Horticulturati: Metamorphosis & Victory Gardens

On this Horticulturati, we bring you stories of adaptation and change. Leah has been studying up on butterfly holometabolism -- that is, complete metamorphosis -- with assistance from her niece, nephew, and Vladimir Nabokov. Colleen describes the history of Victory Gardens, from World War I to the present day, and outlines three ways to start a "pandemic garden" of your own. But first: we revisit the sleeper masterpiece that is the Secret Life of Plants doc (1979), which is only available in bootleg on YouTube. Watch it here. Mentioned in this episode:  A color guide to familiar Butterflies Caterpillars and Chrysalides by Josef Moucha; Butterfly Gardening for the South by Geyata Ajilvsgi; Gayata on Central Texas Gardener;  photo of a giant swallowtail chrysalis and a monarch chrysalis; Nabokov's 1948 "Butterflies" essay from the New Yorker; Sebastian's rescued chrysalis and newly emerged monarch; National Audubon Society Field Guide to Butterflies of North America; A Brief History of Gardening by Neil Fairbairn; Nature's Garden for Victory and Peace by George Washington Carver;  Victory Garden (undated propaganda film); "How to Plant a Victory Garden" (NYT Sunday Style); this article about panic gardening; this article about scallions; and Central Texas Seed Savers. Many thanks to our young lepidopterists in the field, Sebastian and Margot. Get in touch with us on our website.