Owner Lisa Newell moved to Connecticut from Upstate New York in 1986.  After completing her graduate degree in public health at Yale she worked with several community organizations and education systems.  Eventually, Lisa began to turn her love of gardening into a vocation.  While continuing to work with several private non-profit organizations, she embarked on a formal education in gardening, including coursework in horticulture and landscape design.  For 2 years she lived in Chicago and worked at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  On returning to Connecticut in 2006, Lisa started Cultivated Gardens.

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Madison Blake joined Cultivated Gardens in 2018.  She graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.S in Sustainable Plant and Soil Systems with a concentration in Ornamental Horticulture and minors in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Sustainable Agricultural Production. While at UConn she was involved in the Horticulture Club, serving as both Vice President and President.  She designed and constructed landscape displays at the Connecticut Garden and Flower Show, and received awards for the displays.  Madison worked at UConn's Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Greenhouses and is experienced with both exotic tropicals and hardy New England plants.

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Both Madison and Lisa completed the Northeast Organic Farming Association Land Care Professionals course in 2020 and are Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals.

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