The Daily Gardener

Today we celebrate a bryologist who Asa Gray called, "a noble fellow" and the botanist who, along with his wife, helped found the New York Botanic Garden in the Bronx. We'll learn about one of the first and most prolific professional female garden photographers and the female botanist with a mountain named in her honor. Today's Unearthed Words feature poetry that's all about using our imagination and memory when it comes to our gardens in the dead of winter. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us appreciate our garden through our senses during all four seasons. I'll talk about a garden item that is cute and functional and can be used outside of the garden as well, and then we'll wrap things up with the anniversary of the opening of the museum that was started with the estate of the botanist Sir Hans Sloane. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Gardening with Dave Allan: Scent in the winter garden | HeraldScotland Here are some great suggestions from Dave Allan about sweetly scented flowering shrubs for your Winter Garden: Take the small cream flowers of shrubby Lonicera fragrantissima(Common Name: sweet breath of spring): They suffuse the air with compelling fragrance. You know they're frustratingly close but sometimes must act as a sniffer dog to track them down, hidden in a tangle of leaf-stripped twigs. I can't see beyond Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn.'It's always a joy to have a whiff every time I pass by on the way up to the duck run. A flush of little buds readily replaces any that have been blasted brown by frost and snow. Viburnum farreri and V. tinus also faithfully flower from November to February. I'm thinking of shrubs like Mahonia japonica and M. x media (Common Name: Oregon grape-holly). These evergreens do boast highly scented sprays of the tiniest yellow buttons, so don't banish them to the gloomiest corner just because they're tough woodland edge plants. Why not plant them where you'll actually see them? 6 must-visit garden shows for 2020 From House Beautiful (ww.housebeautiful.com) | @hb: "What are the best British garden shows to visit in 2020? From the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show to fringe events like Seedy Sunday, these gardening events are perfect for the green-fingered horticultural lover, regardless of whether you're a budding beginner or a seasoned pro." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1803Today is the birthday of William Starling Sullivant. Sullivant was born to the founding family of Franklinton, Ohio. His father, Lucas, was a surveyor and had named the town in honor of the recently deceased Benjamin Franklin. The settlement would become Columbus. In 1823, William Sullivant graduated from Yale College. His father would die in August of that same year. Sullivant took over his father's surveying business, and at the age of thirty, he began to study and catalog the plant life in Central Ohio. In 1840, Sullivant published his flora, and then he started to hone in on his calling: mosses. Bryology is the study of mosses. The root, bryōs, is a Greek verb meaning to swell. It's the etymology of the word embryo. Bryology will be easier to remember if you think of the ability of moss to swell as it takes on water. As a distinguished bryologist, Sullivant not only studied and cataloged various mosses from across the United States, but also from as far away as Central America, South America, and from various islands in the Pacific Ocean. Mosses suited Sullivant's strengths, requiring patience and close observation, scrupulous accuracy, and discrimination. His first work, Musci Alleghanienses, was: "exquisitely prepared and mounted, and with letterpress of great perfection; ... It was not put on sale, but fifty copies were distributed with a free hand among bryologists and others who would appreciate it." In 1864, Sullivant published his magnum opus, Icones Muscorum. With 129 truly excellent illustrations and descriptions of the mosses indigenous to eastern North America, Icones Muscorum fixed Sulivant's reputation as the pre-eminent American bryologist of his time. In 1873, Sullivant contracted pneumonia - ironically, an illness where your lungs fill or swell with fluid - and he died on April 30, 1873. During the last four decades of his life, Sullivant exchanged letters with Asa Gray. It's no wonder, then, that he left his herbarium of some 18,000 moss specimens to Gray's beloved Harvard University. When Sullivant was still living, Gray summoned his curator at Cambridge, Leo Lesquereux, (pronounced "le crew"), to help Sullivant, he wrote

Today we celebrate the Father of Paleobotany and the botanical illustrator honored by King Charles X. We'll learn about the botanical painter who got sick of painting flowers (he'd painted 800 of them) and the botanical illustrator who worked for Curtis's Botanical Magazine and Kew Gardens. Today's Unearthed Words feature the hidden (and often unappreciated) transformations happening in our garden during January. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us understand plant physiology through an intimate and entertaining memoir. I'll talk about a garden item that can help you propagate your house plants, and then we'll wrap things up with the birth flowers of January. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Horniman Museum's gardener Wes Shaw - Gardens Illustrated Horniman Gardens, Forest Hill, London - Spotlight: Wes Shaw "The last place that blew me away was GARDENS BY THE BAY in Singapore. Amazing conservatories, landscaping & planting - taking horticulture to a new level. While I was there, I saw gardeners abseiling down the side of green walls and volunteers using tweezers to pick over the beds. Gardens should continuously change and evolve. I never see the point of keeping something looking the same as it did at some point in the past. What's the next big project task you'll be tackling in the garden? We are planning a Winter Garden for an area of the Horniman Gardens that needs a bit of a refresh." High Society: The Expert's Guide To Alpines Here's a great post from @AlysFowler featuring Richard Wilford - an alpine lover and head of design and collection support at the Royal Botanic Gardens @KewGardens. "What Richard doesn't know about alpines isn't worth knowing. 'We've got a very tall house to grow some very small plants' he jokes. Alpines are surprisingly easy and hardy and perfect for tricky corners and small plots. As their name suggests, alpines are from areas of high elevation, so they love full sun, cool roots, and cold nights." Check out Richard Wilford's Five Easy Alpines: Sempervivum: will grow on sunny rocks, cracks in walls, and stony places. Put a little compost into the niches first, then nudge them in. Alpine pinks Dianthus alpinus: a tiny mat-forming evergreen with bright pink flowers. It likes free-draining conditions and suits pots, gravel path edges, and window boxes. Erinus alpinus, or alpine balsam: forms neat rosettes of narrow leaves and loves crevices. Campanula cochlearifolia (fairy thimbles or ear leaf flowers): Nodding blue flowers - Keep its feet well-drained. Phlox douglasii: A low-growing perennial - it grows in dry woodlands. It needs a dry winter, but good drainage and a sheltered spot by a wall will work. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1801 Today is the birthday of the French botanist and the Father of Paleobotany Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart ("Bron-yahr"). Adolphe-Théodore was born in Paris. His father, Alexander, was a geologist. There's no doubt his father's work helped Adolphe-Théodore become a pioneer in the field of paleobotany. A paleobotanist is someone who works with fossil plants. Plants have been living on the planet for over 400 million years. So, there are plenty of fossil plants to study and catalog. As one of the most prominent botanists of the 19th century, Adolphe-Théodore worked to classify fossil plant forms, and he did so even before Charles Darwin. Adolphe-Théodore's work provided content for his book on the history of plant fossils in 1828. Adolphe-Théodore published his masterpiece when he was just 27 years old. Adolphe-Théodore's writing brought him notoriety and gave him the moniker "Father of Paleobotany." He was also called the "Linnaeus of Fossil Plants." Adolphe-Théodore was not so much a fossil plant discover as he was a fossil plant organizer. He put fossil plants in order and applied principles for distinguishing them. In 1841, at the age of 40, Adolphe-Théodore received the Wollaston Medal for his work with fossil plants. It is the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. It must have made his father, Alexander, very proud. Adolphe-Théodore was a professor at the Paris Museum of Natural History. He was the backfill for Andre Michaux, who had left to explore the flora of North America. Adolphe-Théodore's wife died young. They had two boys together, and when Adolphe-Théodore died, he died in the arms of his eldest son. 1825 King Charles X honored the Belgian botanical illustrator Pierre-Joseph Redouté with the Legion of Honor. To this day, Redouté is one of the most renowned

Today we celebrate the woman who has been called the greatest painter of plants and insects who ever lived and the birthday of a man who is remembered in the name of one of the most ubiquitous garden plants. We'll learn about an Austrian-American plant explorer who grew to feel his "real" home was in China, and we'll learn about today's tradition: Plough Monday - the first Monday after the 12 days of Christmas. Today's Unearthed Words feature sweet poetry from a little-known woman who lived in Concord Massachusetts; she was a suffragist, animal rights activist, and American poet. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us turn our gardens into a sanctuary for restoration and healing. I'll talk about a simple garden item that serves a great purpose and looks great with a simple terra cotta pot, and then we'll wrap things up with an article from the 1930s about how to propagate a popular houseplant through air layering. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Around the World in Rare and Beautiful Apples - Gastro Obscura Here's a post about William Mullan, who takes gorgeous photos of Rare and Beautiful Apples. His images will open your eyes to the wider spectrum of varieties of the fruit known as apples. The giants of Cornell - Cornell College Here is an excellent post - actually, it's a "Tree-tise." Professor of History Catherine Stewart visited eight trees on the hilltop at Cornell College & wrote about each- imagining what they might tell us if they could speak. Her words appear with each tree. Catherine's post features the Cottonwood, the Redbud (Cercis spp.), the Blue Spruce, Larches, Magnolia, Ginkgo, and White Ash. Here's one of her entries. It is for the Blue Spruce: Botanical name: Picea pungens ("Pie-SEA-ah PUN-gins"). Locations: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is west of King Chapel. A second blue spruce that has been noted for its size is in front of Armstrong Hall. Identification: The blue spruce has a pyramidal shape with horizontal, dense branches with sharp blue needles. The bark is silver, grey, and brown with vertical scales. Known for: Providing homes to wildlife in the winter. Then Catherine writes: Most likely to assist you with time travel if you look long enough, and lean in, and breathe in the elixir of its scent. Take a moment and "Tree-t" yourself - by reading this wonderful article. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1717 Today is the anniversary of the death of the naturalist and botanical illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian. She was born on April 2, 1647. As a frame of reference, Isaac Newton was only a few years older than her. Unlike Newton, Merian's work was largely forgotten over time. However, during the past century, her work has made its way to us. In 2011, Janet Dailey, a retired teacher, and artist from Springfield, Illinois, became so captivated by Merian's life story that she started a Kickstarter campaign to follow Merian's footsteps to the mecca of her best work - Surinam, in South America. And, in 2013, Merian's birthday was commemorated with a "Google Doodle." Merian would have delighted in our modern-day effort to plant milkweed for the Monarchs. The concept that insects and plants are inextricably bound together was not lost on Merian. In her work, she carefully noted which caterpillars were specialists - the ones that ate only one kind of plant. (You can relate to that concept if your kid only wants to eat Mac and cheese; Hey - they aren't picky - they're specialists.) For centuries, drawings like Merian's were a holy grail for plant identification. One look at Merian's work, and Linneaus immediately knew it was brilliant. Merian helped classify nearly 100 different species long after she was gone from the earth. To this day, entomologists acknowledge that the accuracy in her art is so good they can identify many of her butterflies and moths right down to the species level! Between 1716 and 1717, during the last year of her life, Merian was visited multiple times by her friend, artist Georg Gsell - and his friend Peter the Great. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for THAT meetup. Gsell ended up marrying Merian's youngest daughter, Dorothea Maria, and Peter the Great ended up with 256 Merian paintings. In fact, Peter the Great so loved Merian's paintings, that when she died shortly after his last visit, he quickly sent an agent to buy up every one of her remaining watercolors. The agent was on the case. He bought her entire collection and then promptly brought all of them back to St. Petersburg where they remain to this day. 176

Today we celebrate the 17th-century renegade who wanted medicine through herbs to be accessible to the people and the Anniversary of the day Indian tea became available for sale in England. We will learn about the American landscape gardener whose superpower was framing a view and the English sculptor who famously said I am the landscape. Today's Unearthed Words feature words from Henry David Thoreau - It turns out it was super cold 164 years ago today. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that features a beloved poet gardener or gardener poet - whichever you prefer. I'll talk about a garden item that encourages experimentation and facilitates some indoor growing fun in your kitchen, and then we'll wrap things up with the first full moon event in 2020. It's happening today. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Winter Gardens | Flower Magazine The article features a beautiful, quiet winter garden with Charlotte Moss. A photo shows an urn standing like a sentry in the after-the-snowfall stillness of New York's Gramercy Park. "Reduced to a skeletal state, a garden in winter gives our imaginations an opportunity to explore those possibilities. It allows our eyes the chance to be a paintbrush devising new color schemes and filling in borders. On the other hand, we may choose to simply enjoy the bones of the pleached hedge, the peeling bark of the crape myrtle, remnants of bittersweet, and viburnum berries. Early morning walks reveal piles of oak leaves silver-plated with frost and holly trees standing boastful and defiant in a blaze of color." 'Forgotten' elm tree set to make a comeback - BBC News Good news for Elm trees. Karen Russell says, "With the right people in the right place and the funding, we can put elm back in the landscape. Mature specimens have been identified that are hundreds of years old, and have mysteriously escaped the epidemic. And a new generation of elm seedlings are being bred, which appear to be resistant to the disease." "More than 20 million trees died during the 1960s and 1970s from Dutch elm disease. In the aftermath, the elm was largely forgotten, except among a handful of enthusiasts who have been breeding elite elms that can withstand attack." Elm Facts: Known for its beauty, the elm has been captured in paintings by the likes of John Constable, while Henry VIII's warship, lost in 1545, was built partly from elm. Signs of Dutch elm disease include dead leaves on the tree, yellowing or other discoloration in autumn or spring and wilting leaves and young shoots Dutch elm disease is caused by a fungus spread by a bark beetle. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1654 Today is the anniversary of the death of the English physician, botanist, and herbalist Nicholas Culpeper. Culpepper was a non-conformist, and he was also a business owner. Ten years before his death, he found a spot in East London and open the doors to his own apothecary. Culpeper catered to the needs of the people. He took medical books that were written mainly in Latin and translated them into English. the masses were grateful. The medical community wasn't excited about this, and neither were the universities who had a monopoly on training doctors and holding medical information for their paying students. Culpeper wrote one of the first books about the medicinal use of herbs. It was comprehensive and helpful, and for years, it was a sought-after resource. The book was initially known as the English physician, but in the ensuing years, it became known as The Complete Herbal or Culpeper's Herbal. For each herb and plant he featured, Culpeper provided both the Latin and the common name. He also told people where to find the plant, when it flowered, the astrological connections, and how the plant could be used medicinally. Culpeper provided this information for almost 400 different herbs and plants - and in so doing, he revolutionized the medical world. 1839 Today is the day that Indian tea became available to the British people. Unlike the tea from China, Britain was entirely in charge of Indian tea - from the planting to the exportation - and as a result, Indian tea was cheaper than tea from China. The Brits went wild for it, and they drank tea every day. It wasn't long before tea became the official national drink of England. Of course, none of this would have happened without Robert Fortune. Fortune drew the attention of The British East India Company, and they sent him to China. Fortune had a particular mission: get tea plants and figure out how to make tea for drinking. The Engli

Today we celebrate an incredible woman, a true pioneer of Canada and a writer and botanical illustrator. We'll learn about one of the most dedicated and famous bryologists, and she helped establish the New York Botanical Garden. Today's Unearthed Words feature wonderful thoughts on the gardener's favorite winter reading material - seed catalogs. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us Garden through the back half of our lives. I'll talk about a garden item that will brighten up a corner in your cozy winter home and then we'll wrap things up with the most charming, memorable, and heartbreaking story, and I'm so glad I stumbled on it, and I am so excited to share it with you. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Japan's winter peonies (kan-botan) - IKIDANE NIPPON Check out Japan's winter peonies. They aren't allowed to flower in the Spring/Summer and are forced to bloom in winter. Each peony is covered with a little straw tent. Kan-botan (寒牡丹) or Fuyu-botan (冬牡丹) means "winter peonies." Andre Baranowski's Garden Wild - Flower Magazine New Book: Andre Baranowski's Garden Wild. One garden features Jorge Sánchez - who transplanted stumps of slash pines from Florida and added mosses. Ingenious. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1802 Today is the birthday of the Canadian-English writer and botanical illustrator Catherine Parr Traill - she was such an amazing woman. When Catherine was 30 years old, she was newly married, and she immigrated with her husband to Canada. Her family wasn't thrilled about any of it. They didn't approve of her choice and husband, and they certainly didn't like the idea of her leaving England. Yet, there she was in a boat on the river to Peterborough when she saw some Cardinal Flowers growing along the riverbank. Catherine was enthralled. The flowers in Canada were drastically different from those she'd grown up with, and her passion for wildflowers would help sustain her during the hardships of settling in the Wilds of Canada. Catherine ultimately became known as the botanist of the Backwoods. Although she had never formally studied botany, her accomplishments were quite extraordinary. Catherine published a book called Canadian wildflowers. Her niece took care of the illustrations. The book was helpful and beautiful. It was bound together in a large folio with colored plates, which is now regarded as a rare and valuable antique book. One of the reasons the book is now so rare is that back in the mid-to-late 1800s, the book was used to decorate homes. Young mothers and wives would tear out the beautiful large hand-colored plates and frame them Dash, probably displaying them in their parlors or bedrooms. Settling in the Backwoods of Canada nearly broke her husband. Clearing the land was backbreaking work the weather Dash, especially during the winter, was incredibly harsh, and for the first three years, there was nothing to harvest. Although they were landowners, there was little labor around to help. One of their homes was destroyed in a fire, and another was seized by the bank to pay off debt. It was Catherine's General optimism and enthusiasm for the outdoors that carried her family through the hardest years. In all, Catherine spent 65 years in Canada. She raised nine children. Experts agree that her best work was a book called Backwoods of Canada that was intended to be a handbook for emigrating women. Catherine's tone was cheerful and direct. Her entire life, Catherine was incredibly observant and resourceful, and she pulled those skills together as she created the content for her writing. Despite all the terrible hardships she and her family endured, Catherine was a prolific writer, and she always stayed sweet. Catherine died in her home at the age of 98. 1857 Today is the birthday of the famous bryologist Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton. Elizabeth married the botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton. She was a teacher, and he was a professor of botany at Columbia University. Together, they helped create the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Their primary source of Inspirationtion was Kew Gardens in London. Elizabeth was a bryologist. Bryology is the study of mosses. The root, bryōs, is a Greek verb meaning to swell and is the etymology of the word embryo. Bryology will be easier to remember if you think of the ability of moss to expand as it takes on water. Uniquely skilled for her time, Elizabeth Britton was intelligent, resourceful, and not afraid to speak her mind. The author Elizabeth Gilbert used the real-life Elizabeth Gertrude

Today we celebrate the ending of the 1675 coffee shop ban in England and the birthday of a man who devised his own theory of evolution independently of Charles Darwin. We'll learn about one of the fiercest Dutch conservationists and the nurseryman who created the world's most excellent arboretum. Today's Unearthed Words feature fabulous one-liners about January. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us grow houseplants - the official greenery of January and February. I'll talk about a garden item that can help you relax, and then we'll wrap things up with the birthday of a plant wizard who brought the date palm to California. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Gardens: dogwood days | Dan Pearson | Life and style | The Guardian Great post from @thedanpearson about Dogwood & this helpful tip: "Cornus takes easily from hardwood cuttings. Save prunings and plunge a few pencil-thick lengths into the ground by your mother plant. They will be rooted and ready to lift within a year." Top 5 flower trends for 2020, according to Serenata Flowers From @HouseBeautiful We can expect to see more warm palettes and soft neutrals in bouquets. "One particular shade, known as 'neo-mint,' is described as an 'oxygenating, fresh tone,' and expected to be seen much more throughout 2020. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1676 On December 23, 1675, King Charles II issued a proclamation suppressing Coffee Houses in England. The edict lasted 16 days. The public response was so negative that he revoked it on this day, January 8, 1676. 1823 Today is the birthday of the British naturalist Alfred Wallace. Wallace developed his theory of natural selection quite independently of Charles Darwin - although he did send his theory to Darwin. Wallace's work prompted Darwin to get serious about publishing his 20-year-old idea. In 1858, both Wallace and Darwin's work was presented to the Linnaean Society. Wallace published a remarkable book called The Malay Archipelago. The book is considered a classic and covers the flora, fauna, and folks native to the area - now known as Malaysia and Indonesia. Wallace wrote, "Nature seems to have taken every precaution that these, her choicest treasures, may not lose value by being too easily obtained." Wallace has been obscured by Darwin over the course of history. Yet, when he died at the age of 91, his obituaries praised him as an extraordinary figure. One obituary said, "He was one of the greatest and brightest and clearest thinkers of his age...of one thing I am certain, and that is that never has anybody come more fully within my favorite description of a great man, namely, that 'he is a combination of the head of a man and the heart of a boy.'" A forthcoming children's book about Wallace is titled Darwin's Rival: Alfred Russel Wallaceand the search for evolution by Christian Dorian. 1945 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Dutch conservationist and botanist Jac P Thijsse. Jac founded the Society for the Preservation of Nature Monuments in Holland. His 60th birthday present was a wildlife garden in Bloemendaal near Haarlem. After WWI, a Dutch food company by the name of Verkade (vare-Kah-dah) ask Jac to create some album books on the Flora of the Netherlands. Essentially, the books became a collector series Album with empty spots for photo cards, which were distributed individually with the biscuits. The Dutch would buy their biscuits, and then they would place the card in the space designed for it in the book. These albums were quite trendy among the Dutch and today sell for hundreds to thousands of dollars apiece today on auction websites. Today in the Netherlands, there is a college named after Jac, and he always makes the top 100 Dutchman's list. 1985 Today is the anniversary of the death of conservationist and plantsman Harold Hillier. In 1864, Hilliard's grandfather Edwin began the family Nursery. His son was supposed to take over the family business, but he died during the war, and so it fell to Edwin's grandson Herald to continue his legacy. Harold immediately set about creating a public garden and arboretum alongside the nursery. The site was already home to some magnificent trees - some of which were at least 200 years old. In an article from 2019, it was revealed that the Hillier Arboretum is home to the largest collection of Champion Trees in all of Britain and Ireland with a whopping total of 611 followed by Kew Garden with 333 Champion Trees. Champion Trees fit into three categories being either the largest, the finest, or the rar

