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Program Manager of Public Gardens and Landscapes. She is also deeply involved in her hometown of Philadelphia as a certified organic land care professional, PHS Tree Tender, Penn State Master Gardener, and planning team member for the Mid-Atlantic Woody & Perennial Plant Conference.
On top of that incredible list of accomplishments, Guina is a down to earth plant lover at heart with a desire to bring gardening to the door step of your everyday neighbor, and as the founding member of the Chester Avenue Community Garden, a PHS supported garden, she has grown award winning produce for the past 38 years. CP Guest Host Abra Lee is in conversation with Guina this week to learn and share more.
From Abra: Today, I’m so excited to bring a close friend, confidant, and herbalist extraordinaire to the CP table: Guina Hammond. We embark on a conversation about her love for introducing communities to gardening.
Guina and I first met when I was a presenter for the Mid-Atlantic Woody and Perennial Plant Conference. She was on the planning team for that event and my point of contact as we worked towards my presentation, and throughout all of those emails and calls, we built a friendship that is based in our communal love for what we do in horticulture.
Cultivating Place family, please enjoy meeting Guina Hammond, a community organizer, leader in public gardens, and y’all, someone that really rallies their hometown around plants. I am so excited to dive in!
Follow and support Guina's work Online:
All photos courtesy of Guina Hammond, all rights reserved.
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JOIN US again next week, when Jennifer is back to round out the moving month of May in conversation with Katy Bowman of Nourishing Movement. A biomechanist, author and advocate for more movement, more diverse movement, more nutritional movement - and how to get there - in the garden! That's right here, next week. Listen in!
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Thinking out loud this week...
Hey, y'all, it's Abra—
Springtime always brings with it a quiet kind of magic — the soil softens, the days stretch a little longer, and the garden begins to hum with new energy. It’s a powerful reminder that change is constant, and growth often happens just beneath the surface before we ever see it bloom. That’s true in our gardens, and it’s true in ourselves.
In horticulture, patience is one of the most valuable tools we have. Seeds don’t rush, trees don’t hurry, and the earth keeps turning at its own steady pace. Nature teaches us to trust the process, to care deeply, and to keep showing up—even when we can’t see the results yet.
So wherever you are in your season — whether you’re planting, pruning, or just pausing — know that tending to the land is also a way of tending to your spirit. Keep nurturing what matters, and it will grow in time.
Listening to Guina’s story, I’m reminded that gardening is never just about plants — it’s about people, legacy, and care. Whether it’s through tree planting, teaching neighbors, or honoring the herbal wisdom passed down in her own family, Guina shows us how deeply gardens are tied to who we are and where we come from.
Sometimes the most powerful change begins with something small — a seed, a shovel, or a conversation across a garden fence. Guina’s work reminds us that when we nurture the land, we’re also nurturing connection, community, and belonging.
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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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