This week - we lean into a particular aspect of our garden lives – but perhaps a favorite winter activity in the northerly climates in winter: tending to our houseplant and indoor garden family.
We’re in conversation with Jane Perrone, host of the “On The Ledge” Podcast, and author of “Legends of the Leaf: Unearthing the secrets to help your plants thrive”.
Jane Perrone is the longtime host of the UK based On the Ledge Podcast focused on indoor gardening and the love of houseplants. An expert in her field, her writing has been featured in the Guardian, the Financial Times, Gardens Illustrated, RHS magazine The Garden and The English Garden. As well as editing The Plant Ledger, an email newsletter about the houseplant scene called The Plant Ledger.
And now she has a new book "Legends of the Leaf: Unearthing the Secrets to Help Your Plants Thrive” enticingly and evocatively illustrated by Helen Entwisle
In this deep end of the winter season, when our indoor gardening might be holding us through till we can get back outside, Jane joins me this week to share more about her many motivations. In our ongoing exploration of who gardeners are, where they are and what they are growing in this world, I am so pleased to chat with Jane.
Listen in!
Images courtesy of Jane Perrone. All rights reserved.
You can follow Jane Perrone on line at: janeperrone.com/on-the-ledge/; And on Instagram: @j.l.perrone
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JOIN US again next week, when We’re back to our winter reading in conversation once again with Marta McDowell, talking about the good fun of her newest book “Gardening Can Be Murder” if you’re a fan of gardens and who-done-it mystery and crime fiction, you’re going to love the overlap Marta uncovers. That’s next week, right here, listen in.
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Thinking out loud this week....
So not only did I enjoy this conversation with Jane, but I was also asked to host a panel last week at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle entitled “The Next Phase of the Houseplant Craze” where I was in conversation with some of our world’s houseplant greats:
Eliza Blank of The Sill, featured in my 2020 book The Earth in Her Hands
Kamili Bell Hill: founder of Plantblerd and Black People with Plants, as well as author of "Happy Plants Happy You," she sees plants as liberation.
Alexa Patti, head grower Little Prince Plants – growers not resellers – online and in southern Oregon – she is the knowledge behind the Little Prince’s ASK ALEXA plant help line 😉.
And Derek Haines, also known as The Chocolate Botanist, and sometimes even the Crazy Botanist – who has some great big plant energy.
I’ll tell you what, friends, my small but might community of houseplants have never felt so seen and heard as they have these past few weeks. They’re positively glowing (see below).
A little update on the matching Grant to Cultivating Place from the Catto Shaw Foundation! First thank you to ALL of you who have given and supported so far. We are going to make this match by the Spring Equinox on March 20th – thanks to all of you! We still have a ways to go – another $25,000 to meet the full $75,000 match, and I think we can do it!
Many of you have asked for more information about the grant and what it is supporting in the work of Cultivating Place this year.
There are three pathways built into the grant - all in early process right now: to make the program financially sustainable into the future; to work on a succession plan for the program beyond me; and to curate a series of special Cultivating Place Live episodes around the country in celebration and support of the places we record and the intentional and beautiful Cultivation of them.
We are designing and beginning to plant seeds down each of these pathways, so stay tuned for more on each – including the announcements for two new guest host voices being rolled into the program later this year, and the announcement of some of the Cultivating Place lives programs in planning as we speak.
I feel a little excited anxious the way we do when we’re waiting to see if our seeds really will germinate this year!
If you’d like to participate in helping us meet this match, you can chip in any amount through the support button at the top of every page at Cultivating Place.com, if you’d like to make a larger tax deductible donation and receive a receipt, checks can be made out to North State Public Radio, with a notation that the funds are in support of the Cultivating Place matching grant and mailed to North State Public Radio attn Sarah Bohannon 35 Main Street Suite 101 Chico, CA 95928.
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The CP team includes producer and engineer Matt Fidler, with weekly tech and web support from Angel Huracha, and this summer we're joined by communications intern Sheila Stern. 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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