Hello! My name is Victoria. Plants, to me, are the prism through which I see everything: science, art, community, connection, learning, growth, emotions, wonder. With this site, I hope to share my plant enthusiasm with you. My garden is much more than just “a garden”—it is creating and being in a space that brings joy.
Plant Families
Plant families have long fascinated me. What makes an Asparagaceae an Asparagaceae and a Zingiberaceae a Zingiberaceae? Here you will find profiles of different plant families including their keystone species, uses, and characteristics. You might be surprised to learn about the relationships among seemingly dissimilar plants.
Recent Posts
[{"id":1970,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/how-was-china\/","name":"how-was-china","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/PXL_20241018_105034016.PORTRAIT-scaled.jpg","alt":""},"title":"How Was China?","excerpt":"","content":"Upon returning from any grand trip such as this, everyone asks: HOW WAS YOUR TRIP?! I long to wiggle out of answering this question. I\u2019d like to say so much, but these questions typically occur between volleyball games as you line up to take a sip of water. How can I say something thoughtful","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Nov 18, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-11-18 17:19:11","modifiedDate":"2024-11-18 14:46:57","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-11-18 20:46:57","commentCount":"5","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":5,"sec":24},"status":"publish"},{"id":1817,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/the-radish-around-the-world\/","name":"the-radish-around-the-world","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/IMG_1413.jpg","alt":""},"title":"The Radish Around the World","excerpt":"","content":"The radish: that beaming red crunchy and spicy lunch snack. Like many of the \u201cmodern\u201d vegetables pumped out to us at \u201cmodern\u201d grocery stores, the real story is much more diverse. There are in fact many radishes of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and they aren\u2019t all just for munching or adding to salads.","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Jun 8, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-06-08 15:09:55","modifiedDate":"2024-06-13 09:30:43","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-06-13 14:30:43","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":5,"sec":3},"status":"publish"},{"id":1270,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/cycads-living-fossils\/","name":"cycads-living-fossils","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/IMG_20191125_144830sm-scaled.jpg","alt":""},"title":"Cycads: Living Fossils","excerpt":"","content":"The plant world has numerous, amazing examples of resilience. Cycads, for example, are fascinating ancient plants thought to have evolved from ferns. Having been around for nearly 300 million years, they are models of longevity and hardiness. Cycas circinalis at the UWM Greenhouse. The UWM Greenhouse is home to a number of cycads, with","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Mar 20, 2023","dateGMT":"2023-03-20 16:24:28","modifiedDate":"2023-04-22 09:36:25","modifiedDateGMT":"2023-04-22 14:36:25","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/botany\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Botany<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/botany\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Botany<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":4,"sec":45},"status":"publish"},{"id":1229,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/beatrix-potter\/","name":"beatrix-potter","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Picture1.jpg","alt":""},"title":"<strong>Beatrix Potter: Amateur Mycologist<\/strong>","excerpt":"","content":"By Rosalie Robison Many know Beatrix Potter as the author and illustrator of famous children\u2019s books like The Tale of Peter Rabbit, but there\u2019s another side to her. Before she became known for popular children\u2019s characters like Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle Duck, she drew hundreds of fungi and experimented with growing mushroom spores.","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Jan 14, 2023","dateGMT":"2023-01-14 16:23:21","modifiedDate":"2023-01-14 10:23:21","modifiedDateGMT":"2023-01-14 16:23:21","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/botany\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Botany<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/botany\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Botany<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":2,"sec":42},"status":"publish"},{"id":1127,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/orchids-all-around-us\/","name":"orchids-all-around-us","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_4915sm.jpg","alt":""},"title":"Orchids All Around Us","excerpt":"","content":"Crazy fact: Nearly one of every ten species of flowering plants is an orchid. Current tallies have about 28,000 species of orchids (with many, many more hybrids and cultivars), which is twice as many bird species and four times as many mammal species. Another fun fact: vanilla is an orchid, one of the few","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Dec 17, 2022","dateGMT":"2022-12-17 15:31:56","modifiedDate":"2022-12-17 