Plant of the Month: Hyacinth
A 2021 shortage of hyacinth bulbs brings to mind the long and storied history of its botanical and economic import.
Venus of the Sewers
The Roman sewer, the Cloaca Maxima, was presided over by a goddess whose shrine stood near the Forum.
Uplifting the Masses with Public Parks
Created in Victorian England, the earliest public parks were on a civilizing mission.
Why Victorian Gardeners Loathed Magenta
For decades, British and American gardeners avoided magenta flowers. The color had associations with the unnatural and the poisonous.
The Park of Monsters
Constructed in the mid-16th century by Pier Francesco "Vicino" Orsini, this bizarre pleasure garden features twelve strange, disturbing statues--and no one knows why.
An Artist Memorializes the Disappearing Palm Trees of Los Angeles
Palm fronds in Southern California are falling more frequently due to age, invasive species, and fungus, Artist Zoe Crosher casts these fronds in bronze.
When Ferns Were All The Rage
Despite the jurassic-sounding name, pteridomania (from the Greek for fern, plant and mania) was responsible for the 19th century fern leaf collector's job.
A Natural History of the Wedding Dress
The history of the wedding dress is shorter than the history of weddings, and even shorter still than the history of marriage.
