The Daily Gardener

Today we celebrate the man who is remembered in the botany building at the University of Glasgow. We'll also learn about the mystery behind the California Fan Palm. We'll salute the Folklore of November, along with a witty poem about November by an American poet and satirist. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about some incredible private gardens in the San Francisco Bay Area. And then we'll wrap things up with a charming 1855 journal entry from an American writer. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." It's just that easy. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 November 4, 1855 Today is the birthday of the English botanist and Primitive Plant Expert Frederick Orpen Bower. Bower served as the Regius chair of botany at the University of Glasgow "Glahs-go." When he arrived in 1885, the department was housed in two rooms, and the herbarium was stuffed into a small attic space. To make matters worse, when Bower lectured, he had to vie for a lecture hall with other departments and faculty. Fifteen years later, the University finally constructed a new botany building, and when it was finished, the building served as England's first botanical institute. The 1901 grand opening for the Glasgow botany building was lumped in with the University's 450th-anniversary celebration. The eminent botanist Sir Joseph Hooker opened the building. Almost a century later, the building was renamed to honor Frederick Orpen Bower, and that's how the building became known as the Bower Building. Tragically, on October 24, 2001, the Bower building was significantly damaged by a fire. The losses included first editions of Darwin's Origin of the species and Hooker and Bower's works. Many of the oldest botanical manuscripts and books were impacted because they were stored on the third floor under the roof space. After almost four years of continuous work, the building reopened in November 2005. The 2001 Bower Building fire is a cautionary lesson for archivists and curators to digitally preserve our most precious historical artifacts before they are lost to time. November 4, 1984 On this day, the Arizona Republic newspaper shared an article about the history of the native palm of Arizona written by Vic Miller, a professor of agriculture at Arizona State University. The article starts this way: "Yes, we do have a native palm. Seeds of it were collected in Arizona; taken to Belgium and grown in a nursery; [where it was observed] and named by a German botanist, but [it is not called the Arizona Fan Palm,] it is called the California Fan Palm." The mystery of the California Fan Palm was not about how it got its name but rather where it came from - California or Arizona. In 1976, researchers made a discovery that helped solve the 100-year-old mystery. Here's the fascinating backstory: In 1879, a German botanist, Herman von Wendland, saw the palms growing in a Belgium nursery. He named the palm Washingtonia filifera "Washing-TONE-ee-ah fill-IF-er-ah" in honor of George Washington. The name seemed appropriate since Wendland only knew that the seeds for the palms had been collected in America. Wendland had no idea which state was home to the palms. Three years earlier, in 1876, the German botanist Georg Drude had noted that the seed was collected in Arizona, along the Colorado River. An [Italian botanist, Dr. Francesco Franceschi, also said that the palms were] from Arizona. But a Stanford botanist named Samuel Parish disagreed. Parish knew that the area where the seeds were supposedly collected was near Prescott. According to Parish, this was "a region of pines rather than of palms." To Parish, the seeds had to come from California. But what Parish didn't realize is that there were small groves of Arizona palms roughly 38 miles from Prescott - near Castle Creek. Next, the researchers wondered how the Arizona Palm seeds ended up in Belgium? Well, it turns out, the 1870's stagecoach line went right along Castle Creek to Prescott, Arizona, and then onto Santa Fe, New Mexico. In September 1872, the Czech botanist and Extreme Orchid Hunter Benedict Roezl was in that part of the Southwest on his way to Mexico. Roezl likely bought some of the ripe purple fruit from those Castle Creek Arizona Palms and then sent the fruit back to Germany with his other specimens. And that is how the Arizona Fan Palm was named the Californ

Today we celebrate the American Romantic poet who wrote: "The rose that lives its little hour is prized beyond the sculptured flower..." We'll also learn about the man who made Six Hills Nursery famous. We hear some words about autumn by an American Poet Laureate. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that rocked the Vegetable Cookbook world three years ago - and here's a hint: the author divided the year into Six Seasons. And then we'll wrap things up with a recipe I received from a friend recently for a delicious Golden Squash Soup. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." It's just that easy. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 November 3, 1794 Today is the birthday of the American Romantic poet and nature-lover William Cullen Bryant. As a young man, William became an attorney. His first job was in Plainfield, Massachusetts - a town seven miles away from his home. In 1815, William was walking to work one day in December when he spied a lone bird flying on the horizon. The image moved him so much that William wrote his poem called To a Waterfowl. William Cullen Bryant is a favorite poet among gardeners. Here's an excerpt from a little poem by William called A Winter Piece: ...When shrieked The bleak November winds, and smote the woods, And the brown fields were herbless, and the shades, That met above the merry rivulet, Were spoiled, I sought, I loved them still,—they seemed Like old companions in adversity. When he was alive, William Cullen Bryant visited Wodenethe - the 20-acre estate overlooking the Hudson River purchased and sculpted by Henry Winthrop Sargent. Sargent's naming of Wodenethe was a marriage of two old Saxon terms Woden (pronounced Woe-den) and ethe, which stands for woody promontory ( promontory ), of high land that juts out into the sea or a large lake; a headland. Sargent turned Wodenethe into a personal arboretum, where he artfully used trees to frame the Hudson's incredible views. One reviewer said it was, "a bijou full of interest for the lover of rural beauty; abounding in rare trees, shrubs, and plants, as well as vases, and objects of rural embellishment of all kinds." William Cullen Bryant loved Wodenethe, and he was particularly charmed by an illusion that Sargent had created on the property. Sargent had created the view from inside his house to look like the lawn extended out to the Hudson, creating the illusion of a sharp dropoff - almost like the lawn ran out to the edge of a cliff. To help pull this off, Sargent would send his young son Winthrop out onto the lawn with a fishing pole where he would pretend to fish off the edge of a nonexistent cliff. On one occasion, a lady visitor commented on how SHE wouldn't let her own children play so close to that dropoff. In reality, Winthrop was sitting a good mile away from the water's edge - quite safe on the flat earth of the lawn nestled among the trees. Sargent's masterful vista created an artful and beautiful illusion - a trick that he even pulled on his good friend William Cullen Bryant. Wodenethe so moved William he wrote his poem "A Scene on the Banks of the Hudson." Here's an excerpt: All, save this little nook of land, Circled with trees on which I stand; All, save that line of hills which lie Suspended in the mimic sky,— Seems a blue void, above, below, Through which the white clouds come and go; And from the green world's farthest steep, I gaze into the airy deep Loveliest of lovely things are they, On earth, that soonest pass away. The rose that lives its little hour Is prized beyond the sculptured flower. November 3, 1881 Today is the birthday of the English garden writer, plant explorer, renowned nurseryman, alpine specialist, and a founding member of the Alpine Garden Society, Clarence Elliott. Clarence had a remarkable career, and he cast an enormous shadow from his legendary nursery in Stevenage called Six Hills. If Six Hills has a familiar ring to it, you might be familiar with the popular and prevalent landscape plant and stalwart of most garden borders cultivated at Six Hills: the Nepeta Six Hills Giant. Or, perhaps you were thinking of the Penstemon Six Hills - another Clarence offspring. And many gardeners have forgotten that the Mrs. Popple Fuschia - was actually a nod to the Popples - a couple who lived near Six Hills. One day Clarence spied Mrs. Popple's gorgeous hardy Fuschia

Today we celebrate the Flemish artist who became known for painting floral garlands. We'll also learn about the English poet who wrote about the flower known as The Traveller's Joy. We'll celebrate the new month with some words about November. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a close look at gardens - 100 of them - in an engaging book that travels to the world's most interesting gardens to analyze why and how they are designed. And then we'll wrap things up with a little story about the bladderwort plant - a rare insect-eating plant with pretty yellow flowers. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." It's just that easy. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 November 2, 1661 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Flemish Jesuit brother and painter Daniel Seghers. Daniel was a marvelous painter based in Antwerp and focused mainly on floral still lives, and his vivid work was a favorite among his patrons and the aristocracy. As a Jesuit brother, Daniel made no money from his work - that all went to the church. But in 1649, Daniel was given a golden palette and golden brushes from a Dutch princess in exchange for some of his work. Daniel pioneered the genre of flower garland painting, and his specialty was painting flower cartouches. Daniel's garland still lifes were especially popular in his home country of Belgium. A signature Daniel Segher Floral Cartouche would feature these voluptuous swags of flowers and flower garlands placed around a religious scene or statue that was often depicted in black and white or muted colors. These religious scenes were usually placed in the center of Daniels' paintings, and incredibly, they were all painted by other Flemish painters. By the time Daniel received the artwork, he would immediately set about decorating the work with flowers. Daniel's job was to create a floral tribute that added reverence, life, and excitement to the overall image. If you look at the garlands, you'll notice that Daniel added charming, realistic touches by adding beautifully detailed butterflies and incredibly realistic flowers. Daniel also took some liberties with the flowers. Tulips and peonies are in full bloom next to roses, iris, carnations, hyacinths, and daisies. For Daniel, bloom time took a back seat to lushness and color. Also, some of the flowers conveyed additional symbolic meaning - so for the sake of Floriography ("FLOOR-EE-ah-grah-FEE"), Daniel painted the flowers he felt best suited his subject. Ornamental gardeners will find a special joy and satisfaction in viewing Daniel's masterpieces. November 2, 1848 Today is the anniversary of the death of the English poet and Irish bishop Richard Mant. Richard wrote a little poem about the wild clematis that happens to be England's only native Clematis. In the 17th century, the herbalist John Gerard gave it the common name "The Traveller's Joy" (Clematis virginiana). The flower has no petals but offers four delicate creamy sepals along with a copious amount of stamens and carpels. Most beauteous when its flowers assume Their autumn form of feathery plume. The Traveller's Joy! name well bestowed On that wild plant, which by the road Of Southern England, to adorn Fails not the hedge of prickly thorn... Even today in the English countryside, "The Traveller's Joy" rambles up hedgerows & trees, drapes down from branches and thorns to offer a profusion of fragrant white blossoms that transform into architectural wonders in fall & winter: feathery, silver 'beards' that flow from the seed pods. This is how Traveller's Joy ended up with so many common names, including "Old Man's Beard." Folklore says that Traveller's Joy (Clematis virginiana) was sent by the devil to smother the earth's plants by trailing over them. Anyone who has grown this woody vine, a member of the buttercup family, knows this is one tough and persistent plant. Not surprisingly, it's considered an invasive plant in many parts of the world. The poet A.E. Houseman wrote about the Traveller's Joy (Clematis virginiana) in his poem 'Tell Me Not Here, It Needs Not Saying.' Tell me not here; it needs not saying, What tune the enchantress plays In aftermaths of soft September Or under blanching mays, For she and I were long acquainted And I knew all her ways. On russet floors, by waters idle, The pine lets fall its cone; The cuckoo shouts all day at noth

Today we celebrate the man who wrote Species Plantarum and gave us binomial nomenclature. We'll also learn about the Boston Landscape Architect, who kept a journal of his favorite walks. We salute the British orchidologist who saved Kew Gardens. We also recognize the man who designed the garden at the Frick Museum in New York City. We'll hear one of my favorite poems about November. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that teaches us to cook with Garden-Fresh Vegetables. And then we'll wrap things up with a little story about a young botanist who dreamed of going to Sumatra. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." It's just that easy. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 November 1, 1783 Today is the anniversary of the death of Carl Linnaeus. Thirty years earlier, on May 1st, 1753, the publication of his masterpiece Species Plantarum changed plant taxonomy forever. Linnaeus earned the moniker 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 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." November 1, 1859 Today is the birthday of the Boston Landscape Architect Charles Eliot. Charles was the son of a prominent Boston family. In 1869, the year his mother died, his father Charles Sr. became the president of Harvard University. In 1882 Charles graduated from Harvard with a degree in botany. A year later, Charles began apprenticing with the landscape firm of Frederick Law Olmsted. As a young landscape architect, Charles made a list of his favorite walks, and he titled it A Partial List of Saturday Walks before 1878. Between 1885 and 1886, Charles spent 13 months touring England and Europe. The trip was actually Olmsted's idea, and the trip provided Charles with a smorgasbord of landscapes. During the trip, Charles kept a journal where he wrote down his thoughts and sketched the places he was visiting. Charles's benchmark was always Boston, and throughout his memoirs, he was continually comparing new landscapes to the beauty of his native landscape in New England. Sadly, Charles's story ended too soon. He died at 37 from spinal meningitis. Before he died, Charles had been working on plans for The Arnold Arboretum at Harvard, where he'd gotten to know the arboretum director Charles Sprague Sargent. Poignantly, it was Sargent who wrote a tribute to Charles after he died, and it was featured in Sargent's weekly journal called Garden and Forest. Charles's death had a significant impact on his father, Charles Sr. In tribute to his son, Charles Sr. compiled all of his son's work into a book called Charles Eliot Landscape Architect. The book came out in 1902, and today it is considered a classic work in the field of landscape architecture. November 1, 1865 Today is the anniversary of the death of the British gardener, botanist, and orchidologist John Lindley. John served as secretary to the Royal Horticultural Society for 43 years. This is why the Lindley Library at the RHS is named in honor of John Lindley. When he was little, John's dad owned a nursery and an orchard. John grew up helping with the family business. In 1815, John left his small hometown and went to London. He became friends with William Jackson Hooker, who, in turn, introduced John to Sir Joseph Banks, who hired John to work in his herbarium. When Banks died, the fate of the Royal Botanic Gardens was put in jeopardy. Banks' death corresponded with the death of King George III, who was the patron of the garden. These deaths created an opening for the British government to question whether the garden should remain open. On February 11, 1840, John ingeniously demanded that the issue be put before the Parliament. John's advocacy brought the matter to the publics' attention; the garden-loving British public was not about to lose the Royal Botanic. And, that's how John Lindley saved Kew Gardens, and William Hooker was chosen as Kew's

Today we celebrate the Patron Saint of Beekeepers We'll also revisit the letter Jefferson wrote about gardening - it contains one of his most-quoted lines. We remember the French Landscape Architect who designed ninety percent of the public spaces in Argentina. We'll eavesdrop on another letter from Elizabeth Lawrence - the garden writer - who also wrote the most wonderful letters. We celebrate World Mosquito Day with some Mosquito poems. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that will help you create some Inspired Gatherings in your garden. And then we'll wrap things up with one of my favorite light-hearted poets. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Get the Most from Your Potting Soil With These Tips | The Spruce | Jon VanZile Here's an excerpt: "Most soil mixes are peat-based, often made with reed or sedge peat, and pH adjusted with lime. They are rich and loamy fresh out of the bag, and often they are enhanced with fertilizer or water-retention crystals. If you've been gardening for a long time, though, you may notice that plants rarely thrive in these kinds of soils for too long. This happens because peat-based soils really aren't designed for long-term use. They're not actually designed for plants at all—they're made for your convenience. They're cheaper to produce, and they are lightweight and easy to bag and sell. As these soils decompose, a number of negative forces will affect your plants. Take these steps to ensure your plants have the soil they need: Improve your bagged soil. It's not a long-term fix, but you can improve on peat-based growing mixes by mixing in a few handfuls of perlite. It won't slow the decomposition rate of the peat, but it will increase aeration. Flush the soil thoroughly every month, at a minimum. Take the plant to the kitchen sink or outside and thoroughly flush the soil to wash out accumulated salts from fertilizer and deposits from tap water. Wick your pots. Insert a wick through the drainage hole in the bottom of the pot. This won't help with compaction, but it will wick away excess water in the pot and help drainage, thus reducing the chance of root rot. Make your own potting mix. Many growers mix up their own potting mixes based on composted bark, coconut coir, peat, perlite, vermiculite, pumice, and other soil additives. This is a more advanced option, but it is possible to build a soil that will last for two or more seasons if you make it yourself." Pass-Along Plants "You don't have a garden just for yourself. You have it to share." — Augusta Carter, Master Gardener, Pound Ridge, Georgia Pass-along plants have the best stories, don't they? They have history. They have a personal history. One of my student gardeners had a grandmother who recently passed away from breast cancer. Her mom was no green thumb. But, when her daughter started working in my garden, she let me know that her mom had some plants, and her dad was looking for a place for them. Would I be willing to take one? Sure. Absolutely, I said. Next thing I knew, a few weeks later, Mom is walking up to my driveway, caring one of the largest Jade plants I've ever seen. The plant was in a container the size of a 5-gallon paint bucket, and the plant was just as tall. I took the plant from her with a promise to take good care of it. When she turned to leave, I asked her mom's name. I like to name my pass-along plants after the people I get them from; and, that's when the tears started. When she left, I brought it over to the potting bench and let it sit for a few days. Then, my student gardeners and I set about dividing it and taking care of it. It was a good thing we did it - because the minute we started to take it out of the pot, it became very apparent that this plant was severely waterlogged. It wouldn't have made it have a knot rescued it from the pot. We removed as much potting soil as we could. We split the plant in half and put them into separate clay pots, which were very heavily perlited, which was just what the doctor ordered. It's the perfect environment, and now it's doing fantastic. But, I'd be lying if I didn't say that it had a little more special meaning to me than just your typical jade plant -because of the look on this woman's face when she gave me this plant; passing on this little, living thing that her mom had nurtured. Pick herbs for fresh use and also for drying. Most herbs have a more concentrated flavor if they are not allowed to bolt or flower. Frequent harvesting will also accomplish that. As a bonus, harvesting encourages fresh, vigorous growth and keeps them grow

Today we salute the English orphan girl who wrote her own destiny with science fiction writing. We also remember the English gardener who is still ghosting us after many decades. We revisit a letter from Elizabeth Lawrence to her sister Ann. We'll celebrate National Potato Day with some Potato Poems. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a gorgeous book about Dahlias. And then we'll wrap things up with the birthday of a beloved American creator of light verse. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Behind the Winning Design: Q&A with Michael Drolet | FlowerMag Here's an excerpt: "When Michael Drolet submitted his vibrant vision for a Paris apartment for the Virtual Design Challenge, "we were all immediately impressed and drawn to his colorful and technically accurate proposal," said Cass Key, creative director at Woodbridge Furniture, one of the contest sponsors along with Taylor King and KingsHaven. "He set the stage beautifully and let the story unfold like a professional, and the true plot twist came when we realized that he was a student, looking to start his career in the fall. He pushed the boundaries by using a Taylor King fabric as a wall covering and imagining the outdoor space, which is exactly the type of inventive creativity that should be rewarded today and always, said Key." Wallcovering: Taylor King's 'Secret Garden Passion' floral textile Today is National Potato Day. Here are some fun Potato facts: The average American eats approximately 126 pounds of spuds each year. And, up until the 18th century, the French believed potatoes caused leprosy. To combat the belief, the agronomist Antoine Auguste Parmentier single-handedly changed the French perception of the Potato. How did Antoine get the French people to believe that the Potato was safe to eat? Good question. Antoine cleverly posted guards around his potato fields during the day and put the word out that he didn't want people stealing them. Then, he purposefully left them unguarded at night. As he suspected, people did what he thought they would do; steal the potatoes by the sackful by the light of the moon. Soon, they started eating them. And Marie Antoinette wore potato blossoms in her hair. The Idaho Potato, or the Russet Burbank, was developed by none other than Luther Burbank in 1871. Today is also World Photography Day! So, head out to your garden and take some photos. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1807 Today is the birthday of Jane Webb, who married the prolific writer of all things gardening: John Claudius Loudon. Together they became magnificent partners in the world of botanical writing and publishing. Jane was an extraordinary person. She was a fantastic writer in her own right, but she also possessed an inner determination; she was a survivor. When her father lost the family fortune and died penniless when Jane was only seventeen, it was the beginning of her career writing Science Fiction. Along with Mary Shelley, Jane was an early pioneer in science fiction writing. It's hard to believe, but this endeavor would set her on her life's path to garden writing. Jane's book The Mummy was published anonymously, in 1827, in three parts. In her writing, Jane incorporated predictable changes in technology and society. For instance, she predicted that women of the future would wear pants. And, Jane also featured something agricultural that she imagined would come to pass: a steam plow. Jane's vision of easier and less laborious farming is what attracted the attention of John Claudius Loudon - her future husband. Loudon wrote a favorable review of her book, but he also wanted to meet the author. Loudon didn't realize Jane had written the book using a nom de plume of Henry Colburn. Much to Loudon's delight, Henry was Jane; they fell in love and married a year later. If you enjoy Victorian illustrations, you'll positively swoon for the frontispiece of Jane's 1843 publication Gardening for ladies: with a calendar of operations and directions for every month in the year. It shows a mother and her young child standing on either side of a lush arbor, and they are both holding garden tools. Jane's garden books were ve

