Explore every episode of the podcast Focus on Flowers

Making potpourri from flowers is an easy dried-flower craft. It smells lovely and makes a great gift and looks pretty in bowls, baskets, and jars, reminding us of summer. 

The Aztecs who first inhabited South America domesticated the plant that we now call marigold many years before any Europeans ever set foot in the area that we now call Mexico.

Heuchera is the botanical name for coral bells.The one that is most frequently found in our gardens is Heuchera sanguinea -- tiny bell-shaped flowers on 15-inch stems dangle above mounds of deep green leaves. The flowers are bright red, which explains why “sanguinea,” which means blood red, is in the name.

If you are looking for a sweet gift for a loved one or friend, check out antique stores and thrift shops for miniature vases or cute tiny bottles.

Doug Paul Case reads "

Two recordings of music from the Lutheran tradition composed by Bach and Telemann.

Here are some anonymous rhymes celebrating and beckoning vernal season.

George Walker speaks with Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature and Spanish and Portuguese at IU-Bloomington Willis Barnstone.

Poet Ciara Miller reads her poems "War Stories," "How Cute the Boy," "Lilith Strikes Back," and "From the Hen Your Husband Fetishizes."

Two new recordings from the ensemble Arcangelo.

Focus on Flowers celebrates the arrival of spring with a poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne.

Anne Kibbler of IU’s School of Journalism interviews noted documentary photographer Robert Nickelsberg.

The music of Henry Purcell—three different interpretations from three different recordings.

I think more poetry has been written about spring than any other season.

Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote, "As long as one has a garden, one has a future and as long as one has a future, one lives."

It is always sad to lose a plant that you love, especially when it is hard to replace.

We’re celebrating the achievements of Reinhard Goebel, founder of Musica Antiqua Köln. Plus, more about 17th-c. theorist A. Kircher and a CD by Quire Cleveland.

The pollen produced by ragweed is light and easily blown in the wind.

Gena Asher leads a discussion about Bring Change 2 Mind, an organization that works to end stigmatization of mental illness.

Vita "hate, hate, hate[d] ‘American Pillar’" rambler roses!

Here's an idea for a gardener's valentine gift: an I.O.U. to visit this wonderful garden next summer!

John Bailey interviews Ross Gay, poet and associate director of creative writing in the Department of English at IU-Bloomington.

These unique flowering plants make wonderful Valentine gifts for gardeners.

Undoubtedly, wildlife adds a different dimension to our flower gardens.

Will Murphy interviews David Ignatius, opinion writer at The Washington Post.

"Love your garden and work in it, and let it give you what it surely will and let no one feel that the benefit is all on the side of the garden, for truly you will receive more than you give."

Trefoil performs music centering on the symbolism of flowers in the music and poetry of the middle ages.

Eupatorium coelestinum is a perennial plant with fluffy blue flower heads.

The heads of the dinner-plate dahlias are quite heavy, and sometimes they are displayed in a large float bowl so viewers can look down on their gorgeous petals.

Will Murphy speaks with Bloomington Deputy Mayor John Whikehart.

We asked musician Alison Melville: "What are you listening to right now?" Also, music by Diomedes Cato, and a CD from The Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado.

Mozart’s Requiem exists only as fragments—its completion attended to posthumously by many others.

“If you want to be happy for a week, take a wife. If you want to be happy all of your life, make a garden.” -Chinese proverb

Music of Brothels and Bawdy Houses of Purcell's England, performed by The City Waites.

Oleander is a highly toxic plant!

We’re touring Vienna, with works by Haydn and Beethoven performed on period instruments, instrumental sonatas by Schmelzer and a groundbreaking opera by Gluck.

Flowering plants are forgiving, and they usually give much more than they receive.

Owen Johnson interviews Polish historian Łukasz Kaminski and Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the United States Ryszard Schnepf.

We think of a sprig of mistletoe as something to kiss under at a holiday party, but it has a fascinating history...

Holly bushes make excellent last minute holiday gifts!

Here's a sampling from an array of early music recordings – new and old, from performers like the Tallis Scholars, Boston Camerata, The Sixteen, and more.

David Wood interviews composer Caroline Shaw, the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her composition.

Owen Johnson interviews Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, who regularly contributes to The New Yorker on military matters.

Laurus nobilis is the botanical name for the European species of laurel.

John Kitchen performs on the 1755 Baillon harpsichord, and Manuel Staropoli plays music by Robert de Visee on flute and various recorders.

Commonly called false sunflowers, all heliopsis plants are North American wildflowers, and they make excellent cut flowers.

Malcolm Webb interviews Sammy Lee Davis, whose tradition of military service goes back to his grandfather who served in the Spanish-American War.

During the 1860s, watercolor paintings by English artists depicted rural scenes with thatched cottages surrounded by profuse cottage gardens. It was an idealized version of English country life.

A new release of instrumental music by Thomas Simpson and William Brade performed by the Weser-Renaissance ensemble.

Herbaceous perennials that can exist with minimal water include artemisia, coreopsis, sedum, yarrow, yucca and the euphorbia species.