THE HIDDEN HISTORIES OF GARDEN LEGACIES, with ROSE VINCENT, RESOURCE LIBRARIAN NYBG
- Jennifer Jewell
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
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 memory and history, host Abra Lee welcomes someone whose work reminds us that gardens are not only grown in the soil but also in the stories we keep and share.
Abra is in conversation with Rose Vincent, Resource Sharing Librarian at the New York Botanical Garden’s renowned Mertz Library. Rose helps make one of the world’s greatest collections of botanical knowledge accessible to people everywhere.
Through her work, Rose ensures that plant lovers, researchers, and communities can connect which links us through the living history of plants, gardens, and the people who tend them. She’s also a curator and collaborator on creative exhibits like Dead Formats, which explore the many ways humans have recorded and shared our relationship with the plant world.
If you don’t already know Rose, you’re in for a fascinating and inspiring conversation.
Rose’s thoughtful journey as a librarian reminds us that the life of gardens doesn’t end at the garden gate — it lives on in the records, archives, and stories that connect us across generations. Her passion for making these resources accessible and alive is a gift to all of us who love plants and their histories.
We are so grateful to Rose for sharing her work and her story with us here on
Cultivating Place. Rose’s work reminds us that libraries are not quiet, static spaces, but vibrant, growing gardens of knowledge — alive with connection, curiosity, and care.
Cultivating Place family, please meet Rose Vincent — a librarian, a connector, a storyteller, and a keeper of botanical memory.
Follow Rose, NYBG Voices Amplified, and The Mertz Library online:
and on Instagram:
All photos courtesy of Rose Vincent & NYBG, all rights reserved.
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JOIN US again next week, when we kick off Artober with host Ben Futa exploring the artistry of planting design with Ontario’s Ben O’Brien of Wild by Design. That's right here, next week. Listen in!
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Thinking out loud this week...
Hey, y'all, it's Abra—
One of the things I love most about gardens is that they are full of information as well as beauty. Every plant, every soil sample, every seed tells a story if you know how to pay attention. Late-September is such a fascinating time because the garden is quietly shifting from peak bloom into seed and fruit. Scientists and horticulturists can learn so much just by observing these subtle changes about pollinators, plant resilience, and how ecosystems adapt over time.
Gardens are living libraries and when we slow down to notice them we can uncover insights that help us care for plants, people, and the planet. It is amazing to think how much knowledge is growing quietly around us, just waiting
for someone to take notice. If you want to see this in action come join me at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta where the gardens are full of history, stories, and discoveries waiting to be explored.
Anytime I talk to Rose, I’m reminded that gardens aren’t just about what’s growing above ground, they’re full of stories, knowledge, and connections waiting to be discovered. Every seed, every pressed leaf, every archive tells us something about the past, the present, and how we can care for the future.
What I love about her work is how it makes these hidden stories visible. By uncovering forgotten records or curating collections, Rose shows us that understanding a garden goes far beyond what we see in the dirt or blooms, it’s about the people, research, and history that make these spaces come alive.
If you want to see this for yourself, take a moment this week to explore a local garden or library collection or even get yourself a digital NYBG library card. Slow down, pay attention, and discover the stories growing all around you, you never know what you might uncover.
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