Today we celebrate the Brigadier General, who described the Compass Plant. We'll also learn about the Norwegian poet who gardened and tended 70 apple trees. We remember the gift given to American by the Mayor of Tokyo. We also honor an extraordinary tree that was discovered on the estate of the first Earl of Camperdown. We'll celebrate World Daffodil Day with a Daffodil Poem. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book called Dream Plants for the Natural Garden - it's a classic. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of the Georgia State Flower. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Do houseplants really improve air quality? | The Guardian | James Wong Here's an excerpt: "Five years ago I wrote a column in this very magazine about how houseplants can purify the air, based on research carried out by Nasa. Since then, there has been a slew of online articles, not to mention industry campaigns and even new gadgets, centred on this claim. The only problem with it is that more recent and better quality research has found this to be extremely unlikely... However, other research shows that having plants indoors has a range of other benefits. They can boost productivity. They can improve mood. They can regulate humidity – all on top of looking beautiful. If you want fresh air, open a window. If you want to witness the joy of nature and feel a daily sense of wonder, get some houseplants." Follow James on Twitter @Botanygeek Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1813 Today is the birthday of Brigadier General, mathematician, and botanist Benjamin Alvord. Born in Rutland Vermont, Benjamin was always drawn to nature. He graduated from West Point and even spent some time teaching there as a Math Professor. Benjamin fought in the Seminole Wars, the Mexican–American War, and the Civil War. When he wasn't serving in the military, Benjamin returned to his passions of scholarly activity. His obituary at Arlington says, "General Alvord lived most of his life in the field, where he was separated from society and books, yet he became a learned scholar; skilled in dialectics, ready in conversation, and polished in his writing. He had a special fondness for mathematics, botany, history, and biography." Benjamin published mathematical papers as well as literary articles for magazines like Harpers, and he even wrote a botanical paper on the Compass Plant Silphium laciniatum, which was featured in The American Naturalist. In 1848, Benjamin described the Compass Plant this way: "The Silphium laciniatum is a perennial plant of the order Compositae; the first year it bears only radical leaves, the second year and after, it is a flowering herb with four or five leaves on the stem; very rough bristly throughout; Flowers yellow. Found on rich prairies of the Mississippi valley from Minnesota to Texas… It was first seen by me in the autumn of 1839, on the rich prairies near Fort Wayne in the north-eastern portion of the Cherokee nation, near the Arkansas line." The leaves of the Compass Plant align north-south, which helps the plant minimize the effect of the midday sun. The north-south orientation guided settlers crossing the prairies who used the plant as a compass during their journey. Compass Plant is edible. Livestock eats it. Native Americans used it to make tea, a dewormer for their horses, and as a teeth cleaner and breath sweetener. Although before you use the Compass Plant for your teeth or breath, take note of this passage from the Illinois author John Madison, "Pioneers found that compass plant produced a pretty good brand of native chewing gum. It has an odd pine-resin taste that's pleasant enough, but must be firmed up before its chewed. A couple summers ago I tried some of this sap while it was still liquid. It's surely the stickiest stuff in all creation and I literally had to clean it from my teeth with lighter fluid." Now, Benjamin was very curious about the polarity of the Compass Plant. In fact, another common name for the plant is the Polar Plant. Benjamin initially theorized that the plant took up a lot of iron, thereby creating a magnet polarity in the leaves, but he later discounted that t

Today we remember the man who helped to establish the Natural History Museum in Vienna. We'll also learn about the Swedish botanist who specialized in mycology. We salute the American botanist who wrote the Calendarian - a marvelous phenological record. We also recognize a fanciful botanical illustrator who anthropomorphized flowers in his book. We honor a husband and wife team who created a magnificent arboretum in the middle of the country. We'll celebrate National Relaxation Day with a poem a feature most gardeners enjoy - a little running brook. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book It's the Little Things by Susanna Salk. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a man who created the term ecosystem, and his words still challenge us to see our gardens through a much bigger lens. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Connecticut Garden Journal: Ground Cherries | Connecticut Public Radio Here's an excerpt: "Some vegetables are just fun. We've been growing ground cherries for years. This tomato-family vegetable looks like a mini version of a tomatillo. It's a sprawling 2-foot tall plant that produces an abundance of green turning to brown papery husks. Inside the husk is the fun part. Small, cherry-sized fruits mature from green to golden. Unwrap the husk, harvest, and snack on the fruits. They taste like a cross between a tomato and pineapple. They are sweet and delicious and something kids really love." Last week was one of Turmoil in my Garden. We decided to put new windows and siding on the house. Then we decided to enjoy the ravages of a hail storm which dumped ping pong ball sized hail on the garden for about five minutes - the entire storm lasted 30 minutes. I always remind new gardeners that we never garden alone. We garden in partnership with Mother Nature, and in this partnership, Mother Nature still has her way. Sometimes we may feel like we win, but I kind of think it's like the first time you play Go Fish or some other game with your child, they just THINK they won. In any case, I am using this as an opportunity to address some crowding in my garden beds. In some places, everything is just gone, and I suppose I could see it as an early start on fall cleanup. The one thing I'm grateful for is the replacement of this large 14 x 20 'Arbor on the side of our house. I had started growing several rows of it over the years and then settled on golden hops when I was going through my hops phase. Over the past few years, I've decided I'm not a fan of hops. The vines are aggressive and sticky, and the sap can be irritating to the skin. And I wasn't a massive fan of the color. My student gardeners will help me cover the area with some landscape fabric to make sure it does not come back, and then I think climbing hydrangea would be lovely. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1775 Today is the birthday of the Austrian naturalist and botanist Karl Franz Anton Ritter von Schreibers. Now, the Austrian Empire had a special affinity for plants and horticulture. And, they funded expeditions regularly to collect new materials for the Natural History Museum. Many famous botanists were involved with these expeditions, including Carl Phillip Von Martinus. In 1806, Karl von Schreiber became the director of the Vienna Natural History Museum. And although he was an excellent botanist and ecologist, his heart belonged to minerals and meteorites. One of Karl's smartest moves was to make Leopold Trattinick the curator of the Museum's herbarium, which was founded in 1807. For over forty years, Karl grew the Museum, but then things took a bad turn. In 1848, during the revolution in Vienna, the Natural History Museum caught on fire. Protesters not only destroyed the library Karl had carefully built up, but they also destroyed Karl's home since his living quarters were right inside the Museum. The destruction of the Museum was too much for Karl - it broke his heart. Karl immediately retired, and he died four years later. 1794 Today is the birthday of the botanist Elias Magnus Friesz, who is born on this day in Sweden. Now, the area where Elias grew up in Sweden was rich in fungi, and as luck

Today we celebrate a historic elm tree in Boston. And we remember the Romantic English poet who went by L.E.L. We'll also learn about the magazine that helped launch the National Audubon Society. We salute the Scottish nurseryman who elevated to the top echelons of British horticulture. We also remember the Iowa botanist who dedicated her life to protecting the vanishing prairie ecosystem. We celebrate the fleeting summer with some poetry. And, we Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that features Audubon's masterful illustrations. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a canning lid shortage back in 1975. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News 5 Things To Consider Before You Landscape A Garden | Homes To Love Here's an excerpt: We spoke to landscaping expert John McMillan from General Lawns for his thoughts and handy tips on creating the perfect landscaped garden. How can you choose the right plants, set a theme, include a deck or a water feature or know how to describe what you want into a brief? John has 5 crucial questions to consider to build a garden fit for your home. 1. Research, Research, Research 2. Consider your lifestyle 3. Choose carefully 4. Keep a grip on the budget 5. Keep it real Saint Werenfrid's Day (August 14) Gardeners know that Werenfridus is the Patron Saint of Vegetable Gardens. Werenfrid is often portrayed as a priest holding a ship with a coffin in it. And, sometimes Werenfrid is displayed as a priest laid to rest in his ship. What do these emblems - the coffin and the ship - have to do with Vegetable Gardens? Absolutely nothing. But the coffin and ship do remind us just how beloved St. Werenfrid was by the Dutch people. You see, as a Benedictine monk, Werenfrid tended the gardens at his monastery, and his gardens served a vital purpose: feeding the poor and the hungry. As a gardener and a clergyman, Werenfrid was a nourisher of both bodies and souls. After decades of caring for his flock in and around Arnhem in the Netherlands, Werenfrid died at the age of 90. After Werenfrid died, two nearby towns named Westervort and Elst started fighting over Werenfrid's body. Each town wanted the honor of being his final resting place and, of course, being blessed by his sacred remains. Although the citizens of Elst contended that Werenfrid himself said he wanted to be laid to rest in their town, the dispute continued until the two towns agreed to let nature dictate Werenfrid's fate. According to lore, Werenfrid's body was placed on an unmanned boat on the Rhine and fate brought Werenfrid to the shores of Elst where today, the Werenfrid Church still stands. And so, today we remember the gentle, loving gardener monk named Werenfrid, who is often shown holding a ship carrying a coffin. Werenfrid is also invoked for gout and stiff joints - which, if you grow vegetables, you'll appreciate how those conditions sometimes go along with gardening. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1765 A crowd gathered under a large elm tree in Boston. The group was there to protest the Stamp Act that was passed by the British Parliament. The Stamp Act imposed a tax on paper in the American colonies, which meant that all the paper had to have a stamp on it. So, if you were publishing a newspaper, or needed a mortgage deed, or court papers, it all had to be printed on paper with a tax stamp on it. Now, there was an old elm tree that became a rallying point for resistance against the British, and that tree became known as the Liberty Tree. The Liberty Tree had been planted in 1646 - just sixteen years after Boston became a city. As the colonists began rejecting orders from Britain, the Liberty Tree became a bulletin board of sorts. As it's symbolism grew, protesters would share calls to action on the trunk. When the stamp act was repealed, the Liberty Tree was THE place people went to celebrate; hanging flags and streamers, as well as lanterns from its branches. After the war began, Thomas Paine wrote an ode to the Liberty Tree in the Pennsylvania Gazette: Unmindful of names or distinctions they came For freemen like brothers agree, With one spirit endued, they one friendship pursued

Today we celebrate an early Swedish explorer of Niagara Falls. We'll also learn about a plant that Thomas Jefferson loved. We salute the Russian botanist who arranged plants by geography. We also recognize the Czech, who became the most famous collector of orchids in the world. And, we'll remember the lives of a British plant hunter and a German chemist. I've got a wonderful poem about August for you today. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about canning - the author says you'll be able to make your mamma jealous with your canning skills after getting her book. And then we'll wrap things up with a mystery about a plant collected by the botanist Albert Ruth. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News 10 Berries That Birds Love | Treehugger | Tom Oder "Have you ever thought about birdscaping your garden? Birdscaping in this case doesn't mean putting out a lot of feeders with different types of seed. It means planting the types of plants that will attract birds to your garden. A good way to get started is by planting berry-producing plants — and now is the perfect time of year to do that. Here are 10 easy-to-grow berry-producing shrubs, vines, and trees that produce berries that birds will love. Most of these plants should grow well throughout the United States, according to Bill Thompson III of Bird Watcher's Digest in Marietta, Ohio. As a bonus to help you get started with birdscaping, we've also included two popular fruit trees that birds love." Boy, nasturtiums are such wonderful plants, aren't they? August is a time when your nasturtiums look fabulous, even after a summer of blooming their hearts out. Right about now, your nasturtiums will bloom better if you remove a few of the center leaves. Opening up the plant a little bit will promote airflow - and allow the sun to shine on the base of the plant. Nasturtiums are 100% edible. You can add the petals to any salad - just as you would watercress. In fact, you can make a beautiful sandwich with nasturtium flowers and a little salad dressing. Jane Eddington shared this idea in the Daily News out of New York in 1928. She wrote, "If you have never tried a nasturtium leaf spread with a thin mayonnaise between two thin slices of bread and butter, you do not know how pleasant a little bite – in two senses – you can get from this Indian-Cress filling." And before I forget, I found this wonderful article on nasturtiums that was featured in the Hartford Current out of Hartford, Connecticut, in August of 1914. It had all of these wonderful recipes for nasturtiums. It not only gave some good advice about nasturtium capers and nasturtium sandwiches, but also, a nasturtium sauce for fish, meat, and vegetables, a nasturtium vinegar, and a nasturtium potato salad. I'll have all of that in today's show notes -if you're geeking out on nasturtiums. And, here is a little insight into how nasturtiums like to coexist with us: the more we cut nasturtiums - to bring in as cut flowers, or to eat them raw, or as capers - the more they are they will bloom. Regular cuttings seem to encourage more lateral development, and therefore you get more flowers. Win-win. If you protect your plants with burlap or sheets on cold fall evenings, your nasturtiums just might surprise you and bloom well into November. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1750 The botanist Peter Kalm visited Niagara Falls. Niagara was a natural attraction for botanists like Peter who studied under Carl Linnaeus. (It was actually Linnaeus who came up with the idea to send trained botanists to Niagara.) There are no records of the plants that Peter collected on this day all those years ago. However, botanists suspect that Kalm's Lobelia and Kalm's Saint John's Wort were both collected there; and that's how they were both named for him by Carl Linnaeus. 1805 Today Meriwether Lewis discovered the Snowberry or Symphoricarpos albus. I love the story of how Lewis came across the Snowberry. Meriwether was really looking for the Shoshone Indians, but he found the Snowberry instead. Meriwether wrote in his journal that he discovered something like a small honeysuckle, except that it was bearing a ber

Today we remember the busiest man in London. We'll also learn about the man honored by the Baobab tree. We salute a daughter of Winterthur, We also recognize a life cut short in the world of tropical botany. And we'll look back on a letter from one garden writer to another written on this day in 1961. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that puts your focus on the grill for preparing your garden harvest. And then we'll wrap things up with a story about Gallant Soldiers. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News 7 Best Tips for Growing Dahlias | Melissa J. Will Here's an excerpt: Melissa gathered these tips for growing dahlias from numerous sources, including books, research papers, my own experience, and advice from professional growers whose livelihood depends on their success. Melissa provides seven top tips and answered Frequently Asked Questions for an excellent overview of everything needed to grow dahlias. Dahlias take 90 to 120 days to flower after planting, depending on the variety you are growing. Generally, the larger the plant and flowers, the longer it takes. If you want flowers before late summer, consider starting your dahlia tubers indoors in pots 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost. Pinching back (the same as cutting off), the main stem encourages the plant to become bushier. Every enthusiastic dahlia grower will tell you their storage method works like a charm. And—they are right—for their specific conditions. The point is, it's the health of the tuber and the overall environment that counts. The optimum storage temperature is 40-45°F (4-7°C). We run into problems when the heating systems in our homes make the humidity level too low for the tubers. Consider using the plastic food wrap method where each tuber is wrapped individually to keep moisture in. Growers who use this method report a higher number of viable tubers each spring. Exposure to some cold is necessary for their development each year, so we wait until early frosts have blackened the foliage before digging up the tubers and storing them for the winter. Come spring, a handy rule is, if it's the right time to plant tomatoes, it's the right time to plant dahlias. On a brighter note, while not entirely deer-proof, dahlias are not their first food choice when other plants are available. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1803 Today is the birthday of the English gardener, architect, and Member of Parliament, Joseph Paxton. Joseph Paxton was brilliant. It was Charles Dickens who dubbed him, "The Busiest Man in England." Joseph designed the Crystal Palace, aka the People's Palace, for the first World's Fair. The Crystal Place was a large exhibition hall. It was an extraordinary and revolutionary building. Joseph was the head gardener to the Duke of Devonshire in Chatsworth. Now, you might be wondering how Joseph's job as the head gardener had given him the experience he needed to create the Crystal Palace. Well, the answer is simple: he had built four massive greenhouses for the Duke over fifteen years from 1833 to 1848, and that made Joseph one of the top greenhouse experts in the world. And, English royalty knew it. Don't forget that the beautiful Crystal Palace was essentially a large greenhouse. Gardeners will appreciate that Joseph's iron and glass architectural plans were inspired by the "transverse girders & supports" of the giant water lily - which itself is an architectural wonder. Now Instead of creating a large empty building for exhibits, Joseph decided to build his greenhouse around and over the existing Hyde Park. The high central arch - the grand barrel vault you see in all the old postcards and images of the Crystal Palace - actually accommodated full-sized trees that were already in the park when Joseph began to build around them. Joseph's Crystal Palace was built in a very short amount of time, and this was due again to Joseph's expertise and connections. He had built relationships with various iron and glass companies in building greenhouses for the Duke, and he had even designed many of the components needed to create a greenhouse. For instance, the large beautiful columns also served a purpose:

Today we remember the master landscape and portrait painter who grew up with a magnificent mulberry tree. We learn about the planting of the first potato in Hawaii, and the discovery of a tree named for Benjamin Franklin. We also remember the poet who was inspired not by his day job at an insurance company, but by a beautiful park that was across the street from his house. We review some August Weather Folklore - and all I have to say is you might want to grab your coat. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that lets us drop in on some of the most beautiful spaces on the planet. And then we'll wrap things up with a little post about a gorgeous garden at Longwood. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world, and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Cheery Hollyhocks Brighten Up the Garden | Southern Living These vibrant blooming stalks can reach heights of 8 feet. Here's an excerpt: "In summer, we can't get enough of hollyhocks. These plants are long-blooming summer flowers that appear in spikes of bright blossoms. Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) are cottage garden favorites because of their appearance and extended bloom time. The warm-weather bloomers are low-maintenance plantings and make great additions to cut flower gardens. They're also known to attract birds to the garden." These perennials and biennials thrive in the sun and in the right conditions will grow to heights of 3 to 8 feet and widths of 1 to 3 feet. Their dramatic heights make an impact in mass plantings and can create magical effects in the garden. They're also capable of acting as privacy plantings. Hollyhocks are beautiful when planted in en masse in one color or in a variety of colors. They're vibrant and welcoming and can add a cheery note to backyard gardens and front-yard designs. (Hello, curb appeal!) The foliage of hollyhocks is bright green, sometimes in shades of blue-green, and the flowers appear in a rainbow of colors including red, white, pink, purple, yellow, and blue. Foliage surrounds the base of the plant and appears on stems higher up the center stalk. When it's time to bloom, the flowering stalks are covered in buds, and the blooms begin to unfurl, opening from the bottom and emerging gradually up the stalk. In regard to care, usually, you'll have to wait a year after first planting to enjoy hollyhock blooms. Be patient: Once the hollyhocks have spent a year growing, they'll put on a vibrant show. In addition to full sun and regular water, they also appreciate having a support system nearby. The tallest varieties like to be planted against a wall or a fence to keep them growing upright. Some popular selections to plant include 'Chater's Double,' which has peachy-pink, yellow, and white blooms, 'Peaches 'n Dreams,' which has double apricot-hued blooms, and 'Creme de Cassis,' which has vibrant magenta flowers. Did you have hollyhocks in your family garden growing up? Do you want to plant some of these summer blooms in your garden this year?" Link to Pinterest Page on Hollyhock Dolls Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1788 Today is the anniversary of the death of the landscape and portrait painter, known for his painting of the Blue Boy, Thomas Gainsborough. Gainsborough is regarded as one of the master Landscape painters. But, he is also remembered for his portraits, which made his subjects look relaxed, natural, and beautiful. Thomas's portraits were a direct result of customer preference, and Thomas's customers were the elite. In fact, his commissioned paintings of King George III and Queen Charlotte made him a favorite with royals. So much so, that after Thomas died at age 61, he was buried in the royal church. Today, you can visit Thomas's house in Sudbury. It has been turned into a charming art center,... and there's also the garden - the garden Thomas grew up in. And, it has a spectacular mulberry tree with falling down branches dating to the early 1600s during the reign of James I, who encouraged the planting of mulberry trees so that he could establish a silk industry. Although England never successfully became known for silkworms, the craft of silk weaving became firmly rooted. The Gainsborough families were weavers. In fact, over 95%

