Blog post by Jenna Mattern, Loyola University Maryland Student in Communications, Journalism, & Digital Media.
Digging Up History: Cylburn Arboretum welcomes Abra Lee to speak on Black Horticulture.
Gardens are much more than soil and plants. Dig a little deeper—literally and figuratively—and you’ll uncover a world of history, culture, and diversity planted in every bed and border. Garden historian and expert, Abra Lee, is excited to join Cylburn Arboretum Friends on March 11 to give her lecture titled, “Conquer the Soil.” The lecture will feature stories from her forthcoming book, “Conquer the Soil” which highlights the accomplishments of African Americans in the gardening and horticulture community.
Lee graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Ornamental Horticulture, and has gone on to wear many hats. She acted as County Extension Agent for University of Georgia, worked as a landscape manager for both Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and George Bush Intercontinental airports, and is also an esteemed writer, educator, and historian. Lee was also a part of the 2019-2020 Cohort of Longwood Fellows, a prestigious horticultural fellowship sponsored by Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.
Her work is dedicated to breaking down barriers that have prevented people of color from participating in gardening and horticulture. Specifically, she researches Black women in horticulture from the antebellum time period until present day.
Education Director for Cylburn Arboretum Friends, Erika Castillo, is looking forward to hosting Lee and celebrating her accomplishments, especially during Women’s History Month. “We are really excited to bring Abra Lee here to Cylburn to speak and learn from her work uncovering and sharing Black garden history,” Castillo said. “Reviving these stories is important to more fully understanding and appreciating their contributions to America’s gardening traditions and American history in general.”
Castillo explained that Cylburn’s public programming aims to “bring in speakers that enrich our understanding of—and relationships with—gardens and natural spaces and the people who tend them.”
Cylburn Arboretum Friends’ theme for their 2025-26 lectures aligns with their current project of revitalizing the City Demonstration Gardens. The major project will unveil five row-home size gardens which Baltimore residents can view and cultivate ideas from. One of the gardens, Castillo said, honors Naomi Camper, who was the first president of the first Black garden club to be a member of the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland. Castillo said Camper’s “legacy of gardening and leadership to her garden club lives on here today.”
Lee’s lecture will be on March 11 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Vollmer Center.
To learn more about Abra Lee and her work, follow her Instagram @conquerthesoil
