Gathered: Storied Botanicals

Send a text In this short-form episode of Gathered: Storied Botanicals , Allison shares Late Bloomer —a reflective poem about timing, trust, and allowing growth to unfold without force. Inspired by working with flowers and lessons from the garden, this botanical reading is a gentle reminder that ease doesn’t mean something is unearned—and that, like blooms, we open when we’re ready. If this poem r...

Send a text  What if a flower bloomed between worlds—between poison and medicine, madness and healing, death and rebirth? In this episode of Gathered: Storied Botanicals , I offer a retelling of the Greek myth of Melampus and the daughters of King Proetus, whose divine curse drives them into a feral madness that only a mysterious “black flower” can cure. Woven through this story is the hellebore:...

Send a text In this short, poetry-centered episode of Gathered: Storied Botanicals , host Allison B. Young shares a poem, Waking This First Night Sharing My Bed . First drafted years ago and revisited after surviving a house fire, the poem reflects on intimacy, home, breath, and the unseen ways we are connected. A Botanical Reading marks a new mini-episode in between the usual podcast format and o...

Send a text After lots of tech issues, the final podcast episode of the year is here! In this episode, I offer a strange harbinger of hope: the mushroom. Across the globe, folklore casts these fruiting bodies as symbols of mystery, death, and decay. But what if they can stand in for something more uplifting in our collective understanding of them? I reference " Mycoremeditation: The Under-Uti...

Send a text On this special Halloween episode of Gathered: Storied Botanicals , we wander into the woods at dusk, where strange things grow underfoot and fairy tales turn dark at the edges. Before the night is through, you’ll encounter a glowing forest floor, something watching from the darkness, and a flower shop humming with beauty, precision, and something far more unsettling. Inspired by the G...

Send a text

Send a text When was the last time you discovered something? The experience of discovery comes with a wide range of emotions. In this episode, I share a personal essay on discovering mementos from my family's house fire. Gathered: Storied Botanicals is a monthly podcast with room and the will to grow. It's the podcast that brings more flowers into your life through story. Wherever you ar...

Send a text I had hoped to release an episode about spring ephemerals for the month of April, but I am at a loss...

Send a text The Oscars are tonight, and I thought I'd reflect on the powerful ways two of the nominated films used flowers to help tell their stories and how they urge us to remember lessons from history.

Send a text “Life sprang […] from the lotus.” In this first episode of Season 3, I delve into a flower that’s closely tied to divinity and many Eastern faiths: the lotus flower. It’s an integral part of many creation stories, whether Hinduism, Buddhism, or the imagery of ancient Egypt.  Let’s wade in together to take a closer look at a flower that not only offers spiritual guidance but informs one...

Send a text Introducing Gathered: Storied Botanicals Gathered: Storied Botanicals is a monthly podcast—with room and the will to grow. In each episode, I delve into the world of flowers weaving my experiences as a floral designer and writer with a flower’s depth and significance. By putting each bloom under a historic, scientific, literary, folkloric, or artistic lens we can better see this fascin...

Send a text On the final day of the year, the season's final episode of Gathered: Storied Botanicals delves into the story of the Poinsettia. It goes by many names and its intricate history illuminates all the many gifts it offers during the Christmas season. 

Send a text Some unexpected heartbreak has had me change my initial plans for this month's episode and revisit a lyric essay I wrote in Chicago called, "Girlish Notions." It's a departure from past episodes and it's a bit more personal than what I'm comfortable with, but felt compelled to create something as an offer of catharsis. Because of some language geared towar...

Send a text They lie low to the ground. Sneaky and insidious, they creep along forest floors, climb garden gates, and choke out its neighbors. This Halloween let's follow the coils of creeping vines that have made their way into our culture, from 19th century literature to the horror movies we watch every spooky season.  Happy Halloween!

Send a text Having missed June's episode, I catch up on an Icelandic adventure that revealed insight into the lupine flower, its role in ancient Rome, Native American medicine, and restoring soil health in Iceland. From there, we gather a fresh look at a life philosophy through a classic children's story.

Send a text In this month's episode, we'll gather 'round the *podcasting campfire* for the story of Farhad and Shirin, the Persian folktale that is also the legend of the first tulip. Full show notes for this episode can be found at gathered-storiedbotanicals.com/podcast

Send a text Flowering branches are one of the early blooms that promises spring isn't far off. One particular flowering tree has a deep history that's crossed oceans and has inspired artists, warriors, and activists alike!

Send a text The topic of gardens is vast. Let's dig into a type of garden that has evolved through the ages and how one man's vision of what a garden could be informed the first chapter of America's history.

Send a text The first episode of the podcast’s relaunch! We begin this new season at the root, or roots—literally and metaphorically. Returning to one’s roots or to begin again in a career, creative pursuit, a new place to live, or in life can feel like a setback, but we explore how the plant structure--in all its diversity and complexity--can offer some insight in reframing this point of view. 

Send a text

Send a text The idea of preservation works almost subliminally when working with flowers for how subtle, yet pervasive, the idea is in arranging these blooms. It feels instinctive. Once the stems are cut, it's a matter of racing the clock. What can we do to extend the life of this flower? Or else, how can we alter, transform, this short-lived creation so that we might have it for just a littl...

Send a text Our sense of time is a funny thing. It can feel like Rip Van Winkle's slumber. Who better to attest to this hibernation-like slumber than the Amaryllis bulb.

Send a text There are twice as many species of this flower as there are birds in the world and about four times as many mammals. In the first episode of Gathered: Storied Botanicals, we explore the orchid.