Today we celebrate an English poet who didn't want gardens to be monetized. We'll also learn about the 8th generation seedsman of a beloved Boston company. We remember the naturalist who followed the seasons up and down the country. We also recognize the exuberant botanist, who created the Dot Map. We welcome the new month with some poems about "the Queen of the Ripe Season" - August. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that was created by one of the world's best garden photographers. It's a beauty. And then we'll wrap things up with a little Q&A about the origin of Plant Names. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Double Coconut: The Largest Seed in the World | Kew Here's an excerpt:: "On the beautiful islands of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean grows a legendary palm. Lodoicea maldivica ("LOW-DOE-ah-SEE-ah MAHL-div-eh-cah") , also known as the double coconut, or coco-de-mer, is renowned for producing the largest and heaviest seeds in the world. With their rather suggestive shape and weighing up to an impressive 25kg, (about 55 pounds!) while measuring up to half a meter long, these spectacular seeds are attractive to scientists, tourists, and poachers alike. Legend has it that the double coconut possesses medicinal properties [and] single nuts currently sell for £500-£2,000. Sadly, due to overharvesting, there are now only around 8,000 wild mature Lodoicea palms on just two islands. To protect them from going extinct, seeds in the wild and in botanical gardens worldwide that have managed to grow them, are carefully guarded, sometimes even placed in cages, to prevent poaching." Weather Update August really begins to set the stage for fall and fall-like weather. But, remember, the most significant change that is affecting your plants right now is the reduction in daylight. We are not as sensitive to it, but believe me, our plants notice even the most subtle changes in the amount of daylight. All through August, the length of daylight starts to rapidly decline as the calendar approaches the autumnal equinox, with 12 hours of day and night, approaches in September. In the northern half of the United States, we lose 2 to 3 minutes of daylight every single day in August. For example, today, in NYC, the sun will set at 8:11 pm. But, already by the end of the month, the sun will set around 7:30 pm. And, in Seattle tonight, the sun sets at around 8:45 pm. By the end of the month, it will set almost a full hour earlier. The last full month of summer brings many changes in the weather. Hurricanes begin to get active later in August. In a typical year, August brings triple the number of named storms compared to July. If you look at the number of storms during the summer, August's total would be greater than June and July combined. The Rockies and Alaska usually get their first snows in August. August brings average cooler temperatures, and the length of daylight decreases. Although you may not be noticing the decrease in light, your houseplants are certainly making adjustments - especially African Violets (Saintpaulia species), Christmas Cactus, and Cyclamens. Are you growing, Gladiola? The plants are also sometimes called the Sword Lily. Gladiola is Latin for a small sword. In Victorian times, the Gladiola meant, "You pierce my heart." And the next time you see a Gladiola, take a closer look: Members of this family produce parts in multiples of three. There are three sepals, colored to look like petals, and three true petals, and three stamens. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1743 Today is the anniversary of the death of the English poet Richard Savage. Richard once wrote about a practice among the wealthy, allowing their servants to show their gardens in exchange for money. Even the Queen let her Richmond garden and cave to be viewed for a sum. It was a practice that distressed Richard. Richard wrote: But what the flowering pride of gardens rare, However royal, or however fair, If gates, which to access should still give way, Open but, like Peter's paradise, for pay? If perquisited varlets frequent stand, And each new walk must a new tax demand? What foreign eye but with contempt surve

Today we remember the beloved English writer who was punished for treason but adored with flowers. We'll also learn about the female botanical illustrator who is known as the "Audubon of botany." We celebrate the Dean of American Architecture. We also salute the "poet of the blackbirds." We honor the establishment of the horticulture program at the Smithsonian Gardens. In Unearthed Words, we say goodbye to July and hear some poems about the fleeting summer. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that celebrates 25 years of the Garden Conservancy through over 50 gardens from across the country. And then we'll wrap things up with a little story about the Alligator Pear. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News How To Grow A Mood-boosting Garden| Financial Times | Clare Coulson Here's an excerpt: "Isabel Bannerman – who along with her husband, Julian, has created atmospheric gardens for the Prince of Wales at Highgrove [and other royalty] – is a passionate flag-bearer for good-for-you gardening. "Plants are a really good steadier. You can't let them die, you have to keep going. Like having children, but less demanding," she says. But as she also notes, gardens are very forgiving. "There's always another year, another season to look forward to, to try again. There is so much beauty, such sensory pleasure, all of which feeds the soul and the psyche." For Bannerman, scent is key to creating gardens that transport and revive – a subject she explores in her book Scent Magic: Notes from a Gardener. Natural chemical "uppers", including indole, are present in the fragrance of lilac and jasmine, while the calming qualities of lavender are connected to linalool. Bannerman uses their powers to envelop the home." Garden designer Jo Thompson says it is really important to have an "enclosed garden (the hortus conclusus). "It's really important to have a place to sit or even a retreat," she says. "These areas are magical and inspiring. You're in nature, there's movement and life but you feel safe..." American journalist and author Florence Williams has gathered and simplified the research in her book The Nature Fix, which reveals that we are hard-wired to be in the natural world. "Our brains become relaxed because these are things that we are designed to look at, hear and smell," she says. "The frontal lobe – the part of our brain that's hyper-engaged in modern life – deactivates a little when you're outside, while alpha waves, which indicate a calm but alert state, grow stronger." Korean researchers have found that pictures of landscapes stimulate brain function in... areas associated with empathy and altruism." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1703 It was on this day in 1703 that the English journalist and author Daniel Defoe was made to stand in the pillory in front of the temple bar. Daniel is remembered for his popular novel Robinson Crusoe which, at the time, claimed to be second to the Bible in its number of published translations. After Daniel was convicted of treason for one of his political writings, he was punished with time at the pillory. The pillory was essentially a stockade; the hands and head were stuck between two giant beams of wood. The person would stand in the pillory for days. It was a horrible punishment and it was usually reserved for hideous crimes. While Daniel was in the pillory, the crowds did their best to show their support; they sang songs, shouted encouragements, and threw flowers at his feet instead of mud. In 1830, a biography of Daniel said that his stocks were adorned with garlands and that drinks were provided to celebrate Daniel's release. The image of Daniel standing with his head and hands in the stocks surrounded by an adoring audience was memorialized in an 1862 painting by Eyre Crowe. Gardeners will especially notice the flowers strewn on the ground in the foreground. On the right, there are two women struggling to hold on to a large basket of flowers as they are being pushed away by the red coats. Behind the women, a man has managed to attach a small bouquet to the tip of a spear that he is attempting to give to Daniel who is standing calmly in the pill

Today we celebrate the author and poet who wrote some beautiful garden verses. We'll also learn about a magnificent Australian artist and botanical illustrator, and her art is now part of Australia's national library. We celebrate the selection of the State Flower for Arkansas - and the very cute story of how it came to be picked. We honor the life of the poet and WWI soldier who wrote what is probably the most popular poem ever about trees. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about living naturally with eco-friendly ideas that don't sacrifice style, function, or sustainability. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of first academy award-winning animated cartoon that gardeners will love. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Director of science at Kew: it's time to decolonize botanical collections Professor Alexandre Antonelli is the Kew Gardens director responsible for the world's largest collection of plants and fungi. He was born and raised in Brazil and wrote this landmark piece for The Conversation research website. Alexandre believes that the time has come to decolonize botanical collections by ridding the field of "structural racism." Here's an excerpt: "I've often struggled to answer the simple question, "Where are you from?" As I was born and raised in Brazil, like many people my origin is mixed… I dislike pre-defined labels. At school, I was taught that Brazil was "discovered" in 1500 by the Portuguese. The fact that several million people lived there prior to that was barely mentioned in our books. We were told of a long history of brutal exploitation of our natural resources, including vast amounts of gold, rubber and timber. All this was achieved through the exploitation of our native people and African slaves – including my own ancestors. …[That] Brazil is … the world's most biodiverse country... astounded colonial botanists. Charles Darwin was astonished at our "lands teeming with life", as was Alfred Russel Wallace, who spent years in the Amazon. It is not lost on me that these were both white British men. And Britain is also where I ended up professionally. After two decades studying biodiversity across the world, I'm now head of science at Kew, responsible for the world's largest collections of plants and fungi. For hundreds of years... colonial botanists would embark on dangerous expeditions in the name of science but were ultimately tasked with finding economically profitable plants. Much of Kew's work in the 19th century focused on the movement of such plants around the British Empire, which means we too have a legacy that is deeply rooted in colonialism. ...Scientists continue to report how new species are "discovered" every year, species that are often already known and used by people in the region – and have been for thousands of years. ...The first inhabitants of Brazil and the first users of plants in Australia often remained unnamed, unrecognised, and uncompensated. They are quite literally invisible in history. This needs to change. By opening up our collections and practices, we will give voice to a past that includes troubled chapters, but one that will hopefully contribute to a brighter future." Have you tried growing Castor Bean? It's one of Michael Pollen's favorite plants. Check out the way he starts his article on the plant called, "Consider the Castor Bean": "Pretty they are not, but a garden can labor under a surfeit "surfut" of prettiness, be too sweet or cheerful for its own good. Sometimes what's needed in the garden is a hint of vegetal menace, of nature run tropically, luxuriantly amuck. For this, I recommend the castor bean." While most of us have heard of castor oil (extracted by crushing and processing the seeds), growing the castor bean plant can be a new adventure for gardeners. The castor bean plant is the only member of the genus Ricinus communis and belongs to the spurge family. Unlike other members of the euphorbia family, castor bean does not have that milky latex sap, the sap of castor bean is watery. The giant, tropical leaves and peculiar seed pods make the plant an exotic addition to your garden. A native plant from Ethiopia, castor bean can grow to 40 feet tall when it can grow year-round. For most gardeners who grow castor bean as an annual in a single season, castor bean will grow quickly and vigorously, but it will only reach about 8-10 feet. If you grow castor bean, you need to be aware that the seeds are extremely poisonous. If you have kids around, keep plants out of reach, and eliminate the seeds altogether by cutting

Today we remember the botanist who jumped in a birch bark canoe with Aaron Greeley and paddled to Mackinac Island 110 years ago today. We'll also learn about the woman who was a housewife until the age of 48 and then transformed into one of Australia's leading naturalists. We celebrate the artist who died today among his canvases of sunflowers. We also hear the letter Beatrix Potter wrote about her garden on this day in 1924. We honor the life of a marvelous landscape designer who died in a fire on this day already four years ago. He once said, "I've had a wild life." Today we hear some fun poems about tomatoes. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about shrub and hedge plants - an excellent resource for gardeners looking to define borders and add practical, healthy, and low-maintenance beauty to their property. And then we'll wrap things up with a botanist who shared his disdain for honeysuckle. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Why Front Gardens Matter | The Guardian | Clare Coulson Here's an excerpt: "Last month… Charlotte Harris, one half of the landscape design duo Harris Bugg, decided to dig up her paved front garden in east London. "It was a discussion we'd been having for a while," says Harris, who gardens with her girlfriend Catriona Knox. "Around here every bit of green space feels precious," she says. "Obviously there are parks, but I think each of us has to take responsibility for any space we have." In an area where 50% of the front gardens have no plants, the ones that do provide moments of joy. Harris's neighbors include a couple who boast "the most beautiful magnolia" in their shady spot, ... another front garden [is] an abundant [vegetable] patch complete with frames and climbing squash. "They were the inspiration, really," adds Harris. "It's a gift, isn't it? It's the ultimate in gardening altruism because your back garden is for you to enjoy, but your front garden is about improving everyone's experience." Over the past couple of months, the front garden has gained a powerful new significance… [a] point of contact… with friends or family delivering supplies or catching up with a neighbor you'd hardly spoken to before. Iris Chores Before Fall When your irises finish blooming, cut off the dead flower stalks; but not leaves. Irises use their swords, the green leaves, to nourish rhizomes for the following year. Since they are semi-dormant, you can divide them now if necessary. Replant them as soon as possible and remember to cut off about two-thirds of the foliage to compensate for root loss. Simply cut the leaves in a fan shape and enjoy more iris next year. How to Create a Peter Rabbit Garden Of course, Peter Rabbit is the creation of Beatrix Potter, who was a noted botanist and mycologist. (A mycologist studies fungi). Now to make your Peter Rabbit Garden, we will draw inspiration from Beatrix's Potter's garden was located at Hill Top Farm. In making your Peter Rabbit garden, you could add a little wooden fence or a low stone wall around the perimeter. Inside, use the herbs and perennials featured in the books: Herbs include Mint, Chamomile, Lavender, Parsley, Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, Lemon Balm, and Tansy. Edibles include Lettuce, Beets, Radish, Rhubarb, Onions, and Strawberry. Then add Pansies, Roses, and Pinks. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1810 On this day, a 24-year-old botanist named Thomas Nuttal, jumped in a birch bark canoe with Aaron Greeley, the deputy surveyor of the territory of Michigan, and they paddled to Mackinac Island arriving two weeks later on August 12. Thomas spent several days on Mackinac - He was the first real botanist to explore the flora of Michigan, and indeed, of Mackinac Island. Thomas immediately set about collecting and writing detailed accounts of the flora he discovered. He documented about sixty species - about twenty were previously unknown. One of the new Mackinac discoveries was the dwarf lake iris (Iris lucustris), which became the state wildflower of Michigan. 1874 Today is the birthday of the Australian naturalist and prolific writer Edith Coleman. Until recently, little was known about Edith. The author, Danie

Today we celebrate the botanist and writer who published the first book about salad. We'll also learn about the horticulturist whose life was cut short on this day when the steamship he was on caught on fire and sank. We celebrate the man who helped generations of people fall in love with ornithology. We also hear some garden poetry that features women. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about creating a Pollinator Victory Garden by having a garden that is healthy, diverse, and chemical-free. And then we'll wrap things up with a glimpse into a Maine garden on this day in 2011. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Thriving With Nature | Mental Health Foundation "There are lots of ways in which spending time in nature can be positive for our mental health and wellbeing. New and exciting research is happening all the time that adds to our understanding of how our natural environment affects the health of our bodies and minds. The reasons why time in nature has this effect on us are complex and still being understood. The benefits are often related to how our senses connect us to the environment around us, from the shapes in nature we see to the scents that trees give off and the soft fascination that nature can stimulate which helps our minds rest." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1662 Today the English Gardner and writer John Evelyn recorded in his diary that he met with the dowager Queen Henrietta Maria. John kept a detailed diary for 66 years, and he had a devoted passion for gardening. As a result, his diary has been a treasure for garden historians over the years. And, here's a little known fact about John Evelyn: he was the first garden author to publish a book about salads (or sallets as they were spelled at the time). Check out the benefits of eating salad as described by John: "By reason of its soporiferous quality, lettuce ... still continues [to be] the principal foundation of … Sallets, which ... cool and refresh, [and have] beneficial influences on morals, temperance, and chastity." (FYI: Soporiferous means Inducing or tending to induce sleep. Here John is referring to the fact that some lettuce secretes lactucarium - a milky fluid found in the base of the lettuce stems. It is known as lettuce opium because of its sedative and pain-relieving properties. It has also been reported to promote a mild sensation of euphoria.) It was John Evelyn who wrote: "The gardener's work is never at an end, it begins with the year and continues to the next. He prepares the ground, and then he plants, and then he gathers the fruits." "Gardening is a labor full of tranquility and satisfaction; natural and instructive, and as such contributes to the most serious contemplation, experience, health, and longevity." And, keep in mind John's appreciation for the amount of work a garden requires as I tell you this little story about him. In 1698, John Evelyn had owned his estate for 40 years. Everyone who knew it said it was magnificent - both inside and out. It was decorated to the nines. Of all that he owned, John's garden was his pride and joy. That year, the Russian Czar, Peter the Great, brought an entourage of 200 people to England to visit William III. In a gesture of hospitality, William volunteered John Evelyn's home to host the Czar and his people during their visit. John and his wife graciously moved out to give the Czar his privacy. Well, it wasn't long before John's servants began sending him urgent messages begging him to return. When John came home, he walked into a nightmare. The whole estate had been trashed. Priceless paintings had served as dartboards. His floors were ruined, windows were smashed; even the garden was destroyed. The servants told how the 6'8 Czar had played a game with his friends, where they put him in one of John's wheelbarrows and then raced him through the garden beds, crashing into walls, trees, and hedges. It was a complete disregard for the sanctity of John's garden. For twenty years, John had nursed along a hedge of holly that had turned into a glorious living wall. It was ruined. The party even managed to knock down part of the stone wall that

Today we remember the first woman to have circumnavigated the world. We'll also learn about the wealthy horticulturist who built a magnificent estate on the shores of Lake Waban. We celebrate the botanist who was the first editor of Rhodora, the New England Botanical Club's journal. We also salute the father of British plant geography. We honor the Reverend, who wrote two sweet little books for Burpee about sweet peas. Today's Unearthed Words feature some silly light-hearted poems about the garden. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that gives us something to do in terms of projects for our garden, And then we'll wrap things up with the story of the woman who founded the Greening of Harlem. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Landscape designer Piet Oudolf on finding solace in the garden | PBS NewsHour "The world has looked strange these past months, familiar places no longer familiar at all. Many people have turned to their own or community gardens during this period, growing vegetables and flowers, nourishing body and soul. Gardening centers have been among the first essential businesses to reopen. Sales of seeds have soared. Piet Oudolf isn't surprised." Piet Oudolf ("Peet Ow-dolf") quotes from the transcript: "I think every day is an experience, because there's always something you will like, and it's not only about the plants. It's also about the light and the movement. Once you touch the plants and just start to work with them, there's a big chance that you get lost in the world of plants and that you want to experience more of gardening. You can think while you're gardening. You can think about life and how to follow up after this crisis. But at least people want to go to places where I normally would go to, to gardens and to parks. And I think that people will realize that we, as human beings, need that, to feel good. What I say for people that just start gardening, I think anything that you see at the garden center that you like can be a good start — to become a serious gardener." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1740 Today is the birthday of the explorer and botanist Jeanne Baret. Jeanne was the first woman to have circumnavigated the globe as part of the expedition, which was led by Louis Antoine de Bougainville. Beret was able to join the expedition after posing as a valet to the expedition's naturalist: Philibert Commerçon. Before the expedition, Jeanne had been employed as Commerçon's housekeeper. A few years later, his wife died, and Jeanne took over the management of the household and began a personal relationship with Commerçon. Commerçon had poor health, and it was likely that he needed Jeanne to join him on the expedition because he needed her assistance. Jeanne was an excellent botanist in her own right. When the ship stopped in Rio de Janeiro, an old leg injury prevented Commerçon from collecting specimens. Thus, it was Jeanne who ventured out into the tropics and returned with the lovely tropical vine that would be named to honor the expedition's commander: Bougainvillea. 1810 Today is the birthday of one of America's most prominent horticulturalists – Horatio Hollis Hunnewell. Horatio was staggeringly wealthy. He was a railroad financier. But he also had a lifelong love of nature and gardening. When Horatio purchased over 40 acres of land along the eastern and southern shores of Lake Waban ("Wah-bin"), he built a magnificent estate there. He had married Isabella Pratt Wells, and he decided to call his impressive home Wellesley in honor of his wife's maiden name. When it came time for the nearby town and college to settle on a name, they also chose the name Wellesley after discussing the matter with Horatio, who happened to be the most generous benefactor of the city. The Hunnewell estate was so large that when the Hunnewell children grew up, seven of the nine had homes built on the property - right next to their parent's original house. Aside from the impressive homes, Horatio added many magnificent features to the estate, including a pinetum with over 325 specimens of conifers. Hollis Honeywell made the following remark in 1899 about his trees, "N

Today we remember a pioneering seedsman out of Rockford, Illinois, whose company became the world's largest mail-order seed company. We'll also learn about an Irish playwright and critic who had a unique writing hut in his garden. We recognize the botanist who botanized in Yellowstone for an entire summer. We also revisit some July Folklore in Unearthed Words. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about the History of Indoor Plants by one of my favorite authors. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of an English writer and politician who used humor in his work. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News How to Grow and Care for Blueberry Bushes for Buckets of Sweet Blueberries | Stephanie Rose over at Garden Therapy "Blueberries are easy to grow, look beautiful in the garden, taste fabulous, and are well-known to be good for you. If you have just a bit of space and some sun, plant a blueberry bush or two as gorgeous landscaping and enjoy the many benefits of sun-ripened blueberries picked straight from your garden. Here are a few other known health benefits of blueberries: Blueberries are low on the glycemic index, which means that they do not cause your blood sugar to spike. They are considered to be a very nutritious fruit, supplying high levels of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Studies show that they help improve memory. Numerous studies have shown that blueberries help lower blood pressure. Blueberries are closely related to cranberries and may help prevent urinary tract infections. Add a few blueberry plants to your landscape for their white, bell-shaped blooms in the spring and the bright globes of blue in the summer. But the REAL show happens in the late fall when the bushes turn bright red, neon pink, orange, or red-purple. Blueberry bushes make a great edible alternative to short growing shrubs like boxwood. Imagine a row of blueberries lining the fence and how many berries you will have! And you know garden-grown food always tastes better than grocery store-bought food." Work early, and stay cool. To avoid the high temps, potential sunburn, and bug bites, I go out in the morning, work for no more than a two-hour stint and wrap up no later than 10 am. For self-care, I set up a sports umbrella for shade, and I bring a massive fan around with me to stay cool. The fan also keeps the bugs at bay; mosquitos especially are not good fliers. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1842 Today is the birthday of a pioneering seedsman out of Rockford, Illinois, Roland Hallet Shumway - who always went by his initials R.H. The RH Shumway Seed Company became the world's largest mail-order seed company; their "Marketmore" seeds are especially popular. Famous Shumway Seed customers included Bing Crosby and Perry Como. When Roland was 19, he enlisted in the army to serve in the Civil War. He contracted bronchitis and became totally deaf during his service. Once Roland was asked how he would like to be remembered. He gave a three-word response: Good Seeds Cheap. Roland said that he wanted to make sure, "That good seeds were within reach of the poorest planters " As with any venture, hustle and heart drove Roland's success. Roland said, "From the beginning of the new year, until after spring planting, my industrious employees work 16 hours a day, and myself and my family 18 or more hours per day. Are we not surely knights at labor? How can we do more? Do we not deserve the patronage of every planter in America?" In 1905, Roland donated land in Rockford for the Shumway Market on the condition that the city would preserve the Farmer's Market in perpetuity, "for the benefit of all and the poor especially. " The market ran year-round on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This was THE place for farmers and people to gather and sell their fruits, vegetables, and flowers. In the 1980s, Shumway Seed was sold, and today the area behind the market building is a parking lot. 1856 Today is the birthday of the Irish playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw. In 1906, when he was 50 years old, George and his wife Charlotte bought an ivy-covered brick country house set on almost four acres of land that

