Culture
‘The universe is a continuous web. Touch it at any point and the whole web quivers.’ – Stanley Kunitz
Here, we explore the nuances of the relationship between humans and the natural world. We share provocative ideas and thoughtful opinions, and ask plenty of questions about what it means to be here, now.
275 Results
Dear Coal, We Need to Talk
CultureA very considered letter to coal, marking the end of a relationship.
Ellis Rowan: Plant Hunter
CultureA radical Australian plant hunter who broke all the rules.
Rousseau in the Jungle
Art & Design, CultureHenri Rousseau painted exotic jungles, but he was really the ultimate city dweller.
Oh, van Gogh!
Art & Design, CultureVincent van Gogh painted sunflowers, olive orchards and lemons – and he's up next in our artist series.
Camille Pissarro: The Impressionist Gardener
Art & Design, CultureWe're exploring artists who depict nature this month - first up is Camille Pissarro.
The Ritual & Magic of Altar Making
CultureMake some everyday magic by building yourself an altar. All you need are flowers, focus, and crystal power!
Sorry, I Love You: The Ritual of Giving Flowers
CultureA visit to Flowers Vasette in Melbourne, and an exploration of the ritual of giving flowers.
Oliver Sacks: Fern Crazy
Botanica, CultureAs well as a regarded neurologist and author, Oliver Sacks was a mad fern lover!
Zen Garden, or No Zen Garden?
Culture, GardensGorgeous images of Japanese temple gardens. And a musing.
On Seeing (Or Why The Planthunter Exists)
CultureNature. It's simple and complex and fragile. And it's why The Planthunter exists.
Foliage Fantasies
CultureOur readers share their ultimate outdoor love making fantasies!
First Date? Get Outside. Go!
CultureOur list of over 30 great outdoor places to take a first date.
Practical Tips For Outdoor Sexy Times
CultureGetting it on outdoors doesn't always end triumphantly. Here are our tips for a winning romp!
Love Lessons From a Callistemon
CultureWriter Katrien Pickles on the evolution of her relationship from a seedling to a forest.
Desire Survey: Getting it on, Outside!
CultureWhat was your most memorable outdoor lovin' experience? Our readers tell all.
Sir Joseph Banks: Botanical Rock Star or Bastard?
Botanica, CultureWas Sir Joseph Banks a botanical rock star or a 'cantankerous old bastard'? You decide.
The Valley of the Cirios
CultureA journey through a valley of very strange plants in Mexico.
A History of Botanical Illustration
Botanica, CultureThe Amazon, a moonflower, and a .32 revolver. Botanical illustrators are so rock n roll.
(Botanical) Tattoos: Art or Craft?
Art & Design, CultureA musing on the question of tattoos as art. And a whole bunch of botanical tattoos. Just because.
Landfill to Garden Fuel
CultureCommunity driven commercial green waste composting, driven by a small Sydney bakery - Iggy's Bread of The World.
Cemeteries: Death & the Landscape
CultureAre cemeteries the most human of all landscapes? A musing on death, landscape and culture.
Samorn Saxinay Dyes with Compost!
Art & Design, CultureSamorn Saxinay is a weaver and designer who stumbled across the the idea of dyeing with food scraps, thanks to a hug from her grubby daughter.
The Decay of the Domestic and the Rise of the Pickle
CultureThe politics of preserving. A wonderful read. And a recipe!
True Indigo Dyeing: The Fermented Vat
Art & Design, CultureAboubakar Fofana is a master natural indigo dyer dedicated to sharing his passion for ancestral growing, weaving and dyeing skills throughout the world.
The Eucalpyt: Medicine & Magic
CultureThe medicinal/magical powers of the Australian Eucalptus tree, as discovered by Ferdinand von Mueller and explored by natural dyer India Flint.
Gardens in the Sky
Culture, GardensWe need more green roofs in our cities. Here's why.
Tokyo’s Potted Gardens: Sidewalks for the Soul
CultureTokyo's potted street-side gardens are signposts to a city that believes confusion and connection go hand in hand.
Musings of a Hedgehunter
CultureThere's more to the act of hedging than meets the eye....
Indian Tree Veneration: The Art of Valuing Trees
Botanica, CultureIs there a role for art and spirituality in challenging us to change the way we look at nature in the west? This article by David Whitworth explores this idea. It's a great read!
Marigolds & the Mexican Day of the Dead
Botanica, CultureA beautiful story by Sally Wilson about memory, marigolds, and the Mexican Day of the Dead.
Book Review: The Tree, By John Fowles
CultureA review of The Tree by John Fowles, the classic meditation on creativity and nature.
Love Letters to the Eucalypt
CultureAn essay on the Eucalyptus tree as a symbol of Australian nationalistic passion. A great story by Lucy Kaldor.
Komorebi: Dripping Sunlight
Culture, GardensThe word komorebi translates as 'dripping sunlight' in Japanese. An essay on this very romantic word by David Whitworth.
$100 Million Dollars Worth of Plants
Botanica, CultureThe National Herbarium of NSW at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney is a veritable (and valuable) botanical treasure trove!
Art, Death & Secret Gardens
Art & Design, CultureA wonderful story by Josephine Pennicott exploring the relationship between creativity, loss, and the act of gardening in the lives of two women - Contemporary muse/artist Wendy Whiteley and novelist Frances Hodgson Burnett. A really beautiful read!
Adventures With Sour Sobs & Lichen
CultureI grew up in the 70’s with a slightly hippy and very crafty Mum who spun wool,…
Indigo: A Fiery Lover, A Patient Friend
CultureYesterday I spent the day outside in the rain. It was cold, I was wet, and my…
A World Without Money?!
