Plant Connection Podcast: Deepening Your Relationship With Nature

 Here's something you may not expect. I love the Plant Connection Podcast because it's not just about plants! Weird, huh? This podcast is so much more than a lesson in botany. 

I think I'll let creator/host Lisa Cutshaw tell you about her podcast.

"Hi, I’m Lisa, a landscape architect and erstwhile plant ecologist – nature lover, farmer, hiker, seeker – and if you’re interested in exploring ways to deepen your relationship with nature and explore the many benefits that come with it, you are in the right place."

Lisa Cutshaw has not only developed an indie podcast (a heroic task in and of itself) but also created an entire ecosystem surrounding a path to developing a deeper relationship with nature.

Her website -- Root, Stem, Leaf (RSL) -- contains her podcast, articles, nature journal, and her newsletter.

Here's Lisa on her newsletter: "Welcome to the first RootStemLeaf newsletter! It’s a place to share ideas, news, and links that will help us all explore and deepen our relationship with nature. There are lots of benefits that come with spending time in nature, like increased mental and physical well-being, and I’ve been working for years trying to bring those benefits to people through landscape design."

Lisa is a landscape architect by trade but a natural psychologist. 

Lisa asks: "Do you ever feel stressed, stretched thin, and in need of a break from it all? You’re not alone. If you’re looking to reconnect with the world and find balance in the chaos, this podcast is for you."

"I’m your host, Lisa Cutshaw, a landscape architect and erstwhile plant ecologist – nature lover, farmer, hiker, seeker – and if you’re interested in exploring ways to deepen your relationship with nature and explore the many benefits that come with it, you are in the right place,"

What's the content and tone of Plant Connection Podcast? 

In each episode, Lisa explores how plants, trees, and nature’s wisdom can help you restore a sense of peace and connection. The goal, according to Lisa, is to bring nature back into your life, no matter where you are, and help you feel more grounded, peaceful, and connected to both yourself and the world around you. 

Lisa Cutshaw has been called a multi-hyphenate, which is a person with talents and skills in various disciplines. As a host/narrator, Lisa may have missed her calling as a nature documentary narrator. David Attenborough, look out. Her voice is soothing, dripping with tranquility and steeped in imparting lessons from Native American tribes who lived closer to nature to centuries. 

In the September 30th episode: The Power Of Arrowwood, Lisa details how he Cherokee and other tribes made use of arrowwood for both survival and medicinal purposes. With over a hundred species, some producing edible fruits, arrowwood has been great for all sorts of uses for hundreds of years. In the episode, Lisa shares how tribes used arrowwood for arrows, food, and medicine, the healing properties of arrowwood teas, and why birds and mammals depend on arrowwood.

It's only 13 minutes in length, but it's 13 minutes of peace, joy, and an engrossing history lesson. The episodes are short, and like reading a James Fenimore Cooper novel, with a trek through the woods of days gone by. 

Lisa uses sound for background noises, dramatic music, and to calm our modern-day nerves. She's as good at sound design as she is at designing landscapes. Her voice, soft, deliberate, emotive, and expressive in an understated way, blends with the natural world she so graphically creates through the power of audio.

This is just another example of an indie podcaster light years ahead of any network podcast.  

Lisa Cutshaw is a Professional Landscape Architect, licensed in multiple states, with 20 years of experience in evidence-based landscape design. Lisa received her Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture from the Ohio State University, and she came to the field with a bachelor's in environmental studies and ecology. Currently, Lisa is the principal landscape architect and owner of Blue Mountain Design Studio, as well as the head storyteller at Root Stem Leaf.  

Lisa invites present and future listeners with: "Whether you’re just starting your journey into the world of plants or you’ve always been curious about our connection with nature, this is the place for you."

The Plant Connection Podcast is one of the best indie podcasts to be developed and released this year. Think I'm exaggerating? Set aside 15 minutes. Listen to an episode. Your blood pressure will moderate, along with your stress level. And the natural world you ignore every day to and from work will become your new fortress of solitude.