Today we celebrate the wealthy Dutch banker who bought enough plants to fill a book for a young Carl Linnaeus and a royal gardener who is an ancestor of Princess Diana. We'll learn about the man who started the first seed company in America and the German botanist buried in the Botanical Garden he curated during his lifetime. Today's Unearthed Words feature words for children about January. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book written by a beloved Washington DC garden columnist. I'll talk about a garden item that I use all the time in my potting shed and around my garden (so many uses!), and then we'll wrap things up with the New Zealand gardener, who is featured in one of my all-time favorite garden photos. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Gardening: Going blue for 2020 The Pantone color of the year for 2020 is Classic Blue. Here's a great post from Nancy Szerlag Detroit News who suggests blue options for the garden: "If I were to look for that color to use in the garden, my first thought would be a Delphinium. Nigella 'Miss Jekyll' produces exquisite quarter-sized blue flowers on 15-inch plants in full to part sun in late spring or early summer. They are said to reseed annually, so I'm hoping a one-time planting of seed will do the job. A favorite blue flowering shrub of mine is Proven Winners Color Choice 'Blue Chiffon' Rose of Sharon. In full sun, it will climb to 10 feet and be covered in lovely anemone-like blossoms for several weeks in summer." Paris in Bloom - Flower Magazine Here's an excerpt from Georgianna Lane's new book Paris in Bloom. Georgianna's charming images of parks, gardens, shops, and architectural motifs are a vision of Romance and Spring - the perfect gift for Valentine's Day. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1685 Today is the birthday of the wealthy Dutch banker and a director of the Dutch East India Company George Clifford III. Clifford loved gardens and had a passion for plants and plant collecting. His work with the Dutch East India Company had made him quite wealthy, and he could afford to purchase the latest plants discovered from around the world in the early 1700s. Clifford invited a young Swedish naturalist to come and stay at his estate. Over two years from 1736 to 1738, Carl Linnaeus helped Clifford with his plant inventory, and he cataloged his vast herbarium. Clifford's estate gave Linnaeus a treasure trove of botanical specimens, which became the subjects of a book - his early Botanical Masterpiece called Hortus Cliffortianus. The book is essentially an inventory of Clifford's plant collection. Today Clifford's herbarium is housed at the National History Museum in London. 1715 Today is the anniversary of the death of Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort ("BOH-fert"). She was an avid gardener and botanist. She survived two husbands and had eight children. After she was widowed a second time, she focused all of her discretionary effort on gardening. The best horticultural minds of her time helped Mary with her efforts: George London, Lenard Plukenet, and William Sherard. Her next-door neighbor was Sir Hans Sloane, and when Mary died, she (like almost every plant-lover of her era) left her herbarium and other valuable botanical items to him. This is how Hans Sloane became a one-man Botanical Repository. Among Mary's many descendants are Princess Diana and the genus Beaufortia was named in her honor by Robert Brown. 1784 Today, David Landreth started the first American commercial seed business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. David and his family immigrated to Montreal from England in 1780. Four years later, David relocated his family to Philadelphia and named the company simply David Landreth. David was one of the first nurseries to propagate seeds from the Lewis and Clark expeditions. He introduced the Mexican Zinnia in 1798, the garden tomato in 1820, the 'Landreths' Extra Early' pea in 1822, and the 'Bloomsdale' spinach in 1826. His son, David Jr, took over the business after his death. David Jr. was one of the founding members of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which started in 1827. Today the Landreth Seed Company is the fifth oldest corporation in America. 1848 Today is the birthday of the German botanist and curator of Berlin Botanical Garden, Ignatz Urban. He helped catalog the Flora of the Caribbean and Brazil. In 1986, Urban's tombstone was moved to the Botanical Garden he helped relocate during his tenure. He lies alongside other well-known botanists in Berlin. Unearthed Words Today's Unearthed Words were written

Today we celebrate the one of the 19th century's top orchidologist and the birthday of a man who used his wealth to purchase an American garden treasure. We'll learn about one of the most prolific female plant collectors and the florist who shocked London with her floral displays. Today's Unearthed Words feature a beloved American poet and children's book author celebrating her 93rd birthday. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us grow edibles indoors - a great topic for January. I'll talk about a garden item that can help define the look of your garden space, and then we'll wrap things up with the birthday of a master storyteller who incorporated descriptions of real and fictitious plants in his landscapes. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles How to make a small garden feel more spacious | Blog at Thompson & Morgan "If you can hone down the style of your space in terms of colors & style, keep the number of different materials used to a minimum and pare down your planting palette, you'll find the overall look is more coherent and pleasing to Colombian Botanist Risking His Life To Preserve Nature's Memory | @IBTimes From @IBTimes The botanist Julio Betancur is a 59-year-old, a biologist, university professor and "collector of bromeliads -- which include the pineapple, Spanish moss and queen of the Andes -- says it's worth taking the risks so his country can 'know about' its biodiversity. "Every time I take a botanical sample it's like writing a page in the book of our forests," he said. In the future, once the vegetation has disappeared from somewhere, people "will know what species lived there at a certain time and with that will reconstruct the natural history of this territory." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1796 Today is the birthday of the Scottish artist, naturalist, and ornithologist William MacGillvray. He once walked 838 miles from Old Aberdeen to London in order to visit the natural history museum there. Along the way, MacGillvray documented all the flora and fauna he encountered. You can read about it in a book by Dr. Robert Ralph called A Walk to London. It's a brilliant read. (Btw, In his journal, MacGillvray also kept a tally of all the whiskeys he drank on the way to London!) At the bottom of every day he would right his miles walked that day, the total miles walked, and the number of whiskies drank. Here's one humorous account from September 11, 1819: "As I have no Botanical accounts for my readers tonight I shall try to patch up a story somehow or other...My readers will recollect that I came here on a dark night, wet and weary. At the door I met a woman of whom I am required if I might stay all night. Like other honest women of her kind she thought fit to scrutinize my exterior in order to regulate her conduct by the result. So a candle was held to my face, and adore then opened for me. The results of my examination was not favorable to me as I was informed that I would be obliged to sleep with a man to whom she pointed in bed, and as I grumbled told me to reconsider the matter." MacGillvray was a Professor of Natural History at the University of Aberdeen from 1841 until his death. He founded the Zoology Museum, which still houses some of his specimens. The MacGillvray warbler is named after MacGillvray. 1884 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Austrian botanist and monk Gregor Mendel. He pioneered the study of heredity when he gave peas a chance. In all seriousness, he discovered the basic principles of heredity through experiments with peas in his garden at the Augustinian monastery he lived in at Brno in the Czech Republic. During a seven-year. In the mid-1800s, Mendel grew nearly 30,000 P plants Dash taking notes of their height and shape and color. This work resulted in the laws of hereditary heredity. And Mendel came up with genetic terms that we still use today like dominant and recessive genes. 1896 Today is the birthday of the botanist and prolific plant collector Charles Austin Gardner. Gardener was born in England, but his family immigrated to Australia in the early 1900's. Gardener had a tremendous love for plants and landscape painting. During his 20s he received painting intruction and encouragement from the Landscapeape painter JW Linton and the wildflower painter Emily Pelloe. He created a impressive herbarium with Nearly 10,000 specimens specimens from all over Australia. He helped start the Western Australian naturalist Club. And although he had become a repository for information about Western Australia

Today we celebrate the one of the 19th century's top orchidologist and the birthday of a man who used his wealth to purchase an American garden treasure. We'll learn about one of the most prolific female plant collectors and the florist who shocked London with her floral displays. Today's Unearthed Words feature a beloved American poet and children's book author celebrating her 93rd birthday. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us grow edibles indoors - an excellent topic for January. I'll talk about a garden item that can help define the look of your garden space, and then we'll wrap things up with the birthday of a master storyteller who incorporated descriptions of real and fictitious plants in his landscapes. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Dead rats, putrid flesh and sweaty socks: rare orchid gives botanists a first whiff | Environment | The Guardian The orchid – Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis – is in bloom for the first time in a glasshouse at @Cambridge_Uni Botanic Garden. The orchid's natural habitat in western Papua New Guinea, where it grows at altitudes of around 500 meters, is under threat. Amaryllis: how to grow this festive houseplant - The English Garden The English Garden @tegmagazine shared this great post about growing Amaryllis. If you are hesitant to try growing it - don't be. They are lovely & "It's very straightforward to coax them from a bulb into a towering plant producing colorful trumpets of flowers." After the flowers have faded, cut back the flower stalk to the base. Continue to water and give the bulb an occasional feed – the leaves will continue to grow. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1823 Today is the birthday of the orchidologist Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach. The orchidologist Frederick Sander wrote a masterpiece on every variety of orchid, and he named it Reichenbachia in honor of Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach. In 1882, Heinrich honored Sanders by naming the "Queen of Philippine Orchids" after Sanders - naming it the Vanda Sanderiana, which the locals call the waling-waling orchid. The waling-waling is considered one of the rarest, most beautiful, and most expensive orchid, and it is also one of the largest species of orchids in the world. Heinrich's father was also a botanist, and Heinrich grew up helping his father with his work. Heinrich grew up fully appreciating the competitive aspects of the flower business. During his lifetime, Heinrich was one of the top orchid collectors in the world. Heinrich named more orchids than any other person, and in his will, he asked that his herbarium be closed for 25 years to protect his work from his competitors. 1856 Today is the birthday of Augustus Van Wickle - the man who established the Blithewold ("Blithe-wald") Mansion and Estate in the 1890s. Augustus was born into a well-to-do family who had a coal-mining business. As he took over the reins, Augustus turned the company into a stunning success and Augustus became enormously wealthy. When Augustus purchased Blithewold from a family with the last name of Gardner, it was so that he could have a home on the water that could accommodate docking his new steam yacht named Marjorie after his only child. Blithewold would be a summer residence for Augustus and his family. The following summer, Augustus' wife, Bessie, hired the landscape designer John DeWolf to design the grounds of Blithewold - which had previously been used for farming. Three years later, in the Spring of 1898, Augustus and Bessie learned they were expecting another child. They had been trying for fourteen years, and the baby was due in November. Sadly, midway through Bessie's pregnancy, on June 8th, Augustus died. He accidentally shot himself during a skeet-shooting trip with his buddies. His last words were, "Don't tell Bessie." Today, Augustus & Bessie's 33-acre estate, known as Blithewold, is considered an American garden treasure. It's one of the top gardens in New England, and Trip Advisor gives it a nearly-perfect rating, saying: "[Blithewood is] an exceptional collection of rare and unusual plants, specimen trees, an accessible greenhouse, and whimsical stonework [that all] project a character that is romantic, fresh and inspiring - and unique to Blithewold." And, the estate is drop-dead gorgeous. Btw, After Augustus died, Bessie gave birth to a healthy baby girl with dark eyes and black hair. She named her Augustine, and she was stunningly beautiful, and she charmed everyone who knew her during her 78 years on this earth. 1873 Today is the birthday of the botan

Today we celebrate the Feast Day of a gardener Abbott and an important day in the life of the Father of Taxonomy. We'll learn about the man who planted the first pineapple in Hawaii on this day in 1813 and the botanist who shared a train with a President during his honeymoon to the Santa Catalina Mountains. Today's Unearthed Words feature garden-inspired New Year's poetry from an artist and writer whose life has been obscured by time. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that is trendy and handy and all about the greenery of January - Houseplants. I'll talk about a great garden item to help your potting bench stay a little more organized, and then we'll wrap things up with the story of the couple who discovered the winter home of our most beloved butterfly. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Backyard of the Week: Woodland Garden With Scandinavian Roots @Houzz Excellent design ideas from @Houzz featuring Amy Martin Landscape Design: clean, organic lines set the tone for the sloped yard. The hardscapes act as mini retaining walls. The grade was dealt with without a single retaining wall. It is gorgeous!!! The idea was to deal with the grade without making a highly structured terraced retaining wall," Martin says. They regraded the yard, filling and sloping it to make navigating it easier and more comfortable. AD100 Landscape Designer Louis Benech Infuses a Normandy Retreat with Memories of Long Island Great Post by @ArchDigest featuring Landscape Designer Louis Benech: "For me, the garden is like walking into a dream, and my dreams are memories from other countries. I am more attached to the garden than to the house." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 827 Today is the anniversary of the death of Saint Adelard (pronounced Alard) of Corbie - a patron saint of gardeners - who died on this day in 827. Adelard was related to Charlemagne; they were first cousins. In addition to serving as the Abbott of the Abbey, Adelard was also the gardener. Today, on St. Adelard's Feast Day, Adelard is remembered in church iconography working in his garden while his Abbott's crown is shown resting on the ground beside him. 1735 Today Carl Linnaeus went a-courting. He briefly visited an 18-year-old woman named Sara Lisa Morraea in full Lapp costume. He returned the next day and spent the entire day with Sara Lisa and her family. By the end of the month, his friends were betting bottles of wine that there would be a baptism within the next four years. Sara Lisa was from a wealthy family. Her father was a doctor, and he agreed to allow Linnaeus to have her hand, once he had established himself. Linnaeus would return three years later. Carl Linnaeus and Sara Lisa were married on June 26, 1739. Fourteen years later, on May 1st, 1753, Linnaeus published his masterpiece Species Plantarum and changed plant taxonomy forever. Linnaeus is known as the Father of Taxonomy; his naming system is called binomial nomenclature. Binomial means "two names" which in the naming game includes the plant's genus (which is capitalized or could be abbreviated by its first letter) and species or specific epithet (which is all lowercase and can be abbreviated sp.) If you have trouble remembering taxonomy, I like to think of it as the given name and surname of a person, but in reverse order. The names that Linnaeus assigned live on unchanged and are distinguished by an "L." after their name. And, it was Linnaeus himself who said: "God created, Linnaeus ordered." The national flower of Sweden is the Linnaea (Linn-ee-ah) Borealis or the Twinflower; After naming over 8,000 plants, the Twin Flower was the lucky plant to which Linnaeus gave his name. And, it was Linnaeus' favorite plant. Linnaea is the genus. Borealis is the species, and it references where it is found (Borealis means northern). As for the story of how Linnaeus named it after himself, he was persuaded to do so by a Dutch botanist - his great friend, Jan Frederik Gronovius. Twinflower belongs to the honeysuckle family. It's a sweet tiny plant, offering a faint scent of vanilla. 1813 The first pineapple was planted in the kingdom of Hawaii by the Spaniard and botanist Don Francisco de Paula Marin. The Hawaiian word for pineapple translates to "foreign fruit." By the time Marin was in his early twenties, he had already made his way to Honolulu, Hawaii. It would be his home for the rest of his life. Marin became a friend and advisor to King Kamehameha I, who consolidated all the Hawaiian Islands during his rule. Marin served in the Kamehameha Dynasty in vario

Show Notes Today we celebrate the Chelsea Physic Garden Curator who was partly responsible for the British Fern Craze and the botanical illustrator whose art ended up on South African currency. We'll learn about the man who discovered the virus researching tobacco plants and the English architect who partnered with Gertrude Jekyll to design Country Estates. Today's Unearthed Words feature garden-inspired poetry from the English gardener and writer Thomas Moore. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that will make you feel like you've made a garden friend. I'll talk about a great garden item that is made from repurposed weapons. and then we'll wrap things up with the origin story of the Kent mango. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles The Herbs of Christmas by Mother Earth Living @mthrearthliving "Learn which herbs help welcome us into the holiday season The botanical trappings of the season have proven astoundingly consistent throughout the past several thousand years." Naturally, they discussed the holly and the ivy and the poinsettia. But, they also discussed the mistletoe. They explained: "Mistletoe called for a gesture of conciliation—usually a kiss. Under the original rules, a berry must be picked for each kiss." After all the berries were removed, the sprig was taken down and replaced with a new one. Superglue plant and 'miracle berry' among 2019's new finds by @dpcarrington @guardian As we welcome the new year, here's a nod to a handful of the plant discoveries made in 2019. @Kew scientists officially named 102 plants & 8 fungi in 2019 - including a shrub that oozes superglue and cancer-fighting fungi. A new species of Snowdrop was spotted on #Facebook! Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1887 Today is the anniversary of the death of the gardener, naturalist, and Chelsea Physic Garden curator Thomas Moore. Before Moore worked at Chelsea Physic Garden @ChelsPhysicGdn, he spent four years at Fraser's Lea Bridge Nurseries, Leyton from 1839-1842. Moore wrote several books on horticulture - many reflected his lifelong passion for ferns. In 1848, the year he started at Chelsea Physic Garden, he wrote the 'Handbook of British Ferns.' His maniacal focus on ferns led to the creation of a Fernery in the garden and inspired the Victorian Fern craze or "Pteridomania". Twelve years after his first book on ferns, his love was still going strong and he wrote British Ferns and Their Allies in 1869. Thomas is remembered for these wonderful quips like: "The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden," or "Garden as though you will live forever." My favorite Thomas Moore quote is about rosemary. He wrote, "As for rosemary, I let it run all over my garden walls...because it is the herb sacred to remembrance and to friendship." 1895 Today is the birthday of the South African botanical artist Cythna Letty. Letty's mom was a painter and she gave Cythna her first lessons on painting and sketching. As a small girl, she began creating a book that illustrated all of the flowering plants of her homeland. It took her a lifetime to finish the work and it was finally published in 1962. Letty captured the wildflowers of Africa with detail and grace. She worked for the Botanical Institute in the Department of Agriculture in South Africa. Based in Pretoria. In the 1960s as South Africa moved from the English sterling system, Cythna's work was selected for three coins in South African currency. The 10-cent coin featured the Aloe, the 20-cent featured the Protea which was the National Flower of South Africa. And the 50-cent flower featured the Agapanthus. Cythna wrote poetry as well. She once wrote: "I hitched my wagon to a daisy Direction vague and destination hazy But, could any star have guided me more exactly to where I most dearly loved to be?" 1931 Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Martinus Beijerinck (pronounced "by-a-rink"). Beijerinck searched for the reason tobacco plants were dying. In his research, Beijerinck ground up some diseased tobacco leaves and then pressed the juices through a bacteria filter. He was utterly shocked when the filtered, bacteria-free liquid still spread the disease. After reviewing his experiment, Beijerinck concluded that a "contagious living fluid" was the culprit. It was a disease-carrying micro-organism that was smaller than bacteria and he called it a virus, the Latin word for poison." Today, two of the most common viruses are the flu and the common cold. 1944 Today is the birthday of the English Architect Sir Edwin Lutyens ("Lutchi

Today we celebrate the Spanish botanist who tackled the area known as New Spain and the man who discovered the Schneck Oak. We'll learn about the French botanist who made many of our blooms bigger and better and the mayor who was known as the Little Flower. We'll hear some thoughts about Winter and how we can benefit from the solace. We Grow That Garden Library with a book about indoor gardening. I'll talk about a beautiful holiday gift for the gardener who likes to work on puzzles, and then we wrap things up with the 1992 discovery that rocked the botanical world. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Today's Curated Articles: Chinese Witch Hazel Plant story - Hamamelis mollis - The English Garden @theenglishgarden.co.uk Here's the story behind the beautiful Chinese witch hazel - Hamamelis mollis. The English Plant Hunter Charlies Maries found it in China in 1878 & brought it home to London, where it sat unnoticed for 20 years. From @theenglishgarden.co.uk In pictures: Tubers of the future | Kew @KewGardens Thanks to @KewGardens for trialing these petite high-yield alternatives to the potato: oca tubers have a lemony taste (Oxalis tuberosa) & mashua tubers are peppery (Tropaeolum tuberosum). Both are native to the Andes. Garden Design and Landscaping "College Glen" | Decorum.London @LondonDecorum @cedstonegroup Here's a fantastic post by landscape design co @LondonDecorum Gorgeous "College Glen" w/ Sandstone Paving @cedstonegroup, timber, Siberian Larch deck, & Lavender plantings. Love it all - pics, project & plant list - so thoughtful!| Decorum.London https://buff.ly/35lR7HK Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community on Facebook. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities: #OTD Today is the birthday of the Spanish botanist Martin Sesse who was born on this day in 1751. King Carlos III charged Sesse with identifying, classifying, and illustrating all of the plant species throughout New Spain. This was a tremendous request. But Sesse was the man for the job. He was excellent at training young botanists, he was a pragmatist, and he had a strategic mind. He made plans for a major botanical expedition of new Spain, which was composed of the southwestern part of the United States, Mexico, and Central America. The expedition was an elaborate undertaking, and the botanists and the rest of the company would not return to Spain for a dozen years. Sesse put together an A-team of botanists, including José Mariano Mociño and Vicente Cervantes, as well as a cantankerous naturalist by the name of José Longino Martinez. A surgeon and naturalist from Madrid, Martinez wasn't suited to teamwork. After one too many disagreements with Sesse and the other botanists, Martinez went his own way and went off to explore California, which is how he became known as California's first naturalist. As for Sesse and the other botanists, they conducted several plant collecting missions all over Mexico, which resulted in Sesse's most significant contribution to botany; a Flora of Mexico. Of course, Sesse didn't do any of this alone. He collaborated with his team, especially Mociño and Cervantes. Together they established the Royal Botanical Garden of Mexico City, and Cervantes ended up serving as the Prof. of botany. They also founded botanical gardens in Manila and the Canary Islands. Altogether, Sesse's team cost Spain nearly 400,000 pesos. Sesse's work could not have been done without the support of King Carlos, the Third. Luckily Sesse's significant endeavors were accomplished by the time Carlos the Fourth ascended the throne in 1788. Number Four had little interest in advancing scientific knowledge. It was clear that the time of significant Spanish scientific exploration was coming to an end. During his lifetime, Sesse made a significant number of botanical illustrations, which he brought with him when he returned back home to Spain. These pieces were never published, and they sat dormant until the botanist de Candolle saw them, and he knew right away that they were worth pursuing. He hired the artist is Jean Christophe Heyland to produce new drawings based on Sesse's work. Today Sesse is remembered most conspicuously by a dry gin that's made in Madrid. It has a beautiful blue label. #OTD Today is the birthday of the Indiana physician, naturalist, and botanist Jacob Schneck who was born on this day in 1843. After his service in the Civil War, Jacob decided to educate himself by going to school to become a teacher. After teaching for a short period, he decided he wanted to become a doctor. His teaching jobs allowed him to put himself through medical school Jacob loved plants, and he spent as much time as he could in the field Botanizing. His quick

Today we celebrate the gardener poet known for writing "hope is the thing with feathers", and the man who became the world authority on agaves. We'll learn about the Victorian botanist who was the first to speak in favor of Darwin's theory and the man who created the Ballard Lock Garden in Seattle. We'll hear a December poem from the man known during the 20th century as the People's Poet. We Grow That Garden Library with a book of letters between two gardeners during the year between 1998 and 1999. I'll talk about an architectural element for your kitchen that makes a tremendous holiday gift and we wrap things up with a clever poem about King Midas and what would happen if his roses had turned to gold. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Today's Curated Articles: Book Review: Wild about Weeds, Garden Design with Rebel Plants by Jack Wallington Here's Alison Levey's review of the wonderful new book from @jackwallington on garden design with weeds and rebel plants #gardenblog #bookreview #gmg @LaurenceKingPub The book is one of my favorites for 2019. I especially enjoy the designer profiles and Jack's ability to defend the plants many of us secretly love but might not admit in certain circles. Botany at the Bar Three scientists discuss the plant science and history of bitters—and share a Thanksgiving cocktail | Scientific American@sciam Take 3 researchers, add plant science, & a deep dive into the world of bitters& you have this phenomenal book of 75 botanically inspired craft cocktails! #BotanyattheBar #science #technology Great post to help you discover the fascinating and ancient #botanicalhistory behind bitters, plus a fun cocktail recipe - and, these scientists really know how to make a good cocktail! Folks on Social Media provided many ringing endorsements saying they had tried a number of their bitters and etc at conferences and were definite fans. Who Doesn't Like Sweet Potatoes? This Kenyan Researcher, For One| @npr @estherngumbi Can you have too much of a good thing? Yes. Yes, you can. Here's a very relatable post from Researcher Esther Ngumbi who grew up eating sweet potatoes for nearly every meal. Part of our desire for certain foods is their seasonality. Monotony is the death of pleasure. Now many of her family members are just done with these foods. "No one — and I mean no one — had any more appetite for these root vegetables." "True confession," she writes, "I will not eat sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving. Or any other time of the year. It all has to do with my Kenyan childhood." "I know it is many people's favorite food, especially during Thanksgiving, but as for me, I still say NO to sweet potatoes. They remind me of what it's like to grow up ... without being able to choose what kind of food you'd like to eat each day." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community on Facebook. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Here are Today's Brevities: #OTD Today is the birthday of Emily Dickenson who was born on this day in 1830. The Dickinson Author Judith Farr reminds us that during her lifetime, Emily Dickinson was "known more widely as a gardener,... than as a poet." Emily grew up gardening. She would help her mother with their large edible and ornamental garden. The flower garden became Emily's responsibility when she got older. She planted in a carefree cottage garden style. After Emily died, her sister Lavinia took over the garden. Emily's niece and editor, Martha Dickinson Bianchi recalls: "All [Lavinia's] flowers did as they liked: tyrannized over her, hopped out of their own beds and into each other's beds, were never reproved or removed as long as they bloomed; for a live flower to Aunt Lavinia was more than any dead horticultural principle." #OTD Today is the birthday of Howard Scott Gentry who was born on this day in 1903. A 1982 newspaper article shared a great story about Howard, saying: "This elder statesman of the botanical world [is] a first-class charmer when you get .... to his subject;... his love for the wilds of Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico; [and] about the years he spent as an agricultural explorer for the USDA, and about how he gradually came to know more about agaves "than any other human being." Concerning the hectic pace of his agave research after his retirement from the USDA in 1971, Howard said: "I don't like to start things and not finish them." Several times a year, Howard would plunge into the rugged interior of Mexico perched atop a mule, just as he'd done during his first collecting trips nearly half a century earlier. [Howard graduated college with a degree in] vertebrate biology from the University of California at Berkeley [and he] concocted the notion of becoming a freelance biolog

