I don’t have to tell you that gardening is an art. Any beautifully designed plot rich with red roses, deep blue indigo, and striking yellow sunflowers is enough to convince anyone that flowers, vegetables, fruits, shrubs, and trees can create a museum in your yard. Some of the most famous paintings in the world are proof enough that gardens are indeed art. Mary Cassatt’s “Lilacs in a Window” and Vincent van Gogh’s “Irises” have revered places in museum halls.
Gardening is also science. You can’t talk about soil composition or plant hybrids without getting into science. But “science” sounds so removed from the emotions and beauty of time in the garden. In reality, art and science can mingle and connect. Science can help us understand the art of gardening and art helps us appreciate the science of gardening. That’s exactly what you’ll find in this Collection, Gardening Science: Stories for learning how to be a better gardener.
Knowledge is power, and gardening science knowledge makes you an expert to be reckoned with!
When you read the special GreenPrints Collection Gardening Science: Stories for learning how to be a better gardener today, you’ll learn some interesting and valuable facts:
- What’s the science about talking to your plants? Get the answer about benefits to your plants—and benefits for yourself—when talking to your plants on a regular basis. Get the details now.
- Trees are good for us—and the environment. Trees put water back in our atmosphere. Over 90% of the water sucked up by a tree’s roots is sprayed into the sky via stomata—tiny openings on the surface of the leaves—in a process known as transpiration. Turns out, that’s a good thing! Learn more about it now!
- How photosynthesis helps the world and, especially, our gardens. Plants have it way up on us humans because they can make their own food—just by sitting there pointing themselves skyward and using nothing but water, sunshine, and carbon dioxide. Find out how they do it now!
The stories here bring us into the joys and fascinations of gardening by appealing to our spirits and the scientific explanations that feed our sense of wonder. In “The Sweet Smell of Rain”, Becky Rupp brings us to a garden still sparkling with water droplets after a storm and explains not only why the scent of an April shower is so unique, but also why it’s so evocative and memorable.
Of course, if you’d like to dig a little deeper into the science of gardening, check out “Good Chemistry,” and find out why we are all alive today thanks to a chemical reaction in plants. Sure, you may be familiar with photosynthesis as something that makes it possible for plants to turn sunlight into our dinner. You may even know that chlorophyll is the substance that makes photosynthesis possible. But did you know that it takes 137 atoms to create chlorophyll and that there are six different kinds of chlorophyll?
And if it’s still early and you haven’t had enough coffee yet for chlorophyll, take a peek at “Here Comes the Sun.” This gardening science story has a little bit of everything from the Earth’s axial tilt to an illuminated 13th-century text that depicts rabbits armed with clubs, bows, and apparently a lot of garlic. There’s even an appearance by the Roman sun god, Sol Invictus! If that’s not the makings of the next Hollywood SciFi blockbuster, I don’t know what is.
There are so many fascinating (and fun!) stories in this special GreenPrints Collection on gardening science, including:
- “Don’t Bully Your Plants”
- “World Naked Gardening Day”
- “Dear Tree”
- “Patricia Westerford”
- “Clouds”
- “The Secret Garden”
- “Living With the Wind”
- “Getting By With the Help of Our Friends”
- “Good Chemistry”
- “Confounding Columbines”
- “Here Comes the Sun”
- “Tommy Tucker and Company”
- “Learning to Love Latin”
- “Feet, Fathoms, and Flamingos”
- “The Sweet Smell of Rain”
Should you play music for your plants? Send an email to your favorite tree? Learn Latin for your flowers? Discover the answer to these questions and more in this Collection about Gardening Science!
About GreenPrints: As part of Mequoda Publishing Network, GreenPrints brings joy, humor, inspiration, projects, artwork, and advice from our community of gardening writers, humorists, and illustrators to members and subscribers all over the world. Our stories, artwork, and kits touch hearts, lift spirits, and provide hours of entertainment about all things gardening. Our interactive projects help readers build their communities, beautify their homes, and be more successful gardeners and happier human beings. More than 250,000 gardening enthusiasts share the joy, laughter, and camaraderie that can only be found with GreenPrints.
About Mequoda Publishing Network: Mequoda provides actionable ideas, inspiration, and advice for gardeners, cooks, and crafting enthusiasts—with the goal of improving their lives and increasing personal enrichment and enjoyment. We operate five multiplatform consumer brands, including six magazines, 28 email newsletters, and more than 100 digital books. We partner with dozens of sponsors to help them market their products to our audiences. For nearly two decades, Mequoda has explored and expanded the evolving art and science of multiplatform publishing and marketing. With in-depth research, aggressive testing, and cutting-edge strategy, Mequoda has developed a reputation as an industry leader for building and operating multiplatform communities that serve, engage, and delight consumers, sponsors, partners, and affiliates.
Contact: To learn more about our Email Marketing and Broadcasting Services, Exchange Program, or to become a marketing partner with any of our publications, please contact Christy Page at Christy@Mequoda.com or 781-556-1006.