09:37:43","modifiedDateGMT":"2022-12-17 15:37:43","commentCount":"1","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/botany\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Botany<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/botany\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Botany<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":5,"sec":37},"status":"publish"},{"id":908,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/strawberries-fruit-trust-issues\/","name":"strawberries-fruit-trust-issues","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/strawberry-runnerssm.jpg","alt":""},"title":"Strawberries and\u2026 My Fruit Trust Issues","excerpt":"","content":"It's strawberry season, which in my view officially kicks off the season of fresh fruit--finally! I have issues\u2026 with fruit. Up until now only a select few in my close circle have been aware of my\u2026what should I call it: Fruit phobia? Fruit antithesis? Fruit nemesis??? Ron Swanson trying to eat a banana perfectly","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Jun 20, 2022","dateGMT":"2022-06-20 22:15:15","modifiedDate":"2022-10-16 06:37:13","modifiedDateGMT":"2022-10-16 11:37:13","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":2,"sec":12},"status":"publish"},{"id":763,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/ephemeral-spring-treats\/","name":"ephemeral-spring-treats","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Spring-Flowers-copysm.jpg","alt":""},"title":"Ephemeral Spring Treats","excerpt":"","content":"Ephemeral: something that lasts for a very short timeFresh: new or recently made, as being not spoiled or not preserved, or as being energized or not tired. Spring is a time like no other. After the utter desperation of winter, we are starved for vibrant life and color. I have heard the season described","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Apr 26, 2022","dateGMT":"2022-04-27 01:54:04","modifiedDate":"2022-09-19 12:34:13","modifiedDateGMT":"2022-09-19 17:34:13","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":5,"sec":42},"status":"publish"},{"id":705,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/musing-on-seasonal-change-winter\/","name":"musing-on-seasonal-change-winter","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/00100lrPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191207111948422_COVERsm-scaled.jpg","alt":""},"title":"Musing on Seasonal Change: Winter","excerpt":"","content":"The winter cracks our perception of ourselves. The seasons toss us through cycles of wash, rinse, dry, and tumble; every year we get the same treatment even though we sense each stage in a cycle of unique moments. Nature signals familiar patterns if we look, but many of us now live a life of","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Mar 24, 2022","dateGMT":"2022-03-25 00:32:51","modifiedDate":"2022-10-16 07:08:43","modifiedDateGMT":"2022-10-16 12:08:43","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/botany\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Botany<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/botany\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Botany<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":4,"sec":49},"status":"publish"},{"id":619,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/escaping-winter-at-the-uwm-greenhouse\/","name":"escaping-winter-at-the-uwm-greenhouse","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/general-sm-scaled.jpg","alt":""},"title":"Escaping Winter at the UWM Greenhouse","excerpt":"","content":"Inhale the fragrance of coconut geraniums or spicy shell ginger, pop a citrusy kumquat into your mouth, and pretend you\u2019re in the Mediterranean while the snowstorm rages outside. Welcome to the UWM Greenhouse, located on the UW-Milwaukee campus in Wisconsin. I began volunteering at the Greenhouse after becoming a UWM employee in 2018. Before","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Jan 8, 2022","dateGMT":"2022-01-09 01:49:49","modifiedDate":"2022-09-19 12:35:43","modifiedDateGMT":"2022-09-19 17:35:43","commentCount":"2","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/botany\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Botany<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/botany\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Botany<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":10,"sec":9},"status":"publish"},{"id":589,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/an-ode-to-peppers\/","name":"an-ode-to-peppers","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Pepper-Medley-sm-scaled.jpg","alt":""},"title":"An Ode to Peppers","excerpt":"","content":"Getting into my vibe in the desert mountain scrub of SoCal I\u2019m obsessed with peppers. Perhaps it\u2019s because I spent my formative years in the southern California desert. Perhaps it\u2019s because I grew up in southern California AND my favorite band was the Red Hot Chili Peppers (sorry, not sorry). Perhaps I have a","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Nov 27, 2021","dateGMT":"2021-11-28 02:05:45","modifiedDate":"2022-12-23 17:59:12","modifiedDateGMT":"2022-12-23 23:59:12","commentCount":"2","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":8,"sec":39},"status":"publish"},{"id":445,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/eat-your-greens\/","name":"eat-your-greens","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/bitter-greens-salad-scaled.jpeg","alt":""},"title":"Eat Your Greens","excerpt":"","content":"Part of the Eat Your Greens series. See all the delicious ways you can eat your greens! We\u2019re supposed to eat our greens. As the Popeye tune goes, \"I'm strong to the finich cause I eats me spinach!