Today we remember the founding of a garden that inspired the book Alice in Wonderland. We'll also learn about the botanist remembered with the Forsythia genus. We'll salute the Lake poet who likened plant taxonomy to poetry. We also revisit a diary entry about a garden visitor and a letter from a gardener to her sister. Today's Unearthed Words feature an excerpt from a July Afternoon by Walt Whitman. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about the unloved flowers as they have been referred to Weeds. And then we'll wrap things up with an unforgettable story of flowers and a performance called "A Case of Floral Offerings" from 1874. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News This L.A. music producer is obsessed with houseplants: See how they amplify his work | latimes.com | Micah Fluellen "Mark Redito ("Ra-DEE-toe") is an L.A.-based electronic music producer who, it turns out, is also the proud plant parent to over 40 houseplants. He visually couples his earthy soothing sound with heavy plant imagery, from short snippets of him tenderly caring for plants to abstract videos of 3-D modeled flora. Redito's aesthetic is the seamless marriage between the ambient digital world and a tangible natural ecosystem. You can find short teaser videos of thumping tracks playing over footage of sped-up plant growth and gardens, photographs of technology blended with nature, and updates of his own garden developments on his Instagram account @markredito. "My hope is that when people listen to my work, they would be inspired to go outside and experience nature or start their own garden. My upcoming album to be released this summer, "Natural Habitat," is all about that — the interconnectedness and innate connection we have with nature and with plants. (What's your best tip for gardeners and new plant parents?) Ease into it and remember to take it slow. When I started getting into plants, my collection grew from five plants to about 30 in a month. As much as I enjoyed having plants and taking care of them, it was a lot of work for one guy to water and tend to 30-plus plants on one Saturday morning." Are you growing, Cleome? My daughter just had her senior pictures taken, and I took some cuttings from the garden for her to hold during her photoshoot. For one of the images, I had her hold just one large white blossom in her hands. It looked like a giant puffball, and it had a very ethereal quality about it. Cleome is beautiful - but it is also sticky - so keep that in mind if you handle it. I know some gardeners have no trouble sowing cleome directly into their gardens, but some gardeners complain that it can be an inconsistent germinater. I like to sow cleome right now since the seeds like intense light to get going. Sometimes cleome can benefit from staking - so keep that in mind as well. And, if you are planning a cutting garden, it is hard to beat cleome. The blooms are a show-stealer in any arrangement. Go to a local farmers market - not for the produce - for the knowledge. The growers at the farmer's market have expertise in growing, which is often an untapped resource. Plus, the growers are so generous with Information. It's always a pleasure to talk to someone who has first-hand knowledge about growing plants. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1621 The Botanic garden at Oxford, also known as the Physic Garden, was founded on this day in 1621 at precisely 2 pm. It was a Sunday. The garden is the oldest in England. When the garden was founded, its primary purpose was to be a medicinal garden. Henry Danvers, the first Earl of Danby, funded the garden by giving Oxford University 250 pounds. Unfortunately, the land they purchased was flood-prone. The 5-acre tract was mostly pasture land and lined the banks of the River Cherwell. So, to protect the garden from flooding, the ground for the garden was built up. Records show a Mr. Windiat brought in 4,000 loads of "mucke and dunge" to elevate the area that we now know as the Oxford Botanic Garden. During the founding ceremony, dignitaries of the University walked in a procession from St. Mary's church to the garden. Mr. Edward Dawson, a physician, and Dr.

Today we remember the founding of a garden that inspired the book Alice in Wonderland. We'll also learn about the botanist remembered with the Forsythia genus. We'll salute the Lake poet who likened plant taxonomy to poetry. We also revisit a diary entry about a garden visitor and a letter from a gardener to her sister. Today's Unearthed Words feature an excerpt from a July Afternoon by Walt Whitman. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about the unloved flowers as they have been referred to Weeds. And then we'll wrap things up with an unforgettable story of flowers and a performance called "A Case of Floral Offerings" from 1874. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News This L.A. music producer is obsessed with houseplants: See how they amplify his work | latimes.com | Micah Fluellen "Mark Redito ("Ra-DEE-toe") is an L.A.-based electronic music producer who, it turns out, is also the proud plant parent to over 40 houseplants. He visually couples his earthy soothing sound with heavy plant imagery, from short snippets of him tenderly caring for plants to abstract videos of 3-D modeled flora. Redito's aesthetic is the seamless marriage between the ambient digital world and a tangible natural ecosystem. You can find short teaser videos of thumping tracks playing over footage of sped-up plant growth and gardens, photographs of technology blended with nature, and updates of his own garden developments on his Instagram account @markredito. "My hope is that when people listen to my work, they would be inspired to go outside and experience nature or start their own garden. My upcoming album to be released this summer, "Natural Habitat," is all about that — the interconnectedness and innate connection we have with nature and with plants. (What's your best tip for gardeners and new plant parents?) Ease into it and remember to take it slow. When I started getting into plants, my collection grew from five plants to about 30 in a month. As much as I enjoyed having plants and taking care of them, it was a lot of work for one guy to water and tend to 30-plus plants on one Saturday morning." Are you growing, Cleome? My daughter just had her senior pictures taken, and I took some cuttings from the garden for her to hold during her photoshoot. For one of the images, I had her hold just one large white blossom in her hands. It looked like a giant puffball, and it had a very ethereal quality about it. Cleome is beautiful - but it is also sticky - so keep that in mind if you handle it. I know some gardeners have no trouble sowing cleome directly into their gardens, but some gardeners complain that it can be an inconsistent germinater. I like to sow cleome right now since the seeds like intense light to get going. Sometimes cleome can benefit from staking - so keep that in mind as well. And, if you are planning a cutting garden, it is hard to beat cleome. The blooms are a show-stealer in any arrangement. Go to a local farmers market - not for the produce - for the knowledge. The growers at the farmer's market have expertise in growing, which is often an untapped resource. Plus, the growers are so generous with Information. It's always a pleasure to talk to someone who has first-hand knowledge about growing plants. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1621 The Botanic garden at Oxford, also known as the Physic Garden, was founded on this day in 1621 at precisely 2 pm. It was a Sunday. The garden is the oldest in England. When the garden was founded, its primary purpose was to be a medicinal garden. Henry Danvers, the first Earl of Danby, funded the garden by giving Oxford University 250 pounds. Unfortunately, the land they purchased was flood-prone. The 5-acre tract was mostly pasture land and lined the banks of the River Cherwell. So, to protect the garden from flooding, the ground for the garden was built up. Records show a Mr. Windiat brought in 4,000 loads of "mucke and dunge" to elevate the area that we now know as the Oxford Botanic Garden. During the founding ceremony, dignitaries of the University walked in a procession from St. Mary's church to the garden. Mr. Edward Dawson, a physician, and Dr.

Today we remember the man who brought Lilacs to America. We'll also learn about the man who created the Missouri Botanical Gardens, also known as "Shaw's Garden." We celebrate the French author, who exchanged his personal library for a lifetime supply of cantaloupe. We also look back at an article from 1938 and the topic was tropical peas. In Unearthed Words, we'll hear an excerpt from Vita Sackville-West. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a brand new book for 2020 about creating gorgeous gardens and design mastery. Let the chase begin. And then we'll wrap things up with a little article from 1975 about something called the "Dial-A-Garden-Tipline." But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Robert Miller: An ancient, ubiquitous plant easily ignored — but shouldn't be | RegisterCitizen.com "Because it's tiny and everywhere, it's easy to not see it. But moss is really too remarkable to overlook. Scientists now believe it was these simple plants, spreading like a carpet over the face of the then-barren earth that changed our atmosphere into the oxygen-rich state it's now in and those allowed life to flourish here. Moss helped create our world. "It's all over the place," said Cathy Hagadorn, executive director of Deer Pond Farm, the nature sanctuary in Sherman owned by Connecticut Audubon Society. "It's beautiful." Birds use moss to line their nests. Four-toed salamanders lay their eggs in the sphagnum moss at the edge of swamps. Gardeners depend on peat moss to give new saplings a nice moisture-absorbing bed to start growing in. Because they're great at absorbing water, mosses prevent erosion. They play a part in the forest cycle, helping in the decomposition of downed trees and stumps. And they're great at returning oxygen to the atmosphere. "Pound for pound, moss delivers more oxygen to the atmosphere than any other plant," said Jim Fucetola, chief of operations at Moss Acres, a Pennsylvania-based company that sells moss to gardeners. "Fifteen percent of trees deliver oxygen to the atmosphere. For mosses, it's 100 percent." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1696 It's the birthday of the colonial governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth, who was born on this day in 1696. American gardeners remember Benning because he brought the lilac along with other trees and shrubs when he immigrated to States from England. In 1750, the first lilac was planted at the Wentworth home. In 1919, it was adopted as the New Hampshire State Flower because lawmakers felt it was, "symbolic of the hardy character of the men and women of New Hampshire; the granite state." 1800 It's the birthday of the man who created the Missouri Botanical Gardens, also known as "Shaw's Garden," or "Hank's Garden" - the great horticulturist and botanical philanthropist Henry Shaw. Henry is celebrated on the St. Louis Walk of Fame with this epitaph: "Henry Shaw, only 18 when he came to St. Louis, was one of the city's largest landowners by age 40. Working with leading botanists, he planned, funded and built the Missouri Botanical Garden, which opened in 1859. Henry donated the land for Tower Grove Park and helped with its construction. He wrote botanical tracts, endowed Washington University's School of Botany, helped found the Missouri Historical Society, and gave the city a school and land for a hospital. Of Henry's gifts, the Botanical Garden is best-known. Said as early as 1868 to have "no equal in the United States, and, indeed, few anywhere in the world." In addition to the Botanical Garden, Henry built the Linnean House in 1882. It is the oldest continuously operated public greenhouse west of the Mississippi River and was initially designed to be an orangery, a place to overwinter citrus trees, palms, and tree ferns. And, there's a little story I love that reveals Henry's regard for the plants in his garden. It was posted in the St. Louis Star and Times on April 5, 1933: "Mr. Shaw was escorting a lady through his gardens, pointing out objects of interest. The visitor said: " I cannot understand, Sir, how you are able to remember all of these difficult names." He replied, with a courtly bow, "Madame, did you ever know a

Today we remember a gardener who became a saint. We'll also learn about the woman remembered forever in the name of one of the world's most popular hostas. We celebrate the Scottish botanist who was the first to describe the Prairie Buttercup. We'll also hear some wonderful words about simply being in the garden. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about gardening and friendship in a heartwarming book from 2015. And then we'll wrap things up with a wonderful pesto recipe. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News My Relationship With My Garden Hose | May Dreams Gardens "In the spring, we optimistically buy that big heavy hose that is guaranteed to last a lifetime and never kink. And when we see that hose all wrapped up on the store shelf, we believe those claims. Then we get it home and discover what bad manners it has. Kink? Of course, it will kink the minute you look at it and even think about watering. Heavy? So heavy you can barely stand the thought of pulling it around the garden to water." Plant of the Week: Mukdenia rossii' Crimson Fans' ("muck-DEEN-ee-uh") "In 2007, I bought Mukdenia rossii 'Crimson Fans' after somewhere seeing--I forget now--photos of the pretty leaves. It grew. It's an easy plant with no fussy requirements at all except moist soil. (But wait.) ...Eventually, if the conditions are right, the green leaves develop a pretty crimson margin--the 'Crimson Fans'. Yes, I'm a fan of the crimson fans. And this, my friends, is where things get tricky--"if the conditions are right" being the operative phrase. Too much sun and the leaves will burn by turning brown. Not enough sun and the leaves will stay green. The challenge has been finding just the right balance between sun and shade. I've had this plant both in the ground and in a pot, as the trial and error experiment went on, year after year, trying one location after another to meet--but not exceed--the sunlight requirements." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 300 Today, Catholics honor St. Phocas the Gardener who lived in Turkey during the third century. A protector of persecuted Christians, Phocas grew crops in his garden to help feed the poor. Phocas is remembered for his hospitality and generosity; his garden played an essential part in living both of those virtues. When Roman soldiers were sent to kill him, they could not find shelter for the night. Naturally, when Phocas encountered them, he not only offered them lodging but a meal made from the bounty of his garden. During the meal, Phocas realized they had come for him. While the soldiers slept that night, he dug his own grave and prayed for the soldiers. In the morning, Phocas told the soldiers who he was, and the soldiers, who could conceive of no other option, reluctantly killed him and buried him in the grave he had dug for himself. Although gardening can be a solitary activity, Phocas, the gardener, paved the way, showing us how to use our gardens to connect us to others through generosity and hospitality. 1883 Today is the birthday of the woman who is remembered for one of the most popular hostas in American gardens: Frances Ropes Williams. Frances had a shady garden in Winchester, Massachusetts. And, what is the most-used plant by shade gardeners? Hostas. That's right. And Frances had an appreciation for hostas before they became widely used in American gardens. A graduate of MIT, Williams was lucky enough to get the chance to work with Warren H. Manning, the famous Boston landscape architect, for a little over two years. Frances stopped working to marry Stillman Williams. But sadly, he died after almost twenty years of marriage, leaving Frances with four young children - two boys and two girls. Frances and her family loved the outdoors. When the kids were little, Frances made them one of the very first playsets. When the children were grown, Frances found purpose in her garden, and she zeroed in on her hostas. She became known for hybridizing them, and she even wrote about them for various botanical magazines. Frances discovered the hosta that would be named for her honor quite by happenstance. She had visited her daughter in college in New York, and s

Today we remember the kind Harvard botanist who was a friend of Darwin. We'll also learn about the botanist who specialized in South American flora and found the Cinchona tree: the source of quinine. We salute the pioneer of the study of allelopathy - when one plant species releases chemical compounds that affect another plant species. We also recognize the man who transformed the springtime landscape at the beautiful Magnolia Gardens. We honor the first woman to attend Cornell University's school of forestry. Today's Unearthed Words feature a poem called The Sleep of Seeds. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about the "Science, Art, and Joy of Propagation"; learn how to grow whatever you want, whenever you want. And then we'll wrap things up with a delightful story about a horticulture teacher. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News 16 Drought Tolerant Plants to Grow in Your Garden | Ken Druse | Garden Design "Drought-tolerant plants can be identified just by looking at them or feeling or smelling their bruised foliage. Many fragrant herbs, for example, are drought-tolerant." Larkspur and Nigella Morning Glory Portulaca ("Port-you-LAKE-ah") Rose Moss Annual sunflowers Achillea (yarrow)("Ack-ah-LEE-ah) Silphium ("SILL-fee-um) Cup Plant Helianthemum ("HE-LEE-anthemum") Rock Rose Rudbeckia black-eyed Susan Echinacea Coneflower Ratibida ("RAH-tib-it-ah") Grey-headed Coneflower Asters Dianthus Euphorbias Foxgloves Sempervivum Sedum Tulips Mulleins Bearded Iris Lilacs Have you ever tried drying flowers? Successfully drying one of your favorite flowers is such a joy. Some flowers look even better when they are dried. There are many options for drying flowers; air drying is the simplest. Then, of course, there's pressing. If you've never tried sand drying a bloom, you should give it a shot. Just fill a microwave-safe container with a layer of silica sand. Put the flower on top of the sand and then bury the bloom in the sand. Place the bloom along with a cup of water in the microwave. Heat in microwave in 30-second increments. Your flower should be dried in 2-3 minutes. Another step you can take in your flower-drying hobby is to prepare a spot in your garden shed, garage, pantry, or kitchen for drying flowers. Repurpose a pot rack or do something simple like string some twine between some eye hooks. Sometimes just creating space can inspire you to take some cuttings and bring beautiful blooms indoors. One of my favorite pictures from my garden is a single row of hydrangea cuttings drying upside down in my kitchen. Bliss. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1909 Today is the birthday of Cornelius Herman ("Neil") Muller, the American botanist and ecologist. Cornelius pioneered the study of allelopathy ("ah-la-LOP-OH-thee"). Allelopathy occurs when one plant species releases chemical compounds that affect another plant species. Most gardeners know that black walnut is an example of allelopathy. In addition to the roots, black walnut trees store allelopathic chemicals in their buds, in the hulls of the walnuts, and their leaves. 1917 Today is the birthday of John Drayton Hastie of Magnolia Gardens. The Drayton family has lived on the plantation on the banks of the Ashley River since the 1670s. Magnolia Gardens is often regarded as one of the most staggeringly beautiful places in the entire South. And it's worth noting that it was built on the backs of slaves. The journalist Charles Kuralt once wrote about Magnolia Gardens. He said, "By 1900, the Baedeker guide to the United States listed three must-see attractions: the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, and Magnolia Gardens. Maybe because I am a sucker for 300-year-old live oak trees hung with Spanish moss and for azaleas and camellias and dogwoods and for Cherokee roses growing on fences — I think I'd put Magnolia Gardens first on that list." Representing the 9th generation of the Drayton Family at Magnolia Gardens, John Drayton Hastie was a passionate plantsman. He knew and loved all of the winding brick paths and the thousands of specimens at Magnolia Gardens - including the Middleton Oak, which measured over 12 feet in diameter. And John kn

Today we remember the creation of legislation that turned 778 acres of land into a beloved park in New York City. We'll also learn about the State Flower of Maine - it's the only floral emblem that does not produce a blossom. We salute the Swarthmore ("SWATH-more") College alumni and horticulturist who created a magnificent garden at their home known as Todmorden ("Todd-MORE-din"). We'll also read some poems that celebrate the new habits we cultivate in the summer. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about authors and their gardens - love this topic. And then we'll wrap things up with an old article about rose care during the heat of the summer. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. And I celebrate my dad's 78th birthday! Happy Birthday, Dad! Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Heights Garden Club: Hosting a Successful Tour During a Pandemic Pt 1 | Ravenscourt Gardens Here's an excerpt: "This June we had the opportunity to do a garden tour in a large residential garden. We took several precautions, starting with using SignUpGenius to take reservations in half-hour increments. We extended tour hours from one to two. We required everyone check-in, wear a mask, and use social distancing while in the garden." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1853 On this day, the legislation that created Central Park passed. Central Park was allowed 778 acres of land and was created by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux ("Vox"). The Park was inspired by England's Birkenhead Park, which was created by Joseph Paxton. And there were many wonderful firsts that happened during the construction fo the Park. Vaux first coined the term landscape architect while working on the Park. And Olmsted imagined a gathering place for all social classes, a place where everyone could come together and enjoy nature. And, it was after Olmsted's work on Central Park as well as Boston's Emerald Necklace, Forest Park in Springfield, Massachusetts, and Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, that Olmsted became known as America's Park-maker. Now, as with any project, the development of Central Park hit some speed bumps. For instance, the American architect Richard Morris Hunt clashed with Olmsted and Vaux over his design for one of the entrances to the Park. Although Hunt had won a competition to design the southern entrance, Olmsted and Vaux balked when they saw Hunt's plan. You see, Hunt had designed this very elaborate grand entrance - something he called the Gate of Peace. It included a circular fountain within a square parterre. But the most magnificent part of his plan was a semi-circular terrace complete with a 50-foot column. At the base of the column, there was going to be a monument to Henry Hudson. And then, the pool around it would feature Neptune in his chariot and Henry Hudson standing on the prowl of a ship. Hunt really believed the public would embrace his grand vision and so he decided to promote his designs for the Park all on his own. But Hunt did not appreciate Vaux's power to squelch his idea. Although privately, Vaux said that Hunt's plans were "splendid and striking,"; publicly, he told a friend they were, "what the country had been fighting against... Napoleon III in disguise all over." Vaux summarized that Hunt's designs were "not American, but the park was." Ironically, in 1898, a memorial to Richard Morris Hunt was installed in Central Park. It's located on the eastern perimeter of the Park, and it was created by the same man who created the monument to Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial: Daniel Chester French. Today, Central Park is also home to Strawberry Fields, a two and ½ acre garden memorial dedicated to the memory of John Lennon. Yoko Ono and Lennon used to enjoy strolls through that section of Central Park after they moved to the Dakota building. After Lennon was shot, Ono came up with the idea for the memorial. During the installation of the memorial, Ono said, "It is our way of taking a sad song and making it better." Now initially, the concept called for every nation to donate a remembrance tree to Strawberry Fields. But soon, Ono and the New York City Parks and Recreation Commission found themselves dealing with

