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Conquer The Soil

@conquerthesoil

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💚 An ode to Gardens, History, & People
💻 contact [email protected]

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24 HOURS IN ATLANTA and all I can think about are the words of Abra Lee (@conquerthesoil): “The ancestors chose you to write BLACK FARM BOYS.”
📚🧑🏾‍🌾🚜🥹💙✊🏾

Last week, I ran to ATL for my second book tour stop at the @atlantahistorycenter for the prestigious Aiken Lecture, in conversation with THE amazing and kind-hearted historian and horticulturist Abra Lee.

Our conversation brought to life my writing process, the scenes of BLACK FARM BOYS, and how the book shapes our understanding of the past, present, and future of Black life in Atlanta—a city that was the site of the NFA’s final national convention in 1965.

Special shoutout to all my friends who pulled up on me and to the staff at the Center, especially Dr. Littleton (@historianbae), who made me feel right at home.

Looking forward to my next stop.

More soon. 👀

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Day one of the Power of Gardeners Symposium hosted by @cultivating_place and @botanyorbust featured two talks, two conversations in the style of the Cultivating Place Podcast, and a preview of The Power of Gardeners, coming to PBS next spring.

We gathered at @nearnorthwestneighborhood's community center, surrounded by locally grown flowers from Botany & Co and snacks and hot drinks from @counterspell.cafe. Gardeners from across the country marked where they'd cultivated on a US map, with a strong showing from the Midwest!

I've been taking garden notes in a little green notebook that fits in my purse or back pocket... which I left at home and had to rely on my teeny purse notebook! Here are my highlights.

Ben Futa, Botany & Co
Ben shared how Botany & Co and the Near Northwest Neighborhood have embraced gardening and urban agriculture. I'm taking home the Love It/Leave It/Change It Filter and the reminder that failures only become mistakes if we don't learn from them.

Abra Lee in conversation with Jennifer Jewell
I loved Abra's idea of plants as a portal to other places and her emphasis on abundance and generosity in the gardening world. I'm looking forward to reading her book, Conquer the Soil, next year!

Chris Fehlhaber, Community Gardens + How Gardeners Better Our World
Chris framed gardens as social infrastructure and third spaces that invite community. I especially loved his slide exploring the many ways gardeners can make a difference, personally and professionally.

Wambui Ippolito in conversation with Jennifer Jewell
Wambui shared how growing up in the Great Rift Valley shaped her perspective on conventional horticulture. I connected with her appreciation for wild plants reclaiming urban spaces. I get so excited when I spot native plants growing in parking lot cracks!

The Power of Gardeners: Episode One + Q&A
I'm so excited to watch the series when it airs! It was wonderful to get a behind-the-scenes look and hear from the filmmaker.

We ended the day with a reception at Botany & Co's outdoor space, The Lot Next Door. I loved finally shopping in person and admiring the plantings.

#BittersweetGardener #CultivatingPlace #ThePowerOfGardeners

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History lovers, this one's for you! We’ve got two fantastic events that you won’t want to miss!

Start your evening at Atlanta History Center on Wednesday, October 7 at 7pm with an inspiring Aiken Lecture featuring Bobby J. Smith II and Oakland Cemetery’s own Abra Lee. Dive into the fascinating world of Black agricultural history, where Bobby J. Smith II shines a light on the remarkable impact of the NFA and its powerful influence on education and racial justice.

Then, keep the adventure going with the 20th annual Capturing the Spirit of Oakland Halloween Tours at Oakland Cemetery, happening October 15–18 & 22–25. Take a walk through Atlanta’s past as costumed storytellers bring the city’s unforgettable characters to life. It's the perfect way to enjoy history, theatre, and some Halloween excitement all in one magical night!

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On last week’s episode of Cultivating Place, Jennifer Jewell joined Abra Lee to explore the life and legacy of horticulturist, educator, and garden club leader Asa Sims.

