Category: Flowers
A ____.
A ____ is a ____ is a ____ flower.In my great grandfather’s garden. A photo shoot with Irma.Wearing this flowery white dress with a big pink satin ribbon. A ____ is a ____ is a ____ dick. Scumming its sweet, seducing scent in the air […]
Garden Club Connection
I’m a member of my seaside small town Garden Club. During this stressful time, we have established a cell phone number chain. Each day we post a flower whether its in our own garden or neighbor’s. In the fall we planted hundreds of daffodils throughout […]
“Stay-at-Home” Plant Stories
Most of us are living strange, upended lives these days–isolated and indoors, struggling to maintain precious connections to family and friends. In many cases, our access to the out-of-doors and to the soothing power of the natural world is severely limited. Writing a “stay-at-home” story […]
Paradise No More
Bird of Paradise – Strelitzia reginae In today’s society, there is an underlying pressure to impress others and put your best foot forward. I have felt this all throughout my childhood. One instance where I had a hard time with my appearance and how I […]
A Heart of Leopard
As I trekked on the muddy trail above Dulong River, China, along with other members of the expedition team, mist started to enshroud the lush rainforest. The goal of the day was to find the endangered Nomocharis meleagrina, commonly known in this area as “the […]
Message sent in a scent envelope
I have been a gardener all of my adult life, so I am no stranger to the messages plants send. However, this message was hard to miss as I am now far removed from my gardens, living in an apartment in Colorado. Feeling terribly lonely […]
Rudbeckia Laciniata
I live near the Amsterdam Botanic Gardens, a beautiful pocket-handkerchief of green in the heart of the city. Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam as it is officially known, has recreated the original Snippendaal garden. It was originally a place where in the 17th century local doctors and […]
Alluring orchids
Which came first, Bogart or the books? I really can’t remember, but Raymond Chandler has been a fixture in my life since I was a teenager. The 1970s British paperback of his novel The Big Sleep (first published in 1939) featured a still from Howard […]
Social Botany
SOCIAL BOTANY politics is the authoritative allocation of values in society David Easton Our nasturtiums, jalapeños, radishes would morph more savory were politics master gardening. Patient curious egos know temperate watering, care with weeds and pests, fertilizers, how best to harvest our […]
A Marigold of Mother
A Marigold of Mother As far as I recall, my mother has been planting tagetes [marigold] every Summer in Sardinia. On top of the cupboard, there is a little jar full of their seeds. I can picture her reaching for them, early in the morning […]