Today we remember the beloved botanist who served on Captain Cook's third South Seas trip. We'll also learn about the Austrian botanist and monk who pioneered the study of heredity. We celebrate the usefulness of daylilies. We also honor the life of a young man who was killed paying his florist bill and the life of the garden writer who wrote for The New Yorker. We'll hear some poems that highlight the Garden as a sanctuary, a holy place to heal and be refreshed. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about Gardening in Your Front Yard - it's packed with ideas and projects for big and small spaces. It's an idea that is gaining popularity and acceptance thanks to stay-at-home orders and physical distancing - one of the positive effects of dealing with the pandemic. And then we'll wrap things up with remembering Katharine Stuart and the people who loved her the most. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Unconventional Wisdom: 8 Revolutionary Ideas for Your Garden from Thomas Rainer - Gardenista "When you meet landscape architect Thomas Rainer he comes across as a pleasant, mild-mannered fellow… not at all the type to be traveling around the world, as he does, spouting revolutionary ideas calculated to upend years and years of conventional gardening wisdom. As he writes in his preface to Planting in a Post-Wild World, the 2015 book he wrote with Claudia West, his ideas come from his time as a boy in suburban Birmingham, Alabama, where he spent countless happy hours roaming a stretch of indigenous Piedmont forest near his home." This article reveals a list of Thomas's dos and don'ts for growing an earth-friendly garden that he says produces better results with less work. Here's a high-level overview - be sure to read the article for the full scoop. 1. Amending the Soil: Don't 2. Double Digging: Don't 3. Soil Testing: Do 4. Mulching: Don't 5. Planting Cover Crops: Do 6. Curbside Planting: Do 7. Buying A Lot of Plants: Do 8. Experimenting and Having Fun: Do Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1789 Today is the anniversary of the death of the British botanist David Nelson. David served as the botanist on Captain Cook's third South Seas trip; William Bligh was the Sailing Master. After gathering many new specimens, David spent the bulk of his time caring for over 500 breadfruit plants that Bligh was transporting to the West Indies. Breadfruit is a reference to the texture of the cooked fruit, which is similar to freshly baked bread. And, breadfruit tastes like potato. A likable fellow, David had traveled on another expedition with Captain Charles Clerke of the ship Discovery, who said David was "one of the quietest fellows in nature." As you might recall, the Captain Cook expedition suffered a mutiny on April 28, 1789. For his protection, David was kept below deck and under guard. David decided to go with William Bligh and his followers to Timor. The 3,500-mile voyage was grueling, and David died on this day, just 54 days after the mutiny. David's death was a blow to Bligh and his crew. To honor this mild man of botany, Bligh conferred full naval honors for his funeral service. Three years later, Captain Bligh visited Tasmania. He named "Nelson's Hill," the highest point on the island, in David's honor. Today Mount Nelson is the Hobart location of Tasmania University. 1822 Today is the birthday of the Austrian botanist and monk Gregor Mendel. Gregor discovered the basic principles of heredity through his experiments with peas in his garden at the Augustinian monastery that he lived in at Brno ("BURR-no") in the Czech Republic. Or, as I like to tell the kids, Gregor learned about heredity when he gave peas a chance. (Sorry, couldn't resist!) During a seven-year period in the mid-1800s, Gregor grew nearly 30,000 pea plants, and he took note of everything: their height and shape and color. And, his work resulted in what we now know as the Laws of Heredity, and to this day, most kids study this in school. And it was Gregor who came up with all of the genetic terms and terminology that we still use today, like dominant and recessive genes. 1960 On this day, the Chicago Tribune ran an article about t

Today we celebrate the decoupage botanical artist that left her mark on botanical history. We'll also learn about a Louisiana botanist, naturalist and author who lived in a home called Briarwood. We salute the English poet who was killed in WWI - he appreciated the pure beauty of flowers. We also recognize one of Canada's leading botanists - he was 90 years old when he died on this day 100 years ago. We honor July with a beautiful poem called Keeping July. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that inspired kids to cook with their garden harvest, and it's part of the best-selling American Girl cooking series. And then we'll wrap things up with the Landscape Architect who fought to have a tree instead of a parking meter in front of his office building. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Ann-Marie Powell talks lockdown and sharing her garden. "No one is more surprised at the success of her lockdown project than Ann-Marie Powell. The popularity of her daily Instagram Live posts from her garden is, she says, simply astonishing. Begun on day one of lockdown and broadcast every day since, the My Real Garden account now has more than 9,500 followers, making it more successful than her official design Instagram feed. In fact, it's become such a part of her life she's planning to keep it going even as lockdown eases. Ann-Marie has turned a corner of her garden into a studio. The award-winning designer and RHS judge started the My Real Garden feed after being inundated with requests for gardening advice from friends as Britain went into lockdown. Someone suggested she put the advice online and base it on her own Hampshire garden, which had been sadly neglected while her house was done up. 'My garden was literally full of weeds because it had not been looked after for two years. I like to be doing so I thought it'll motivate me, it'll be like a bit of a diary and if I put it out there that I've got to do it. I didn't realize that so many people would be interested!' Broadcast live every lunchtime, My Real Garden followed Ann-Marie, who trained at Capel Manor, as she shaped her lawn, planted fruit and chose plants for shady spots. There's been advice on watering and deadheading to keep summer displays going." My Real Garden reaches its 100th consecutive broadcast today, July 1, and will now become a twice-weekly rather than daily event with the Sunday Social at 12.30 BST and the new Wine and Water Wednesday at 7 pm when followers will join Ann-Marie to water their gardens with wine in hand. 'My Real Garden' will continue twice a week on Instagram Live Although she's done television in the past, it's the freedom of the Instagram Live that Ann-Marie has loved: 'It's been really lovely just being in charge of what I say. I can be as silly as I want, have a bit of a laugh, and God knows, haven't we needed to have a laugh.' And she's made virtual friends from as far away as Canada, Belgium and Detroit. 'It's just been amazing to just have this nurturing, lively, thriving community of like-minded people.' You can follow My Real Garden on Instagram at @myrealgarden, and there's more information on the website." What's the Difference Between Oregano and Marjoram? If you've grown both, you know they look quite similar, and they are often confused for one another. But, when it comes to flavor and taste, it is easy to tell them apart. Oregano tends to be earthy, pungent, and spicy. It can easily overpower the other flavors in a dish. To subdue the pungency, cooks recommend using the dried form of oregano. On the other hand, marjoram is milder. Use that alliteration to help you remember, Mild Marjoram. Marjoram's flavor is more refined; it's floral and woodsy. Because marjoram is sweeter and milder, chefs recommend using fresh marjoram instead of dried marjoram for cooking. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1744 On this day, the botanical tissue paper decoupage artist Mary Delany wrote to her sister about her garden. Mary Delaney had an extraordinary life. Her family had forced her to marry a sixty-year-old man when she was 17. He was an alcoholic. To make matters worse, when he died, he forgot to include

Today we celebrate the English naturalist who kept a journal for almost three decades. We'll also learn about the famous English novelist who loved to garden. We salute the father of American landscape architecture and his trip to Gettysburg on this day in 1863. We also recognize the Spanish woman who pioneered a system of organic gardening known as synergistic gardening. We'll hear a classic poem for gardeners. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book devoted to the ecology, evolution, and life history of solitary bees - a must-read for gardeners dedicated to learning more about our precious pollinators. And then we'll wrap things up with a Maxfield Parrish Print that is beloved by gardeners ever since it appeared on the cover of Collier's Magazine. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News This Five-Minute Exercise Will Make You a Better Gardener | Mary-Kate Mackey "Phyllis Helland has a simple process for doing that. Phyllis is a friend of mine who is a home gardener, and also an artist by profession. Every day she spends a few minutes observing and drawing the growth on a single plant. This is an exercise in seeing, not producing a recognizable sketch. She advises: 'If you think you don't draw well, simply switch to your non-dominant hand. I always see more when I do that because it slows me down. Or use a phone camera instead. That's more of a broad stroke, but it still helps me see. It's like being a little kid again. Kids notice things, and the adults are astonished.' Now, why would doing this simple exercise help your gardening? Phyllis says it will raise your awareness of what's growing around you—whether it's those previously unnoticed predacious bugs on the beans or a glorious unplanned flower combination. The daily observations can also deepen your knowledge." Recently, I've started collecting cuttings from my garden to make my own potpourris and sachets. Here's is a quote from Eleanor Sinclair-Rhode about this lovely garden pastime: "No bought potpourri is so pleasant as that made from one's own garden, for the petals of the flowers one has gathered at home hold the sunshine and memories of summer, and of past summers only the sunny days should be remembered." Do a summer check of all your irrigation systems and repair anything broken. I sooo wish I would have done this last summer. By the time I discovered a leak, we had a big water problem to address. In the garden, too much water can be just as harmful as too little. Throw in temperature extremes, and you have a perfect storm - inviting fungal and other diseases, pests, and other problems. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1720 Today is the birthday of the English naturalist, Gilbert White. Gilbert kept a journal for almost three decades, where he recorded observations of his garden. Gilbert's observations were eventually published as a Calendar of Flora and the Garden. Then they were woven into a book called the Naturalist's Journal. People immediately recognized Gilbert had a gift for observation and for describing with vivid clarity the natural world. Here's a little of what Gilbert wrote in his journal on this day in 1781; his 61st birthday: "Farmers complain that their wheat is blighted. In the garden at Dowland's,... stands a large Liriodendrum tulipifera ("LEER-EE-OH-den-drum TOO-lip-IF-er-ah"), or tulip-tree, which was in flower. The soil is poor sand but produces beautiful pendulous Larches. Mr. R's garden... abounds in fruit, and in all manner of good and forward kitchen-crops. Many China-asters this spring seeded themselves there... some cucumber-plants also grew-up of themselves from the seeds of a rejected cucumber thrown aside last autumn. Mr. R's garden is, at an average, a fortnight before mine." Gilbert White's journals are a treasure, and luckily we can read them for ourselves online at one of my favorite websites: NaturalhistoryofSelbourne.com. 1817 Today is the anniversary of the death of the author and gardener Jane Austen. Jane loved gardens. She had a heart for ornamentals, herbs, and kitchen gardening. And, her family always had a garden - growing their food and beautifying their homes with flowers. In

Today we celebrate one of Alabama's first botanists and the poet who went by the pseudonym AE. We'll also learn about Wood Expert and xylotomist ("xy·lot·o·mist") who solved the crime of the century. We celebrate one of the 20th century's leading landscape architects. We also celebrate the Dog Days of summer through poetry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about plant passion and inspiration in order to "Cultivate Green Space in Your Home and Heart." And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a touching 2014 botanical art installation around the Tower of London. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News New National Wildflower Network Opens Major Routes Across UK for Pollinating Insects | The Independent "A national network of linked wildflower highways has been launched this week to provide more habitat for the UK's vital pollinating insects, including bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and moths. The newly completed B-Lines network for England has been launched by conservation charity Buglife with support from Defra. The scheme will create a vast interconnected web of potential and existing wildflower habitats across the whole country. Catherine Jones, pollinator officer at Buglife, said: "A complete England B-Lines network is a real landmark step in our mission to reverse insect declines and lend a helping hand to our struggling pollinators. We hope that organizations and people across England will help with our shared endeavor to create thousands of hectares of new pollinator-friendly wildflower habitats along the B-Lines." Buglife is asking people to grow more flowers, shrubs, and trees, let gardens grow wild and to mow grass less frequently, not to disturb insects, and to try not to use pesticides. Almost 17,000 tonnes of pesticides are sprayed across the British countryside each year. The country has lost 97 percent of its wildflower meadows since the 1930s and 87 percent of its wetlands. Both of these habitats support a huge array of wildlife." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1901 Today is the anniversary of the death of botanist Charles Theodore Mohr. Although he was born in Germany and educated in Stuttgart, Charles became one of Alabama's first botanists. He emigrated to the United States in 1848. A trained pharmacist, Charles traveled the world before settling in Alabama, and he especially enjoyed collecting plant specimens in Surinam. Charles's travel log shows that he even participated in the California gold rush and lived Mexico, Indiana, and Kentucky before settling in Alabama. In 1857, Charles started Chas. Mohr & Son Pharmacists and Chemists in Mobile, Alabama. Charles spent his entire life collecting and organizing his specimens. In fact, by the time his book on the plants of Alabama was published, Charles was seventy-seven years old. After Charles died, his herbarium specimens were donated to the University of Alabama Herbarium (15,000 specimens) and the United States National Herbarium (18,000 specimens). 1935 Today is the anniversary of the death of the poet George William Russell, who went by the pseudonym AE. Russell attended the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. There he met a lifelong friend - the poet William Butler Yeats. Russell became the editor of The Irish Homestead. His famous quotes include the following: "Our hearts were drunk with a beauty our eyes could never see." "You cannot evoke great spirits and eat plums at the same time." 1967 Today is the anniversary of the death of Wood Expert and xylotomist Arthur Koehler. Xylotomy is preparing little pieces of wood and then examining them under a microscope or microtome. Koehler worked as a chief wood technologist at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin. Koehler's expertise led him to become one of the very first forensic botanists. When the Lindbergh baby was kidnapped in 1932, a homemade ladder was used to access the nursery. Koehler, along with 38,000 others, sent letters to the Lindbergh's offering prayers and assistance. Yet Koehler's expertise would become the linchpin to convicting the man accused of the crime, making Koehler one of the world's first official forensic botan

Today we celebrate an English poet who was good friends with Alexander Pope. We'll also learn about the French painter, famous for his landscapes. We celebrate the co-creator of a new hybrid of popcorn called "snowflake." We also celebrate some of the flowers of the July garden with some poetry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us explore the world of botanical fragrance. And then we'll wrap things up with a story about a legendary Indiana botanist. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News 9 Hanging Garden Ideas That Will Turn Any Small Space Into a Lush Indoor Jungle | Tehrene Firman | WellandGood.com If you're living in a small apartment, there's really not a whole lot of room to make your greenery dreams come true. Unless you take things vertically, that is. 1. Plant wall 2. Hanging Bottles 3. Kokedama 4. Upcycled Stick 5. Wall Containers 6. Above-the-Bed Shelf 7. Doorway Garden 8. Wire Wall Grid 9. Scrap Wood Did you know Tarragon is an artemisia? Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1730 Today is the anniversary of the death of the English writer and poet Elijah Fenton. His tomb is ornamented with a pair of sleeping angels. Alexander Pope composed his epitaph. The first two lines are inspired by the poet Richard Crashaw. At Easthamstead, Berks, 1729 THIS modest stone, what few vain marbles can, May truly say, Here lies an Honest Man; A Poet blessed beyond the Poet's fate, Whom Heav'n kept sacred from the proud and great; Foe to loud Praise, and friend to learned Ease, 5 Content with Science in the vale of peace. Calmly he looked on either life, and here Saw nothing to regret, or there to fear; From Nature's temperate feast rose satisfied, Thank'd Heav'n that he had lived, and that he died. Elijah Fenton is remembered for working with Alexander Pope and William Broome to translate the Greek epic poem The Odyssey. Pope had specifically asked Elijah for his help with the major undertaking. Elijah is credited with many wonderful verses: Wedded love is founded on esteem. Beware of flattery, 'tis a weed Which oft offends the very idol--vice, Whose shrine it would perfume. O blissful poverty! Nature, too partial to thy lot, assigns Health, freedom, innocence, and downy peace. In a book about Elijah Fenton, it says, "It is late justice, to Fenton, to point out how often the footsteps of the greater poet may be tracked to his garden plots; how the tones, and something more, of his verses, are echoed in strains which give them their best chance of immortality. Pope was accustomed to say that Fenton's "Ode to Spring" addressed to Lord John Gower, was the best Ode in the English language since Dryden's Cecilia." O'er winter's long inclement sway, At length the lusty Spring prevails; And swift to meet the smiling May, Is wafted by the Western gales. Around him dance the rosy Hours, And damasking the ground with flowers, With ambient sweets perfume the morn; With shadowy verdure flourished high, A sudden youth the groves enjoy, Where Philomel laments forlorn. — Elijah Fenton, Ode to Spring Nature permits for various gifts to fall On various climes, nor smiles alike on all. The Latian eternal verdure wear, And flowers spontaneous crown the smiling year; But who manures a wild Norwegian Hill To raise the Jasmine or the coy Jonquil? Who finds the peach among the savage sloes Or in black Scythia sees the blushing Rose? Here golden grain waves over the teeming fields And they're the vine her racy purple yields; Rich on the cliff the British Oak ascends Proud to survey the seas her power defends; Her sovereign title to the flag she proves Scornful of softer India's spicy Groves. — Elijah Fenton, Variety of Nature 1796 It's the birthday of the artist Camille Corot ("CAH-MEEL CAH-row"), born in Paris. Corot was a French painter, famous for his landscapes, and he inspired the landscape painting of the Impressionists. Corot's quotes about painting are inspiring to gardeners. Here's a little sample of his sensitive perspective on the natural world: "Beauty in art is truth bathed in an impression received from nature. I am struck upon seeing a certain place. While I strive for conscienti

Today we celebrate St. Swithin's Day. We'll also learn about the English architect who brought classical Roman architecture and the Italian Renaissance to gardens. We celebrate the botanist who attempted to sell his cow to buy a botany book by Robert Morison. We also celebrate the birthday of a botanist and a teacher of Emily Dickinson. We learn about the grand opening of Niagra Falls. Today's poems feature insects. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about making gardening and yard work less work and more enjoyable. And then we'll wrap things up with a heart-warming story about a beloved gardener and journalist from Ireland. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News New research pinpoints which of the world's trees are climate change-ready | The Global Plant Council "Botanists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered that "penny-pinching" evergreen species such as Christmas favorites, holly and ivy, are more climate change-ready in the face of warming temperatures than deciduous "big-spending" water consumers like birch and oak. Remarkably, we found that with rising CO2 evergreen trees and shrubs are more efficient in using water than deciduous plants in cooler climate locations. Still, there is no evidence for such a pattern in parts of the world with warmer climates. The reason for the detected differences in the evergreen and deciduous plant responses to climate change lies in their leaf texture. The leaves of evergreens are generally thicker and sturdier than deciduous plants in colder climates, while they are mostly similar in texture between the two groups in the warmer climates." St. Swithin's Day (Click to read this original post) Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1573 Today is the birthday of the English architect, Inigo Jones. Inigo introduced classical Roman architecture and the Italian Renaissance to Britain. He left his mark on London building designs, such as the classically styled Queen's House for Anne of Denmark. Today, gardeners remember that Inigo designed the layout for Covent Garden square ("Cuv-int"). The Duke of Bedford asked Inigo to build a residential square using the Italian piazza for inspiration. The Duke felt he had to include a church, but he told Inigo to put up something simple like a barn. Inigo's famous response was that the Duke would have "the finest barn in Europe." And Covent Garden became the excellent setting for London's farmer's market for over three centuries. 1751 It's the anniversary of the death of the botanist John Wilson. It was John Wilson who first attempted a systematic arrangement of the plants of Great Britain in the English language. From a professional standpoint, John was a shoemaker and then a baker. There is a little story that is often told about John with regard to his love of botany. Apparently, John was so intent on learning about botany that he almost sold his only cow to buy a book written by the Scottish botanist and taxonomist Robert Morison. The transaction would have almost certainly caused John's financial ruin had a neighbor lady not purchased the book for him. And there's another story that reveals John's self-taught botanical expertise and personality. John had traveled to the county of Durham, where he met a man who enjoyed growing rare plants. Confident he could beat John, the man challenged him to a plant-naming contest. To his shock and dismay, John was able to name all of the rare specimens in his garden. When it was John's turn, he looked about and grabbed a wild herb growing nearby, which the man simply dismissed as a weed. John stated that the word "weed" was not sufficient, and he said that the man's answer proved he was merely a gardener and not a botanist. And that's how John Wilson ended up winning the contest. 1793 Today is the birthday of Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps. Almira wrote about nature, and her textbook, Familiar Lectures on Botany, was first published in 1829. Almira taught at Amherst Academy, and her textbook was undoubtedly known and used by Emily Dickinson, who was a student there. The following quotes show us that Almira was hip to the idea of mindfulness over 200 years ago. Her