CultureImagine a world without money. Hard, isn’t it? Let’s try. Ready? Just relax, this is only a thought…
Mondrian: Funded by Flowers
Art & Design, CultureIts funny to think of being ashamed of making money from flowers, but apparently Mondrian was. I…
Money Grows on Trees in Mexico!
CultureIn Mexico City money grows on a great number of trees. They’re not scarce and most homes…
The Birds, Bees & Trees
CultureWe all encompass a sexual ecosystem. Like a terrarium, we are host to delicate systems that when…
Orchidelirium: The Sexual Prowess of Orchids
Botanica, Culture‘Orchid Sexual Deceit Provokes Ejaculation’, reads one headline as I dive headlong into the surprisingly well documented sex…
The Heart Garden
Culture, GardensThere is nothing quite like the sexual tension of an illicit love affair: the meaningful looks and…
Confessions of a Dendrophile
CultureDendrophilia literally means ‘love of trees’. Planting them, hugging them, and talking to them are some of…
Botanicarotica: A Collection of Poems
CultureFor me, poetry is perfect for capturing moments in nature. It offers a creative opportunity for the…
Sex, Plants and Frida Kahlo
CultureThe Mexican artist Frida Kahlo kept almighty gardens. She painted furiously, slept with many, and loved like a one-eyed tornado. Sally Wilson explores the passion of the first lady of flower crowns. A brilliant read!
In Sex We’re All The Same
Botanica, CultureI have a wonderful book called Plant Breeding for the Home Gardener, by plant geneticist and horticulturist Joseph…
Walking The Larapinta
Botanica, CultureSprawling west from Alice Springs are the entrancing West MacDonnell Ranges. I recently spent a…
Islands & Forests: A Poem
CultureLouisa Miranda is a poet from northern NSW. She believes believes …
Haiku: The Instagram of the Poetry World?
Culture“Haikus confuse me Too often they make no sense Hand me the pliers” Bumper sticker…
Emily’s Herbarium
Botanica, CultureIn August 2013, Tavi Gevinson, the teenage editor of girl’s magazine Rookie, wrote about how keeping a journal…
Nature’s Typography
CultureAustralian explorers in the 19th century were struck by a strange and esoteric graffiti scrawled in an…
The Role of Metaphor in Chinese Gardens
Culture, Gardens“Rocks are just rocks. They’re not poetry. They’re not horses. That one doesn’t look like a rat,…
The Poetry of Plant Life
CultureFrom Epicurus’ garden school, to the grandeur of Versailles, to the crop of community gardens popping up…
Are Our Minds Broken?
CultureA meandering essay on the human/nature relationship.
Power: A Poetry Playlist
CultureSome biologists will tell you that the beautiful ecosystems plants create are really war zones, but this…
Power to the Flower
CultureIf flowers symbolise love, what does it mean to poke a carnation down the loaded barrel of a soldier’s gun?
The Battle for Supremacy: Plants vs. People
CultureA brilliant essay by artist and thinker Karina Jean Sharpe on the power struggle between people and plants.
Tree Planting Ceremonies
CultureLong before there was talk of ‘managing’ forests, humans relied on trees in almost every facet of…
The Timbre of Timber
CultureI walked into James Robinson’s cramped workshop, one of a few businesses under a big grey apartment…
To Not Forget
Botanica, CultureA funny, sad, and beautiful story by Lucy Kaldor involving her mothers funeral, Eucalyptus macrocarpa, and artist Laura Jones.
The Nature of Scent
CultureMost of us have experienced that spine-tingling moment when, triggered by a passing scent carried on the…
Etched: Tattoos & Memory
CultureAs a child, I spent many hours watching the arms of my grandfather, studying the faded tattoos…
Seeds, Life & Weeds
CultureEarly last summer my cousin, while roaming the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, discovered a magnificent dandelion.
Memory & Place: A Path To Belonging
CultureMemory is a curious thing. An experience, a scent, a longing, a lament — it’s jasmine in…
Mnemonic Musings
CultureI don’t think I have a single memory not associated with a fragrance or scent of some…
The Bard & His Blooms
CultureLittle is known about William Shakespeare, the most famous writer of all time. Few records remain to…
No Patriotism in Exaggeration
CultureOn the second-last day of the 1888-1889 Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition a new photographic exhibit appeared in…
The Choirgirl Hotel
Botanica, CultureDive head first into the beautiful madness of the Choirgirl Hotel!
Boabs: Ancient Trees, Modern Needs
Botanica, CultureThe boab is the plant world’s most ardent multi-tasker. This native tree might tread the line between ugly…
Ode To The Onion
CulturePablo Neruda, what a man! The Chilean poet, who died in 1973, knew a thing or two…
Ode To The Lemon
CultureDid you know that Pablo Neruda used to write in green ink? To him, the colour…
Ode to the Artichoke
CultureYes, Pablo Neruda, that steamy South American wordsmith is back. We couldn’t resist sharing Ode To The…
A Weedy Kinda Love
CultureMirra Whale is an artist based in Sydney. Obsessed by food and inspired by the natural environment…
Celebrating The Suburbs
CultureI was a child born in the lush, green garden belt of Sydney. It was an idyllic…
36 Edward Street
Culture, GardensA personal story of loss, grief and growth in the garden.
Pretty Girls Make Good Fertilizer
CultureWriter Lucy Kaldor explores the growing (ha!) green burial movement.