Today we celebrate the botanist who was also a spy during WWII. We'll learn about the German photographer who saw artistic inspiration in his close-ups of plants. We'll hear some prose about winter, We Grow That Garden Library with a book that offers us 100 tips for Growing a More Glorious Garden. I'll talk about a sweet little gift of bling for your indoor pots and containers, and then we'll wrap things up with the woman who became the beautiful face of a produce company. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Here's Today's Curated Articles: Will I Ever Call Sansevieria by Its New Name? - The Houseplant Guru by Lisa Steinkopf Goodbye Sansevieria trifasciata... Hello, Dracaena trifasciata! The Royal Society- Microscopic Blue Mould @royalsociety This beautiful illustration is actually a microscopic view of blue mold growing on leather. The original (1665) appears in Micrographia: or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses with observations and Inquiries thereupon, by Robert Hooke. Penicillium expansum is commonly known as Blue Mold. Blue molds are the bluish fungus that grows on food. Most people are familiar with the blue molds on some cheeses... Substituting Herbs| @RosaleeForet "What herbs can I use instead of ________?" Great post from @RosaleeForet At first, it may seem like a simple question. But the reality is, herbal substitutions are more complicated than that. You need to know how to think about them first." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck- because I share all of it with the Listener Community on Facebook. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Here Are Today's Brevities: #OTD On this day in 1855, it was starting to snow on Walden Pond, and Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal: "At 8.30 a fine snow begins to fall, increasing very gradually, perfectly straight down, till in fifteen minutes the ground is white, the smooth places first, and thus the winter landscape is ushered in. And now it is falling thus all the land over, sifting down through the tree-tops in woods, and on the meadow and pastures, where the dry grass and weeds conceal it at first, and on the river and ponds, in which it is dissolved. But in a few minutes, it turns to rain, and so the wintry landscape is postponed for the present." #OTD Today is the birthday of Peter Smithers, who was born on this day in 1913. Sir Peter Smithers, was a British politician and diplomat, but also an award-winning gardener. He worked as a British spy during World War II. Smithers was said to have inspired the fictional character of James Bond. His obituary stated that: "Flowers were ... important to him. [He said] "I regard gardening and planting as the other half of life, a counterpoint to the rough and tumble of politics." Smithers learned to love the natural world from his nanny. When he was in his 50s, that Smithers was finally able to focus on horticulture and botany fulltime. Smithers loved rhododendrons, magnolias, tree peonies, lilies, and wisteria. He developed a garden that didn't require a ton of work - along the same lines as Ruth Stout. He wrote: "The garden is planted so as to reduce labor to an absolute minimum as the owner grows older." Thanks to Smither's travels, the Royal Horticulture Society asked Smithers to write his gardening memoirs. The book was a part-autobiography and part-garden book. Smithers had observed gardens in England, Mexico, Central America, and Switzerland. Smithers shared stories from his incredible career - like the time he was serving in naval intelligence in Washington when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. And, George Coen commented, "[Smithers is] as comfortable talking about [his career] as he is in explaining the behavior of wasps in a flower garden." And, Smither's followed individual basic principals to help ground him as he pursued the hobby of gardening. All gardeners could benefit from Smithers wise advise. He wrote: "[The garden] shall be a source of pleasure to the owner and his friends, not a burden and anxiety." #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the German plant photographer Karl Blossfeldt who died on this day in 1932. Working in Weimar, Germany, as a sculptor and architect, Karl made his cameras himself. He designed them to magnify up to thirty times - which allowed him to capture the incredible forms, patterns, and textures of plants. Blossfeldt's work was not a passing fancy; he took pictures of plants for 35 years. Karl said, "If I give someone a horsetail, he will have no difficulty making a photographic enlargement of it – anyone can do that. But to observe it, to notice and discover old forms, is something only a few are capable of." Karl preferred to portray an ideal, and as a result, he carefully s

Today we celebrate the botanist who made his mark in human anatomy and the botanist who lost his civil war specimens to a confederate raider. We'll hear the most popular poem about trees written by a poet who was killed in WWI. We Grow That Garden Library with a self-published humorous garden book by one of my favorite garden authors. I'll talk about a garden gift that you can split - one for you and one for a gift - and in the perfect price point for holiday gift exchanges and then we'll wrap things up with a story about the protection of the work done by botanists over a century ago. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Today's Curated Articles: Clove-Pink (Dianthus caryophyllus) syrup recipe | Quebec Terre a Terre by Sylvain Pilon & Bonnie Kerr Dianthus Syrup! In the past, Clove-pink was esteemed equally with the rose in mixtures. Regarded as "exceedingly cordial" and "wonderfully above measure comforts the heart." Clove-pink petals w/ verbena infused in alcohol was a refreshing bath liqueur. A third of Africa's tropical flora threatened with extinction: study | @physorg_com The "Red List" is the go-to for birds and mammals but only covers ~10% of plants. A new study's preliminary estimate found a third of Africa's tropical flora (~7000 species) are likely/potentially threatened with extinction The Potato Shines in New Missouri Botanical Garden Exhibit | @MobotMuseum You say Potato, I say Potato Exhibit! Just in time for the Holidays, the exhibit @MobotMuseum is called "Potato (Solanum tuberosum): Apple of the Earth" & will be on display through March 17. The potato is the most important non-cereal food crop in the world. Galleries feature contemporary artists Seamus O. Hames, Dornith Doherty, and Corina Kennedy. Each artist has interpreted the unique story of the potato, especially the historic impact of the late potato blight that devastated the potato crop in Ireland in the mid-19th century. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community on Facebook. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of Johann Gottfried Zinn who was born on this day in 1727. Zinn died at the age of 32, but he accomplished much in his short life and he focused on two areas of science: human anatomy and botany. From an anatomy standpoint, in his early twenties, Zinn wrote an eye anatomy book and became the first person to describe the anatomy of the iris in the human eye. There are a number of parts of the eye named in his honor including the Zinn zonule, the Zinn membrane, and the Zinn artery. It's fitting that Zinn wrote about the iris - which of course is also the name of a flower - and so there's some charming coincidental connection between his two passions of anatomy and botany. In Greek mythology, Iris was a beautiful messenger - a one-woman pony express - between the Olympian gods and humans. Iris was the personification of the rainbow. She had golden wings and would travel along the rainbow carrying messages from the gods to mortals. In the plant world, the iris is a genus with hundreds of species and is represented by the fleur-de-lis. When Zinn was 26 years old, he became director of the University Botanic Garden in Göttingen (pronounced "Gert-ing-en"). He thought the University was going to put him to work as a professor of anatomy, but that job was filled and so botany was his second choice. Nonetheless, he threw himself into his work. When Zinn received an envelope of seeds from the German Ambassador to Mexico, he described the blossom in detail and he published the first botanical illustration of the zinnia. He also shared the seeds with other botanists throughout Europe. Like most botanists in the 1700s, Zinn corresponded with Linnaeus. No doubt Zinn's work as a bright, young garden Director and the fact that he tragically died young from tuberculosis, spurred Linnaeus to name the flower Zinn received from Mexico in his honor. And so, Zinn lives on in the name Zinnia - a favorite flower of gardeners, and for good reasons: They come in a variety of vivid colors, they can be direct sown into the garden, they attract pollinators like butterflies and they couldn't be easier to grow. And, if meditation is something you struggle with, you can still become a Zinn Master, if you enjoy growing Zinnias. :) And, I'd like to think Zinn would be pleased being remembered by the Zinnia because, like the Iris, the Zinnia has a connection to the eyes. We've all heard the phrase beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well... in the case of the Zinnia, the Aztecs were clearly not a fan. In fact, the Aztecs had a word for zinnia which basically translated to the evil eye or eyesore. The Aztecs didn't care for the zinnia f

Today we celebrate a wealthy vineyardist who came up with the idea for a raisin coop and the willow expert raised in beautiful gardens. We'll learn about the botanist who was murdered thanks to miscommunication and the oldest tree in New Orleans. We'll hear a garden poem about being shut out of the garden. We Grow That Garden Library with an oldie but goodie about a favorite of many gardeners: alliums. I'll talk about a practical but essential garden gift and then we'll wrap things up with a sweet story about the impressionist painter whose friend made sure his coffin wasn't draped in black. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Today's Curated Articles: An Economic History of the English Garden by Roderick Floud review – finance and flowers | Books | The Guardian An Economic History of the English Garden by Roderick Floud: "Filled with fascinating and often surprising details – a rhododendron would set you back the equivalent of more than £1,000 in the 1770s – the book reveals the economic context to our love of gardening and shows that "the history of English gardens is, in many senses, the history of England". "Spending money on gardens has been one of the greatest, and certainly most conspicuous, forms of expenditure on luxury in England since the 17th century or earlier." Bee exhibit creates a buzz at Museum of the Earth | Cornell Chronicle Excellent post about bees from @cornellento "People don't conserve what they don't know anything about... People hear a lot about honeybees, & they hear a little about bumblebees, but the other 96% of Bees on Earth don't get much press coverage... One of these, Wallace's giant bee (Megachile pluto) – the world's largest bee, with a wingspan of 2.5 inches – was thought to be extinct but was rediscovered in Indonesia in 1981. But these bees fetch thousands of dollars on eBay, which spurs collectors to catch them, further threatening the species' survival. " Stinging nettles, a troublesome but useful weed | Jack Wallington Garden Design, Clapham in London Great Common Sense Post from @JackWallington on Stinging Nettles: "Although it's hard to control like mint, it's SO useful for homemade fertilizer, and in nutritious teas and soups and also for wildlife. Every garden deserves a little nettle!" You get a nettle! And you get a nettle! And you get a nettle! Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the California oilman, vineyardist, and attorney Henry Welsh who was born on this day in 1856. In 1912, California raisin growers, including Welsh, decided to band together to sell their raisins as a group. The plan was to create a million-dollar corporation and the concept drove Welsh to set up an innovative coop that paired investors with raisin growers. Unlike other coops of the time, the raisin coop was unique in that it bound the growers to deliver their entire crop for a guaranteed price - and they were locked in for three years. The coop was known as the California Associated Raisin Company and it quickly became known as the Sun-Maid Raisin Growers Association. The first president of the Association was none other than Henry H. Welsh. One little piece of trivia about Welsh was his deep love for the Fresno area. He loved the climate and his vineyard so much that, in 1941, Welsh bragged that he had not left the area for more than 40 years - not even to take a vacation. #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Ohio-born botanist and Willow Expert Michael Schuck Bebb who died on this day in 1895. In 1896, Walter Deane wrote a biography of Bebb's life in the Botanical Gazette. The biography included a fantastic photo of Bebb who had sideburns that extended below his shoulders. One of the most charming details was Bebb's description of his childhood garden: "The garden was laid out in old-fashioned geometric style; the borders well filled with rare shrubs and perennials, Holland bulbs, and, I am happy to add, native plants as well." If we add to this a well-stocked greenhouse, twenty by one hundred and fifty feet in dimensions, we can readily understand how Michael early acquired a passion for the study of the plants about him." Later, after Michael's father retired from serving as the Governor of Ohio, his dad purchased a large estate 100 miles Northwest of Chicago he called Fountaindale. When Michael recalled the rolling prairie on the estate, he wrote: "Ah! That was lovely beyond description and a perfect paradise for the out-of-doors botanist." #OTD Today is the anniversary of the tragic death of the Canadian botanist Charles Budd Robinson who died on this day in 1913. After rec

Today we celebrate one of the first botanists to explore South Carolina and a German botanist who met his end during the 1841 Expedition to Niger. We'll learn about the man who discovered why the sky is blue, and one of Australia's top garden designers, in addition to the monument to one of Australia's greatest botanical collectors. We'll hear some thoughts on the birds of winter and, we Grow That Garden Library with a book that helps us become a seed starting and saving champion. I'll talk about my favorite brand for wooden plant labels (the come in a pack of 60!) and then we'll end today with a garden club story out of Davenport Iowa. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Today's curated articles: Branching Out: The Arborists Behind (and in) Central Park's Trees - The Official Website of Central Park NYC I think that I shall never see... a team as lovely as @centralparknyc Arborists! Bookmark this Great Post w/ A+ Video ~ Meeting the Arborists Behind (and IN) Central Park's Trees! As we talk to kids about careers, Arborist needs to be on the list! Dahlias -Overwintering Dilemmas | Bramble Garden Hi Dahlings! Here's a great behind-the-scenes post with advice and tips from @kgimson on Dahlias: "I'll take basal softwood cuttings when shoots are 1″ tall...Cuttings will make good size tubers and will flower in one season." Plantlife: Mission to save gin plant Juniper a recipe for success | @Love_plants This is great news for Junipers and a fascinating post. "No wonder the English 'gin plant' is under threat - the battle really begins at birth. Juniper seeds require two winters before they even germinate and seedlings then require very specific conditions to grow. If they survive childhood, it takes another 10 years or more before these 'teenagers' mature and begin producing those lovely gin-flavored berries." I'll never look at gin the same way! Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck- because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD On this day in 1788, Andre Michaux made his way from Georgia into South Carolina by crossing the Tugalo River. In his journal, Michaux wrote: "At dawn, I went to look at the banks of the river and I recognized the yellow root, [a new species of rhododendron], mountain laurel, hydrangea, [and] hemlock spruce. . . ." Harvard's Charles Sprague Sargent concluded this moment was significant because it was the first time that Michaux laid eyes on the Rhododendron minus. Rhododendron minus grows naturally in Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama along streams and rocky ridges. Four years after first seeing it, Andre Michaux described the Rhododendron minus in detail. He called it the minus meaning smaller, due to the size of its leaves as compared to Rhododendron maximum. #OTD On this day in 1841, the German botanist Theodore Vogel was laid low with dysentery. Vogel was botanizing in Niger ("nee-ZHER") after joining the Niger expedition in May of that year. By August, Vogel recorded the hardships of traveling by naval warship in his journal: "As soon as I got on board the Wilberforce, my first care was to shift my entire collection, especially the plants gathered since we arrived at Cape Coast Castle. But though I had taken all possible care, much was spoilt and almost everything in a bad state. It has been my lot ... that after endless labor, I could only get together ill-conditioned plants; for dampness and want of room are obstacles impossible to be overcome... I mention this, on purpose, that in case my collection comes into other hands, I may not be accused of negligence. I have sacrificed every convenience to gain room, and spared no trouble to overcome the dampness of the ship and of the atmosphere, but without success. The general arrangements of a man-of-war do not give much opportunity for such experiments. When will the time arrive, that expeditions, whose result must depend on the observations of naturalists, will afford them, from the outset, the appropriate and necessary support? At present, the vessels are fitted up for other purposes, and it is left to chance, to discover a little nook for the philosopher. I was now obliged to devote the two days remaining which we spent at Accra, to the drying of my collection, that all might not be lost." When Vogel became sick on this day in 1841, his friend and fellow German, the mineralogist, Charles Gottfried Roscher, tended to him for thirteen days and never left his bedside. On December 17th, about mid-day, Vogel asked his friend if everything was ready for their excursion and then a few minutes later, he peacefully passed away. #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Irish experim

Today we celebrate a diary entry made by Columbus as well as the man who introduced the potato to England. We'll learn about the Botanical Painter, who served botanists and French Royalty and the garden writer who inspired many with his Lancashire garden diary. We'll hear some amusing garden prose. We Grow That Garden Library with a book that helps you make your vegetable gardens more beautiful by strategically adding cut flowers. I'll talk about the kind of coal gardeners will want in their stockings this Christmas, and then we'll wrap things up with some thoughts on flowers by the Impressionist painter we lost 100 years ago today. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Grounding in the Garden: Fall Gardening Tips | LearningHerbs @learningherbs Great post from @learningherbs with five herbs that are great to start from seed or cuttings for your winter apothecary: rosemary, horehound, mullein, ground cherries, and common sage. The Grateful Tree – A Thanksgiving story | @wwediting Ya'll need to stop and read this. There are still some sacred parts of nature that remain untouched by us - this is a story about that. Thanks for writing it @wwediting. It's a lovely read. The Grateful Tree – A Thanksgiving story A Visit to Jupiterartland | @EllenMaryGarden Ellen Mary tweeted "Today I visited @jupiterartland in Edinburgh for a private tour of which I'm super thankful I've never been to a garden that has floored me quite like it! A mix of awe & terror, inspiration & confusion...the artwork & sculptures are quite something#art #landscape #garden https://pic.twitter.com/kE0rs2ARSY" I replied: "Now THAT's a garden visit. It will be interesting to hear what your thoughts are about this place over time. It's always fascinating to me how a garden speaks to us long after a visit. Sometimes first impressions are shadows of a more profound understanding that comes later." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated items for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD On this day in 1492, Christopher Columbus notes in his diary: "I climbed a mountain and came to level ground, which was sown with many different crops and with gourds." The gourds Columbus was referring to were squashes that were used for more than food. After the skin had been cleaned and dried, the skins were used as utensils. #OTD On this Day in 1586, Sir Thomas Herriot introduced Colombian potatoes to England. Over fifty years earlier, the Spanish had been the first to discover potatoes - but Herriot's potatoes were the first to reach England. Harriot had spent time in Sir Walter Raleigh's English colony on Roanoke Island in modern-day North Carolina. There, he studied not only wildlife but also potatoes from Columbia. Herriot was also an astronomer. In July of 1609, he created a drawing of the moon through a telescope over four months before Galileo. #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the French botanical painter for King Louis the XIV and XV, Claude Aubriet, who died on this day in 1742. When Aubriet was appointed "Painter to the King" after the death of his master Jean Joubert in 1707, he technically didn't have the right credentials because he didn't belong to the Academy of painting and sculpture. But, the King approved Aubriet's appointment anyway, and he lived at the Royal Garden until he died. Aubriet was sponsored by the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort to create over a thousand illustrations for his acclaimed book - Elements of Botany. Other botanists, including Sebastien Vaillant and Antoine Jussieu also hired Aubriet to do their illustrations. During his time at court, Aubriet painted twenty-four miniatures a year for 35 years resulting in nearly 600 vellums for the royal collection. Today, they are preserved at the Museum national d'Histoire Naturelle of Paris. What distinguishes Aubriet's work was his desire to paint all the known species in both the animal and plant kingdoms. Aubriet painted fish and insects and birds and mammals - in addition to plants. In 1722, Aubriet changed his will. His most prized possession was a cabinet he had inherited from his former master Jean Joubert. Aubriet left the cabinet to his friend, the botanist Bernard Jussieu. The cabinet was described this way: "In a wood veneer, exquisite paintings of parrots... ornamented the panels ... with their golden border." As you might have already suspected, the genus Aubrieta ("Aubreesha") was named for Claude Aubriet by the French Botanist Michel Adanson. Aubrieta is an ornamental plant, and it grows well in rock gardens. The leaves resemble succulents, and after flowering, a light clip will encourage new shoots. #OTD On this day in 1873, the garden

Today we celebrate the German reformer who added the cultivation of Mulberries and silkworms as part of his schools and the man who started the Linnean Society. We'll learn about the Salem Botanist, who was a friend of Thoreau and Emerson and the man known as the Father of Texas Botany. We'll hear the poem that takes us through the months of the year - ending with "And the night is long, And cold is strong, In bleak December." We Grow That Garden Library with one of the best books of the year, and it takes us on a tour of the world's best gardens. I start my new segment for Holiday Gardener Gift Recommendations, and then we wrap things up with the birth flower for December. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Most young scientists will not study plant science. So why did I? | @talkplant Great post from Dr. Rupesh Paudyal @talkplant: "The best conversation killer that I know bar none: Plant science is important because… zzzzzzz (the person switches off)" We must flip the script. Plant science needs new scholars! Recruit, Recruit, Recruit! Chicago Residence by Dirk Denison Architects | HomeAdore @HomeAdore shared this incredible home where there is a whole lot of green going on - garden terraces, outdoor landscaping, an adjacent park, terrariums, and integrated aquariums with aquatic plants galore. Me want! Cheesy Acorn Squash Recipe - Allrecipes.com Heres a Cheesy Acorn Squash Recipe from @allrecipes. It's a nice change from traditional sweet acorn squash. This variation is supposed to be so great that people who dislike squash like this recipe. Reviewers say to add some garlic to the sauté. Substitution ideas include using sautéed apples and onions, topping with panko breadcrumbs or bacon. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or track down articles - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the German theologian and educator, Johann Julius Hecker, who was born on this day in 1707. Hecker recognized that a classical education didn't work for everyone, and so he founded secondary schools that prepared students for practical jobs and callings. Hecker referred to his schools as, "the seed-beds of the state, from which the young, like trees from a nursery, could be transplanted in their proper places." Hecker's work attracted the attention of the king of Prussia, Frederick the Great). King Frederick encouraged Hecker to expand his efforts. Hecker installed gardens near his schools to teach hands-on botany. The gardens included vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees. And, Hecker also taught the cultivation of the mulberry tree. This was a strategic decision by Hecker, who recognized that the production of silk and the care of silkworms would find favor with the King. Thanks to Hecker, both teachers and students tended a large mulberry plantation and learned the culture of silk and mulberries. #OTD Today is the birthday of James Edward Smith, who was born on this day in 1759. In 1784, on the recommendation of Joseph Banks, Smith purchased the entire collection of Carl Linnaeus. When the King of Sweden learned of the purchase, he attempted to intercept the ship before it reached London. But he was too late. With the collection securely in his possession, Smith founded the Linnean Society, and he also served as the first President. The Linnean Society is the oldest biological society in the world. During the 18th and 19th century, the society was an important hub for scientific progress. #OTD Today is the birthday of the Salem Massachusetts Unitarian minister and American botanist, John Lewis Russell, who was born on this day in 1808. Russell attended Harvard along with his classmate of Charles Chauncy Emerson, whose big brother was Ralph Waldo Emerson. He graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1831 and served as a minister until 1854. While he served his various congregations, Russell pursued his passion for botany. In 1874, the Reverend Edmund B. Willson wrote a "Memoir of John Lewis Russell," and he observed: "Wherever this man went to fill a pulpit, the lovers of nature gravitated toward him, and he made them his allies. They attended him to the fields and ranged with him the steep hills and the miry swamps. His animated talk and moist, kindling eyes as he described the graces of the ferns and the glories of the grasses and the lichens quickened the love of beauty in them. He imparted stimulating knowledge of the secrets of the meadows and woods, and ... had an ear for the mysteries of the sea, [and] the forests, [and] the moss-coated rocks." In late September of 1838, Russell visited Ralph Waldo Emerson, and they spent some time botanizing together. Emerson wrote about the visit