Today we celebrate the botanist who climbed Pikes Peak and discovered the Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris). We'll also learn about the man who is remembered for the Boysenberry. We celebrate a 1978 entry from John T. White's Country Diary. We also celebrate the environmentalist who fell in love with Maine. We hear the poem written by the Scottish children's author that celebrates grasshoppers. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about gardening on one and a half acres - featuring unexpected plant combinations, beautiful photography, garden inspiration, and a testament to the power of microclimates in a garden. And then we'll wrap things up with the night-blooming plant that caused a sensation in 1933. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News 26 Ideas for a Summer Garden Party | Janet Loughrey | Garden Design When summer heats up, it's time to sit back and relax in your yard. After all that hard work of weeding, planting, and mulching, what better way to enjoy the season than to throw a garden party? Celebrate with these festive tips. 1. Cozy Up The Back Yard Get the yard ready by updating your accessories for a fresh look. 2. Accessorize With Containers Dress up the yard with decorative containers brimming with colorful plants. 3. Pick A Theme Host a party based on a flower that's in season—such as sunflowers. 4. Set The Mood Nothing says magic and romance more than twinkling lights at night. 5. Create A "Happy Hour" Garden Grow a medley of herbs, fruits, and vegetables, and make refreshing drinks with ingredients fresh from your garden. 6. Grow Your Own Party Food Use fresh ingredients from your garden to whip up a delicious meal. 7. Play Games After drinks and appetizers with your guests, set up some outdoor games, and get active. 8. Take The Bite Out Of Bugs Keep pests off your guests without using chemical bug sprays. Get the party started and celebrate summer in the garden with family and friends. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1820 Today the botanist Edwin James, along with two companions, made the first ascent of Pikes Peak, Rocky Mountains, Colorado. Interested in plants from a very young age, James botanized extensively in his home state of Vermont, and he compiled the very first Flora of Vermont plants. James left his mark on the botanical world when he went on one of the first expeditions of the American West - traveling from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains. On the way of Pikes Peak, James came across the mountain Columbine, Aquilegia caerulea, which ultimately became known as the Colorado Blue Columbine and the State Flower of Colorado. James' account of his climb up Pikes Peak stated: "A little above the point where the timber disappears entirely commences a region of astonishing beauty . . . covered with a carpet of low but brilliantly flowering alpine plants. . ." And James' words, "a region of astonishing beauty," became the title of a 2003 book on the botanical history of the Rocky Mountains by Roger Lawrence Williams. After the expedition, James married and settled in Burlington, Iowa. In a sidenote that reveals his loving heart, James' home was part of the Underground Railroad. James died in 1861 after an accident. There is a monument to James on Pike's Peak, and the Des Moines County Medical Society planted Rocky Mountain Blue Columbine on his grave in the Rock Springs Cemetery in Iowa. Newspaper accounts say the location of Edwin James' grave was in the most picturesque part of southeastern Iowa. 1918 Bastille Day was celebrated in Paris. Accounts say it was a clear day. The skies over Paris were filled with French airplanes. Flowers covered the streets, and the air was fragrant, sweetly scented with strawberries. 1950 Today is the anniversary of the death of the plant hybridizer Rudolph Boysen. In the 1910s and '20s, Boysen had been playing around with plant genetics. He worked on an 18-acre farm owned by John Lubbens in Napa Valley. On one June morning, Boysen took a walk along a creek bank to inspect some of his new berry creations. Boysen was astonished when he saw that one of the vines bore fruit that was almost two inches long. The fruit would beco

Today we celebrate the Roman leader who is still honored with flowers. We'll also learn about one of the best botanical writers of all time. We celebrate the man remembered with the naming of the Cottonwood. We also celebrate the life of a beloved English poet through his poetry - every year on this day, he is still remembered with flowers. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about a teacher from the Bronx who germinated an idea and started a movement, changing his life and the lives of his students. And then we'll wrap things up with the inspiring story of the Fairchild Tropical Garden. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Jennifer's Pesto Resources (During the Pandemic) Pine Nuts from Amazon Curated News 12 front garden ideas – inviting designs to boost your curb appeal | Real Homes These front garden ideas will transform your home, creating a smarter and more individual look 1. Keep The Route To The Front Door Simple 2. Choose Big Plant Pots To Create An Impactful Look 3. Choose Sympathetic Materials For The Path 4. Highlight Your Front Door 5. Hide The Bins In A Bin Shed 6. Pay Attention To Paintwork In A Small Front Garden 7. Paint Your Front Gate An Inviting Colour 8. Choose Cost-effective Gravel To Cover Ugly Surfaces 9. Parking Or Garden? 10. Choose A Planting Structure For Year-Round Interest 11. Pick A Front Garden Colour Scheme 12. Consider Front Garden Security Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 100BC Today is the birthday of the Roman leader Julius Caesar. On this day, Romans lay a wreath at his statue and throw flowers in the Forum where Caesar was murdered. 1858 Today is the anniversary of the death of Jane Loudon, who married the prolific garden writer and publisher: John Claudius Loudon. Jane was a fantastic writer in her own right, but she also possessed an inner determination; she was a survivor. When her father lost the family fortune and died penniless when Jane was only seventeen, it marked the beginning of her career writing Science Fiction. In her books, Jane wrote about cultural and technological advancements that eventually came to pass. For instance, the women in her books wore pants. In any case, her successful book, The Mummy was published anonymously, in 1827, in three parts. Now, in one of her books, Jane featured something she imagined would come to pass: a steam plow. And that concept attracted the attention of John Claudius Loudon - her future husband. Loudon wrote a favorable review of her book, but he also wanted to meet the author. Loudon didn't realize Jane had written the book using a nom de plume of Henry Colburn. Well, long story short and much to Loudon's delight, Henry was Jane; they fell in love and married a year later. The Loudons were considered high society, and they called Charles Dickens, a friend. As John and Jane grew old together, John's arms stopped working as he grew older, after an attack of rheumatic fever. As a result, Jane became John's arms, and she handled most of his writing. And, when his arms got so bad that surgeons needed to amputate his right arm, they found him in his garden, which he said he intended to return to immediately after the operation. Two weeks before Christmas in 1843, John was dictating his last book to Jane, and the book was called, A Self Instruction to Young Gardeners. Around midnight, he suddenly collapsed into Jane's arms and died. To honor John's memory, Jane completed the book on her own. 1890 Today is the anniversary of the death of the American explorer, soldier, and the first Presidential candidate of the Republican Party, John Charles Frémont. Frémont is remembered as "The Pathfinder" after helping many Americans who were heading West by creating documents and maps of his expeditions. In fact, John and his wife, Jesse, created an entire map of the Oregon Trail. Now, when Frémont saw Nebraska for the first time, he didn't see merely an endless prairie; he saw beauty. To Fremont, the entire state was one big garden, accentuated with fertile soil, swaying grasses, and wildflowers as far as the eye could see. Fremont was one of the first explorers to write about cottonwood trees. He discovered them n

Today we celebrate the man who inspired National Simplicity Day (It's dedicated every July 12th). We'll also learn about the tragic death of a Scottish botanist and prolific plant collector. We celebrate the friendship between Charles Darwin and his mentor. And, we also celebrate a woman who started botanizing late in life, yet made a significant impact on the world of horticulture. In Unearthed Words, we celebrate the fern. By this time in July, you are either loving them or digging them out of your garden. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a grilling guide for gardeners. And then we'll wrap things up with a sweet little story about the botanical name for San Francisco. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings Wedding Tulle from Amazon To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News I feel as if my garden has finally come of age | Nigel Slater | The Guardian The title of this post definitely caught my eye: I feel as if my garden has finally come of age. I thought Nigel did such an excellent job of capturing why he felt that way and what that meant in terms of the evolution of his garden. I wanted to give you a few excerpts that I thought were particularly touching and relatable. "Getting rid of the rectangle of mown grass that passed for a garden was almost the first thing I did when I moved into my new home on a bitterly cold New Year's Day, 20 years ago. I learned quite quickly that every disaster in the garden is an opportunity in disguise. Then, he writes about how he uses the Chelsea Chop in his garden. This is just a technique where you cut back your perennials to delay bloom time, and you also make the plant a little less leggy. Of late, the garden has settled into a gentle rhythm. Once a year, on a dry spring day shortly after the Chelsea Flower Show, everything gets a serious trim – the "Chelsea Chop" as it is known. Hedges are clipped, topiary is shaped, and overhanging branches of the fig and medlar tree are pruned. A tidy-up that might appeal to the sort of gardener who power-washes their flagstones and scrubs the moss from their pots, but, to me, it feels as if a much-loved and elegantly aging friend has gone in for a round of cosmetic surgery. Not unrecognizable, but slightly cold and distant and, to my mind, a little dishonest. For a couple of weeks a year, the garden doesn't quite feel like mine." I love Nigel's description of how Chelsea Chopping his garden makes him feel. It can be tough for gardeners to Chelsea Chop their gardens. New gardeners, especially, will feel a pang of uncertainty as they cut back perfectly good plants for the first time. I know it seems counter-intuitive. I thought it was hilarious that Nigel likens it to a round of cosmetic surgery. Now, I will forever think of the Chelsea Chop through Nigel's eyes. Finally, I wanted to share Nigel's perspective on his garden today. I found it particularly touching: I would like to say that the garden I have now will probably be my last. Twenty years on from digging up the lawn, I have a space that is more inspirational and restful than I could have ever imagined. I feel the garden has come of age. Yet the space still refuses to stand still. Even now, there are changes afoot. This year I reintroduced the vegetables and sweet peas that I missed so much. Tomatoes and calendulas now grow in huge terracotta pots on the kitchen steps, and there is an entire table of culinary herbs. There are tubs of marigolds and stands of bronze fennel. Next year there may be more. The garden will never be "finished." I have no idea what will happen next. All I know is that there won't ever be a lawn." July is the month of the lotus in China. This reminded me of a video I shared last year in the Facebook Group for the Show from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, which shows Senior Horticulturist, Pat Clifford, teaching their intern Hazel, how to remove the older leaves of the Giant Water Lily, so the pond does not get overcrowded. Using a pitchfork, Pat carefully folds the giant lily pad first in half, then quarters, and then once more. Then he stabs the large folded pad with the pitchfork, hoists it in the air to let the water drain out, and then flops the beast down on the edge of the pond. The camera zooms in to reveal the most savage thorns that grow on the underside of the lily pad and all down the stem of the plant. It was so surprising to see how vicious the thorns are - rivaling the thorniest rose. Propagate Pelargoniums Through Cutting If you've never taken cuttings of your pelargoniums before, you will be delighted with the results. Pelargoniums are also known as cranesbills or hard

Today we celebrate National Rainier Cherry Day. We'll also learn about the Scottish Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Calcutta and Kew. We celebrate a journal entry from this day in 1938 by one of Canada's most-beloved naturalists. We also celebrate a rare orchid breeder from Denver. We honor the discovery of a very unusual dwarf Amaryllis species. Today's poetry features a beloved mid-summer tree: the Linden. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that will inspire you to decorate your outdoor space for comfort and beauty, and for coaxing us all to enjoy our gardens as a space for breakfasts, lunchtime picnics, and even dinners by candlelight. And then we'll wrap things up with the 103rd birthday of a Danish botanist. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News How to Harvest and Dry Flowers & Herbs From Your Garden | The Nerdy Farm Wife This is an excellent post by Jan Berry. Here's an excerpt: "Learn how to harvest and easily dry flowers and herbs from the garden. Also included is a list of common flowers and herbs along with ideas for using them! An ideal time to collect fresh flowers and herbs from your garden is on a dry, sunny day, after morning dew has evaporated, but before the midday sun is out in full force. Some flowers, such as dandelion, chamomile, calendula and lavender can be dried whole. The petals from larger flowers, such as roses and hollyhocks, should be separated from the flower head before drying. An exception to this is if you're drying small rosebuds. They can also be dried whole, just be sure to turn a few times a day so one side doesn't dry flatter than the other. I dry flower clusters, like elder flowers and lilacs, upside down on a towel as shown above, to help preserve some of the shape. Small branches of leaves that easily lay flat when placed on a surface, such as elderleaf, can stay together while drying. Leaves that cluster together, like lemon balm and mint, often do best if you detach each leaf before drying." It's National Rainier Cherry Day. Rainier cherries were bred at Washington State University by crossing Vans and Bings. They are one of the most delicate and challenging cherries to grow because of one big drawback: their thin red-yellow skin. This makes them super sensitive to the elements, and they bruise easily. Even if a grower can address these challenges, they still must contend with the birds. Birds LOVE Rainiers and can eat as much as 1/3 of the cherry crop before the harvest arrives. Watch what happens if you add a few Rainier Cherries to your bird feeder. Deadhead to Encourage More Blooms What happens if you don't deadhead? You might miss out on valuable time that your plant could use to create that second flush of blooms. Plants to deadhead include coreopsis, blue and white clips, geraniums, and dianthus. Another reason is to encourage more blooms the following year. Dead flower heads become seed pods, and that takes energy from the plant. So be sure to deadhead peonies, roses, iris, and lilies. As a general rule, when any plant looks leggy, it will benefit from deadheading or plain ol' pruning. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1857 On this day in Fettercairn Scotland, the amateur botanist David Prain was born. He would ultimately become the Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Calcutta and Kew. In 1887, David was sent to Calcutta to be the curator of the herbarium. While he was there, he researched Indian Hemp along with crops like Wheat, Mustard, Pulses, and Indigo. But, David's most crucial work involved Cinchona plantations. The bark of Cinchona trees contains quinine, which is used to treat malaria. In David's obituary, it said that he set up a system with the local post offices to send quinine to every Indian village and undoubtedly saved countless lives. After David returned to England, he became the director at Kew. During his tenure, David implemented many notable changes. David oversaw the effort to have the medicinal garden installed at Cambridge Cottage, and he acquired the Japanese gateway for the 1910 Japan-British exhibition. In terms of promotional efforts, David also reinstated the Kew Bulletin. David's

Today we celebrate the man who established the science of botany in America. We'll also learn about the botanist who survived a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness - an incredible story. We celebrate a presentation from 1977 that encouraged, "Take a pill if you will; I say take a plant to cope with everyday stress." We also learn about the little orchid that halted road construction in Louisiana and the British Plant Explorer that uncovered the orchid black market. Today's poetry features poems about summer. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about infusing your garden with more color. And then we'll wrap things up with an adorable story about a botanically-inspired episode of an old TV show. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Migratory Birds Like Native Berries Best | Audubon "Even when fruits of invasive plants are abundant, migratory songbirds seek out native berries, according to new research. As winter approaches and the food supply dwindles, birds move south and devour fall fruits along the way to fuel their trip. But they don't eat just any fruit on their autumnal journeys: Birds are after native berries, according to a study published in Biological Conservation in January. Even in late autumn, when fruits of invasive plants like Japanese barberry and multiflora rose dominate the landscape, migratory songbirds traversing New England seek out native blueberries, black cherries, and raspberries instead. North American birds evolved alongside North American plants for many thousands of years, so these are the berries they're most familiar with. But that's not the only reason to choose one fruit over another: Previous research has found that native fruits are more nutritious than their invasive counterparts. 'They can't be eating fast food before they take off on really long migrations,' says ecologist Amanda Gallinat at the Utah State University, who led the new study. 'They need something with high energy.'" Our Favourite Garden Blogs..... | Sitting Spiritually The Blackberry Garden Leicester-based 'amateur and somewhat obsessed gardener' Alison Levey opens the gates to her own garden, as well as inspirations and things about gardening that make her happy. Her Instagram is definitely worth a follow to Instagram @blackberrygarden Dig Delve| Dig Delve features the writing of garden and landscape designer Dan Pearson and includes stories about gardens, horticulture, plants, landscape, nature, food ...all with stunning photography by Dan's partner Huw Morgan. The Patient Gardener Helen Johnstone is the Patient Gardener and she says, "the title 'Patient Gardener' is quite aspirational as I'm not a particularly patient person… You will find that my posts are my own thoughts and ramblings mainly about my garden, my trials, and tribulations as well as my triumphs." The Anxious Gardener David Marsden writes about his life as a full-time, working gardener in East Sussex, England. He tends two, large private gardens and shows them, and their wildlife, through the seasons. Sally Nex A garden writer based in Somerset, in the glorious countryside of the south-west of England. Mr Plant Geek Mr Plant Geek is Michael Perry, who brings over 18 years of experience in the horticultural industry to his blog … if you're looking for shortcuts to gardening success, his blog is where to find uncomplicated tips – 'I'm here to clear the fog, and help people enjoy easy gardens again!' The Middle-Sized Garden Alexandra Campbell uses her blog to cover everything from how to use a garden fertilizer, growing vegetables, and how to improve your pruning. Do you have a middle-sized garden? If your garden is bigger than a courtyard but smaller than an acre, this is the one for you. The Curious Gardener Caleb Melchior describes himself as "a plant geek, writer, and designer. I believe in presence - being close, paying attention" Plant Your Shade Trees Wisely. Today's chore was featured in The South Bend Tribune out of South Bend, Indiana, on this day in 1952. Here's what it said, "Don't plant your shade tree so that It shades your neighbor's yard Instead of your own. If you set the tree on the eastern border of your property, it will shade your neighbor's yard instead of your own garden during the hottest part of the day, in the afternoon. ...Consider your plantings as a permanent investment in beauty and comfort that is worth real thought." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the

Today we celebrate the man who named the lipstick tree and was known as Florida's Burbank. We'll also learn about the incredible work of an extraordinary Russian botanist who was tragically sentenced to death on this day in 1941. And we honor the life of the "Father of Hybrid Corn." Today's poetry is all about a favorite summer crop: tomatoes. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a witty and poetic book about Gardening and Life. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a Marvel character near and dear to gardener's hearts. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News What is Cottage Garden Style? And How to Achieve It... | The Middle-Sized Garden "And, as for garden plants – well, it has been difficult to source exactly the plants we want. We have had to compromise on color and style. Friends have been saying things like 'I wouldn't normally buy scarlet pelargoniums, but they were the only ones I could find.' In theory, cottage garden style started when low paid farm workers filled their gardens with vegetables, herbs and fruit trees for their own use. What are the rules of cottage garden style? There aren't any. That's the whole point. There's no need to plant in threes and fives, or in drifts or to think about color combinations – unless you want to." The Middle-Sized Garden: if your garden is bigger than a courtyard but smaller than an acre. Sowing Biennial Flower Seeds In June And July | Higgledy Garden "The biennials in the Higgledy Seed Emporium have all be chosen to be admirable in the vase. We also have a strong leaning to the old fashioned. *Honesty (Common name) or Lunaria (so named because it's pale seed pod discs resemble the moon). *Sweet William. Sweet Williams just rock! That's all there is to it. They smell amazing…look amazing and are all-round good eggs. Like all biennials, they are a piece of cake to grow from seed. *Foxgloves. Once again, a white foxglove 'Alba 'is a pretty essential bit of kit for the home florist... Don't be without it. *Hesperis. I love this flower…one of my favorites of all the flowers I have ever grown. Simple…pretty…easy to grow…" Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1926 The Green Bay Press-Gazette posted an article titled, "Ice Cream Grown on Vine in the yard of Former Kentuckian." The article was about the fabulous Colonel Henry Wallace Johnston, who, until the age of 50, had operated a hardware store in Lebanon, Kentucky. At midlife, he moved to Homestead, Florida. And, in 1912, Henry created a 20-acre estate he called Palm Lodge Tropical Grove. Henry was a character. He enjoyed dressing the part of a tropical explorer, wearing a tropical outfit complete with a white helmet, and looking as if he had just finished playing Jumanji. Henry became known as the Wizard of Palm Lodge or Florida's Burbank (a nod to California's Luther Burbank), and he added over 8,000 incredible specimens of tropical fruits and flowers - many not found anywhere else in America. Truly, Palm Lodge gained Henry worldwide recognition. And, although Henry never traveled outside the United States, he was a natural marketer, and Palm Lodge's impressive reputation brought the plants to him. Henry's story includes the following spectacular facts: He grew almost all of his plants from seed. He coined the name "lipstick tree". He grew a rare flower that produces a perfume called the "Scent of Lilith." He grew the Dumb Cane tree or dieffenbachia from Cambodia. He would tell folks that if they bit into the leaves, their tongue would be paralyzed for six weeks. He successfully cultivated rubber plants. Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford brought back rubber plants from Madagascar, but only Henry's plants had survived. He grew the Palestine Tree, and he wrapped the fruit in cellophane while on the tree to protect against insects. The fruit was used in religious rituals by rabbis, and Henry would send it to them. He grew the Gingerbread Palm, and the palm's fruit tasted of gingerbread. He furnished almost all of the plants for the State of Florida's tropical exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair. He produced nearly 300 different types of fruits and jellies and packaged all of them at Palm Lodge

