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Garden Variety

We grow them, live among them, and eat them … but do we really know them? In a series that blends history and botany, writer and illustrator Edith Zimmerman tells the stories behind the plants of our lives — the fragrant, the edible, and the obscure.

Go to the profile of Edith Zimmerman
Edith Zimmerman

Spiralbound editor. Formerly at The Hairpin. Also now making a newsletter: https://drawinglinks.substack.com

Audio available

Proteas and the Case for Googling Your Plants

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend brought me flowers for the first time. They were a strange choice — not conventionally pretty, but beautiful…
Edith Zimmerman
May 24, 2017
Audio available

Sperm, Poison, and Lily of the Valley

In 2003, a study published in the journal Science claimed that human sperm were able to literally smell the distinctive springlike…
Edith Zimmerman
Jun 19, 2017
Audio available

Before Sexting, There Was Sex Tea

Aphrodisiacs, damiana, and the placebo effect
Edith Zimmerman
Jul 25, 2017
Audio available

Daughter of the Wind

Myth, truth, and forsaken flowers
Edith Zimmerman
Sep 27, 2017
Audio available

The Strangeness of the Colchicum

Tracing the history of the autumn crocus, from murder weapon to medicine
Edith Zimmerman
Nov 16, 2017

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