Today we celebrate the man who discovered that plants have circadian rhythms. We'll learn about the 20-acre estate that had the very first lawn mowed by a lawnmower in the United States. We'll hear some truly lovely and a little melancholy poetry about November. We Grow That Garden Library with a book about the official national tree of America - the mighty oak. I'll talk about making Thanksgiving Time Capsules, and then we'll wrap things up with a sweet story about an Olive tree on the movie set for Samson and Delilah back in 1949. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. How To Make A DIY Herbal-Infused Broth | Herbal Academy @herbalacademyne @HeatherSaba It's just so easy to incorporate herbs into your everyday cooking. "An herbal-infused broth is a tasty way to enjoy herbs & add a nutritious boost to your meals all year long. Herbal-infused broths can be used into soups & other dishes or enjoyed on their own as a savory sipping broth on a crisp, cool day. This blog offers a great how-to and gives a list of herbs to consider. " Leave your leaves, garden experts say | CTV News Atlantic @AmystoodleyCTV If you haven't gotten around to raking - "There's a new campaign called 'Leave the Leaves,' and it encourages homeowners to leave the leaves on their lawn," said gardening expert @NikiJabbour "Leaves are just garden gold for the gardener." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck- because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or track articles down - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan, who was born on this day in 1678. Mairan was a French chronobiologist - a job one rarely hears about these days. In 1729, da Mairan put together an experiment showing the existence of a circadian rhythm in plants. Essentially, he took a mimosa pudica plant - the heliotrope - and he put it in constant darkness in a cupboard. All the while, he recorded the plant's behavior. And what do you know? The plant had a natural rhythm of opening and closing its leaves - even if it couldn't absorb sunlight. Now, de Mairan didn't think that the plant had an internal clock, but he DID think that it could attune itself to the sun - even if it was blocked from it. No matter the accuracy of Mairan's conclusions, his work was on to something, and it established the foundation for chronobiology or the internal circadian clock. #OTD Today is the birthday of Henry Winthrop Sargent, who was born on this day in 1810. Henry Winthrop was born into American royalty. The Sargent family was fabulously wealthy, and Henry's dad was the Boston artist Henry Sargent. Like most of the men in his family, Henry Winthrop went to Harvard, where he studied law. Before he turned 30, he married Caroline Olmsted of New York, and shortly after that, Henry Winthrop retired to pursue his true calling: a country life. A little over a year after marrying Caroline, Henry Winthrop bought a twenty-acre estate that overlooked the Hudson River. He christened it Wodenethe - a marriage of two old Saxon terms Woden (pronounced Woe-den) and ethe, which stands for woody promontory ( promontory is a point of high land that juts out into the sea or a large lake; a headland.) Almost two decades later, the unusual name caused one newspaper reporter to write that it was a beautiful property with a wretched bad name. Wodenethe was a massive undertaking for Henry. He had unsightly buildings neighboring his property that he needed to hide, and he needed to learn what would grow in the extremes of the Northeast. Although Henry traveled to many different European gardens, his most considerable influence was much closer to home: Andrew Jackson Downing. In fact, one history of the area said, "Had there been no Downing there would have been no Wodeneth." Downing was a renowned landscape designer, horticulturist, and writer, and his botanic garden was just across the river from Wodenethe. Downing and Henry Winthrop formed an immediate friendship. And, even though Downing's work and writings played a significant role in his approach, Henry Winthrop ultimately took matters into his own hands as he designed the Landscape at Wodenethe. Henry Winthrop clearly had vision and courage - two characteristics that are often found in master Landscape Designers. One of his first acts at Wodenethe was to remove trees and foliage that obstructed scenic vistas. As a lover of trees, Henry Winthrop was strategic and exacting when it came to framing a vista. This skill in framing a scene was Henry Winthrop's superpower, and he even created windows for his home that were shaped to maximize the view to the outside. One story about Henry Winthrop's exceptional ability to create a view involves his son, Wint

Today we celebrate the Spaniard who brought the pineapple and coffee to Hawaii. We'll learn about the man who gardened at Monks House so much it would cause fights with his wife. We'll honor the Japanese American Landscape Architect, who designed many of our Modern Urban Public Spaces and the man who came up with a new kind of berry in the heart of Napa Vally in the 1920s. We'll hear some thoughts about the end of Fall from various poets and writers. We Grow That Garden Library with one of the most beautiful and sophisticated books on our favorite houseplant: the orchid. I'll talk about the five microgreens you should grow for the Holidays to impress your guests, and then we'll add things up with some charming advice on starting a Walking Club from 1890. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Vote For the Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights | USA Today | @USATODAY It's time to vote for your favorite - The Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights @USATODAY Readers' Choice Awards. During the winter season, a different kind of color lights up botanical gardens across the United States. Instead of spring flowers, visitors find twinkling holiday lights, often accompanied by a range of other holiday activities and events. Which botanical garden puts on the best seasonal lights show? You decide by voting once per day until polls close on Monday, December 2at noon ET. The ten winning gardens will be announced on 10Best.com on Friday, December 13 The current standings are: 1. A Longwood Christmas - Longwood Gardens - Kennett Square, Penn. 2. Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights - Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden - Richmond, Va. 3. Gardens Aglow - Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens - Boothbay, Maine 4. Nights of a Thousand Candles - Brookgreen Gardens - Murrells Inlet, S.C. 5. Million Bulb Walk/Dominion Energy Garden of Lights - Norfolk Botanical Garden - Va. 6. Illumination: Tree Lights - Morton Arboretum - Chicago 7. Lights in Bloom - Marie Selby Botanical Gardens - Sarasota, Fla. 8. River of Lights - ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden - Albuquerque 9. Fantasy in Lights - Callaway Gardens - Pine Mountain, Ga 10. Illuminations - Botanica - Wichita, Kan. Vancouver's Seawall Proves Strong Infrastructure Can Be Pretty, Too | CityLab @CityLab @zachmortice Zach Mortice wrote this great article in City Lab about an artistic seawall barrier. Gardeners can be inspired by taking the functional and making it so much more. Fencing, borders, raised beds, etc. don't need to be eyesores. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the Spanish adventurer and botanist known as Hawaii's Original Farmer, Francisco de Paula Marín, who was born on this day in 1774. By the time Marin was in his early twenties, he had already made his way to Honolulu, Hawaii. It would be his home for the rest of his life. Marin became a friend and advisor to King Kamehameha I, who consolidated all the Hawaiian Islands during his rule. Marin served in the Kamehameha Dynasty in various capacities all through his life, but he is best remembered for his work in horticulture. In 1813, Marin grew the first pineapple in Honolulu - the Hawaiian word for pineapple translates to "foreign fruit." Two years later, Marin planted the first Hawaiian vineyard using vines of the Mission grape. And, in 1817, with the approval of King Kamehameha, Marin planted the first coffee seeds in Hawaii. #OTD Today is the birthday of the man who designed Monks House garden Leonard Sidney Woolf who was born on this day in 1880. Woolf was the husband of Virginia Woolf. Leonard was the primary gardener and garden designer of Monks House - although Virginia helped him. Virginia and Leonard lived at the house from the time they first purchased it in 1919 until their deaths. The garden at Monks Hosue was a retreat and a place that they could both escape from the chaos of London. Leonard loved to be in the garden gardening. He hated tea roses and floribunda roses. But, he loved fruit trees like apple and pears, and he sold the fruits to make money. Leonard's devotion to the garden was a source of consternation for Virginia. Leonard spent so most of his time and his money on the garden. Virginia famously complained, "We are watering the earth with our money!" Leonard recorded all of his Monks House garden income and expenditures in a gorgeous dark green and pink ledger book. The first line in the book is dated August 26th, 1919, and he recorded the first gardening work performed by gardener William Dedman. Virginia described Monks House as "the pride of our hearts.'" In July of 1919, she wrote that gardening or weeding produce

Today we celebrate the man who wrote extensively about the history and flora of Germantown and... We'll learn about the 11-roomed garden created to honor the tobacco magnate James Buchanan Duke. We'll hear some beautiful thoughts on nature by an English Victorian author who was born on this day in 1819. We Grow That Garden Library with an adorable old book on topiaries. I'll talk about foraging for a Yule Log, and then we'll wrap things up with a friendly post about November strawberries from 1843. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Gravel Bed Garden Design: Tips On Laying A Gravel Garden | @gardenknowhow By: Becca Badgett, Co-author of How to Grow an EMERGENCY Garden I love gravel beds in gardens. I don't see them very often, but when I do, they definitely get my full attention. I especially love it when they are enhanced with a water feature like an urn fountain or a rain chain. Becca suggests incorporating: "Ornamental grasses, herbaceous perennials, and even trees or shrubs may be suitable. Install plants into the soil. Add any hardscape features such as benches, water features, clay pots, or tin planters. Large boulders complement the gravel garden construction." If you're thinking about installing a gravel bed in your 2020 garden, check out this post. The Ultimate List of 30 Best Perennials for Landscaping | Richard Spencer @rs_garden_care Secretsofgardening.com recently updated this comprehensive post. I love how Richard starts this post out: "When choosing plants for your yard for the first time, it can be overwhelming without a lot of experience to try to find the best perennials for landscaping and the ones that give the highest value for your money. As we are visual creatures, we tend to pay at first more attention to external things, and that's not always the right way to go." This is where advice from a seasoned expert comes in handy, and Richard's list is an excellent place to start. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the Germantown historian, botanist, and writer Edwin Jellett who was born on this day in 1860. The town of Germantown owes such a debt of gratitude to Edwin Jellett, who devoted himself to capturing the history and the flora of the area now part of Northwest Philadelphia. He was a font of knowledge about the area, and he was beyond generous with his research and time, happy to help anyone with a question or a mystery about Germantown. Edwin had a column in the local paper that appeared for forty weeks during the year 1903. It was charming, and it was pretty extensive, and it covered his minute and astute observations and thoughts his two main passions: history and botany. Every entry concluded with a list of all the plants shared in the post, along with both the Latin and common names. Often, those lists featured upwards of 30 to 40 different species. Recently, the Awbury Arboretum republished Edwin's entries online in honor of its centennial in 2016. Here's what the Chair of the Awbury Arboretum Association, Mark Sellers, wrote about Edwin's final entry, which was published on December 4th, 1903. I think Mark perfectly captures Edwin's love for the area. "To trace his path in this last article is to watch as a magician pulls one improbable thing after another from a hat that appears too small to hold them... Hemlock boughs bend under the weight of the snow and ice, and as Edwin stops to inspect a bird's nest that was occupied during his last visit, but now only contains snow. It is apparent Edwin knew this was his last column. He reached as far into his memory and his understanding of what was beautiful around him... While Edwin's observations have significant historical and botanical value to the student of horticulture in Philadelphia, what makes them interesting reading is his joy. Joy at seeing and knowing, joy from watching the seasons change and seeing the landscape and recognizing its significance. "On rocks or on exposed banks, speedwell - never in a hurry - waits, and in thickets, green ropy runners of smilax, and the more refined bittersweet may be seen climbing over banks... On trunks of trees nearby, are alabaster projecting seats fit for elves or fairies... Lichens, liver worts and mosses which escaped us earlier become conspicuous, the greater volume of light admitted to the woods exposing their hidden retreats. On hills and dry banks club mosses... prominently appear, and on damp rocks, where water trickles, marchantia, an exceeding odd plant, will be found carpeting many an exposure, and, like all hepaticaae, bearing unique flowers. Keen as may be the interest in summe

Today we celebrate the botanist who named the very first plant for his mentor Carl Linnaeus, and we celebrate the 160th birthday of one of the country's wealthiest orchidologists and the founder of the Amerian Orchid Society. We'll hear some garden poetry on leaves and November. We Grow That Garden Library with a book from one of my all-time favorite authors who wrote a history of vegetables. I'll talk about tidying up after the garden dies back, and we'll celebrate a sweet story about the very first TV gardening show that debuted on BBC 83 years ago today. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Dancing with bees | Bridget Strawbridge Howard @b_strawbridge Bridget Strawbridge Howard has written a new book that is truly lovely. Here is the origin story for it: "Brigit Strawbridge Howard was shocked the day she realized she knew more about the French Revolution than she did about her native trees. The thought stopped her—quite literally—in her tracks. But that day was also the start of a journey, one filled with silver birches and hairy-footed flower bees, skylarks, and rosebay willow herb, and the joy that comes with deepening one's relationship with place. Dancing with Bees is Strawbridge Howard's charming and eloquent account of a return to noticing, to rediscovering a perspective on the world that had somehow been lost to her for decades and to reconnecting with the natural world. With special care and attention to the plight of pollinators, including honeybees, bumblebees, and solitary bees, and what we can do to help them, Strawbridge Howard shares fascinating details of the lives of flora and fauna that have filled her days with ever-increasing wonder and delight." Gardeners will LOVE @b_strawbridge's new book 'Dancing with Bees.' If you're looking for a gift idea for the holidays - this should be on your list! Your Garden "Still Works" in the Winter - Neighborhood Greening | Mike Nowak @mikenow This is an excellent post @mikenow! By cleaning up, we are "removing a garden's protective layers"/habitat, inadvertently hurting butterflies; pupae can look like leaf litter. I think gardeners, like docs, mean to do no harm... We have much to learn & habits to change. Highlights: "Every yard should have a rotting log (or two!). Dead trees, rotting logs (also known as "snags") are a crucial habitat for a wide range of insects–the lifeblood of our ecosystem." "Keep your garden's fallen leaves, plant stems, natural debris, and hiding places intact, not just in the fall, but throughout the year. Some insects require garden debris for more than just over-wintering habitat. Your garden is one place where it's OK to be messy! You will provide an important habitat for bees and butterflies, and other beneficial insects (the lifeblood of our ecosystem) as well. A winter garden left intact will also provide winter seeds for birds, attract wildlife, and provide visual interest for you." "Many species of native bees lay their eggs in the cavities of stems or rotting wood: some excavate pith-filled stems while others make their home in pre-existing cavities in rotting wood. According to Heather Holm, in her excellent book Bees, An Identification, and Native Plant Forage Guide, it is important to leave the garden alone in the fall and throughout winter. And because some native bees reuse these cavities in the spring, they should remain intact year-round. Holm explains, "Then in the spring, cut off the top of the old stems about 15″ above the ground, leaving flower stalk stubble. No further maintenance is required. Within a few weeks, new growth from the perennials hides the dry stems, and within a year or two, the stems naturally breakdown." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Dutch botanist Jan Frederik Gronovius who died on this day in 1762. Gronovius's story is inextricably bound to the Virginia botanist John Clayton. Clayton botanized Virginia. In the early 1700s, Clayton sent specimens to Gronovius both directly and indirectly through the English naturalist Mark Catesby. Gronovius was a little in over his head as he attempted to make sense of the overwhelm ing amount of specimens from Clayton. So, he did what most of us would do. He asked for help - and he got it from Carl Linnaeus. In a brazen move, Gronovius used Clayton's specimens and documentation to put together a Flora of Virginia in 1739. He published the work without notifying Clayton, and he certainly didn't see his permission before he started the endeavor. Other than the Clayton situation, Gronovius is remembered for the many plants that he named. A

Today we celebrate the botanist who started the Botanical Gazette back in 1875 and the incredibly down-to-earth yet inspiring garden designer and writer who turns 90 years old today. We'll learn about the naming error based on the name of an early Governor of Florida and the almost 500 watercolors by a St. Louis botanist that languished undiscovered until the late '80s. We'll hear some relatable thoughts about the garden in prose about November. We Grow That Garden Library with a book that teaches us to turn our carrot stumps, cilantro sprigs, and avocado pits into plants. I'll talk about adding natural elements to your holiday planters, and then we'll wrap things up with a sweet story about the world's smallest rose garden. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. How to protect your crops from winter cold the sustainable way | The Telegraph Here's a helpful post from @jackwallington "Horticultural fleece is a veg plot wonder." Yes, it is! Gardeners should look to move away from plastic cloches to more Sustainable options like glass and fabric. Stay Warm and Keep Gardening! Horticulture Club buds into Staples – Inklings News @InklingsNews Great Post! Students must deal with increasing amounts of stress. Greenhouses in Schools are seldom used. Put the two together & you have a recipe for success. Bring horticulture into schools - 30 min of gardening = happier people at any age! Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of John Merle Coulter, who was born on this day in 1851. In November 1875, Coulter founded the Botanical Gazette, and a year-long subscription cost $1. The first issue was called the Botanical Bulletin. However, out of respect for the similarly named Torrey Botanical Club Bulletin, Coulter changed the name to the Botanical Gazette for the second issue, and the name stuck. At first, Coulter edited the Botanical Gazette alongside his brother, Stanley, who was also a botanist. He had a number of co-editors throughout the years. After twenty years of publication, the University of Chicago Press took control of the Botanical Gazette. Coulter remained an editor of the paper for half a century. Coulter was a lifelong friend of Asa Gray, who he also considered his most influential mentor. Coulter was a prolific writer on the subject of botany, and he collaborated on a large number of scientific books. His Handbook of Plant Dissection was often referred to as the ABC botany book in honor of the last names of the authors: Joseph Arthur, Charles Barnes, and John Coulter. Coulter led the Botany department at the University of Chicago, where he was especially impactful and beloved. A few days after his death, his widow received a volume containing testimonials from botanists around the country along with a silver tea set in recognition of her husband's work. Also, his students and peers had established a fellowship in his name in 1928 and had managed to raise over $25,000 to support future botany students. Coulter was alive to learn of these honors, but sadly, he died just days before the scheduled event, which was held in his honor. #OTD Today is the 90th birthday of the garden writer and designer Penelope Hobhouse who was born on this day in 1929. When Penelope visited Tuscany, she was captivated by the villa gardens, and she began teaching herself garden design. In a 2016 article in the New York Times, Penelope was praised for her work as a designer, saying Hobhouse is "a fixture in the minds of gardeners who love rooms and bones – the paths and walls and satisfying verticals that form the skeleton of a garden." Penelope has designed gardens all over the world; including a garden for Elizabeth the Queen Mother, at Walmer Castle in Kent, an herb garden for the New York Botanical Garden, and an English cottage garden for Steve Jobs' Woodside home. Gardens Illustrated recently shared a post featuring six of her garden design principles: "Think about backgrounds Large trees can be used to frame the sky; hedges provide vertical and horizontal lines as well as a background for planting, while small trees with broad, globular, or pyramidal heads act as 'ceilings.' Low continuous hedging can be used to frame pathways. Create a strong framework I tend to create a strong structure or framework for my gardens, with looser planting within. The architecture can be supplied by buildings, walls, steps, and pergolas, but also by plants. Don't overuse colors The cardinal rule for planting is to use bright colors sparingly. Form is much more important than color, and flowers are fleeting, so start instead with the shapes and hues of trees

Today we celebrate the co-founder of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a man who maximized his small space garden about 130 years before the rest of us. We'll learn about the man who came to America to work with Andrew Jackson Downing, and then they both ended up dying by drowning 43 years apart from each other. We remember the poet laureate who wrote, "If I had a flower for every time I thought of you..." and the Catholic priest and poet who loved to garden and wrote elegantly about seasons. We Grow That Garden Library with a memoir featuring a gardener was working in naval intelligence in Washington on the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. I'll talk about using place card holders with your houseplants, and then we'll wrap things up with the tale of two botanical brothers at Gettysburg. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from Germany - Gardenista Jawohl! @Gardenista Here's 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from Germany. Verdant Practices include rooftop gardens, wildflowers & gardens, Kleingartenkolonies, the one-of-a-kind Prinzessinnengarten, the incredible work of the florist Ursula Wegener and more... How to care for and reflower your Christmas cactus - MSU Extension (Michigan State University) There is a simple formula for success with Christmas cactus: organic, humus-rich soil, a cute little pot since they like to be pot-bound, regular watering, cool temps, and 14 hours of darkness per day. Done! A Year Gardening the Grave of a Stranger - Atlas Obscura @atlasobscura shared this fascinating post about the kind folks at Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia who beautify gravesites with gardening. The cradle graves are especially poignant for gardeners... https://buff.ly/2Ea1bdC Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the Landscape Architect Nathan Franklin Barrett, who was born on this day in 1845. Instead of joining his father's dye company, Barrett went his own way. After serving in the Civil War, BarrettLearned about plantsBuyWorking in his brother's nursery. In 1866, the field of landscape architecture was brand new – just a baby - and there is no prescribed coursework or preparation. Like many Landscape Architects, Barrett secured work as a town planner. He laid out the town Dolgeville New York as well as Pullman, Illinois (now located in Chicago). The town of Pullman was named for George R Pullman, who was one of Barrett's closest friends. The planning Barrett carried out in Pullman became one of his proudest achievements. Pullman was the country's first planned industrial town. Gardeners will enjoy hearing about Barrett's personal home garden in New Rochelle. Set on half an acre, Barrett designed his garden in an attempt to show others how to maximize a small space. Listen to the various areas and gardens he managed to install in his modest yard: "[an] old fashioned Colonial garden, Japanese, Roman, and Moorish gardens, and English topiary work. His cellar... opened to the garden level and through which a long vista continued. [Barrett] also created a Normandy peasant's sitting room, a German peasant's kitchen, [and] a Pompeian Court. A little brook at the rear of the property... added picturesque effects, and the garden was replete with pleasant little nooks and surprises at every turn." And, one newspaper shared a description of Barrett's wild planting tendencies: "The Poppy and the Ground Ivy, and Creeping Charlie and Myrtle mingle together; the Aster and Goldenrod feel at home; Ferns and Mosses are used liberally, and while abandon is aimed at, there is 'method in the madness,' and the wild garden and the formal play their part, each enhancing the charm of the other." Barett co-founded the American Society of Landscape Architects and served as its president in 1903. Barrett worked all over the country, and when he retired, he had practiced Landscape Architecture for 50 years. By the time Barrett died in 1919, he had been the oldest living Landscape Architect in the United States. In 1902, Barrett went to Los Angeles to give a speech on Landscape Architecture. Sadly, he caught a cold and lost his voice, so his speech was read for him, and the entire talk was shared in the newspaper. Here's my favorite excerpt - it's where Barrett addresses the spaces where living areas connect with shopping areas, how good Landscaping should mask the sides of ugly buildings, and why maintenance is a vital habit: "The line between the store and the residence is a battle line. As the business increases, the residence is forced back. The only remedy for this in sight is to make the trans