\u201d I think greens are fascinating. They are universal: people worldwide use and appreciate greens in the","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Jun 16, 2021","dateGMT":"2021-06-17 02:45:05","modifiedDate":"2022-10-16 07:09:48","modifiedDateGMT":"2022-10-16 12:09:48","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/eat-your-greens\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Eat Your Greens<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/eat-your-greens\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Eat Your Greens<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":7,"sec":23},"status":"publish"},{"id":398,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/alliaceous-alliums\/","name":"alliaceous-alliums","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/garlicmusic-1.jpeg","alt":""},"title":"Alliaceous Alliums","excerpt":"","content":"Part of the Eat Your Greens series. See all the delicious ways you can eat your greens! alliaceous : resembling garlic or onion especially in smell or taste For Wisconsin gardeners, spring is a tumultuous time of year full of excitement and dashed hopes. It\u2019s also a time when little is growing, making the things","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"May 2, 2021","dateGMT":"2021-05-03 04:08:35","modifiedDate":"2022-12-23 14:11:10","modifiedDateGMT":"2022-12-23 20:11:10","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/eat-your-greens\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Eat Your Greens<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/eat-your-greens\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Eat Your Greens<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":6,"sec":10},"status":"publish"},{"id":277,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/learning-to-like-lichens\/","name":"learning-to-like-lichens","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/lichen3-smaller-scaled.jpg","alt":""},"title":"Learning to Like Lichens","excerpt":"","content":"By Rosalie Robison \u201cThere is a low mist in the woods\u2014It is a good day to study lichens.\"\u2015 Henry David Thoreau, A Year in Thoreau\u2019s Journal: 1851 Lichen is life in its most basic form: the precursor to soil and higher plant forms. Lichen arrived on Earth at least 250 million years ago and consists of","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Mar 25, 2021","dateGMT":"2021-03-25 17:32:16","modifiedDate":"2022-10-16 07:10:33","modifiedDateGMT":"2022-10-16 12:10:33","commentCount":"1","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/botany\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Botany<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/botany\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Botany<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":4,"sec":25},"status":"publish"},{"id":177,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/sorrel-an-underestimated-herb\/","name":"sorrel-an-underestimated-herb","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/sorrel-scaled.jpg","alt":""},"title":"Sorrel: An Underestimated Herb","excerpt":"","content":"It may not seem like much of a plant, but sorrel deserves a chance in any garden. This easy to grow perennial herb requires little maintenance and produces tasty leaves useful in cooking. You may be surprised to learn about the varied uses of this plant and its interesting relatives. Quick Facts Sorrel is","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Mar 1, 2021","dateGMT":"2021-03-01 07:46:55","modifiedDate":"2022-12-23 14:13:30","modifiedDateGMT":"2022-12-23 20:13:30","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/eat-your-greens\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Eat Your Greens<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/eat-your-greens\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Eat Your Greens<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":3,"sec":29},"status":"publish"},{"id":1,"link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/alices-garden-urban-farm\/","name":"alices-garden-urban-farm","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/alices-garden-5.jpg","alt":""},"title":"Alice's Garden Urban Farm","excerpt":"","content":"What is a community garden? Before we ask this question, we should ask: What is a community? I had no answer for this until my mother and I began renting plots at Alice\u2019s Garden in Milwaukee's Lindsey Heights neighborhood. Alice\u2019s Garden represents an intersection. Not only is it physically at the center of Milwaukee,","author":{"name":"Plantoria","link":"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/author\/victoria\/"},"date":"Jan 23, 2021","dateGMT":"2021-01-23 13:42:02","modifiedDate":"2022-04-28 18:29:37","modifiedDateGMT":"2022-04-28 23:29:37","commentCount":"1","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/floralprisms.com\/category\/garden\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Garden<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":2,"sec":51},"status":"publish"}]