A funny thing has happened with Wicked Plants. It’s turned into a road show. A carnival of sorts. Social networking, nineteenth-century style. A year before Wicked Plants was released, I was hanging out at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with director Scot Medbury, and I launched into a rant about what I thought botanic gardens oughtContinue reading

As some of you know, I planted a poison garden while I was working on Wicked Plants.  I’d never grown, much less seen, some of the plants in the book, and it’s just too weird to write about plants you don’t know. So I managed to come up with about 35 species that I couldContinue reading

As some of you know, I planted a poison garden while I was working on Wicked Plants.  I’d never grown, much less seen, some of the plants in the book, and it’s just too weird to write about plants you don’t know. So I managed to come up with about 35 species that I couldContinue reading

We bring you this important news bulletin about Amy Stewart’s Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon’s Army & other Diabolical Insects (May 2011). Amy Stewart is also the author of the New York Times and Indie Next bestsellers Wicked Plants and Flower Confidential. You may have seen her byline in the New York TimesContinue reading

Dear Dr. Bleedingheart, Help! There’s this really cute guy working at a local bookstore near my office and I’d love to ask him out. But every time I go into the store he’s busy with customers or helping other employees. What can I do to stand out from the regular customers and show him I’mContinue reading

Dear Dr. Bleedingheart, I’ve leaving in a few weeks for a vacation with extended family at a beach house that we’ve rented for a week. Do you have any tips for surviving the week with family while still having fun? Thanks, Beach Mom Dear Beach Mom, What you need is a project.  Fathers, fathers-in-law, andContinue reading