Today we celebrate the gardener who turned his farm into a picturesque wonder and the Swiss botanist who survived a fall from a mountaintop that foreshadowed a life of highs and lows. We'll learn about the American botanist Darwin confided in two years before he shared his theory with the rest of the world and the pop star who found restoration and health through gardening. We'll hear some beautiful verses on gardening and the season from several writers associated with today's date. We Grow That Garden Library with one of my new favorite books on the writer and gardener who wrote, There's a certain Slant of light, Winter Afternoons – That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes – I'll talk about how you can repurpose a boot tray to great effect, and then we'll wrap things up with the fruit that was selling for around $6 about this time of year in 1843, and the sellers couldn't keep up with demand. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. The 15 best pictures from the National Trust's photo competition to find a cover for its 2020 member handbook Les Lockhart's photo of the Newtown Nature Reserve on the Isle Of Wight won the @nationaltrust photo competition. @Countrylifemag shared the top 15 photos - proving that the beauty of nature is unbeatable. The National Trust manages over 600,000 acres of gardens. The Forgotten Feminine History of Botany Here's a great post by Sienna Vittoria Lee-Coughlin on @verilymag called The Forgotten Feminine History of Botany. Throughout history, women collected specimens & seeds, mastered botanical illustration (vital to scientific study), and were patrons & promoters of botany. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the poet and Landscape gardener William Shenstone, who was born on this day in 1714. In the early 1740s, Shenstone inherited his family's dairy farm, which he transformed into the Leasowes (pronounced 'lezzoes'). The transfer of ownership lit a fire under Shenstone, and he immediately started changing the land into a wild landscape - something he referred to as an ornamented farm. Shenstone wisely bucked the trend of his time, which called for formal garden design (he didn't have the money to do that anyway.) Yet, what Shenstone accomplished was quite extraordinary. His picturesque natural landscape included water features like cascades and pools, as well as structures like temples and ruins. What I love most about Shenstone is that he was a consummate host. He considered the comfort and perspective of the garden from the eye of his visitors when he created a walk around his estate. Wanting to control the experience, Shenstone added seating every so often along the path to cause folks to stop and admire the views that Shenstone found most appealing. Then, he incorporated signage with beautiful classical verses and poems - even adding some of his own - which elevated the Leasowes experience for guests. After his death, his garden became a popular destination and was even visited by William Pitt, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. It was William Shenstone who said, "Grandeur and beauty are so very opposite, that you often diminish the one as you increase the other. Variety is most akin to the latter, simplicity to the former." #OTD Today is the birthday of a son of Switzerland, Charles Leo Lesquereux, (pronounced "le crew"), who was born on this day in 1806. Leo was born with a naturalist's heart. A self-described dreamer, Leo loved to go out into the forest, and he collected all kinds of flowers and specimens for his mother. Yet, when Leo was just seven years old, he fell off the top of a mountain. He was carried back to his home completely unconscious, with multiple injuries to his body as well as head trauma. He remained motionless and unconscious for two weeks. His survival was a miracle, yet the fall resulted in hearing loss that would eventually leave Leo utterly deaf by the time he was a young man. Despite the tragedy, nature still ruled his heart. As Leo matured and tried to provide for his family as a watchmaker, he found himself returning again and again to the outdoors. Eventually, Leo began to focus his efforts on peat bogs, and his early work protecting peat-bogs attracted the attention of Louis Agassiz of Harvard, who invited Leo to bring his family to America. When he arrived, Leo classified the plants that Agassiz had discovered on his expedition to Lake Superior. Then, on Christmas Eve, 1848, Asa Gray summoned Leo to help William Starling Sullivant. Gray predicted the collaboration would be successful and he wrote to his friend and fellow botanist Jo

Today we celebrate the first grapes that were grown down under and the poet who saved a tree that looks like it came straight out of a fairy tale. We'll learn about the painter who was supposed to paint pineapples but never did and the florist who did the flowers for Queen Elizabeth's coronation. We'll hear some thoughts on autumn from a Swiss philosopher and poet. We Grow That Garden Library with a riveting biography of a floral artist extraordinaire and the founder of the cordon bleu cooking school. I'll talk about how you can repurpose a big bulky item taking up space in your kitchen cupboard, and then we'll wrap things up with the Florida State Flower - think citrus! But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Bob Randall's gardening book explains how to cope with Houston's hotter temperatures. Dr. Bob has a new book for Houston gardeners - and great tips for dealing with warmer temps: 1. Grow your own food — even if it's just a single pot of lettuce on a balcony. Food gardening cuts your carbon footprint. It sharpens your awareness of the natural world. And it's an excellent way to fight depression about global warming. 2. If you're a long-time gardener, accept that the time-honored planting dates you used ten years ago may no longer work for specific crops. If old reliables such as corn or lettuce are now failing year after year, ask yourself: Is it because the average temperature is too high for germination, pollination, or some other crucial stage of plant life? Adjust your planting schedule accordingly. 3. To cope with both flooding and droughts, add a pond or rain garden to your yard. During heavy storms, it will store rainwater. And over time, it will release it into the water table below your yard, keeping deep roots happy for months to come. 4. When doing your long-term planning, remember that Houston's summer is hard both on plants and people. Plan to do as little hard outdoor work in your garden in the hot months as possible. Water with a soaker hose and automated timer. Plant cover crops to recharge the soil and keep out weeds. 5. Plant what grows well here in the warming subtropics — even if it means trying new foods or plants. Citrus trees, blackberries, figs, and persimmons grow exceptionally well here. And even in the dead of August, you can harvest crops such as long beans, tindora perennial cucumbers, and leaf amaranth. Episode 50: Top 50 Plants - FineGardening@FineGardening Zoo-Wee Mama! I LOVE looking through favorite plant lists! Here's a great list from Danielle & Steve with 50 Top Plants in Episode 50 of the Let's Argue About Plants Podcast. Get out your notebooks... Ornamental Fall Berries Provide Year-Round Awe Here are some excellent plant picks from @uie_hort that provide many seasons of interest. Not only do these plants offer beautiful flower displays & pretty foliage, but they also have a remarkable presentation of fruits called drupes: 'Brandywine' possumhaw viburnum (Viburnum nudum), Beautyberry (Callicarpa Americana), and White fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus). Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community.So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD On this day in 1791, Australia's first thriving grapevine was planted. The Australian wine industry began with the arrival of the first fleet into Sydney Cove. In 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip of the First Fleet brought grape cuttings from South America and South Africa. Philip planted a small vineyard at Farm Cove - the site of the present Sydney Botanical Gardens. In the beginning, the settlement in New South Wales experienced great difficulty. Supplies were limited, so cultivating crops for food was the top priority. The soil in and around Sydney was poor, and the convicts lacked horticultural experience. Starvation was a real issue during those early days. Not surprisingly, Philip's vines did not bear, but they were able to be transplanted to a new location - a three-acre vineyard at Parramatta. By this time, Arthur Philip had become the first Governor of New South Wales. Philip's grapes were Crimson Grapes, which require warm, deep, and fertile soil. Fortunately, many regions in Australia are perfect for growing Crimson Grapes like areas in Victoria, New South Wales, and southeastern Queensland. Australian Crimson Grapes are harvested from November to May. #OTD Today is the birthday of the poet, Dodgers baseball fan, and founding member of the Friends of Prospect Park, Marianne Moore, who was born on this day in 1885. Moore was an eccentric intellectual who had a range of interests outside of poetry. In 1967, when she was 80 years old, Moore created a citizen group called the Friends of Prospect Park. Moore f

Today we celebrate the botanist who discovered osmosis and the botanist who helped popularize the poinsettia. We'll learn about the painter who made an indelible garden out of waste marshland and the Edwardian Landscape Architect who designed the Peace Palace gardens at the Hague. We'll celebrate the birthday of the royal gardener who turns 71 today. We'll hear the oft-quoted November poem with the lines "The last lone aster is gone; The flowers of the witch hazel wither;" We Grow That Garden Library with a book that helps gardeners create a garden worthy of painting. I'll talk about seedheads, and then we'll wrap things up with the Spanish grape that is the sixth most widely planted grape in the world. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. How to grow your own wellness garden | @HomesProperty @ChelsPhysicGdn's head of plant collections, Nell Jones, shares her tips for the best "wellbeing" plants to grow at home: Peppermint, Rosemary, Tumeric, Aloe Vera, and Chamomile. All are fantastic options for houseplants with health benefits. How to collect and sow astrantia seeds | Gardener's World | @gwmag Here's an A+ video from @gwmag featuring Carol Klein - who couldn't look sharper with her Suit & Scarf - showing us How to Collect and Sow Astrantia, Hesperis, & Hardy Annuals. She's the Real Deal - right down to the dirt under her fingernails! Ep. 237 - The Fall of the Torreya & What is Being Done to Save It — In Defense of Plants | @indfnsofplnts This IDOP podcast is a good one! Ep. 237: The Torreya taxifolia Asa Gray recalled when Hardy Bryan Croom discovered it along with a little plant that grows beneath it: the Croomia pauciflora. So, in botany, as in life, Croom grew happily in the shadow of Torrey. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community.So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the French physiologist and botanist Henri Dutrochet, who was born on this day in 1776. Dutrochet discovered and named the process of osmosis working in his home laboratory as he was investigating the movement of sap in plant tissues. Dutrochet shared his discovery with the Paris Academy of Sciences on October 30th, 1826. Like the cells in our own bodies, plants don't drink water; they absorb it by osmosis. Dutrochet also figured out the green pigment in plants is essential to how plants take up carbon dioxide. #OTD Today is the birthday of the botanist Robert Buist who was born on this day in 1805. Robert Buist came to America from Edinburgh "Edinburgh," where his dad was a professional gardener. He had trained at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and immigrated to Philadelphia when he was 23 years old. One of his first jobs was working for a wealthy Philadelphia businessman named Henry Pratt, who had a tremendous summer estate named Lemon Hill. At the time, Lemon Hill was regarded as having one of the most beautiful gardens in the United States. Eventually, Buist bought the history Bernard M'Mahon nursery - one of the oldest nurseries in the country and the nursery that supplied plants to Thomas Jefferson. Today, on the spot where the nursery used to be, is a large old Sophora tree - known as the Buist Sophora. The tree was brought to the United States from France, and its origin can be traced to China. In addition to the nursery, Buist grew his company to include a seed division and a greenhouse. In 1825, the Plant Explorer Joel Poinsett sent some specimens of a plant he discovered in Mexico home to Charleston. Buist heard about the plant bought himself one and began growing it. Buist named it Euphorbia poinsettia since the plant had a milky white sap like other Euphorbias. The red bracts of the plant were so unusual and surprising to Buist that he wrote it was "truly the most magnificent of all the tropical plants we have ever seen." Of course, what Buist had been growing is the plant we know today as the poinsettia. Buist gave his friend and fellow Scot the botanist James McNab a poinsettia when he visited in 1834. McNab brought the plant back to Scotland and gave it to the head of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Robert Graham. Graham promptly changed the botanical name of the plant to Poinsettia pulcherrima - a move that greatly disgusted Buist for the rest of his life. And, here's a fun little side note about Robert Buist. His books on gardening were very popular. When Stonewall Jackson discovered gardening in middle age, he relied heavily on Robert Buist's book "The Family Kitchen Gardener: Containing Plain and Accurate Descriptions of All the Different Species and Varieties of Culinary Vegetables, that became Jackson's gardening bible and he wrote little notes in the mar

Today we celebrate the writer who dedicated his book called A Child's Garden of Verses to his childhood nurse and the German botanist who lost all of his work in the Columbia River. We'll learn about the big chrysanthemum show of 1916 in our Nation's capital and the botanist who was one with Agaves. We'll hear some November poetry. We Grow That Garden Library with a book now in its 3rd edition from the man who loved to say "Happy Gardening, friends." I'll talk about setting up a regular spa day for your Houseplants, and then we'll wrap things up with a little something Jane Powers wrote back in 2010 that I think was just so incredibly cool and memorable. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Coleus Cuttings | @WDCGardener I can't think of anyone I'd rather learn to take Coleus Cuttings from than @WDCGardener and her cat Santino - who is THE master when it comes to supervising cuttings. btw Santino means "little saint" Aw.... Recommended Air Plants | HEIRLOOM GARDENER Know Thy Air Plants - Here's a nice little post from Heirloom Gardener to help you Tell Your Air Plants Apart. My favorite? Tillandsia xerographica - "Queen of Tillandsias." I recently saw one in a wedding bouquet. Long Live the Queen! Make a Christmas seedhead wreath| @GardensIllustrated I. Cannot. Stand. How. Adorable. This. IS! Just when I thought I was out of the garden... you pull me back in! @GardensIllustrated came up with this adorable project - Make a Christmas seedhead wreath. I love this idea for the She Shed at the cabin. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of Scottish-born writer and poet Robert Louis Stevenson, who was born on this day in 1850. Stevenson sickly little boy with no brothers or sisters. When he was just a toddler, a woman named Alison Cunningham was brought into the Stevenson home to help care for Robert. When Stevenson wrote a collection of poems called "A Child's Garden of Verses," he dedicated the book to Alison. Gardeners will be surprised to learn that Herbert Jekyll and Robert Louis Stevenson were friends. Herbert was the brother of the British horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll. Jekyll's last name was used in Stevenson's most famous work Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but of course, the popular pronunciation of the Jekyll name became Jekyll thanks to the book. It was Robert Louis Stevenson who said, "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant" And, here's an excerpt from Stevenson's The Gardener The gardener does not love to talk. He makes me keep the gravel walk; And when he puts his tools away, He locks the door and takes the key. Silly gardener! summer goes, And winter comes with pinching toes, When in the garden bare and brown You must lay your barrow down. #OTD Today is the 76th anniversary of the day that the German botanist, Frederick Lueders, lost all of his botanical work. On November 13, 1843, Lueders was botanizing along the Columbia River in Oregon. He'd been collecting specimens for three years. He had just encountered the explorer John Freemont, when all of his work, which was secured in a canoe nearby, was drawn into the rapids. Lueders plunged into the river and managed to retrieve only a copy of the Flora by Torrey and Gray. The devastating loss was recorded in Freemont's journal who wrote: "In the natural concern I felt for his misfortune, I gave to the little cove the name of Lueders' Bay." For Lueder's part, the loss of his specimens was devastating. However, the loss of his instruments and his correspondence with Asa Gray and Dr. Englemann was almost too great. Lueders determined his best course of action was to return home. He traveled south around the tip of Chile and then onto England. It took him a year to return to Hamburg a year after his mishap on the Columbia. Lueders didn't stay in Germany long. In fact, he returned to America within the next year. By 1851, he had made his way to Wisconsin; he spent the rest of his life in Sauk City, and he dabbled in astronomy. A biographical sketch said that in his old age, Lueders was mainly devoted to his flowers. #OTD On this day in 1916, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette shared a sweet little article about the 16th annual chrysanthemum flower show that had just been held in Washington DC. It began this way: "If you ever get the idea that people aren't interested in flowers, just give a flower show." said one of the guards at the government chrysanthemum show last week. All morning he had been repeating "Keep to the right!" to the mass of visitors streaming into the greenhouse. There had been a couple of disastrous jams that injured s

Today we celebrate the French admiral and explorer who had a female botanist posing as a male valet on his voyage. We'll learn about the botanist who is remembered by the State Flower of California and the Landscape Architect who restored the entire Landscape of Colonial Williamsburg. We'll learn about the Spanish rose breeder who is remembered for cultivating the white Nevada rose, We'll hear some prose about November from three of the country's top naturalists. We Grow That Garden Library with a fabulous old book about growing your own herbal tea garden, I'll talk about potting up some Paperwhites and Amaryllis and then we'll wrap things up with the codebreaker who also cracked the code on preserving England's garden history. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Cancer, Libra, Virgo: THESE Zodiac Signs love nature and find gardening therapeutic | @Pinkvilla Finally, a horoscope I find myself wholeheartedly agree with - Cancer, Libra, Virgo: THESE Zodiac Signs love nature and find gardening therapeutic. That said, to borrow a phrase from Ratatouille, "Everyone can garden." Someone keeps stealing my compost, and I have no idea why they want my rotting food | @billy_penn @amandahoovernj Good Lord. As Compost Services are introduced in new areas of the country, thieves need to understand the contents are only golden if you're a plant. This is Australia's most popular indoor plant. | @bhgaus @Bhg A delicious choice, mate! The Monstera deliciosa appears in most Australian homes. The mesmerizing sculptures you can see at The Savill Garden | @SurreySculptors @surreylive Yes, to all of them! The Savill Garden is hosting the @SurreySculptors 25th Anniversary Exhibition. Take a load off and scroll through the 60 pieces of Art in the Garden! Thank you to all the Artists, Excellent Post @surreylive Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the French admiral and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville, who died on this day in 1729. On Bougainville's expedition, a woman named Jeanne Baret joined the crew after posing as a valet to the expedition's naturalist: Philibert Commerçon. Commerçon had terrible health, and he likely needed Baret to help him. Baret herself was actually a botanist in her own right. When the ship stopped in Rio de Janeiro, it was Baret who ventured out into the tropics and returned with the lovely tropical vine that would be named to honor the expedition's commander: Bougainvillea. #OTD Today is the birthday of Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, who was born on this day in 1793. When the German poet Adelbert van Chamiso ended up in the San Francisco Bay area, and he wrote about the California poppy, which he named Eschscholzia California after his friend Johann Friedrich Von Eschscholz. In return, Eschscholz named a bunch of plants after Chamisso - a little quid pro quo. In 1903, the botanist Sarah Plummer Lemmon put forth a successful piece of legislation that nominated the golden poppy (Eschscholzia californica) as the state flower of California. #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Landscape Architect Arthur Shurcliff who died on this day in 1957. Shurcliff's path to Landscape Architecture was not clear cut. His dad had been a successful businessman, and Arthur was supposed to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a Mechanical Engineer. But after receiving his degree from MIT, the field of Landscape Architecture was making waves thanks to the Olmsteds, Charles Eliot, and the Chicago World's Fair. Since no formal degree programs existed at the time, Shurcliff cobbled together his own curriculum at the Lawrence School of Science at Harvard. All his life, Shurcliff loved being outside. He enjoyed camping and canoeing. He loved scenery and sketching the landscape. Looking back on his decision to pursue Landscape Architecture, Shurcliff remembered, "All led me away from mechanics toward scenery, toward planning and construction for the scenes of daily life..." In 1904, Shurcliff opened his own firm. Shurcliff designed recreational spaces in and around Boston like the Rose Garden, the Washington Garden at old North, and the park Back Bay Fens. But, Shurcliff will forever be remembered for the work he did at Colonial Williamsburg. It was the first time an entire American community was to be restored. John D. Rockefeller financed the project. Shurcliff had over 30 years of experience behind him when he officially started the project on St. Patrick's Day of that year. He didn't just bring his Landscape Architecture skills; he brought everything he had; his training in engineering, his

Today we celebrate the botanist who bred more than 40 types of pears - including our most popular varieties. We'll learn about the cultural meanings associated with the chrysanthemum and the Swedish botanist who posed as a Dutchman to botanize in Japan. We'll hear some thoughts on November from one of my favorite garden writers And, we Grow That Garden Library with one of the best books on Gardening for Butterflies I'll talk about straightening your ornamental trees, and then we'll wrap things up with the story of the woman who loved blueberries so much she shared them with the world. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Gardens, Paradise, & Kashmir| Searchkashmir.org | @SearchKashmir It's no surprise that the word 'paradise' was first used to describe a garden. This Farsi poem about Kashmir by Amir Khusrau does the same: If ever there is Paradise on Earth, It is here! It is here! It is here! How to grow orchids by Alys Fowler| @guardian @guardianweekend This is an excellent post about orchids, and I always love to hear how people approach caring for their orchids. Alys says: "An east-facing window... plus consistent watering (every week in the growing season, every other during winter) & Lou's Poo, dried alpaca poo." Every gardener reading this now will search online for Lou's Poo... but just a heads up - they don't deliver to the US. Vermont Garden Journal: Some New Ideas For Perennial Garden Care| @charlienardozzi @vprnet I couldn't agree more! Love this post from @charlienardozzi @vprnet The first thing I tell my student gardeners is that plant material doesn't leave the property. The second thing I teach them is Chop & Drop. https://buff.ly/32aL8TI Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community.So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of Jean-Baptiste Van Mons, who was born on this day in 1765. The name of the game for Van Mons was selective breeding for pears. Selective breeding happens when humans breed plants to develop particular characteristics by choosing the parent plants to make the offspring. Check out the patience and endurance that was required as Van Mon's described his work: "I have found this art to consist in regenerating in a direct line of descent, and as rapidly as possible an improving variety, taking care that there be no interval between the generations. To sow, to re-sow, to sow again, to sow perpetually, in short, to do nothing but sow, is the practice to be pursued, and which cannot be departed from; and in short, this is the whole secret of the art I have employed." Jean-Baptiste Van Mons produced a tremendous amount of new pear cultivars in his breeding program - something north of forty incredible species throughout his lifetime. The Bosc and D'Anjou pears, we know today, are his legacy. #OTD On this day in 1790, Chrysanthemums are introduced to England from China. Chrysanthemums are the November birth flower and the 13th wedding anniversary flower. The greens and blossoms of the chrysanthemum are edible, and they are particularly popular in Japan, China, and Vietnam. Generally, chrysanthemums symbolize optimism and joy - but they have some unique cultural meanings around the world. Back in the Victorian language of flowers, the red chrysanthemum meant "I Love," and the yellow chrysanthemum symbolized slighted love. In China, the chrysanthemum is a symbol of autumn and the flower of the ninth moon. During the Han dynasty, the Chinese drank chrysanthemum wine - they believed it made their lives longer and made them healthier. As a result, the chrysanthemum was often worn to funerals. On Mother's Day down under, Australians traditionally wear a white chrysanthemum to honor their moms, and Chrysanthemums are common Mother's Day presents. In Poland, chrysanthemums are the flower of choice to be placed on graves for All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Finally, in 1966, Mayor Richard Daley declared the chrysanthemum as the official flower of the city of Chicago. #OTD On this day in 1799, the Leonids meteor shower was seen from Europe and South America. The famous German explorer and botanist Alexander Humboldt had just arrived in South America to begin his great five-year exploration, and he wrote this in his journal from Chile as he saw the Leonids: The night between November 11 and 12 was calm and beautiful... During 4 hours, we observed thousands of huge fireballs, often with a brightness like Jupiter. Long smoke trails were left behind, lasting 7-8 seconds, often the meteors exploded, leaving trails too. It wasn't just Humboldt who witnessed this event. Andrew Ellicott Douglass, an early American astronomer who was born in Vermont, observ

Today we celebrate the plant named in honor of Queen Victoria and the President of Peru and Bolivia. We'll learn about the Mother of Balboa Park and how the world seed bank was saved during WWII. We'll hear the Garden Poem that celebrates the end of the apple-picking season. We Grow That Garden Library with a book from the author who was pulled out of her grief by nature walks with Marion Satterlee. I'll talk about an on-trend and portable way to display your houseplants, and then we'll wrap things up with a set of botanical stamps that commemorated the bi-centenary of Captain Cook's first voyage to New Zealand. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. How to lift and divide herbaceous perennials Now's the time for all good men to come to the aid of their... Whoops - nope - Really now is the perfect time to lift and divide perennials with @GWmag - It's not too late! Dividing or not - you should check out the garden in this video. Swooning now... 11 things to know about the Agius Evolution Garden Here's a Behind the Scenes Look at Kew's Brand New Garden called the Agius. Learn about the mulch @kewgardens makes for the garden, the pergola that supports 26 roses & the drought-resistant asterids - like sages, olives, and rosemary. What to grow in a medieval herb garden - English Heritage Blog Medieval Herb Gardens grew the tried & true herbs. Learn more about Sage, Betony, Clary Sage, Hyssop, Rue, Chamomile, Dill, Cumin, & Comfrey in this post by @EnglishHeritage featuring a beautiful pic of @RievaulxAbbey Never Underestimate the Intelligence of Trees Gardens are plant communities that need these pillars of protection- yet many gardens are treeless. As gardeners, we should plant Micro Forests. Dr. Suzanne Simard - Professor of Forest Ecology: Older, bigger trees share nutrients w/ smaller trees & they pay it back later. @NautilusMag Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD On this day in 1849, the very first Victoria cruziana flowered in a custom-built greenhouse at the Duke of Devonshire's estate at Chatsworth. After that initial bloom, the other specimens began blooming as well. And, one of the blossoms was, appropriately, given to Queen Victoria (Santa Cruz Water Lily). The Victoria cruziana is an exotic plant. It is named in honor of two people: Queen Victoria & Andres de Santa Cruz, President of Peru & Bolivia, who sponsored the expedition where the plants were first collected. In the wild, Victoria cruziana is native to open waters in northern Argentina and Paraguay. Sadly, the Victoria cruziana is endangered due to deforestation. Although in recent years, the Santa Cruz Water Lily has been returning by the hundreds in the Salado River in Paraguay. Locals take tourists out to see them in little canoes. Victoria cruziana produces enormous lily pads that can grow up to 2 meters or almost 7 feet wide. Today, greenhouses grow the Santa Cruz Water Lily from seed. In cultivation, pollination takes place by hand in the evenings when the plant is flowering. But in its native habitat, the pollination process of the Santa Cruz Water Lily is a fantastic spectacle: When the big flower bud initially opens - it is pure white and it emits a pineapple aroma. Then, as night falls, the flower goes through a chemical change that causes it to heat up.The pineapple scent and the warmth draw flying scarab beetles who venture far into the depths of the flower to find feast of starch. It's likeThanksgiving in there. While they are feasting through the night, the morning sunlight causes the flower to close up, and the feasting scarab beetles are trapped inside. During the day, the flower goes through a tremendous transformation. The pineapple scent goes away, and the flower turns from pure white to pink - all in the course of a single day. What's more, the sex of the flower changes from female to male. When the Santa Cruz Water Lily flower opens again on the second night, the scarab beetles are ready to go, and they fly off, covered in pollen to find the next freshly opened pineapple scented female flowers. Isn't that incredible? Now the underside of the giant Amazonian water lily, Victoria cruziana, is quite something to see. It consists of this intricate vaulted rib structure, which is perfectly designed by Mother Nature. The air pockets give it the buoyancy and allow it to handle the load of the enormous lily pad. Those ribs are what allows the lily pad to float. This pattern so inspired Joseph Paxton that he incorporated it into his design for Crystal Palace in 1851. And, to illustrate the strength of the lily pads, there's a famous old photo from the 1800s that sh

