
Gardens as Social Infrastructure, Gardeners as Public Servants, with Chris Felhaber
From Cultivating Place by Jennifer Jewell / Cultivating Place
April 9, 2026 · 56 min
About this episode
Chris Felhaber discusses the role of gardens as social infrastructure and the importance of gardeners as public servants.
Chris Felhaber is a gardener, a husband, and a father. Now based in the Chicago area, Chris has worked in public horticulture in a variety of capacities and with well-known organizations, including with plantsman Roy Diblik in Wisconsin, at Chanticleer Garden outside of Philadelphia, with the Perennial Plant Association, and as the host of the Native Plant Podcast. After nearly 2 decades working with people and places of great privilege and with people and places who would like more gardens and more garden opportunities, Chris now understands that gardens are critical social infrastructure and that gardeners are public servant leaders whose greatest tools are empathy and meeting people and places where they are. This is a fascinating Quantum Gardening conversation - join us! Cultivating Place now has a donate button! We thank you for listening over the years, and we hope you'll continue to support Cultivating Place. We can't thank you enough for making it possible for this young program to grow and engage in even more conversations like these. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. To read more and for many more photos, please visit www.cultivatingplace.com.
People in this episode
Host: Jennifer Jewell
Guest: Chris Felhaber
Topics covered
- gardening
- social infrastructure
- public service
- community engagement
- horticulture
Keywords
- gardens
- social infrastructure
- public horticulture
- community gardens
- empathy
- gardening opportunities
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Perennial Plant Association, Cultivating Place
Books & works: Native Plant Podcast
Places: Chicago, Wisconsin, Philadelphia
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