Articles for category: Plants

woman in white long sleeve shirt holding bouquet of flowers

How to Attract Pollinators to Your Garden (Using Science)

Annette Uy

Imagine stepping into your garden and being greeted by the gentle hum of bees, the fluttering dance of butterflies, and the vibrant colors of blooming flowers. This is the magic of a pollinator-friendly garden, a sanctuary not just for plants but for the creatures that help them thrive. Pollinators play a crucial role in the ...

The Science Behind Southern Success

5 Genetically Engineered Crops That Changed Farming in the South

Annette Uy

Picture this: it’s 1996, and a farmer in Georgia is looking at rows of cotton plants being ravaged by bollworms, while his neighbor struggles with weeds choking out soybeans. Fast forward to today, and that same farm is thriving with crops that can defend themselves against insects and survive targeted herbicide applications. This isn’t science ...

The Silent Language of Fungi: How Mushrooms Connect Ecosystems

The Silent Language of Fungi: How Mushrooms Connect Ecosystems

Sumi

If you were told the forest can whisper, argue, and share resources beneath your feet, you’d probably raise an eyebrow. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening in the hidden world of fungi, where delicate threads of mycelium weave trees, plants, and even microbes into one sprawling living network. This isn’t just poetic imagery; it’s a real, ...

"Mandrake to Mugwort: The History of Magical Plants in European Lore"

Mandrake to Mugwort: The History of Magical Plants in European Lore

Annette Uy

to Mugwort: The History of Magical Plants in European Lore Deep in the shadowy corners of European history lies a world where plants possessed powers beyond imagination, where roots could scream with deadly voices and leaves could grant visions of the divine. For centuries, these botanical allies and adversaries have woven themselves into the very ...

The Fog That Sustains Life

Why Fog in Some Forests Is Actually Helping Trees Drink

Trizzy Orozco

Have you ever walked through a misty forest and felt like you’d stepped into another world? The air is thick, almost magical, and the trees stand quiet, shrouded in a gentle embrace of fog. But while fog might feel mysterious to us, for certain forests and their trees, it’s nothing short of a life-saving drink. ...

Sunlit tropical palm trees inside a vast Berlin greenhouse, creating a lush botanical escape.

A Mistake in Bloom: The Role of Botanical Gardens in Spreading Invasives

Maria Faith Saligumba

Imagine wandering through a lush botanical garden, surrounded by a kaleidoscope of flowers and rare trees from distant lands. It feels like a living museum, a wonderland where nature’s diversity is celebrated and cherished. But what if, hidden under this beauty, lies a secret threat—one that’s changing wild landscapes far beyond the garden gates? The ...

A close up of a plant with leaves and flowers

The Green Witch’s Guide: Are Old Herbal Spells Really Based on Science?

Maria Faith Saligumba

Picture this: you’re browsing through your grandmother’s dusty recipe box and suddenly discover handwritten notes about brewing willow bark tea for headaches or using lavender oil to help with sleep. These aren’t just quaint family traditions – they might actually be ancient pharmaceutical formulas disguised as folk wisdom. The world of herbal medicine sits at ...

The Plants That Refuse to Die: How Ancient Botanicals Survive Millennia of Change

The Plants That Refuse to Die: How Ancient Botanicals Survive Millennia of Change

Annette Uy

Picture this: somewhere deep in the African desert, a plant with only two massive, tattered leaves has been quietly growing for over a thousand years. It’s witnessed the rise and fall of entire civilizations, survived ice ages, and outlasted creatures that once roamed the Earth. While empires crumbled and species vanished, this seemingly ordinary plant ...