In this clip, Abra and Jennifer reflect on four principles Sims shared with his students, from reverence for the earth and making use of what is around us to appreciating beauty and the role of cultural values in creating a richer life. Together, they consider how these ideas still resonate with the ways we think about gardening, sustainability, community, and Cultivating Place today.

Listen in to learn more about Asa Sims, his decades of teaching, and the history of Black Garden Clubs in Virginia. His story offers a reminder that looking back can help us better understand where gardening has been and where it can go next. Link in bio to hear the full conversation.

#CultivatingPlace #GardeningIntelligence #ThePowerGardeners #GrowingTheWorld #DialoguesToGrowBy

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Happy Autumn! Cultivating Place is proud to launch an occasional series from Host Abra Lee delving into our Garden past in order to more fully understand and illuminate our Garden present and future. Sometimes we have to look back to grow forward!

This week, Abra shares with Jennifer Jewell her passion and admiration for, as well as research into, an intrepid and unflagging cultivator of place from our past in Virginia’s Tidewater Region: Asa Sims. A businessman, educator, floral grower, and designer, Asa was also a cofounder, in 1932, of the Historic Black Garden Clubs of Virginia, at the time known as the Negro Garden Clubs of Virginia.

Listen in!

Photo of Abra Lee taken by Myriam Nicodemus; All other images sourced from historic, open-source archives.

Cultivating Place is made possible in part by generous support from the Catto Shaw Foundation, funding endeavors supporting women, creativity, and the planet.

We are also made possible through support from Heirloom, growers of roses and more in St. Paul, Oregon, helping you grow the garden of your dreams.

Cultivating Place is also a LISTENERSUPPORTED publicradioprogram and podcast, created from a physical base on unceded, traditional and present lands of the Mechoopda Maidu Indian Tribe of the Chico Rancheria. cultivatingplace #decolonizethegarden #dialoguestogrowby #gardenlife

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Happy Autumnal Equinox! Abra Lee has spent her career proving that horticulture belongs everywhere — including on of the world’s busiest airports.

The Power of Gardeners Symposium is excited to announce our final speaker, Abra Lee, one of Cultivating Place’s three regular hosts since 2024 and founder of Conquer the Soil.

Gardening as a calling or a career are never just about putting pretty plants in place: it is about human history and impact in all arenas: aesthetics, environment, culture, society, and economy. If you are called to such human stories of impact, Garden Historian Abra Lee’s path is one you want to learn from!

Join us in South Bend, Indiana, this week, September 25–26, 2026, to hear from Abra and our other fantastic speakers, for our first Cultivating Place: The Power of Gardeners Symposium.

Purchase tickets FOR JUST TWO MORE DAYS via the link in bio!

#CultivatingPlace #PowerOfGardeners #Symposium2026 #AbraLee #conquerthesoil

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🚨🧑🏾‍🌾🚨NEXT STOP: ATL! 🚜📚🚜

On Wednesday, October 7 @ 7pm, I’ll be in Atlanta at the @atlantahistorycenter for the Aiken Lecture featuring me in conversation with Horticulturalist-Historian and author, Abra Lee (@conquerthesoil)!

We will spend the evening talking all things BLACK FARM BOYS, followed by a Q&A and book signing.

Ironically, what makes this lecture so special is that Atlanta was the site of the FINAL NFA National Convention at the Municipal Auditorium, October 5–8, 1965, and this event coincides with that moment—exactly 61 years to the date of the week of the final convening.

I am honored to be talking about the NFA in the last place it existed as a national organization of Black farm boys, and I hope you’ll join me.

If you’re in the Atlanta area, pull up on me! For tickets and more information - link in bio!

More soon! 👀

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Last week on Cultivating Place, Abra Lee was joined by florist and flower farmer Whitney Jaye, founder of Sunbird Flowers in Decatur, Georgia.

