Re-Indigenizing land on Lenapehoking (Philadelphia)Seeds’ Indigenous Gardens
Seeds Indigenous Listening Garden (2026)
Our Seeds Indigenous Listening Garden is an Indigenous-led garden and multimedia space in West Philadelphia. The garden celebrates Indigenous ecological knowledge, community-driven storytelling, and public art while creating opportunities for people to connect with the land and one another.
We Are the Seeds’ Indigenous Listening Garden builds on years of Seeds' work to advance representation, support Native artists and Philadelphia’s communities, and increase opportunities for cultural exchange and record. This garden responds to the urgent need for places that create acknowledgment, connection, dignity, and collective care in Philadelphia.
With 40,000 ‘vacant lots’ in Philadelphia, there is massive need and opportunity to revitalize our relationship to land and nurture a place where plants, wildlife, and people can thrive. The foundation of our garden is native, culturally significant plants rematriated to the soil: berries, grasses, wildflowers, herbs, squashes, beans. Particular focus will be given to plants that support our more-than-human family: milkweed and lupine for butterflies; joe-pye weed and coneflower for beneficial insects; switchgrass and clover for the soil biome. This is the setting for soundscapes and sculptural installations by Indigenous artists, storytelling and archiving with the Philadelphia community, and organizing for environmental and climate justice.
Prior to establishing the garden, Seeds has worked at the intersection of art, agriculture, and media through The Ashawaug Project (lead funding by NDN Collective), From Here, With a View podcast (lead funding by People's Media Fund, formerly Independent Public Media Foundation), Seeds Philly Powwow + Art Market (lead funding by The William Penn Foundation), and the Seeds Art Market.
What's growing so far
Gifts from the land (native plants that existed before we started stewardship):
American bittersweet, American black nightshade, cleavers, common blue violet, common purslane, common ragweed, daisy fleabane, dandelion, epazote, eyebane, hedge bindweed, horseweed, lamb's quarters, Pennsylvania pellitory, Philadelphia fleabane, pokeweed, redroot pigweed, seaside goldenrod, slender yellow woodsorrel, spotted spurge, Virginia creeper, Virginia pepperweed, white snakeroot
Reminder: there's no such thing as 'weeds'!
Gifts to the land (native plants we've planted):
aster (hairy, smooth blue), bean (blue Shackamaxon, Hannah Freeman), milkweed (butterfly, swamp), common evening primrose, common sassafras, garden phlox, lady fern, maypop passionfruit, Moyamensing tomato, paw paw, Sehsapsing corn, squash (Maycock, Nanticoke), strawberry, sunflower (common, maximilian, oxeye, Seneca landrace), sweetgrass, wild bergamot, wild indigo, wild white yarrow
Select invited guests (non-native plants that that are particularly meaningful to/enhance our work):
Bamyeh Falastinia okra, birdhouse gourd, common lilac
Events
Academy Town Square: Native Foodways of Turtle Island
June 20, 1:00pm
As part of the Academy of Natural Sciences’ Botany of Nations exhibit, Sean Sherman will talk about Indigenous foodways, followed by opportunities to sample traditional foods from Tomahawk Tacos, prepare medicinal teas with Linda and Luke Black Elk, and plant native seeds with We Are the Seeds.
Ecological Re-Storyation Workshop at Bartram’s Garden
May 30, 2026, 12:30pm
In collaboration with The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society’s Root Song, Plant Baby Plant, and Bartram’s Garden, Robin Wall Kimmerer guides participants to learn about the wisdom and ecology of native plants, and create a decentralized nursery for We Are the Seeds’ Garden by planting and nurturing seeds at home.
Plant Seeds of Joy: Community Gathering
April 18, 2026, 12:00pm
Join us in planting the first seeds of We Are the Seeds’ Indigenous garden and community storytelling place. Seeds donated by Leilehua Lanzilotti in partnership with the public, land-care engagements of the Moananuiākea project.
Nurturing Other Garden Spaces
We Are the Seeds has started stewarding two other ‘vacant lots’ in Lower North and Kensington. We look forward to welcoming community on the land in the near future!