Today we celebrate the preeminent botanist of North American deserts. We'll also learn about a beloved botanist and librarian with the Missouri Botanical Gardens. We celebrate the Canadian Landscape artist, who was a member of Canada's treasured Group of Seven. We also celebrate a genuinely great English-Kiwi botanist. We honor summer gardening and garden life with today's poetry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about "Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre, and the Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City" - and this book is loaded with ideas and inspiration for anyone interested in urban agriculture and permaculture. And then, we'll wrap things up with a sickness caused by Snakeroot. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Enveloped In American Gardens | Landscape Architecture Magazine "Showcasing the diversity of American landscapes, past legacies of cultural stewardship, and the skills of generations of landscape architects, the U.S. Postal Service recently released the "American Gardens" stamp series, commemorating ten landmark gardens across the nation. The gardens, many of them created by historically significant designers and makers, raise the visibility of landscape design in the American cultural realm by putting them into our hands and mailboxes every day, everywhere. The stamps were designed by Ethel Kessler and feature photos by Allen Rokach, a former director of photography at the New York Botanical Garden. The stamps are a reminder of the vital role the outdoors offers during the COVID-19 quarantine, says U.S. Postal Service Director of Stamp Services Bill Gicker. "Time spent in nature, especially a beautiful and cared for garden landscape, can be very uplifting and rejuvenating—just what many people can use at this time," he says." Finding Chaucer's true love growing in the woods is a buzz | The Guardian "Herb Paris is the truelove herb of Chaucer's Miller's Tale, combining an aphrodisiac with qualities of piety from medieval plant lore." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1878 Today is the birthday of the American botanist Forrest Shreve. We owe such a debt of gratitude to Shreve. Shreve was THE preeminent botanist of North American deserts during the first half of the twentieth century. Shreve worked out of a laboratory in Tucson, Arizona, and the lab was ideally situated for his research of the western United States and northern Mexico. Shreve relished telling the origin story of his lab: "Of course, you're familiar with the story of Andrew Carnegie, the immigrant boy who became one of America's wealthiest steel magnates... Before he died, Carnegie had established an institution that divided its scientific investigations into twelve departments into widely separated parts of the country." Shreve's Desert Laboratory was part of Division of Plant Biology and was created thanks to the Carnegie gift - which all in - totaled about $25,000,000. In July of 1908, Shreve climbed the Santa Catalina Mountains for the very first time. The group he was with rode on horses to climb the 6,000 feet from Mount Lemmon's desert base to the summit, which is 9,100 feet above sea level. During that climb, Shreve noticed what he called "a continually shifting panorama of vegetation." And it was Shreve's astuteness that helped him realize the most fantastic aspect of desert mountains - which is the changes in vegetation. Those changes are drastic and abrupt, and they are compressed into a few thousand feet of elevation. And you can almost imagine yourself there with Shreve. As you go up the mountain, you begin with seeing desert scrub; then it transitions to grassland, then oak woodland... and then finally pine-oak woodland and forest, then the pink forest, the montane fir forest, and finally subalpine forest - at the very top of the mountain. And I love how Shreve described that change: "a continually shifting panorama of vegetation." Thanks to Shreve's mastery of the North American Desert, he was able to clearly describe and define the four distinct desert regions in the United States. Today, each year, in Shreve's honor, the Forrest Shreve Student Research Award ($1000-200

Today we celebrate a bishop botanist whose love of plants was second only to his love of God. We'll also learn about the botanist daughter of a key botanist in England. We celebrate the botanical entrepreneur and the creator of the influential Curtis Botanical Magazine. We also celebrate the writer who lived and worked in his incredible home called Abbotsford - complete with impressive gardens - on the banks of the River Tweed in the beautiful Scottish borders. In today's Unearthed Words, we honor an English author and poet. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about Gardening in Your Front Yard - it's packed with ideas and projects for big and small spaces. It's an idea of Gardening in Your Front Yard is gaining popularity and acceptance - one of the positive effects of dealing with the pandemic. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a famous mystery writer who loved gardening and roses. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Rhodds Farm | National Garden Scheme "The garden at Rhodds Farm was started from scratch in 2005 by Cary Goode. It is a challenging site with overhanging woods on the north side and open pasture to the south. A fabulously peaceful spot with a natural garden where plants are allowed to self-seed. There are lots of mixed borders around a pond for wildlife, a formal garden leading to a brick dovecote, a courtyard garden around a water sculpture, a large gravel garden, wild-flower meadows, woodland planting and a large pond with a boardwalk at the end of the woodland. There are many unusual plants and lots of color and interest throughout the summer with an extensive range of interesting plants. The formal garden with dovecote houses 50 white doves while glorious mixed borders, double herbaceous borders of hot colors, large gravel garden, several ponds, arboretum, wildflower meadow, and 13 acres of woodland. A natural garden on a challenging site that fits the setting with magnificent views. There are also interesting and unusual trees, shrubs, and perennials in this pesticide-free haven." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1713 Today is the anniversary of the death of the passionate plantsman Bishop Henry Compton. Compton was famous for his substantial garden at Fulham Palace, which was home to more than a thousand exotic plants. Naturally, Compton was drawn to rare plants and new specimens. And, his position as a bishop gave him access to the botanical discoveries that were being sent to England from the American colonies. For instance, we know from his correspondence, that Compton was especially intrigued about the swamp honeysuckle from Virginia. Compton sent a young priest and botanist named John Bannister to Virginia to botanize for him. Banister went on to help found the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Bannister proved to be an excellent contact for Compton. He sent him seeds to grow at Fulham Palace, along with detailed notes about his discoveries. Sadly, Banister's life was cut short when he was accidentally shot during an expedition. Like any avid gardener, Compton sometimes felt a little guilty about the amount of money he spent on gardening. So, as penance, he not only collected plants for his own garden, but he also was a patron to prominent botanical figures - like the Tradescants. 1794 Today is the birthday of the botanist Frances Stackhouse Acton. Frances was the daughter of Thomas Andrew Knight, who served as the second president of the Royal Horticultural Society. Thomas assumed the position at the urging of his friend Joseph A Banks. Now, Knight's inclination was always to turn inward - he was a little introverted. Banks helped him overcome that. Thomas Knight had inherited 10,000 acres of land, and he used the property to conduct all kinds of experiments on plants like strawberries, cabbages, and peas. Frances' father encouraged her to pursue her education, and she often recalled that, "the hours spent with [my father] in his study, or in his garden, as amongst [my] happiest recollections". A born pragmatist like her father, Frances assisted him with his breeding efforts, which were always designed to help make better plants

We'll also learn about the botanical illustrator and collector who established a worldwide reputation for his incredible herbarium. We celebrate the great Himalayan and Alpine mountain climbing and writer - he was also a botanist. We also honor bees with today's poetry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book gardening in a humane way - helping you create a garden that is healthy and harmonious for all living things. And then we'll wrap things up with an Ode to Basil - my favorite summer crop. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News The hidden gardens of lockdown | The Guardian "As some of the UK's best-loved gardens prepare to reopen to the public, we ask the head gardeners what has been happening behind their closed gates." Gardener Jess Evans: "I can't lie, it's been amazing, and so peaceful," she says. "It's very easy to stick your head down and just crack on and get things done, but this has given us an opportunity to take stock and look at the garden properly." She has also enjoyed the chance to get her hands dirty. "I'm doing more outdoor work than I have done in ages. Usually, I'd be in the office at least two or three days a week, and yet now I've had the perfect excuse not to be." Hollyhocks | Gardenista "Hollyhocks are designed to give easy access to quantities of pollen, through the open funnels of the single varieties. Just watching a less svelte bee (like a bumblebee) climbing around a hollyhock illustrates how double flowers can be problematic. Aesthetically, the simple singles are very desirable but have been out-marketed by the doubles. The best way to procure singles, in the best colors, is through a generous friend." What's Green and Sings? (Click to read this original post) Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1706 Today is the anniversary of the death of Leonard Plukenet, who had served as the botanist to Queen Mary II. When he died (like almost every plant-lover of his era), he left his collections and herbarium to Sir Hans Sloane, which is how his collections have become one of the oldest still existing at the Natural History Museum in England. As the royal botanist, Plukenet was an important part of botanical society during the 1600s. Along with George London and William Sherard, Plukenet assisted the zealous botanical aspirations of Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort. Her next-door neighbor was Sir Hans Sloane. When she died, she, too, left her herbarium and other valuable botanical items to Sir Hans Sloane. This is how Hans Sloane became a one-man botanical repository, and that repository ultimately became the Natural History Museum. Plukenet played an unforgettable role in the history of the sacred lotus. And in 2011, Corinne Hannah wrote an exceptional piece about Plukenet's name for the sacred lotus. Here's an excerpt from Corinne's marvelous article, which appeared in the Calgary Herald. "[The] English botanist Leonard Plukenet christened the sacred lotus in 1696 as: Nymphaea glandulifera indiae paludibus gardens foliis umbilicatis amplis pediculis spinosis flore rosea-pupureo, ("nim-fay-EE-ah-gland-you-LIFF-er-AH-in-die-EE-pall-ooh-duh-bus-gardens-fol-ee-ice-umb-Bill-ah-CAY-tis-AMP-YOU-lis-ped-DIC-YOU-lis-spin-OH-sis-flora-row-SAH-poo-PURR-EE-oh") or "the marsh-loving, nut-bearing Indian water lily with large, navel-centered leaves, prickly stalks, and rose-purple flowers. Thank heavens for Carl Linnaeus and his invention of binomial nomenclature, which decreed each plant could only be identified with two names! But Linnaeus was not infallible. He, too, initially identified the sacred lotus as being closely related to the water lily family (Nymphaea). Recent genetic testing has confirmed that sacred lotus belongs to a genus unto itself, Nelumbo nucifera. This aquatic plant is not even remotely related to water lilies. In fact, it is far more closely allied to woody plants such as plane trees or banksias. " 1785 Today is the birthday of the great Sir William Jackson Hooker. Hooker was both a botanist and a botanical illustrator, and he was a great friend of Joseph Banks. Thanks to his inheritance, Hooker was wealthy; he didn't need a patron to fund his w

Today we celebrate the man remembered in the genus name for Crape Myrtle. We'll also learn about the botanist who served as the physician to George Washington. We celebrate the man remembered in the name of the largest flower in the world. And we also celebrate the practical gardener and journalist who helped change the English landscape from formal to much more relaxed and attainable for the masses. We honor the beautiful Rose, queen of the garden, with today's poetry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that shares "Age-Old Advice and Tips for the Garden." And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a botanist who wanted to make orchids possible to grow in the "average man's garden." But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Quiz: Are you a flower whizz? | Kew "How clued up are you on flowers? Take our 15-question quiz to find out (scroll down for the answers). Good luck!" Hamilton For Gardeners (Click to read the Post) Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1759The naturalist, and Director of the Swedish East India Company, Magnus von Lagerstrom died. In his work, Magnus was a friend and patron of Carl Linnaeus. During his travels, he supplied Linnaeus with plants, and in return, Linnaeus named the genus for Crape Myrtle after him - Lagerstroemia. Before we get into the plant details of the Crape Myrtle, we need to talk about the spelling controversy. In the South, the spelling is Crepe, as in crepe paper. This spelling supposedly came about because the flowers resemble crepe paper. But, everywhere else, it is spelled Crape like Grape. Now, botanists have recorded close to 50 known species of Crape Myrtle. Crape Myrtles are a member of the loosestrife family. Their size can vary significantly from one foot to a hundred feet tall. Crape myrtles are robust and can put up with severe growing conditions - like high heat, humidity, and drought. (Basically, what many parts of the country are putting up with right now) Their hardiness in sweltering conditions gives us a clue as to their origins; Crape Myrtles are native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia, and parts of Oceania. In China, the Crape Myrtle is known as the "Monkey Tree." Crape Myrtle trunks are slippery, which means the monkeys have a tough time climbing them. The Chinese also called the Crape Myrtle "The Tree of 100 days" in reference to the long bloom time. Gardeners especially appreciate the Crape Myrtle's extraordinarily long bloom time. Once the plant starts blooming in the middle of the summer, it will continue to produce blossoms well into fall. Medicinally, Crape Myrtle is used for constipation. The leaves, bark, and even the blossoms are high in fiber. And, herbalists know how to make a purgative decoction with Crape Myrtle leaves. 1817 Today is the anniversary of the death of the American doctor, professor, and naturalist Adam Kuhn. Adam was exceptionally well-trained for his time. His father had been a physician - his parents were German immigrants - and Adam grew up in Germantown, Pennsylvania. At some point, his family sent him to Sweden, where he studied at Upsala University. He's believed to be the only American student of Carl Linnaeus. Linnaeus wrote to Adam's father with rare praise, saying: "[Adam] is unwearied in his studies and daily and faithfully studies materia medica with me. He has learned the symptomatic history of diseases in an accurate and solid manner. In natural history and botany, he's made remarkable progress." Linnaeus clearly liked Adam, and he named the plant Kuhnia (Kuhnia Eupatorioides), commonly known as False Boneset, in Adam's honor. Adam began teaching at the medical school of the College of Philadelphia, where he became the first professor of medicine for the 13 colonies. He's remembered for being the physician for George Washington. He's also recalled as a somewhat rigidly formal man - some historical texts have used the word "pompous" to describe him. One doctor recalled Adam this way: "He was by far the most highly and minutely furnished specimen of old-school [medicine] I have ever beheld. He wore a fashionable curled and powdered wig; his breech

Today we celebrate what I'm calling Dependence Day for Gardeners. We'll also learn about the gutta-percha pioneer - it's a fascinating story. We celebrate the California botanist who is remembered with a plant name and the name of a Canyon - and she was a tremendous conservationist. We also celebrate a botanist who is a sentimental favorite of mine - she died while collecting samples in the Western Himalayas almost eighty years ago today. We honor National Meadows Day - an annual celebration of the wildflower meadows of England - with some poetry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a fiction book that was the Winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize, and the main character finds "solace among the jungle-fringed tea plantations of [the] Cameron Highlands," and she also meets some incredible gardeners. And then we'll wrap things up with the flowers for the birthday of President Calvin Coolidge - in 1924 one newspaper headline said, "Cal's Cool and 52". But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Just moved? Build a Temporary Garden at Your New Home by Shawna Coronado "It's a smart plan to set up a temporary garden at your new home when you have just moved because you don't really understand the "lay of the land" in your garden yet. Understanding your garden takes at least a year. A YEAR!?!?! Yes. A year. An example of this is that the sunshine changes throughout your garden. In the winter, you might have the direct sun in some places, creating micro-climates, while in the summer, you could have the opposite. Understanding your sun, water, and other conditions on your property take a while." No Independence Day for Gardener (Click here to read my original blogpost) Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1804 Today is the birthday of the gutta-percha pioneer Henry Bewley who was born on this day in Dublin, Ireland. A trained chemist, Bewley began work manufacturing soda water. Bewley's work with soda got him in touch with Charles Hancock, who was eager to develop a stopper for bottles. Hancock's solution came to him in the form of gutta-percha - a tough, rubber-like substance that had been discovered in the sap of Malayasian trees and brought to England in the mid-1840s. After Hancock showed Bewley the gutta-percha, he set about inventing the machine that would extrude the gutta-percha into tubing, which would ultimately find a purpose in dentistry and as an insulator for electrical wiring. Although their partnership would not last, Bewley and Hancock formed the Gutta Percha Company in London on February 4, 1845. Twenty years later, Bewley's company was swept up in the merger that created The Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company. Until the mid-1900s, it was gutta-percha that protected the transatlantic cables used for communication. The resin from gutta-percha was used to make all kinds of items like buckets and mugs, soles for shoes, bands for heavy equipment, buoys, and so forth. Early on, the uses for gutta-percha seemed endless - but its original use as tubing (thanks to Bewley) was vital for scientists and engineers working with wiring, liquids, and gases. Gardeners owed a debt of gratitude to Bewley. His gutta-percha tubing was perfect for this in-demand item called a garden hose. I thought you might enjoy hearing a little excerpt from this 1854 advertisement for gutta-percha. It features a testimony from a Mr. J. Farrah, the gardener to a successful attorney who lived on the estate known as Holderness House near Hull. "I have 400 feet of your gutta-percha tubing in lengths of 100 feet each [and I have used them] for the past 12 months for watering these gardens, and I find it... better than anything I have ever yet tried. The pressure of the water is very considerable, but this has not the slightest effect on the tubing. I consider this tubing to be a most valuable invention for gardeners, as much as it enables us to water our gardens in about half the time and with half the labor formerly required." 1976 On the 4th of July in 1976, a very hot day to go hiking, botanist Mary Dedecker made her way back to a spot in the desert of California where she had discovered a new plant earli

Today we officially welcome the Dog Days - they start on this day and last for the next 40 days. We'll also learn about the Landscape Architect who invented the term "landscape architecture." We celebrate the market gardener from Isleworth, who exhibited the first large-scale cultivated strawberry at the Royal Horticultural Society on this day over two hundred years ago. We also celebrate one of America's best-known florists. We honor the life of the English poet William Henry Davies - he loved the natural world, especially birds and butterflies. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about flowers - their "History, Culture, Biology, and How They Change Our Lives." And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a preeminent botanist and plant explorer with the USDA. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News 5 ways to adopt a more water-efficient approach to gardening 1. Install a water butt 2. Switch to watering plants in the morning 3. Don't water your lawn 4. Use a watering can 5. Train your plants to drink more slowly by giving them less Let the Dog Days Begin (Click to read this original post) Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1796 The Landscape Architect Gilbert Laing Meason was born. Laing Meason was a friend of Sir Walter Scott, and he invented the term' landscape architecture' in his 1828 book, "The Landscape Architecture of the Great Painters of Italy." Not many copies of his book were printed, but somehow the prolific garden author, John Claudius Loudon, secured a copy. He shared the term with American horticulturist Andrew Jackson Downing, who, in turn, shared it with Frederick Law Olmsted. And Olmsted was the first professional to describe himself as a 'landscape architect,' and he is regarded as the founder of landscape architecture. Now, Meason was very balanced in his perspective on architecture. He valued both function and beauty. In terms of his property, Meason was a romantic, and his personal estate was known as Lindertis House. It is no surprise that he surrounded it with ornate gardens. Over time though, the cost of maintaining the elaborate gardens, in addition to the household management of the estate as a whole, brought Lindertis to total financial ruin. Today, barely a trace of the mansion exists. When Meason died, he had no idea that his notion of 'landscape architecture' would be his legacy. 1806 On this day, Michael Keens, a market gardener from Isleworth, exhibited the first large-scale cultivated strawberry at the Royal Horticultural Society. Now when it came to strawberries, Michael combined two crucial variables: flavor and appearance. It's hard to imagine, but large garden strawberries, as we know them today didn't exist before the 1800s. In his wonderfully illustrated book, The Complete Strawberry, Stafford Whiteaker takes us through the strawberry's development over the past two hundred years; sharing how strawberries were harvested from the foot of the Andes and brought to France by a French spy named Amédée François Frézier. Frézier's strawberry story is one of triumph. He cared for five little strawberry plants from the Andes during the six-month journey home to France, and he shared his own precious supply of water with the strawberries to keep them alive. And, in a strange coincidence, Frézier's surname is derived from Fraise - the French word for strawberry. It seems that Frézier's ancestor, Julius de Berry, had presented the French Emperor with a gift of strawberries, and in return, he was honored with the name Frézier as his gift. For clarification, the name "strawberry" does not refer to mulching the berries with straw. Instead, it is from the Old English term straw, which means "to spread' referring to the way the runners grow. On 30 Apr 1859, The Preston Chronicle and Lancashire Advertiser offered a little advice about growing Keen's strawberries, saying, "For edgings, nothing is more profitable than parsley or a line of Keens's seedling strawberry." 1939 On this day, the Asbury Park Press reported that Lambertus Bobbink, one of the country's best-known florists, was honored at the New York Botanical Gardens. In fact, the author, Pearl