In this clip, Whitney reflects on the deep relationship between Black Southern communities and the land, and the traditions that have endured across generations. She speaks to the power of remembering where we come from and recognizing the knowledge, culture, and connection we carry with us.

Listen in for more of Whitney’s story, and for a conversation about flowers, farming, history, and the ways our relationships to land continue to shape who we

#CultivatingPlace #GardeningIntelligence #ThePowerGardeners #GrowingTheWorld #DialoguesToGrowBy

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Whitney Jaye is a florist, flower farmer, and the creative force behind Sunbird Flowers, based in Decatur, Georgia, and providing sustainably grown, beautifully curated flowers for the Atlanta area.

Seeing her work through the lens of Black Southern folkways that (re)center agrarianism, and through the ancestral memories and practices of coastal Carolinian culture, Whitney Jaye’s work sits at the intersection of land care, history, and building community through flowers.

This week, Cultivating Place host Abra Lee is joined by Whitney to explore how flowers can connect us to place, to one another, and to the simple pleasure of creating beauty with what’s growing around us.

Listen in!

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Garden history gives us another way to understand the moment we are living through.

Last week on Cultivating Place, host Ben Futa was joined by garden historian and co-host Abra Lee for a timely conversation about what the past can teach us about gardens, landscapes, and the ways people have used plants to create change.

In this clip, Abra shares about Harlem Renaissance writer Effie Lee Newsome and the power of her work during the Jim Crow era. Through poetry and nature, Newsome offered Black children a way to see their own strength and beauty reflected in the natural world. Gardens and Gardeners of our time are very much agents of change in our time. That is our power.

Listen in for a conversation about garden history, resistance, and the many ways people have cultivated hope and found power in plants. Link in bio to hear the full conversation.

#CultivatingPlace #GardeningIntelligence #ThePowerGardeners #GrowingTheWorld #DialoguesToGrowBy

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All history reminds us that we are all history in the making! Garden history reminds us that we as gardeners, our gardens, our gardening, and how our culture tends to and stewards land are all that, too!

What is the historical context of gardens in this moment-especially given some of the changes and impacts on national or public shared landscapes? What does garden history specifically teach us about this moment?

Join us this week as Cultivating Place Hosts, Ben Futa and Abra Lee, consider these questions through the lens of garden history and their own garden lives: from plants to quilts, from pot belly stoves to richly rewarding stories from the past.

Listen in!

All photos courtesy of Cultivating Place Foundation, Abra Lee, and Ben Futa, all rights reserved.

Cultivating Place is made possible in part by generous support from the Catto Shaw Foundation, funding endeavors supporting women, creativity, and the planet.

We are also made possible through support from Heirloom, growers of roses and more in St. Paul, Oregon, helping you grow the garden of your dreams.

Cultivating Place is also a LISTENERSUPPORTED publicradioprogram and podcast, created from a physical base on unceded, traditional and present lands of the Mechoopda Maidu Indian Tribe of the Chico Rancheria. cultivatingplace #decolonizethegarden #dialoguestogrowby #gardenlife

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In last week’s episode of Cultivating Place, Abra Lee was joined by renowned plantsman Allen Bush for a conversation about a lifetime spent growing, observing, and sharing plants. From his work with Jelitto Perennial Seeds and decades of writing and connecting with fellow gardeners, Allen reminds us that every garden holds opportunities for discovery.

In this clip, Allen reflects on one of gardening’s simplest truths: plants don’t always thrive, and that’s part of the experience. He shares how the garden has become a place of joy, perspective, and quiet, offering refuge from the pace of everyday life while teaching resilience through every season.

Listen in to hear more about Allen’s lifelong love of plants, the importance of garden history, and why curiosity is one of the greatest tools a gardener can cultivate. Link in bio to hear the full conversation.

#CultivatingPlace #GardeningIntelligence #ThePowerGardeners #GrowingTheWorld #DialoguesToGrowBy

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