Today we celebrate the Landscape Architect, who left a mark on over 50 towns in the United States. We'll learn about The Botany Man, who helped start The Sierra Club. We'll hear beautiful words about the mists of November from two of the world's best nature writers. We Grow That Garden Library with the book written by the wife of the author of Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web. I'll talk about getting your outdoor rugs cleaned, and then we'll wrap things up with the story of an award-winning botanical writer who was once tutored by Nathaniel Lord Britton. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. 1. Here's a very helpful video tutorial on How to Make a Compost Bin for Next to Nothing from Richard Spencer @RS_Garden_Care. I really like the simplicity and functionality of this. 2. Excellent Hedge Planting Advice from Buckingham Nurseries. It made me of that saying... The best time to plant a tree (or a hedge) was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. 3. Here are Six Hardy Annuals to Sow in Autumn for a beautiful Spring & Summer from @theenglishgarde Think California Poppy, Centaurea, Borage, Love-in-a-Mist, Calendula, & Clary sage. I'd also add Cornflower and Larkspur! Book Winner: Kathy Brown The Garden in Every Sense and Season by Tovah Martin Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Happy Winter's Day! In the Old English poem of the Anglo-Saxon Calendar known as the Menologium, November 7th is considered to be the first day of winter - 'Winter's Day.' According to the poem, winter has 92 days, lasting from November 7th to February 6th. #OTD Today is the birthday of the American landscape designer Warren H Manning who was born on this day in 1860. The day Manning was born, his father recorded the moment in his diary: "At five minutes past 12 this morning, we had a son born to us. He is strong and healthy to all appearances. I set Hackett at work to dig the hole while I planted the Elm tree to commemorate the day that our first child was born. I think that there should be a tree planted at the birth of every child so that in the after times it may be seen which is most useful." Manning's dad was undoubtedly proud of his son, who worked on design projects in almost every state in the country. Manning started out as an apprentice to Frederick Law Olmsted before going out on his own. Ultimately, Manning designed on all types of properties, from estates to golf courses and everything in between. All told, his portfolio included over 1,600 projects. One of the signature aspects of Manning's practice was promoting "Wild Gardens." Wild gardens appealed to Manning because they were more affordable (at least initially) for his clients compared to formal gardens. Adding wild spaces meant that Manning would generally get an opportunity to follow up on his projects as they usually needed some fine tunings. Then, third, many of Manning's private wild garden designs ended up becoming a gift to the community. And Manning was always thrilled to see more natural areas transitioned into public spaces. The Birmingham artist and Landscape Architect Frank Hartley Anderson gave a moving tribute to Manning upon his death: "Fifty other towns and cities today arc better places to live because of the vision of Warren H. Manning. Eleven hundred communities, in part, were made pleasanter places through his 50 years of wholehearted service." #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of The Botany Man Willis Linn Jepson, who died on this day in 1946. Carved on his tombstone are the following words: "Profound Scholar, Inspiring Teacher, Indefatigable Botanical Explorer, ... In the ordered beauty of nature, he found enduring communion." When Jepson was 25, he created the Sierra Club along with John Muir and Warren Olney. During Jepson's junior year at Berkeley, he decided to start a diary. His diaries became known as his field books. Like many botanists, Jepson was an archivist at heart, and he recorded everything - not just dates, but as much as he could. It was a practice Jepson never abandoned and resulted in over fifty Jepson field books. In 1894, Jepson began to think seriously about creating a Flora of California. As long as he was working on the flora, Jepson thought he might as well create a herbarium, which he considered to be his legacy. Although Jepson often said he disliked common names, he came up with many on his own. He once named a plant Mountain Misery after suffering the after-effects of walking through it. By the early 1900s, automobiles were becoming mainstream, but Jepson warned, "You must still go afoot if a real botanist. No field botanist should beco

Today we celebrate the Versailles botanist who started organizing plants in a new way but kept his method a secret. We'll learn about the young New Yorker and garden writer who met the perfect botanical illustrator for her garden books in the hospital as she was battling influenza. We'll hear some glorious thoughts on November from the author of "Butternut Wisdom." We Grow That Garden Library with a book that helps us grow more by going vertical in our gardens. I'll talk about burying your cold-hardy succulents, and then we'll wrap things up with the intrepid botanist who discovered a plant that's still almost too good to be true - the blue poppy. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Modern Monochromatic Wedding at Baltimore's Sagamore Pendry Hotel @ruffledblog shared this gorgeous @lemonlime_event Modern Monochromatic Wedding at Baltimore's Sagamore Pendry Hotel. Gardeners will love the green/white floral arrangements. And you MUST check out the bride's bouquet. That air plant!! https://buff.ly/2oFnKjj What is a Vegan Garden? I must confess I didn't fully appreciate all that it entails - so hats off to Garden Teacher Plews Garden Design @plewgd for a thorough and thoughtful explanation. Great article in @PsychToday by @peterbongi called Saffron for Emotional Health. Studies show the stigma & the petal of Saffron (Crocus sativus) are helpful for calming, mood support & more. And, love the Charlemange quote about herbs at the beginning... https://buff.ly/2WBvKyp Garden Betty share a really lovely post called A Guide to Saving and Storing Seeds As your end-of-season crops start to fade, now's the time to save the seeds from your favorite plants so you can grow them again next year! Here's a foolproof guide to show you how from @gardenbetty #gardenchat #gardening #growyourown https://buff.ly/2RzMpiN Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the French naturalist and botanist Bernard de Jussieu who died on this day in 1777. Jussieuwas a French botanist who developed the first natural classification of flowering plants. Today, there's a metro station near the botanical garden in Paris that is named in honor of the Jussieu family - which boasted five members over several generations as notable botanists. Bernard and his brother Antoine were both botany professors in Paris. Bernard was the stronger botanist, and there's a famous story about his incredible dedication to botany: One time, after botanizing in Lebanon, Bernard was sailing back to France. Of course, drinkable water onboard a long voyage home would have been a precious commodity. Yet, Bernard Jussieu purportedly shared his precious water with a little Lebanon Cedar seedling he was bringing home. He wanted to plant in the Royal Garden, and he was determined to bring the little tree back alive to Paris. The French say the seedling lived to be over 200 years old and eighty feet high. As for Bernard Jussieu, in 1759, he was brought to Versailles to develop the Royal Botanical Garden at the Petit Trianon. Unassuming and laid back, Bernard quietly began arranging the plants in the garden in a new way. Jussieu's system of organizing plants into a more natural order was revolutionary at the time and also something he wouldn't disclose to others. However, Bernard did put together a catalog of the plants in his garden. Bernard recognized a kindred spirit in his nephew, Antoine-Laurent. Bernard trained him for four years, and when he came of age, Bernard confided his methods of plant classification. As a result, Antoine-Laurent's work was an extension of his Uncle Bernard's ideas around grouping plants. It took Antoine-Laurent Jussieu almost twenty years of refinement and perfecting of his Uncle's work, but he finally published his work on natural classification as the Bastille was falling in 1789. In Genera Plantarum, Antoine-Laurent Jussieu kept Linnaeus' binomial nomenclature, but he grouped plants by genera and then into families. He called his system natural and strived to let nature be his guide. Today, many plant families can be attributed to Jussieu. #OTD Today is the birthday of the botanist and garden writer Alice Lounsberry who was born on this day in 1868. (Note: Online accounts, based on a Who's Who biography have the date of her year of birth as 1873 - which is incorrect as she was already two years old on an 1870 census with her brother and parents.) Lounsberry was a New Yorker, and she developed a love for botany as a young girl. In her mid-twenties, she was already serving as a board member for the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). Lounsberry

Today we celebrate the botanist who created the second botanical garden in the United States and the botanist who was a dear friend to Asa Gray and was with him as he saw first hand one of the most sought after plants of the 1800s. We'll hear some words about the falling leaves and autumn senescence. We Grow That Garden Library with a book that is so gorgeous that some folks buy copies to cut out the pages to frame them. I'll talk about the three things you need to do to winterize your pressure washer, and then we'll talk about a troublesome otter in Vancouver. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Who doesn't want MORE Small Garden Design Ideas on a Budget? I stumbled on a great video about this very topic by Alexandra Campbell @midsizegarden, who is the brains behind the middle-sized garden. What I love about Alexandra's video is that she culls the best tips from top garden designers she's interviewed over the years. Find out how to save money and still get the garden you'll love. The designers share tips like designing off of the house or a tree, making your boundaries look smart, and the secret benefits of using a large pot instead of buying lots of little pots. Alexandra has pulled together a handy set of clips with commentary. It's a great video. Plus, I love her voice... Boy, did Tom Brown @headgardenertom pick some wonderful plants for November in his article for Gardens Illustrated called "Best flowers and plants for November." There are beautiful photographs of these plants and flowers from Jason Ingram in this great post from @GdnsIllustrated. There's plenty for gardens across all different growing zones. Northern Gardeners should check out Rosa 'Geranium' and Acer griseum - they both caught my eye. The Irish Florist, Lamber de Bie, shared a post called A Romantic Garden Wedding at Waterford Castle. You know those breathe/calming apps? This is basically that - but with flowers. Check out @Lamber_de_Bie & @WaterfordCastle on a private Island SE of Ireland. Lamber's woodland birch arch includes blue & pink summer hydrangea & tall plumes of pampas grass. It's a unique combination, and it's just incredible. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community.So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Humphrey Marshall who died on this day in 1801. The Marshalls were cousins to the Bartrams - their mothers were sisters. John Bartram was known as the "Father of American Botany, and he ignited Humphrey's love of native plants. John had established the country's first botanical garden. In 1773, after Marshall inherited his family estate and a sizable inheritance from his father, he created the country's second botanical garden. He incorporated natives, naturally, but also exotics. Marshall forged a friendship with the British botanist John Fothergill who paid Marshall for his plant collecting. Fothergill was a collector and a connector, introducing Marshall to many of Europe's top botanists and a growing list of customers. Marshall's contacts helped him source new plants for his botanical garden. And Twenty-five years before Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis & Clark on an expedition to the west, it was Humphrey Marshall who first made the suggestion - in 1778, 1785, and 1792. He really wanted the United States to sponsor an expedition to explore the west. A fellow friend, Quaker, and botanist, Joseph Trimble Rothrock wrote this about Marshall: "The earth abounds in beauty, all of which is open to his chastened senses. He revels in the sunlight and the breezes. The songs of the birds fall, welcome, into his ear. The colors of the flowers attract him." Marshalltown Pennsylvania was named in honor of Humphrey Marshall. In 1785, Marshall published the very first American essay on trees and shrubs. Humphrey Marshall is also known as the "Father of American Dendrology" (or the study of woody plants, trees, and shrubs). The genus, Marshallia, is named in honor of Humphrey Marshall. #OTD On this day in 1896, the newspaper out of Buffalo, New York, reported that the John Redfield herbarium was looking for a home. John H Redfield was born in Middletown, Connecticut, in 1815. In 1836, Redfield became friends with Asa Gray after joining the Lyceum of Natural History in New York, where Gray was the Librarian and Superintendent. The remained life-long friends. When Redfield married in 1843, he moved to Philadelphia and worked for his Father-in-law's company making wheels for the railroad. During his free time, Redfield went on plant hunting expeditions with Asa Gray and other botanists. During the 1840's Gray was trying to locate a plant called the Shortia gala

Today we celebrate fall through the eyes of a writer and naturalist from the year 1855 and the botanist honored with building on the University of Glasgow. We'll learn about the Indian botanist who bred a new species of sugar cane and the Arizona Palm - yes, it does exist! We'll hear some November Poems. We Grow That Garden Library with a book that helps us savor the garden through our five senses. I'll talk about the task some gardeners regret forgetting and then share a little story about the botanist who ended up becoming one of the most prolific orchid hunters. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Saturday morning, I woke up to a snow-covered garden. Winter is gaining on us... but don't despair. I found a lovely video clip from Katie Rushworth @queenofspades00 over at Silverline Tools, who shares that there are plenty of ways to add color to your winter garden. You can watch along in her video as she plants a colorful border and uses evergreens and semi-evergreens. She adds a lovely heuchera and huecherella. Next, she uses a beautiful false bamboo or Nandina and pittosporum for interest and texture. Then, she incorporates a Pyrrhus into the back of the border as well as a Sibirica dogwood. Katie points out that the more exciting foliage you can source, the more dynamic your border will become. Next up, Mary Ellen Ellis @gardenknowhow shared a great post over the weekend called How Many Kinds Of Ginkgo Are There? Well, the answer is lots! I love the Fairmount, the Majestic Butterfly, and the Lacy Ginkgo. "Fairmount. This is a columnar ginkgo, meaning its growth habit is narrow and upright. This is a good choice for narrow spaces with plenty of vertical room. Majestic Butterfly. This type has variegated leaves, green streaked with yellow. It is also a smaller tree at just 10 feet (3 meters) high at maturity. Lacy Ginkgo. The lacy cultivar is so-called for its leaves, which have a textured edge that gives the appearance of lace." Finally, as trends go, Houseplants are Hot! I found a great post that was reshared from last Dec by @batesbn and featured in the blog Greenhouse Management called Houseplant Comeback.The subtitle was: Tech-savvy Millennials are reviving the houseplant market. How will the latest indoor foliage trends affect growers and retailers in 2019 and beyond? The article featured @gardenmedia Katie Dubow: "Whether we're doing it consciously or subconsciously, we're putting more greenery in our homes because we're spending more time inside." "[Last year], the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) developed a series of infographics to promote the proven health and wellness benefits of houseplants. The #PlantsDoThat campaign illustrated how indoor plants can improve test scores in classrooms, lower blood pressure in hospitals and increase productivity in the workplace. "We started the #PlantsDoThat campaign to show people what houseplants actually do in their everyday lives," says Day, who is also the chair of the commercial council for NICH. "These benefits resonate with Millennials because they want something that does more than just look pretty." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD On this day in 1855, Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal: "The winter is approaching. The birds are almost all gone. The note of the 'dee de de' sounds now more distinct, prophetic of winter, as I go amid the wild apples on Nawshawtuct. The autumnal dandelion sheltered by this apple-tree trunk is drooping and half-closed and shows but half its yellow, this dark, late, wet day in the fall... Larches are now quite yellow, — in the midst of their fall... When I look away to the woods, the oaks have a dull, dark red now, without brightness. The willow-tops on causeways have a pale, bleached, silvery, or wool-grass-like look." #OTD On the same day Thoreau was recording his autumnal observations, the English botanist Frederick Orpen Bower was born (in 1855). Bower became the Regius chair of botany at the University of Glasgow, "Glass-go." When he arrived, the department consisted of two rooms and a small attic space for the herbarium. When Bower lectured, he had to vie for a lecture hall with other departments and faculty. In 1901, the University completed a new botany building, which was technically Britain's first botanical institute. As part of the University's 450th-anniversary celebration, Sir Joseph Hooker opened the building. It was renamed in the 1990s to honor Bower and became known as the Bower Building. On October 24, 2001, the Bower building was significantly damaged by a fire. The losses included first editions of Dar

Today we celebrate the botanist who is considered the Father of Taxonomy and the young Landscape Architect who learned by taking weekly walking tours of gardens. We'll learn about the botanist who saved Kew Garden and the most famous garden designer you've never heard of. We'll listen to a little garden folklore for November and an amusing poem about daylight savings. We Grow That Garden Library with today's book which features the gardens of Russell Page, and you can get it on Amazon for under $4, which is highway robbery - or Landscape robbery in this case. I'll talk about digging up those dahlias and then share the super cute story about a young botanist and the housekeeper who was sure he was up to no good. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. National Fig Week It's the start of National Fig Week which runs through the 7th of November. All of the figs that are growing in the United States are growing in the Central Valley of California where 28 million pounds of figs are harvested every year. It was Captain Bligh, who is honored as the planter of the very first fig in Tasmania back in 1792. The Greek word for fig is syco. It's why one species of the fig tree is called the sycamore. Fig trees are in the ficus genus and the Mulberry family. The popular house plant, the rubber plant, is also a species of ficus. And, figs are the sweetest of all fruits. They are made up of 55% sugar. Today Fine Gardening shared a great post called Treasures in the November Garden, and it featured posts from a gardener named Carla Zambelli Mudry Carla shared beautiful images from her November garden, where she commented that the fall witch hazel had started blooming, and her Sochi tea plant is still producing lovely white flowers. The post features pictures of her witch hazel in bloom. Gardeners have soft spots for the delicate yellow spidery flowers of the witch hazel. The common Witch Hazel virginiana can grow in zones 3 - 8. Sochi tea Camellia sinensis is hearty in zones 7 to 10. Now, to make the tea, the leaves are harvested. But again, as with the witch hazel, it's the beautiful blooms of this camellia that will steal your heart. This post was part of Fine Gardening's garden photo of the day. If you'd like to share your garden with Fine Gardening, you can send them 5 to 10 images of your garden to GPOD (which is short for a Garden picture of the day) at Fine Gardening.com ([email protected]) along with a few comments about the plants in the photos. You can share anything your successes and failures funny stories or favorite plants. Finally, my good friend, Kathy Jentz, over at Washington Gardener Magazine, shared 10 Things To Do With a Pumpkin After Halloween. Her list is so great I wanted to share with you here: 1. Compost it. 2. Puree and cook it. 3. Make it into a birdfeeder. 4. Turn it into a planter. 5. Use it as a serving bowl for soup. 6. Pickle the peel. 7. Apply a face mask. 8. Make doggie treats. 9. Wash and roast the seeds. 10. Save a few seeds to grow another pumpkin next year! Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of Carl Linnaeus, who died on this day 1783. Thirty years earlier, on May 1st, 1753, the publication of his masterpiece Species Plantarum changed plant taxonomy forever. It gave Linnaeus the moniker Father of Taxonomy; his naming system is called binomial nomenclature. And, it was Linnaeus himself who said: "God created, Linnaeus ordered." One side note worth mentioning is how Linnaeus' collection ended up leaving Sweden and finding a home in London: When Linnaeus died in 1778, his belongings were sold. Joseph Banks, the president of the Linnean Society, acted quickly, buying everything of horticultural value on behalf of the society. Linnaeus' notebooks and specimens were on a ship bound for England by the time the king of Sweden realized Linnaeus' legacy was no longer in Sweden. He sent a fast navy ship in pursuit of Banks' precious cargo, but it was too late. And so, Linnaeus's collection is in London at the Linnaeus Society's Burlington House. And, it was Joseph Banks who secured the legacy of Linnaeus. Banks spread Linnaeus's ideas across the globe, which was easier for him to accomplish since he was based in London, the hub for the science of botany. #OTD Today is the birthday of Charles Eliot, who was born on this day in 1859. Eliot was the son of a prominent Boston family. In 1869, the year his mother died, his father Charles William Eliot became the president of Harvard University. In 1882 Charles went to Harvard to study botany. A year later, he began apprenticing with the land

Today we celebrate the gardener who had his home and garden trashed by the Russian Czar and the poet who wrote one of his most famous poems under the plum tree in his garden. We'll learn about the American Landscape Architect who never lived to see the big park he dreamed of, and we'll learn about the horticulturist who created the first International Flower show in NYC. We'll hear the October Poem about woodbines (or honeysuckle). We Grow That Garden Library with an herb-based cookbook. I'll talk about late-season cover crops (and no, it's not too late), and then we'll have a witty article about shortening tall sunflowers. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. The midwife and physician Tieraona Low Dog over at Medicine Lodge Ranch recently wrote a post called 4 Important Herbs for Women and Their Health. The list may surprise you: raspberries, nettles, ladies mantle, and sage. With regard to raspberry and nettles, Dr. Low Dog recommends using the leaves to make a tea. With the nettles, in particular, Dr. Low Dog cooks them just like she would spinach. She steams the nettles for 15 minutes and then sautés them in a little olive oil with garlic and salt. Dr. Low Dog reminds us that the Latin word for lady's mantle Alchemillastems from the Arabic word for alchemy. Historically people believed lady's mantle leaves were a fantastic source of water. Like the raspberry and nettles, this herb can be used as an herbal tea. Last but not least, sage should be used by women who are making the transition into their sage years. Sage can ease the symptoms of menopause like hot flashes and night sweats. And a cup of sage tea can help you sleep at night. So, bottom's up. In honor of Halloween, I wanted to share this fun post from Art's Nursery Garden & Homethat was shared back in 2014 the title of the post was 10 excellent plants with black foliage Here's the list: Black Lace Elderberry Sambucus 'Black Tower' Black Mondo Grass Black Scallop Ajuga Dark Horse Weigela Fine Wine Weigela Brunette Snakeroot Ninebark Platt's Black New Zealand Flax Purple Copper Beech Rebecca van der Zalmdid an excellent job describing all of these plants in this post. If you'd like to check out her detailed descriptions of each of these plants, just head on over to the Facebook group for the show - The Daily Gardener Community- and search for the words "black foliage." On this day in 2011, the United Nations reported that the world population had reached 7,000,000,000. Twelve years earlier, on this day in 1999, the newspaper out of Appleton Wisconsin reported that the population had reached the 6,000,000,000 mile mark - so we gained 1 billion In a dozen years. In that newspaper article, a botanist from the University of Wisconsin shared the state of botany. About Wisconsin, in particular, the botanist warned that in 20 or 30 years and will have the climate of Iowa much drier and warmer. According to current projections, the global population will hit 8 billion in 2024. And it will reach 9 billion by 2042. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - just head on over to the group the next time you're on Facebook - just search for The Daily Gardener Community- and request to join. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the English Gardner and writer John Evelyn who was born on this day in 1620. Evelyn kept a detailed diary for 66 years, and hehad an excellent understanding of trees. In 1664, Evelyn wrote a treaty called A Discourse of Forest Trees. It was basically an appeal to his fellow countrymen to plant trees. The English Navy was growing, and they desperately needed timber to build more ships. Over his lifetime, Evelyn updated his Discourse of Forest Trees a total of three more times; the final edition was released immediately after his death. In honor of Thanksgiving, which is now less than a month away, let me share this excellent quote by Evelyn about the benefits of chestnuts: "Chestnuts are delicacies for princes and a lusty and masculine food for rustics, and able to make women well-complexioned." Evelyn had a devoted passion for gardening. And, here's a little known fact: Evelyn was the first garden author to publish a book about salads (or Sallets). Listen to the benefits of salad as described by Evelyn: "By reason of its soporiferous quality, lettuce ... still continues the principal foundation of the universal tribe of Sallets, which is to cool and refresh, besides its other properties... including beneficial influences on morals, temperance, and chastity." (FYI: Soporiferous means Inducing or tending to induce sleep. Some lettuce secretes lactucarium - a milky fluid found in the base of the lettuce stems. It is known as lettuceopium because of its sedativeand pain-relieving properties. It has also been reported t

