Wolfgang Laib paints with pollen in Sydney, Australia.

The yellow rectangle, radiant but soft around the edges, is reminiscent of Mark Rothko’s pulsing paintings of the 1950s. But this piece is ultra contemporary, made from freshly gathered tree pollen.

Wolfgang Laib’s Pollen from Pine and

The national flower of Jamaica has become a rarity, and its loss needs a new, tougher generation of conservationists.

Hartley Neita’s editorial in the Jamaica Gleaner (January 14, 2006) strikes the conservationists’ dissonant chord: one note of lamentation and three of alarm.

Neita writes that

“… subtly ginger-like scent… a sweet and sour, piquant flavor with citrus-forward nuances .” Who could ask for more? What more IS there?

If you’d care to spend this afternoon in an Asian market and concocting a tangy alternative to roast chicken for dinner, consider

Who wants a flower that looks like a human organ?

There’s a fine line between magnificent and hideous. Steering clear of cultural minefields like the papacy, breast augmentation and John Wayne, we turn to Celosia argenta var. cristata . Garish and fuzzy, it hardly looks

For observant gardeners and introspective believers, there may be revelation in mullein and chicory.

Peonies and daffodils, of course. Chicory, Queen Anne’s Lace, oh yes. Violets and clover, mm…probably. Dandelions, probably not. Nut grass, like hell!

You, too, likely have botanical prejudices. And where whole

Cloth roses put a thorn in side of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s leadership.

The board of the Boston Symphony Orchestra announced March 6, 2026, that music director Andris Nelson would be shown the door. Less than a year and a half earlier, the leadership had