Why Does Caffeine Exist?
Today, billions of people around the world start their day with caffeine. But how and why did the ability to produce this molecule independently evolve in multiple, distantly-related lineages of…
MOSS CONCRETE 🌱
Dutch company Respyre apply a bioreceptive layer of recycled concrete to the surface, followed by a coating of moss spores. After a few weeks the moss grows and spreads across…
The Arms Race That Made Insects Take Flight
Spiders and their ancestors have been driving an arms race that began before either stepped foot onto land and resulted in the first powered flight on Earth.
Small Garden Design Done Right
Let’s talk about small gardens, because the reality is, most of us aren’t working with rolling acres. This particular space is 10 by 10 metres, almost identical in size to…
Finding Space, Light, and Calm in a Small Garden
Small garden design ideas, clever landscaping tips, and space‑saving garden inspiration.
The Atlas Obscura Podcast: Enchanted Woods
In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit a four-acre garden in Wilmington, Delaware, with characters and exhibits created using castoff materials and greenery. It invites kids to…
14 Ant-Repelling Plants
The key to deterring ants naturally with plants relies primarily on scent. These insects have four to five times as many scent receptors in their antennae as other insects, which…
18 Plants That Repel And Keep Rats Away — And 7 That Attract Them
Ever wondered which plants can either invite or repel those pesky little rodents from your garden? Join me on this fun exploration as I unearth plants that are either a…
PBS Eons: When Did the First Flower Bloom?
During the Cretaceous Period, dinosaurs were more diverse, more fierce, and more strange than ever. But something else was happening under the feet of the terrible lizards: for the first…
How Plants Became Carnivores
How and why does botanical carnivory keep evolving? It turns out that when any of the basic things that most plants need aren’t there, some plants can adapt in unexpected…