Today we celebrate the impressionist Landscape painter who included kitchen gardens as a subject and the botanist who gave a speech in 1916 about his four rules of home landscaping. We'll learn about the English botanist who saved many varieties of Japanese cherry from extinction and the botanist who braved the destruction of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to save plant specimens. We'll hear the Poem called "A Song of October" that debuted in 1890. We Grow That Garden Library with THE book on She Sheds. I'll talk about making a simple leaf compost bin, and then we'll wrap things up with a poignant diary entry by the quintessential southern gardener Elizabeth Lawrence. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Mother Earth News recently shared a post called When Age and Illness Invade the Homestead. The article asks this question: "How do you cope when long-term illness or a chronic health condition, even just aging, becomes a factor?" Gardeners need to consider: Reassessing and prioritizing their space. Maybe you don't need such a big garden space at this point in your life. Is it time to consider going small? Adapt and compensate with new ideas like elevated beds. Take more breaks when you are working. Farm it out - get help, so you don't overdo it. The Guardian just shared the results of research that shows that a healthy diet means a healthy planet. The research showed that, "fruit, vegetables, beans, and whole grains were best for both avoiding disease and protecting the climate and water resources." Michael Clark at the University of Oxford, who led the study, said: "Choosing better, more sustainable diets is one of the main ways people can improve their health and help protect the environment." So there you go: growing your own food, gardening, is not only good for you - it's better for the planet. Finally, Gardenista just shared an excellent article called 10 Perennial Gardens Inspired by Piet Oudolf. Oudolf's signature look includes soft drifts of grasses combined with striking perennials that look good even in winter. Oudolf's goal is getting all of it to work together to create dream landscapes that evoke a natural look. Gardenista did a great job of sharing ten images of different gardens that understand the Oudolf formula, and they created installations inspired by his work. When it comes to picking which perennials to include in the garden, Oudolf sees perennials through a lens that is focused on architectural elements. He's looking at the shape and the lines of the plant - but he's also incorporating the full life cycle of the plant. He wants to incorporate the way perennials look not only in early spring and summer but also in the fall and even in the winter. Seed heads, pods, dried blossoms, and stems; these are all embraced and part of the plan. So don't be too quick to tidy everything up in the garden. Especially when it comes to winter gardens, you've got to leave enough standing so that you have something to look at. If you'd like to learn more about Oudolf, I shared a great video in the Facebook Group from PBS that was featured in April of this year. The reporter, Jeffrey Brown, met with Oudolf at his home in the Netherlands to discuss his work. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - just head on over to the group the next time you're on Facebook, just search for: The Daily Gardener Community and request to join. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of Alfred Sisley, who was born on this day in 1839. Sisley was an impressionist landscape painter. He painted landscapes almost exclusively, and he especially loved natural, untouched scenes. Gardeners enjoy his paintings called A Garden Path and The Kitchen Garden. #OTD Today is the birthday of the botanist George Plummer Burns who was born on this day in 1871. Burns was the chairman of the UVM botany department. He also had served as the superintendent of the park department for Burlington, Vermont. When I was researching Burns, I stumbled on a newspaper clipping from 1916, which shared a speech he gave to the Rutland Woman's Club called Landscape Gardening for the Home. He gave four rules for landscaping: "1.Avoid straight lines; 2. Keep open spaces; 3. Plant in mass; 4. Use common sense. Burns gave this advice about shrubs: Do not use a shrub simply because a man wants to sell it to you. Do not use a shrub or tree simply because your neighbor has one, and if you do, do not use it in the same way. After the house is built shrubs should be planted around the base to soften the lines. Next, a hedge should be placed around the' lot so that the owner, in looking from his place, can see the skyline and have the immediate surroundings hidden. In that way, a person owns as far as he can see. And, we get a little glimpse int

Today we celebrate the botanist who was allowed to tend a garden while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. We'll learn about the Pioneer botanist of Tennessee and the botanist who used his love of trees to shape an optimistic view of humanity. We'll also celebrate Jamie Taggert, the young Scottish botanist, who set out on this day in 2013 for Vietnam but sadly never returned to his beloved home at the Linn Botanical Garden. We'll hear the Carl Sandburg poem with the famous line, "no beautiful thing lasts" We Grow That Garden Library with today's book which is all about mixing up a special batch of seeds for a natural garden that doesn't require buying any small plants. We'll talk about some ideas for a Garden-Themed Thanksgiving and then we'll close the show with some Autumn-inspired Ayurvedic principals for the Gardener. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. The blog of the award-winning Landscape team of Warnes McGarr @warnesmcgarr recently shared a very beneficial post called "Five things to consider before redesigning your garden." As a northern gardener, I love what they say right at the beginning of their post, which is that the coming colder months should be used to make plans for the garden. The design team encourages us to ask this question: "Do you use your garden enough, or is it an afterthought?" With this question in mind, they share some considerations for any garden redesign project: reducing the size of your lawn, adding a garden room, investing in a wood-fired oven, and keeping wildlife in mind when you select plants for your garden. Meanwhile, Gardens Illustrated reported on How to Prepare the Garden for Winter, and they shared a few useful tasks to tackle right now. In addition to general tidy up, suggestions like using a power washer to clean your stonework, setting up your bird feeders (something we discussed yesterday) as well as cleaning and culling through your pot collection are excellent activities to accomplish as we transition into winter. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - just head on over to the group - and join. Brevities #OTD On this day in 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh was executed. On the orders of King James, Raleigh had been a special prisoner at the Tower of London for thirteen years. During his time in the tower, Raleigh was allowed to tend a small apothecary garden in the courtyard below. Raleigh used his garden to grow exotic plants and plants from the new world. He also used the herbs to experiment with medicines. Last year marked the 400th anniversary of Raleigh's death. In celebration, Raleigh's "Lost Garden" was installed at the Tower of London. The garden is planted with herbs, flowers, and fruits that are historically appropriate for the time Raleigh was at the Tower. Historical records show that Raleigh created numerous cordials and herbal remedies. He once incorporated borage, rosemary, marigold, saffron, juniper berries, lemons, red roses, and red gilly to create a cordial for new mothers. #OTD On this day in 1908, The Tennessean newspaper reported that the botanist Thomas G. Harbison was in Nashville to collect a specimen of the clematis gattingeri for Harvard. The gattingeri clematis was regarded as a very rare plant that had been discovered by Augustin Gattinger. Gattinger was known as the "Pioneer Botanist of Tennesee". He had been born in Munich, Germany in 1825, but had immigrated to the united states in his twenties after being kicked out of the University of Munich for seeking more liberty for Germans and for celebrating George Washington's birthday. Gattinger served in the Union Army during the civil war, and he became a country doctor. He also started studying botany, and Gattinger counted many prominent botanists as friends. Gattinger is remembered for his published works, which include The Flora of Tennessee and Medicinal Plants of Tennessee. Gattinger's entire 50,000 specimen herbarium was donated to the University of Tennessee in 1890. Sadly, in 1934, the collection was destroyed in a fire. In the preface to his Flora of Tennessee, Gattinger wrote: "While the pursuit of botany never brought me any financial advantages, I acknowledge that it was a mighty protector in keeping me out of the way of social corruption, and it gave me many hours of the purest enjoyment of life and brought me into friendly relations with many excellent men and women." #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist William Henry Chapman who died on this day in 1970. Chapman was an American botanist, and his area of specialty was pomology or fruit. As a professor, Chapman taught at Cornell and later at UC Berkeley and UC Davis, where he was the Dean of Agriculture. A Biographical Memoir of Chandler, written by Jacob Biale, includes

Today we celebrate the Swiss botanist known as the father of geographical botany and the American botanist who went on a 500-mile nature walk for her honeymoon. And, just in time for Halloween, we'll learn about the botanist who followed in her father's footsteps to study slime mold. And, we're coming up on the 200th anniversary of the botanist who climbed Pike's Peak and discovered the Blue Columbine, also known as the State Flower of Colorado. We'll hear one of my favorite poems about Octob er with the line, "The leaves by hundreds came." We Grow That Garden Library with a beautiful book from one of the country's top gardens: Philadelphia's Chanticleer. I'll give you some helpful tips to attract birds to your garden over the winter, and then we'll wrap things up with a Scottish garden that is also a living work of art. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch shared last week that the Missouri Botanical Garden is gearing up to break ground this January on a $92 million brand new visitor center. It will be called the Jack C Taylor Visitor Center in honor of the Taylor family, who donated the lead gift for the project. Jack Crawford Taylor founded the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company. Taylor left a legacy of philanthropy. Taylor gave a $30 million gift to the Missouri Botanical Garden to fund global plant research - which is the most significant gift ever given to a U.S. botanical garden. The new Jack C Taylor Visitor Center is slated to open in the Spring of 2022. California's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) has a fantastic tradition of environmental stewardship. Last week they put together a great video with tips on how to get started with composting. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - just head on over to the group - and join. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the botanist Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle, who was born on this day in 1806 the year Linnaeus died. He was the son of the Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle. Candolle's ground-breaking book, Origin for Cultivated Plants begins, "It is a common saying, that the plants with which man has most to do, and which rendered him the greatest service, are those which botanists know the least [about]." Candolle set about correcting that gap in understanding, which had persisted for 50 years. In 1885, The Glasgow Herald reminded readers, "At the commencement of the present century but little was known respecting the origin of our cultivated plants.... Alexander von Humboldt in 1807 said : 'The origin, the first home of the plants most useful to man, and which have accompanied him from the remotest epochs, is a secret as impenetrable as the dwelling of all our domestic animals. We do not know what region produced spontaneously wheat, barley, oats, and rye. The plants which constitute the natural riches of all the inhabitants of the tropics the banana, the papaw, the manioc, and maize have never been found in a wild state. The potato presents the same phenomenon.'" Candolle named growing regions and came up with climate classifications. Gardeners use them today when we refer to growing zones. Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle is known as the father of geographical botany, and Harvard botanist Asa Gray remarked, "De Candolle's great work closed one epoch in the history of the subject and [Sir Joseph] Hooker's name is the first that appears in the ensuing one." Alphonse devised the first code of botanical nomenclature - the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature is its descendant. These laws ensure that no two species of plants have the same name. The botanical name is always in Latin. #OTD Today is the 175th birthday of the botanist Katherine Brandagee who was born on this day in 1844. Brandagee was the third woman to enroll at Berkeley's medical school and the second woman to be professionally employed as a botanist in the US. While getting her MD at Berkeley, Kate had learned that plants were the primary sources of medicine. Botany intrigued her, so she dropped the mantle of physician to pursue botany. Five years later, she was the curator of the San Francisco Academy of Sciences herbarium. There, Kate personally trained Alice Eastwood. When Kate moved on, Alice was ready to take her place; Kate was a phenomenal mentor. During her time at the academy, in surprise development at the age of 40, Kate had "fallen insanely in love" with plantsman Townshend Brandegee. Equally yoked, their honeymoon was a 500-mile nature walk - collecting plant specimens from San Diego to San Francisco. The couple moved to San Diego, where they created a herbarium praised as a botanical paradise. In 1906, when an earthquake destroyed the Berkley herbarium, the Brandegees single-handedly restor

Today we celebrate the Frenchman who designed the very first secateurs or pruners and the Italian orphan who grew up to discover the corpse flower. We'll learn about the Dutch botanist who was trying to figure out what was going on with his tobacco plants and made a significant discovery for science. We'll hear the Autumn Garden Poem that highlights the crimson of the sumac and the woodbine "For the pageant of passing days." We Grow That Garden Library with a cookbook called Flowers in the Kitchen by Susan Belsinger. I'll talk about gathering up your empty containers and pots as well as protecting any ironwork, and then we'll travel back in time to 1875 to hear some thoughts about Autumn Work in the garden. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Earlier this month, on October 10th, the world celebrated World Mental Health Day. There was a lovely article featured in Thrive - an organization using gardening to change lives. "As a charity focussed on promoting the health benefits of gardening, Thrive knows how time spent in gardens and nature can bring significant mental health benefits. [They] see and hear how it helps people cope when times are tough." "We see how gardening can reduce stress and anxiety, how the process of nurturing plants can give fragile people a sense of achievement which in turn builds confidence, self-esteem, quality of life and, ultimately, hope." Most gardeners often joke that gardening is cheaper than therapy. But the truth is that gardening is therapeutic. Connecting with nature is restoratives. Monty Don, Gardeners' World presenter, said this about gardening, "However you come at it, whoever prescribes it or gets you to do it, gardening heals." Thrive shared the comments of young people they had worked within the garden. The kids were 12-16 years old with severe psychological and psychiatric disorders like bulimia and anorexia. They worked in the garden and reported: 'Gardening takes my mind off things.' 'I feel happier and less anxious.' 'It has helped me be more sociable and to be able to distract myself when I feel bad.' This is why, at The Daily Gardener, I make a point of giving you ideas and ways to keep connecting with nature all year long - even throughout the winter. It's why I end the show every day with: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day." So, there you go - the best reason to garden - staying physically healthy and mentally healthy. If you see or know of someone struggling, please tell them about the surprising benefits of gardening. Here's a friendly reminder to keep visiting your farmer's markets and local farmers. They still have plenty of excellent produce to buy. Think pears, apples, winter squash, pumpkin, brussel sprouts, broccoli, parsnips, beets, and sweet potatoes. And, if you feel so inclined, bring along an extra hot chocolate or coffee for the sellers, I know they always appreciate that this time of year and who knows? You might just make a new friend. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck- because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - just head on over to the group - and join. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of Count Bertrand de Molleville, who was born on this day - 275 years ago - in 1744. During the French Revolution, Molleville escaped to England, where he developed the secateurs or the pruner. He created them to help with pruning grapevines - something he was all too familiar with back home in France. Before the secateurs, a knife or small machete was the primary tool used to prune grapes vines and fruit trees. That said, by 1840, there was actually a riot over the use of the secateurs in a small French town. When the town agricultural committee met to decide whether the secateurs should replace the pruning knife in the vineyards, over 300 farm workers showed up and marched in the streets to protest the decision. The workers felt that the humble secateurs would replace the need for so many vinedressers. Ah, technology. #OTD On this day in 1843 the New England Farmer shared a simple update to the nation: Wisconsin, it is said, will have for sale this year, 1,000,000 bushels of wheat. #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of Odoardo Beccari, who died on this day in 1920. After growing up an orphan, Beccarri managed to get an education in his native Italy, and he eventually traveled to England to study at Kew. Beccarri was friends with Hooker and Darwin, but he also befriended James Brooke, which meant he was able to spend three years exploring Borneo. During his lifetime, Becarri traveled all over India, Malaysia, and New Zealand. But it was on a little voyage he took to central Sumatra (in Indonesia) in 1878 that Beccarri discovered the plant with which he will forever be associated: the Amorphophallus titanum - or the Titan arum- the largest flower in the

Today we celebrate the scientist who set the stage for Plant Anatomy and the amazing botanical illustrator Marianne North who traveled the world, capturing exotic flowers with her magnificent oil paintings. We also celebrate Margaret Owen, the English galanthophile and gardener we lost five years ago today. We'll hear some thoughts from Emily Dickinson about Autumn - it's her Nature 27 poem - with the famous line "I'll put a trinket on." We'll Grow That Garden Library with today's book The Daylily by John P. Peat and Ted L. Petit I'll talk about the perennials you can cut back right now and then wrap things up with a sweet story about the rose poem that went viral in 1885. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Early this month, Hoodline published an article about Ink Dwell's latest installation as part of their Migrating Mural project. Ink Dwell selected a location at 455 Hyde Stin San Francisco as the site of their next Monarch Mural. The 44-unit, 11-story apartment building was due for a new paint job anyway, so it was the perfect canvas for the project. Imagine an 11-story mural dedicated to the monarch! Ink Dwell has installed similar murals at eight other locations across the country to raise awareness about the declining monarch butterfly population. The project on Hyde street will be the largest installation - covering three sides of the building, and Ink Dwell hopes the mural makes Monarchbutterflies "impossible to ignore." Ink Dwell and its conservation partner, the Xerces Society, work with communities to provide information and educational materials about the butterflies' migration, and the current population declines for pollinators. Gardenista recently shared an excellent article by Barbara Peck called 10 Things Your Landscape Architect Wishes You Knew (But Is Too Polite to Tell You). I'll share 3 of my favorites from this list right now: First, your children will quickly outgrow your space. In the piece, landscape architect Kate Stickle y says: "Your children will outgrow, out-throw, and out-kick your small lawn long before you finish creating your garden, so don't plan your space around them." She suggests that while your kids are young, let them blow off steam in the neighborhood park. Meanwhile, plan an outdoor space for your future teenagers and their friends—one that feels private (but is still within the property lines)." Second, gravel can't replace mulch. Some folks prefer gravel because it stays in place. But, gravel offers nothing nutrient-wise for the soil. Landscape Architects Gretchen Whittier and Kate Stickley suggest "planting ground cover near walkways and giving it time to spread out. You may still need mulch, but perhaps only for one season." Third, a specimen tree won't live forever. "Designing and building your new house around a beautiful specimen tree isn't always the best course of action. Before even starting the design process, consult an arborist to find out the tree's health and longevity." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - just head on over to the group - and join. Brevities #OTD Today in 1632, the "father of microbiology" Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was born. Leeuwenhoek's interest in making lenses led to his discovery of microbial life. Leeuwenhoek's work set the stage for plant anatomy. #OTD Today is the birthday of the intrepid traveler and botanical artist Marianne North who was born on this day in 1830. Marianne's father was friends with Darwin and Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, who was the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. When she was 25 years old, Marianne's mother died, and she turned to flower painting as a way to cope with her grief. Fifteen years later, right before she became forty, Marianne's father died. By this point, Marianne was an experienced traveler and painter. She had means and autonomy. Marianne decided to spend the rest of her life traveling the globe to find and paint the exotic flowers of the world. Among her many excursions, Marianne spent a year living in a hut and painting the flowers of the Brazilian forest. She painted the giant redwood trees of California and was heartbroken at their destruction. It was Marianne North who said, "It broke one's heart to think of man, the civilizer, wasting treasures in a few years to which savages and animals had done no harm for centuries." In September 1880, based on the recommendation of her father's great friend Charles Darwin, Marianne visited Australia. As for Marianne, she referred to Darwin as "The greatest man living." Darwin specifically suggested Australia for Marianne because the flora and fauna down under were less known and more unique. Marianne traveled by coach between Brisbane and Sydney, painting at every stop when she lamented, "they never stop where th

Today we celebrate the young botanist who disappeared in Australia 171 years ago and the pioneering female lichenologist who worked for the British Museum but was never officially on the payroll. We'll learn about the French botanist who had a life-long love affair with the trees of North America and the Los Angeles woman who found a trailblazing career in botany after getting a job at an employment agency. We'll hear some beautiful prose about bluebirds in autumn, "they linger like the last leaves on the tree". And, we Grow That Garden Library with the book New Vegetable Garden Techniques by Joyce Russell. I'll talk about harvesting the black walnut and then wrap things up with a bittersweet story about the founder of the Boy Scouts. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Andrew van Egmond recently wrote a post on Landezine called Into the Forest. It's about a property in the Netherlands that backs up to a nature preserve and the images are inspiring. What I love about this post is that the owners have made the forest in their garden. There are floating runners that allow visitors to walk above the forest floor, and the long lines make the tall Larch trees seem even grander. There is a feeling of "being a guest in the landscape." "From the living room and the kitchen, you have a poetic view through the big windows into the forest. The play of vertical gestures is the basis for this design. The viewer's perspective is steered towards a group of long vertical trunks of Larches. A composition of horizontal lines and floating boardwalks create a frame which steers the view." Another great story in the world of horticulture recently ran in budburst.org, which is a project of the Chicago Botanic Garden. Budburst aims to understand how plants respond to changes in their environment. Their citizen science activity, Fall into Phenology, is a fun way for everyone to get outside and observe fall changes from around the country. They invite you to join them, watch a plant or tree near you, and then report all your phenology observations to your Budburst Account. They say: "[There's] no need to limit your Fall into Phenology observations to leaf color and drop. Watch for fall flowers, such as asters, and record first flower, or full flower. Seeds and fruiting abound in the fall months. All observation reports - whether life-cycle or one-time events - help understand how plants respond to changes in climate and atmosphere. The goal of this campaign is to collect at least 500 observations from around the country (that's only 10 per state!)." Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the Prussian botanist Ludwig Leichhardt who was born on this day in 1813. Leichhardt is remembered for his impressive and arduous collecting efforts in Australia. For his part, Leichhardt loved Australia. He wrote, "I would find it hard to remain in Germany, or even in Europe, now. I would have returned to the scene of my wanderings, to the clear, sunny skies of Australia." In October in 1845, Leichhardt wrote in his diary after losing his work to a fire: "... tears were in my eyes when I saw ...[the] results of my expedition vanish ... my collection had the great advantage of being almost complete in blossoms, fruit, and seed." A year later, in 1846, Leichhardt wrote a letter to his botanist contact and friend the Italian, Gaetano Durando, who was living in Paris. Leichhardt's message conveys the extreme difficulties and dangers faced by the early plant explorers. He wrote, "My dear friend, You have, no doubt, noticed and regretted my long silence...But you must bear this in mind, my good friend, ... it was not my lot to travel all at my ease... Gladly would I have made drawings of my plants, and noted fully all particulars of the different species which I saw; and how valuable would such memoranda have been... [as] four of my pack-horses having been drowned. Botanical and geological specimens thus abandoned—how disappointing! From four to five thousand plants were thus sacrificed..." In the spring of 1848, Ludwig Leichhardt and a small group of explorers began what was to be a two- to three-year expedition across Australia. Shortly after beginning the trek, the entire party vanished with barely a trace. Known as the 'Prince of Explorers,' Leichhardt was 35 when he was lost to time. #OTD Today is the birthday of the lichenologist Annie Lorrain Smith who was born on this day in 1854. Smith was a British fungal biologist specializing in lichens. Her siblings all went by the last name "Lorrain Smith", but Annie published under the name "A L Smith." - - - - - Let's pause for a minute to talk about Smith's favorite topic: lichens. Lichen grow on bark and rocks. They are not plants. When you look at them microscopically, you'll see they are a complex life form that is a symbiotic partnership between a fungus and an alga. The fungus calls the shots and they give the lichen its characteristics. Some lichens even have two fungus. Lichens fal

Today we celebrate the daughter of a millionaire who found solace in nature and the refreshing approach of one of the country's top naturalists. We learn about the discovery of vanilla (complete with a ravishing recipe for vanilla coffee liqueur from 1974), and we'll commemorate the Doctor's Pit where the botanist David Douglas died. We'll hear the oft-quoted poem that begins, "The scarlet of maples can shake me like a cry of bugles going by," and we Grow That Garden Library with a new book for 2019 called The Sanctuary of My Garden: Poems by Fotoula Reynolds. I'll talk about the last call for bringing your houseplants back indoors and then wrap things up with the sweet story of a botany curriculum for 4th graders in Louisville, Kentucky. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. I ran across the most delightful wedding story the other day. It was shared in the blog Plans and Presents. It was a wedding that had a garden theme, and it took place at The Asylum Chapel in London. Helen Abraham Photography captured the gorgeous images of this wedding. I shared the post in the Free FB community for listeners of the show. You can check out the full post there. But, here's a quick overview of how the couple (who share a love for gardens and garden history) met from the Bride, Nancy: "As a life-long learner, an avid gardener and fan of early American history, I had embarked upon a trip to follow up the research I had done on the plant exchange between Philadelphia and London in the 18th century, and a botanist named Peter Collinson who had lived at that time in Peckham. Journeying to London, I made contact with people who suggested I get in touch with Derek, as he had written an article about Collinson. Eventually, Derek and I met up, talked endlessly about Collinson, research, and other things. Back in California, we exchanged many emails, and when I was next in London, we met up again, and as time transpired, we spent more and more time together. Derek and I are an older couple, he being in his late 80s and I am in my late 70s. Having been happily single for 40 years, I was never expecting a marriage proposal. But it did happen…" Now for the good part. Here's how Nancy decided to incorporate the garden into her beautiful wedding: "I wanted the flowers of the day to be a peach/pink/apricot color scheme, and I knew they would add a punch of color alongside the black outfit I planned to wear, also coordinating with the colors of the inside of the Chapel. Because of our background, I wanted the Chapel to look like a garden. Rather than have typical flower arrangements, Anya turned Asylum Chapel into an amazing and magical garden, with plots of the garden here and there and a path through the garden to the altar. Even the staff said they had never seen the Chapel look so wonderful." I reached out to Alison over at Plans and Presents to tell her how much I enjoyed her post, and she said: "That wedding was stunning, and it was my honor to feature it." Another great story in the world of horticulture recently ran in the Denver Post. It turns out, there's a fun new collaboration between the Denver Botanic Gardens and Mythology Distillery, a cocktail bar and distillery in the heart of the LoHi neighborhood in Denver. Blake Burger is a horticulturist at the Denver Botanic Gardens, and Scott Yeats is the founder of Mythology Distillery. And, they're also old college buddies from their days back at Colorado State. I love this story so much that I reached out to the Mythology Distillery to learn more. Btw, the bottle of Forager Gin is beautiful. And I love how Mythology tells the story of the gin on their website: "Two Friends, a Distiller, and a Horticulturist …. Forage for a missing ingredient in a garden one mile above the sea. Two pounds of chamomile and elderflower along with three pounds of lemon verbena were all it took to make3,000 bottles of Forager botanical gin. If you're in Denver, you can pick up a bottle of Forager Gin for yourself or as a gift for around $35 from Mythology. Brevities #OTD On this day in 1910, the news out of Pittsburgh announced the creation of a new chrysanthemum named in honor of Henry Clay Frick's only daughter Helen who was 22 years old. The public was invited to view the lovely blossom in Frick's million-dollar conservatory. The newspaper reported that it took Frick's "high-priced gardeners" four years to create the flower. A few years earlier, when Helen became a débutante, her father offered to give her a gift of whatever her heart desired. Helen asked for a park - but not just any park. Helen requested a wilderness park. She wanted a place where the land would remain in a natural state, and she hoped the children of Pittsburgh would use the park to connect with the natural world. Helen's birthday present became known as Frick Park, and today it remains the largest park in Pittsburgh with 561 acres of trails and wooded areas. Helen's request doesn't seem so peculiar once you learn

Today we celebrate the poet who wrote lustrously of Kubla Kahn's summer garden and the French flower breeder who made our favorite plants even more sumptuous with double-flowers. We learn about the descendant of Olaf Rudbeck, who sought to create a legacy of peace and the rainforest expert who wrote the flora of Mexico. We'll hear a lovely prayer for Autumn from the poet Rainer Marie Rilke. Today's Book Recommendation to help you Grow That Garden Library is A Way to Garden by Margaret Roach. I'll talk about the benefits of buying bagged mulch and then wrap things up with the sweet story of an iconic flower photo from 1967. Before we get going, I want to say thanks for all the well wishes. I finally caught this horrible virus that has been making its way through the family. It started with a sore throat, then body aches, and then a cough with no voice. It knocked me out for over a week and I'm still on the mend. And, I did get my flu shot but it's one of those years I guess. Anyway, I started to use the last few days as I was waiting for my voice to return to incorporate a few new ideas into the show format here so if you're a regular listener you might hear a few new things - you'll have to let me know what you think. So, I had a little growing zone reinforcement situation happen while I was sick. I had put these baby crotons in a planter out front for fall and I know they are a tropical and I should have thought to get them inside when I heard the forecast but they looked so healthy and tough I didn't give them another thought and then bam. Sure enough, that temperature dropped into the thirties overnight and as I was backing out of the driveway this week going to get more cough syrup - what did I see? All the little crotons (about 8 of them - don't worry I got them on sale) were collapsed and dead in the planter. I can't tell you how many times I hear from friends this time of year about a houseplant or tropical that gets left outside and then looks dead and then they wonder if it will come back. The answer is usually probably not. But you know, I get that this is sad and we can kick ourselves but really it's just one more reminder of the constraints we face as gardeners. I know we get by with zone pushing thanks to microclimates and that feels so great when it works, but every now and then I'm actually good with a reminder like this about the limits of my zone. It's kind of grounding. It's like - hey, fall is here and it's serious and in Minnesota that means get your houseplants in by October 5 period. Respect One of the Facebook groups I belong to asked for some good side salad Recipes to bring out to the field for the Harvest crew. The suggestions were so good. But, one, in particular, caught my eye. It was for: Dill Pickle Pasta Salad and the recipe was from the blog Together as a Family. If you love pickles and pickle juice, then this is salad is for you. They wrote: "Dill Pickle Pasta Salad will be an instant favorite! Tender spiral pasta, 2 cups of diced pickles, cheese, and onion covered in an ultra-creamy homemade dill dressing with pickle juice." It is phenomenal! Something different and something the kids actually eat - which is such a bonus. So if you're looking for a fun, new side for your harvest meals, try making the Dill Pickle Pasta Salad: 1 box (16 oz) rotini pasta 1/3 cup dill pickle juice (from the pickle jar) 2 cups chopped baby dill pickles 1 block (8 oz) Colby Jack cheese, cubed small 1 small white onion, finely chopped Creamy Dill Dressing 1 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup sour cream 1/3 cup dill pickle juice (from the pickle jar) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (or 1 tablespoon dried dill) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper Instructions Cook pasta according to package directions. Don't forget to add some salt to the boiling water before adding the pasta. I add about 1 teaspoon, give or take. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Add 1/3 cup of the pickle juice to the drained and rinsed pasta and let it sit while you prepare the rest. (Move the pasta from the colander into a mixing bowl and then add the pickle juice) Chop the dill pickles, and cheese into small cubes/pieces. Finely chop the white onion. Drain the pasta again that was sitting in the pickle juice. Add it to a large bowl along with the chopped pickles, cheese, and white onion. In small bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients and pour over the pasta salad. Stir everything together to combine well. Salad can be eaten right away but I prefer it cold, and if you do too, then cover it and refrigerate it for 1-2 hours. Notes: I would recommend not making this too far ahead of time. For best results serve this salad within a few hours of making it. Either right away or after the refrigeration time. Leftovers do keep well in the fridge (are still delicious) but the dressing thickens up and it's not as "creamy" as when you first make it). Use any dill pickles you want. I prefer the baby dills cause they are already small in sha

Does your Christmas Cactus have red on its leaves? If so, that red is an indication that the plant is stressed out. It could be that it has that color on the leaves when it's blooming because blooming puts pressure on the plant. In general, those leaves will turn a little red if you're watering them too much or If you have them too much sun. One of my oldest Christmas cactuses came from my husband's grandmother that was a very craggy looking. I managed to keep it alive for about a decade and then it was time to start over with a new one. Don't forget that you can propagate your Christmas cactus with the required simply graph one of the leaves The leaves in twisted off you can put the water or you can have a little booty or you can add a little rooting hormone And twisted off you could you can put the cutting in water or you can have a little breathing hormone and put it directly in the soil If you want to keep your Christmas cactus compact now is the time to prune it just take all those little cuttings and get the routing and then share them with friends Brevities #OTD On this day in 1801, the botanist François-Andre Michaux returned to Charleston. François-Andre was the son of the botanist Andrea Michaux. His father named an oak in his honor. Michaux's mom died just a few short weeks after he was born. His father was so despondent, he turned to botany to deal with his grief. Given his position in France, his mentors were the top gardeners in the French Royal Gardens. The expert guidance helped Michaux accelerate his learning. When François-Andre was 15 years old, he and his dad set sail for North America. His father had a very clear goal for his time in America; establish a botanical garden and send specimens back to France. When they arrive, the year was 1786 and the location chosen by Michaux for the garden was on property that's now occupied by the Charleston Area National Airport. Today, as you leave the airport, you'll notice a stunning mural that honors the Michaux's. It includes scenes depicting the rice fields along the Ashley River and the Charleston Harbor where Michaux introduced one of the first camellia plants. In one panel, Andre-François and his father are depicted in the potager or kitchen garden. The mural was installed in 2016. #OTD On this day in 1887 the Los Angeles Herald ran an interview with the superintendent of the botanical gardens William Smith about the senators in Washington during the 1880's who had a passion for plants. Here's what he said: Senator Charles Sumner from Massachusetts was a great enthusiast... He used to tell me that when traveling he would peer out of the car windows by the hour, on the lookout for a beautiful tree, and when his eye for the lovely and symmetrical was satisfied he would go into raptures. ... The last enjoyment I had with him, shortly before he died, was in visiting a favorite elm of his own Boston Common. Senator John James Ingalls, of Kansas, ...is a most devoted student of arboriculture. Some of the most valuable suggestions about distributing plants in the west come from him. Senator William Pitt Fessenden, of Maine, was an ardent apostle [of gardening] all through his long public life. I remember that his wife had a sweet verbena in their home in Maine, of which she was very fond. She watched it tenderly as a child, and Mr. Fessenden shared the feeling so thoroughly that for thirteen sears ho would journey home from Washington to take up the plant in autumn and make another trip in the springtime to set it out. No pressure of public business could make him forget that verbena. It was really a paternal devotion. Senator James A Pearce, of Maryland, was one of the most cultivated botanists ever in Congress. Scarcely a day passed that he did not drop in on me to watch the growth of some favorite plant or some new experiment, and his ideas were always scientific and valuable. And then there was Senator Benjamin Gratz Brown from Missouri, a very warm lover of flowers and a thorough master of their cultivation. During all the time he was in the Senate I don't believe he missed a day at the garden, and we would chat for hours when he felt in the humor. There's another botanist in Congress,... I know the name will surprise you— Senator William Steele Holman, of Indiana ... It seems almost a contradiction that one of his reputation should be a lover of flowers, but he certainly is. No one has been in Congress since I can remember, and that's a long time, with a more hearty and intelligent love for the garden. He is a frequent visitor [of the botanical garden], and you can see from his conversation that he watches every new phase of the science as keenly as he does the money bags of the treasury. It seems to be a mental exhilaration for him to commune with these curious plants from all over the world, and study their hidden life. He is quite as familiar with the botanical names and the habits of plants and flowers as most professional botanists. He pi

Last night, I met with my Social Media team and we were having so much fun coming up with designs and quotes and all kinds of things for merchandise for the show. We're putting together t-shirts, tote bags, and stickers. With any luck, we'll have Daily Gardener gear and merchandise ready to go live for you on November 1st. So keep that in mind. If you're a fan of the show, you can add The Daily Gardenermerchandise to your wishlist for the holidays. Stay tuned for updates on that. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the German botanist, Johann Baptist Ziz, who was born on this day in 1779. The genus Zizia, which has three species, was named for him. Zizia plants are one of my favorites; they bloom for a long time and they are a great source of pollen and nectar. Zizia is in the carrot family with stems 1-3 feet tall. The flowers are a compound umbel with many small flower heads. The root of Zizia was used by Native Americans used to treat pain. In the wild, Zizia is found in meadows, the edge of woods, and thickets. In the garden, it's a nice plant for part shade and it makes for a lovely ground cover plant. Zizia aurea is known by the common name Golden Alexanders. Aurea from the Latin word for "golden-yellow". Golden Alexanders are easy to grow and a host plant for the black swallowtail butterfly. They also attract loads of other pollinating insects like the golden Alexanders mining bee—which was named for its special relationship with the Zizia. The early leaves of Zizia aurea have beaded magenta edges which adds to their charm in the garden. In private plant sales over the past decade, Zizia aurea sells like hotcakes. They make a beautiful cut flower. Golden Alexander pairs beautifully with exuberant purple blooms like the False Blue Indigo or Salvia 'May Night'. #OTD Today is the birthday of the English naturalist, William Swainson, who was born on this day in 1789. Swainson subscribed to the quinarian system; a taxonomic theory that grouped animals and plants into groups of five or multiples of fives. He stubbornly adhered to the system even after Darwin's origin was gaining traction. In 1840, Swainson immigrated to New Zealand with his second wife and all but one of his children. He faced numerous setbacks while there, including the fact that many of his belongings, including his books and proofs which were aboard a separate ship, were lost at sea. Once in New Zealand, he struggled financially, survived a fire, and an earthquake. Before he died, Swainson sent a letter to his son Willie. He wrote: "I am much pleased with your increasing fondness for gardening and shall always be happy to send you anything I can spare from this place. A garden as Bacon says 'is the purest of human pleasures,' and truly do I find it so, as in youth, so in age, and no other outdoor recreation is so delightful to me." #OTD Today is the birthday of the Florida botanist Hardy Bryan Croom who was born on this day in 1797. Croom was trained as a lawyer, but since his inheritance from his father was substantial, he never practiced. As Croom matured, he began pursuing specialties like geology, mineralogy, and botany. When it came to botany, there was no botanist Croom admired more than John Torrey with whom he corresponded. In 1834, Croom became an early landowner in Tallahassee. At the time, Florida was still a territory. Hardy Croom loved the Tallahassee region and he set about building a home there for his family. In fact, Croom bought not one, but two plantations with his fortune. As he traveled between them, he would study the exciting natural flora and fauna. One day, as he traveled between the two plantations, Croom was waiting for a ferry along the east bank of the Apalachicola River when he discovered a new tree species and a new little plant growing in the shade canopy. Croom named the tree Torreya taxifolia in honor of his mentor, John Torrey. One of the oldest tree species on earth, the Florida Torreya is also known by various common names, including gopher-wood, yew-leafed Torreya, Torreya wood, savin, stinking savin, and stinking cedar (for the strong odor of the sap and from the leaves and seed when crushed). The local legend is that the Torreya was the Biblical "gopher wood" used by Noah to build the ark. To this day the rare tree grows naturally only in this part of the world; along the roughly 30 mile stretch of the Apalachicola river between Chattahoochee and Bristol. There is another species of the same genus growing in California and it is known as the California nutmeg. In a newspaper account from 1947, the Torreya taxifolia that Croom had planted by the Florida capital building, over a century earlier, was still standing. Disease and aggressive harvesting nearly annihilated the tree species during the 20th century. Since the wood of the Torreya does not rot, it was used especially for fenceposts and shingles, as well as Christmas trees. Only 200 survive today. At the same time Croom discovered the Torr

Mark from Little Prince nursery and I became friends on Facebook over the past month. I was immediately taken with the images on his feed, which is so full of the most beautiful blooms. His dahlias were to die for. Anyway, at some point I gave him a call and we were talking away and Mark asked if he could send me some plants. Um... yay! They arrived right as we were headed up to the cabin, so I grabbed the box and brought it along. I unwrapped my new plants this morning and I'm sharing the video in the Facebook Group- so you can check it out there. I just wanted to say a word about ordering plants through the mail. That used to be such a crazy concept. But, our attitudes toward shipping have changed. Most us get things in the mail that we never dreamed we would get shipped to us. My groceries and toiletries get shipped to the cabin free now courtesy of Walmart. (The groceries aren't free but the shipping is.) My point is, that shipping has become the norm; it's only natural that plants would make their way into the process. The chief concern when shipping plants is how to send plants in a responsible and effective way without having to charge a fortune for shipping. I think Little Prince has cracked that code. Anyway, check out the video in the FB group- you'll get to see the lovely view to the lake ; it was simply pastoral today - the perfect Fall day. Then, watch as I unpack the box from Little Prince. It's so much fun - you'll see the wonderful unique specimens Mark sent, the superb packaging, and my method for acclimating newly shipped specimens. With any luck, the video will make you feel brave enough to order some for yourself. By the way, this not a sponsored post. This is just Mark being Mark, and me loving plants. Check out the Little Prince website and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to give them a call. Little Prince's customer service is so good, you'll feel like you are getting the royal treatment! Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the colonial botanist John Clayton who was born on this day in 1773. Clayton's home in Virginia was called "Windsor". He created an excellent botanical garden, (and one of the first for this country), at Windsor. Five hundred of Clayton's herbarium specimens were referenced for the "Flora Virginica" and were compiled by Gronovius with along with input from Carl Linnaeus. #OTD Today is the birthday of the gardener, nurseryman, and expedition sponsor, Joseph Knight, who was born on this day in 1778. Knight was a gardener to George Hibbert and he was also a private nursery owner - and a very successful one. His ability to sell plants and feature plants in his welcoming showroom was tremendous. When John Claudius Loudon visited Knight's nursery in 1831, he wrote: "The effect on entering is excellent; the termination of the telescopic vista being [a] bronze vase... which is about 6 ft. in diameter and weighs several tons, [and] is painted blue on the inside, ... has a very cheerful and elegant appearance." Loudon reported on a number of plants at Knight's nursery. On the rhododendron , he wrote: "So abundant is the honey secreted by [the rhododendron] that when they are shaken it falls from them like large drops of rain." On the Knight's orangery, he wrote: "The mandarin orange, [is] remarkable for its perfume as well as its flavor. It separates from the rind like the kernel of a nut from its shell, without any trouble of peeling or paring, and has been very appropriately designated by the Chinese as the aristocrat of the orange family... In 1829 after Hibbert retired, Knight received his entire collection of plants which he added to his nursery called "Knight's Exotic Nursery. Knight used his nursery as a training ground for young gardeners. At the time, Knight's nursery was truly one of the best in the world. In addition, Knight was able to obtain plants from explorations he sponsored. Knight had a knack for tending to new plants and Knight's nursery was a frequent source for specimens featured in the latest botanical magazines. A little over two decades later, in 1856, Knight's nursery was bought by John Gould Veitch and became the world-famous "Royal Exotic Nursery" after he bought it. But we remember Joseph Knight for introducing rhododendrons from Nepal, azaleas from China and the Robin Redbreast bush to the gardens of England. #OTD On this day in 1805, the botanist Robert Brown returned from a four year expedition to Australia after having found thousands of new plant species. His work brought him fame and professional opportunities. Brown became the librarian of the Linnean Society. His knowledge of new plant species made it possible for him to write breakthrough papers and books that had to do with plant classification and Australian flora. Brown also became the Librarian for the Banks herbarium and he enjoyed the friendship and trust of Joseph Banks. When Banks died in 1820, he left everything to Brown - his herbarium, his library and even his ho

Every autumn, we owe a debt of gratitude to our trees. They give our gardens the best gift: leaves. Over the past decade, there's been a resurgence of interest in the restorative power of leaves in the garden. For some gardeners, this is new news. Yet, we've known about the wonderful contributions of leaves in the garden for a long time. As proof, here's a little post from the The York Daily out of York Pennsylvania on October 23, 1879: "Fallen leaves make excellent compost for the garden." And, theSunday News out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania from November 16, 1952, wrote this: "Many city gardeners and suburban farmers... now realize the value of leaves as fertilizer and mulching material and are glad to take the leaves off the Street Departments hands... This helps solve the problem of what to do with the fallen leaves, but it doesn't help the raking aches." Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the English watercolorist and founding advocate of the picturesque landscape, William Gilpin, who was born on this day in 1762. As an early headmaster and vicar of the Cheam School, Gilpin taught vegetable, as well as ornamental, gardening to the students. In 1777, Gilpin became the parson at the Boldre church of St. John the Baptist in the New Forest district of Hampshire. The church dates back to the 11th century. Gilpin was a fount of knowledge about the area surrounding Boldre Church and its flora and fauna. Gilpin served as the Boldre church parson until his death in 1804 at the age of 80. Gilpin is buried, alongside his wife, in the church cemetery beside an old maple tree. His inscription reads: "It will be a new joy to meet several of their good neighbors who now lie scattered in these sacred precincts around them." Gilpin would travel around the English countryside, creating beautiful watercolors of the landscape and keeping journals where he refined his thoughts on the picturesque landscape . Gilpin filled his sketchbooks with drawings and observations on landscapes and how to paint them. Gilpin wrote, "In order to color chastely and harmoniously, use only 3 tints: red, yellow, and blue..." Gilpin's accounts of his travels were published in guidebooks and created popular interest in natural beauty and the picturesque landscape. Gilpin's bestselling book, "Observations on the River Wye: And Several Parts of South Wales, Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty: Made in the Summer of the year 1770" (often referred to as the River Wye guidebook), brought scads of tourists to the area during the 18th century. Gilpin wrote: "Every distant horizon promises something new; and with this pleasing expectation we follow nature through all her walks." During his time, Gilpin was an arbiter of artistic taste, and he thought that artists should try to find the most "picturesque" view of a landscape. Gilpin didn't enjoy artificial creations and lines in the garden. He was a fan of more natural-looking landscapes that were often savage and less domesticated. To Gilpin, the best landscapes offered ruins and mountains along with trees. Gilpin's watercolors were created on site and he wasn't opposed to using a little artistic license to make the scene more compelling; adding a little bridge or tree or making a ruin ever more ruinous. In 1786, Gilpin wrote, "A ruin is a sacred thing. Rooted for ages in the soil; assimilated to it; and become, as it were, a part of it ..." A simple way to remember the picturesque style, is to remember that Gilpin was a painter and he was seeing the landscape with "a painter's eye". The picturesque was a view that was worthy of being painted and Gilpin said it was "that kind of beauty which is agreeable in a picture." The bottom line is that the images were designed to get your attention. Gilpin wrote: "Our eyes are only glass windows; we see with our imagination." Gilpin was the first president of The Royal Watercolor Society and he is remembered for his books including one of his most popular called "Forest Scenery" which included 45 watercolors and descriptions of trees and shrubs; and instructions for how to capture a picturesque effect through the clumping of trees. Gilpin adored trees. He wrote: "It is no exaggerated praise to call a tree the grandest and most beautiful of all productions on earth!" For instance, the "roan-tree" was noted for having "glowing berries". Rowan was the common name for the Mountain Ash, also known as "the witch" or "quickening-tree". The origin of the word rowan comes from a german word meaning "to redden" and it refers to the little, red berries. On the other hand, Gilpin was not a fan of the Hawthorn, writing that it had , "little claim to picturesque beauty... It is but a poor appendage. Its shape is bad. It does not taper and point like the Holly, but is rather a matted, round, heavy bush. Its fragrance indeed is great ; but its bloom, which is the source of that fragrance, is spread over it in too much profusion." In 1832, Gilpin published Practical Hints