Today we celebrate a female botanist who fought to get recognition for women by the Linnaean Society. We'll also learn about the German poet who loved trees. We'll celebrate the Welsh garden-marker extraordinaire and also one of the all-time greats - a botanist from California. And, we'll also honor the life of The Bird Woman of Ellsworth, who helped us to better understand birds and their individual uniqueness. We will also celebrate the month of July with some poetry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about gardening in shade. (Shade gardens don't have to be dark and boring.) And then we'll wrap things up with the story of an attempted murder that happened during a commemoration ceremony for one of Vienna's beloved botanists. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Barcelona Opera House Opens With Packed Audience — of Plants "As lockdown measures lift in Spain, Barcelona's opera house recently played to a sold-out crowd of some very unorthodox music lovers. On Monday, a string quartet at the Gran Teatre del Liceu opera house in Barcelona did a performance in front of 2,292 plants, CNN reported." You Can't Plant Flowers If You Haven't Botany (Click to read my original post) Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1846 The British naturalist, and women's rights activist, Marian Farquharson was born. As a botanist, Marian had specialized in ferns and mosses. As an activist, it took Marian and other women four years of petitioning the all-male Linnaean Society to finally allow women to become members. In 1904, when the issue was put to the vote, 83% of the Society voted to allow women members. But then a great injustice happened. When the first fifteen women were nominated to the Society, Marian Farquharson was overlooked. It took four more years for Marian to be elected to the Society, and it finally happened in March 1908. This moment happened to come at a difficult time for Marian. In fact, she was too ill to attend the Society's meeting to officially sign the register. Four years later, Farquharson died from heart disease, in Nice, in 1912. 1877 Today we wish a happy heavenly birthday to Herman Hesse, who was a German poet, novelist, and painter. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946. Hesse had a special appreciation for trees, and I thought I'd share some of his thoughtful and reverent prose with you today: "Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth." "A tree says: A kernel is hidden in me, a spark, a thought, I am life from eternal life. The attempt and the risk that the eternal mother took with me is unique, unique the form and veins of my skin, unique the smallest play of leaves in my branches and the smallest scar on my bark. I was made to form and reveal the eternal in my smallest special detail." 1893 The Welsh landscape gardener, architect, and author, Ralph Hancock, was born. Hancock was a garden-maker extraordinaire, and he created several famous Gardens across Wales, England, and the United States. One of his most famous works was the rooftop garden at the Rockefeller Center in New York. Hancock designed his rooftop garden in 1934, and it was cutting-edge at the time. In an interview, Hancock predicted: "The days of penthouse gardening in boxes are over - and miles and miles of roof space in every metropolis in this country remain to be reclaimed by landscape gardening." (Well, it's 2020, and Hancock's vision has yet to be realized. There's still plenty of concrete jungle to conquer, although the pandemic has turned more people than ever into gardeners, most rooftops go underutilized. But I have to say that it is refreshing that so many people are gardening now. Even my own mother is gardening - and giddily reporting on her progress - so there's that.) Now, Hancock's rooftop garden at Rockefeller Center was called The Garden of Nations, and it featured gardens for eight different countries around a central, old English tea house and cottage garden. It was quite something to behold. To create it, Hancock's Garden of Nations required 3,000 tons of earth, 100 tons of natural stone, and 2,00

Today we welcome the new month - July - and we remember the first meeting of the Vale of York Field Naturalists Club. We'll also learn about the Illinois State Flower, which was adopted on this day. We'll usher in the new month with some July poetry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about how gardens and growing food help people maintain their culture. It's a personal favorite of mine. And then we'll wrap things up with a newspaper story from 1932 called "Plant Explorer Finds Adventure." But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Before & After: An Urban Oasis - Flower Magazine Dwight Brown of Father Nature Landscapes wanted to honor his client's wishes for a garden that would remind him of his European travels. Brown aged the exterior with a creeping fig (Ficus pumila) for a climber on the side of the house. He also added an Oakland holly, a 'Shi-Shi Gashira' camellia, and a shaped boxwood hedge that edged a gorgeous group of 'Limelight' hydrangea. Brown says, "Much like English ivy, the creeping fig with boxwoods, mondo grass, and hydrangeas helped create the classic cottage look I wanted. We love working edibles into the ornamental landscape. Our goal was to bring back memories of the homeowner's travels to Europe, especially Italy..." Welcome July in the Garden Welcome July and all that you may bring us! For gardeners, July hosts a riot of color in our gardens. History tells us that many flowers have claimed to be the birth flower for the month of July - which, by the way, the Roman Senate named to honor Julius Caesar by. In China, July's birth flower is, fittingly, the water lily. In the rest of the world, other top July blooms for the month include the Larkspur, the Delphinium, the Sweet Pea, and the Rose. Thinking about all of these gorgeous summer blossoms that claim July's top spot reminded me of a sweet verse from the Maud poem by Tennyson. It goes like this: She is coming, my dove, my dear; She is coming, my life, my fate; The red rose cries, "She is near, she is near;" And the white rose weeps, "She is late;" The larkspur listens, "I hear, I hear;" And the lily whispers, "I wait." — Alfred Lord Tennyson, English poet, Maud (Part I) The Rose, the Larkspur, and the Lily; many of July's favorite flowers are in that little verse. Truly, July is a month of abundance and extremes. On the one hand, there's the heat, and on the other, there are the storms. In 2001, the year my daughter was born, it was mighty hot in Minnesota - well over 100 degrees for weeks on end. As a result, she ended up wearing all of the ridiculous outfits people tend to give you when you have a little baby girl; things like little halter tops and itty bitty bikini tops, teeny tiny little skorts and sundresses. Now, I always preferred to have my babies properly covered - dressed in layers and bundled. But the summer Emma was born, I changed my tune. Suddenly those little outfits seemed mighty appropriate, and I have many pictures of her - san's blankets and sweaters - keeping cool in her summer barbie-inspired clothes. In reality, the average temperature in most places in America during the month of July is a very pleasant 70 degrees. That said, just don't ask about the range - which can vary wildly. And, July is traditionally known as the month to make hay. It's been called Haymonth or Maed month, referring to haymaking and the flowering of the meadows. By July, most gardens are set, and gardeners tend to get their work done in the mornings when it is cooler and less buggy. Still, experienced gardeners know that July's biggest challenge, outside of the heat, is thunderstorms. I remember the summer a dear friend of mine had a garden tour planned for the middle of July. Sadly, it was a tour that never happened. The night before her big day, a huge storm whipped through the area, taking down trees and pelting the garden with hail. There was nothing to do but clean up. And I remember sitting on her patio after we had righted her table and chairs eating one of the little radish and cucumber sandwiches that were supposed to be for the guests that day. That day was as sour as the lemonade we sipped in the chopped salad that was my friend's garden. It's no wonder that the folk sayings of July reflect her temperature extremes. For example: If the first of July be rainy weather, 'Twill rain more or less for four weeks together. Despite the storms, we seem to remember mainly the heat of July and the vibrant blooms in the garden. It's a glorious month for ornamentals and cut flowers. One of my personal favorites is Martagon

Today we celebrate the French botanist and explorer who christened the Begonia, the Magnolia, and the Fuchsia. We'll also learn about one of the best and earliest botanical collectors and artists in Holland - and she was a woman to boot. We celebrate the American naturalist born into one of our country's botanical founding families. We also celebrate the life of one of America's greatest garden writers, Louise Beebe Wilder. We honor the life of a Spanish artist who equated his work as a painter and sculptor to that of a gardener. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about Gardening in Your Front Yard - it's packed with ideas and projects for big and small spaces. It's an idea that is gaining popularity and acceptance thanks to stay at home orders and physical distancing - one of the few positive effects of dealing with the pandemic. And then we'll wrap things up with a delightful dessert that continues to impress, and that is having it's a special day today - and we've been making and enjoying it in this country for well over 100 years now. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News The 7 Best Indoor Herb Gardens by Scarlett James | Bustle "Fresh herbs are an undeniable delight, even if you don't channel Ina Garten on a daily basis. But they often end up half-used or forgotten in the back of the fridge. The best indoor herb gardenwill bring bold, fresh flavor to your kitchen in just the amount you need." Garden Shopping in the Produce Aisle Did you know that you can regrow or grow many items from your produce aisle in the supermarket? It's true. Two of the many gardening books I brought with me to the cabin when I came up here to quarantine were No-Waste Kitchen Gardening: Regrow Your Leftover Greens, Stalks, Seeds, and More by Katie Elzer-Peters and Don'tThrow It, Grow It!: 68 windowsill plants from kitchen scraps by Deborah Peterson With seeds being harder and harder to source, these books are a great reminder that we shouldn't be tossing out our kitchen scraps — we can use them to grow! Right now, thanks to books like these, I'm growing onion, garlic, spring onions, carrots, and even radish greens - all of them from food scraps. What's more, I'm discovering that the possibilities are really endless. You'll be amazed at all of the options for utilizing pieces and parts of produce from the grocery store to regrow food you never thought possible. This practice of growing and gardening from produce scraps is a great way to reduce food waste and even help your family to understand the power of gardening and the powerful cycle of growing and harvesting. Botany really is an exciting and wonderful area of science that you can easily study in your own kitchen. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1646 Today is the birthday of the French priest and botanist Charles Plumier. He was born in Marseille. Regarded as one of the most important botanical explorers of his time, Plumier served as a botanist to King Louis XIV of France, and he traveled many times to the New World documenting many plant and animal species. During his third expedition to the Greater Antilles, Plumier discovered the Fuchsia triphylla on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and he named the fuchsia plant after the 16th-century German botanist Leonhart Fuchs. Sometimes Charles Plumier is referred to as the Father of the Fuchsia. Also known as ladies eardrops, the Fuchsia has colorful upside-down blossoms that hang from the stems. That drooping habit is reflected in the Irish name for Fuchsia - Deora Dé - meaning God's Tears. The fruit of all the species of Fuchsia is edible. Although many Fuschia fruits are bland and have a bad aftertaste, the Fuschia variety splendens has flavorful fruit and can be used to make jam. In addition to the Fuchsia, Plumier discovered and named both the Begonia and the Magnolia. Plumier named the Begonia after Michel Begon, who was the governor of the French Antilles for three years from 1682 to 1685. In fact, it was Begon who recommended Plumier for the position of plant collector in the Caribbean to King Louis XIV. Plumier named the Magnolia for the botanist Pierre M

Today we celebrate the German artist who painted botanicals with extraordinary detail. We'll also learn about the botanist who left his mark on the anatomy of the human eye. We celebrate the Spanish botanist who spent his life in Columbia, where, among other things, he studied the cinchona tree and used the quinine to treat malaria. Today's Unearthed Words feature words about April. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that will help you become more self-sufficient one square foot at a time. And then we'll wrap things up with a celebration of the California State Flower. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Vegetable Seeds Are the New Toilet Paper by Alex Robinson | Modern Farmer "...Home gardeners are preparing to grow their own vegetables in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting around March 16, online seed stores saw a huge spike in orders for vegetable seeds, as fears emerged that the pandemic could threaten food security. The increase in demand was so dramatic for Wayne Gale and his Canada-based business, Stokes Seeds, that they temporarily closed down their online store for home gardeners, in order to ensure they could fill all of their requests for commercial growers. Gale's business received around 1,000 orders from home gardeners during the weekend before March 16, a period of time it would usually receive around 350 such orders. "And this is not our peak season. Usually, our peak season is the second week of February," Gale says. Ken Wasnock, the CEO of Harris Seeds, says that the majority of his company's new demand has come from urban areas. The company has seen high volumes of sales to neighborhoods in New York City, where historically it hasn't sold much seed. Wasnock says earlier in the spike, a lot of the orders were coming from doomsday preppers, who purchased sprouting kits that don't require natural light. In the weeks since, he's seen an increase in children's gardening products, as parents try to plan activities and projects. Wasnock says that a high percentage of seeds people are buying are organic. Some of the more popular types of vegetable seeds ordered have included squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and beans." Dreams For Your 2020 Garden It's decision time in the garden. What will your projects be this year? Often, we have no idea if our dreams for our gardens will come true. Gardeners may dream bigger dreams than emperors, but we can often get stuck, too. We put plants in the wrong spot. We buy the wrong thing. We spend too much money. We overdo. But, every now and then we get it completely right. I waited for years to put paths in around my front garden. Why did I wait so long? No reason, really. But, once it was in, I knew it was the perfect thing my garden had been missing. Up at the cabin, we had a sprinkler system installed. The soil here is sandy, and without regular watering, the plants would really struggle. After getting some ¼" tubing stubbed up to the deck, I've waited a year to install a kitchen garden on my deck. This spring, that's my big dream. I'll share the elevated bed system I selected and the evolution of this garden in upcoming Episodes. Whatever you're dreaming of and planning for your garden this season, I hope you get it completely right and that your dream comes true. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1528 Today is the anniversary of the death of the German painter, engraver, printmaker, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg, Albrecht Dürer. Dürer's work was extraordinary, and by the time he was in his 20's, he was already quite famous. While he was known for his calm demeanor and introversion, his work conveyed profound emotion. During Dürer's lifetime, explorers were collected exotic plants and bulbs and bringing them home to the Old World, where they caused a sensation. The botanical focus began to shift away from plants as medicine to plants as ornamentation and beauty. Dürer was not immune to the artistic perspective on plants, and his work captured plants with an incredible amount of detail that was unmatched by previous drawings. If you're looking for bunny art, you should check out Dürer's watercolor called Yo

Today we celebrate the birthday of a Russian Count who funded an expedition that led to the discovery of the California poppy. We'll also learn about one of the country's most beloved naturalists. We celebrate the life of the second woman to be professionally employed as a botanist in the United States. She died 100 years ago today. We also celebrate a nurseryman whose passion for plants was sparked with the gift of a Fuschia. Today's Unearthed Words feature words about rainy, windy April. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about a little cottage that you might find inspiring as you spruce up your own nest this season. And then we'll wrap things up with a little poem about trillium - which is also known as Wake Robin. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Gardening for Resilience By Lysa Myers "If you've ever tried to grow a garden, you'll know that your first efforts are seldom as successful as you'd hope. Conditions are seldom ideal, no matter how carefully you plan. You will mess up seemingly simple things; even experts do. However, there are ways to approach gardening that will improve your ability to weather those mistakes. Good soil is crucial Dirt is dirt, right? Sadly, no. If I had it to do over again, I'd have spent that first year amending the heck out of the soil. Choose some plants for quick wins Grab something quick like an herb garden, a planted lettuce bowl, or a strawberry planter from your local gardening center, so you can get those first nibbles right away. There's a psychological factor to getting an immediate reward that will help you be more resilient in the face of inevitable garden setbacks. Look for what grows well in your area Not all plants grow well everywhere. Some of the things that struggle in your climate might surprise you. It certainly did me! Grow plants you love to eat Whatever happens with our current crisis, I hope that more people take up gardening as a means of self-care and... I also hope that if this sort of advice can help make early gardening experiences more enjoyable, more people will take this on as a long-term hobby or lifestyle change rather than a stop-gap measure. I want you to love working with plants as much as I do!" Today's to-do is to add a magnifying glass to your garden tote. The best gardeners throughout our history have looked closely at their plants - often using magnifiers of some fashion. Get up close and personal with your plants and increase your intimacy with your garden by looking at it through the lens of a magnifying glass. Now's the perfect time to add one to your garden tote. As with every garden tool - you won't use it if it's not handy. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1754 Today is the birthday of a man who was the foreign minister of Russia, Count Nikolay Rumyantsev. In 1815, he funded the round the world scientific voyage of the Rurik which included the poet and botanist Adelbert von Chamisso ("Sha-ME-So") and a doctor/surgeon named Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz. Two years later, in 1817, the Rurik ended up in the San Francisco Bay area where it planned to reprovision. During their stay in San Francisco, Chamiso discovered the California poppy, which he named Eschscholzia californica after his friend Johanns Friedrich Von Eschscholzia. 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. And here's what the botanist Alice Eastwood once said about the poppy: "The Eschscholzia so glows with the sunbeams caught in its chalice that it diffuses light upon the other flowers and the grass. This poppy will not shine unless the sunbeams on it, but folds itself up and goes to sleep." 1837 Today is the birthday of the Naturalist, poet, and philosopher John Burroughs (books by this author) was born on a dairy farm in Roxbury, outside of Boston on this date in 1837. He was sent to the local school, where his desk was next to that of Erie Railroad Robber Baron, Jay Gould (the son of a nearby neighbor). When Burroughs struggled in school, Gould would bail him out. Called "John o' Birds" for h

Today we celebrate the discovery and naming of the state of Florida. We'll also learn about one of the best botanical illustrators ever born as well as the man who introduced goldfish to Holland. We celebrate the publication of the first successful agricultural journal. Today's Unearthed Words feature words about April. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about trees that was released a year ago today - and it won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. And then we'll wrap things up with the fascinating story of the German artist who found surreal inspiration in the natural world. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Derek Jarman's Prospect Cottage saved for the nation "The success of the campaign will enable Art Fund to purchase Prospect Cottage from the Keith Collins Will Trust and to fund a permanent public program, the conservation and maintenance of the building, its collection, its contents, and its renowned garden. Before Art Fund's appeal, Prospect Cottage had been at risk of being sold privately, its contents dispersed, and artistic legacy lost. Art Fund's director Stephen Deuchar announced today that the appeal to save artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman's Prospect Cottage for the nation has successfully reached its £3.5-million target in just ten weeks, with a final total of £3,624,087. Over 8,100 donations have been made by the public – nearly 2,000 of them in the past week alone, despite the significant changes happening to people's lives - and further funding has come from leading charities, trusts, foundations, and philanthropists. The campaign was supported by major grants of £750,000 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, £500,000 from Art Fund and £250,000 from the Linbury Trust, as well as significant support from the Luma Foundation, the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, the John Browne Charitable Trust, and the Ampersand Foundation. Tilda Swinton said, 'When Derek initiated the project of making of this little house on the shingle the unique and magically empowering space it has come to be, not only for him but for so many of us, it was at a time of intense uncertainty and fragility in his own life. That our casting the net of our appeal to keep this project alive has coincided with the phenomenal global challenge to the community with which we are currently faced - and that that net has still come in so full of bounty - has only served to prove how invaluable this vision of future is to us all." Goals For Your 2020 Garden What are you curious about in your garden? What are you hoping to learn this season? How will your gardening change during the pandemic? Your greatest accomplishment might be the result you didn't plan to learn. Maybe you've always been a flower gardener, but this year you feel compelled to grow some edibles, and you discover the joy of growing your own garlic. Last year, you grew your own tomatoes to great success and ended up sharing some with neighbors. This year you want to help out the food shelf. Maybe you didn't like pulling weeds for your mom, but now with the pandemic, you suddenly find that tending to the yard is calming and anchoring. Now you want to have a garden of your own. Our gardens are classrooms. And those classrooms are filled with many teachers or Upah Gurus. Upah Guru is the Hindu word for the teacher next to you at any moment. The Upah Gurus in your garden this year might be the seeds you just ordered, a mystery plant that you inherited, the hydrangea that refuses to flower, the rose that won't give up. This year, they say there will be more new gardeners than ever as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions. Calling All Gardeners: Share Your Expertise Don't consider yourself an expert? Think again. One of the things that can happen to gardeners is that we can underestimate our own expertise or experience in the garden. But any experience is helpful to a gardener just starting out. To new gardeners, you can be a gardening Upah Guru. New Gardeners Need Encouragement Remind new gardeners that their primary job this year is to simply be a good student of gardening. They don't need to get straight A's in the garden. Let them know that no one is putting that pressure on them to replace the produce section of the grocery store. One of the biggest commitments new gardeners can make is simply to learn more about gardening. Encourage them to focus on the teaching - whether that is from books or podcasts or neighbors - because the teaching is what makes us better gardeners. The Benefits of Gardening go beyond food: physical, mental, spiritual Any ga

Today we celebrate the one year anniversary of the show and the man who wrote a flora of the Middle East. We'll learn about the German botanist who discovered mitosis and chloroplasts. We celebrate the 93rd birthday of an English-Australian gardener who learned to garden and survived during World War II. We'll honor the tremendous work of Kenya's garden activist and founder of the Green Belt Movement. Today's Unearthed Words feature words about April. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that was released 16 years ago today. And then, we'll wrap things up with the fascinating story of a whiskey baron who used his wealth to create an arboretum that is home to America's largest collection of Holly trees. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners Around the World and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings Well, it's hard to believe that the show is already a year old. I started the show on April 1st because this month's name came from the Latin word aperio, meaning "to open [bud]," - so it was the perfect time to start something new. Plants outside and in are really beginning to grow now. Daisy and Sweet Pea are this month's birth flowers. To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News In chaotic times, gardening becomes therapy | Cleveland.com "As spring's arrival in the Northern Hemisphere coincides with government stay-at-home orders, the itch to get outside has turned backyard gardens into a getaway for the mind in chaotic times. Gardeners who already know that working with soil is a way to connect with nature say it helps take away their worries, at least temporarily. "I love to see things grow," Lindsay Waldrop said. "It's incredibly therapeutic." Families, too, are discovering that gardening gives cooped-up kids something to do, builds their self-esteem and brings variety to what has suddenly become a lot of time spent together. This home-grown attitude goes back to World War II when millions of people cultivated victory gardens to protect against potential food shortages while boosting patriotism and morale. Hollie Niblett, who lives near Kansas City, Kansas, hopes the victory gardens come back. Niblett, who has a degree in horticultural therapy, tends to a kitchen garden near her backdoor, perennial flowers, flowering trees and shrubs, and upper and lower grassy yards connected by a path through an area left in its natural condition. "There are so many things about it that feed my soul," she said. "Right now, more than anything, my garden gives me hope, gives me purpose, and provides a sense of connection to something bigger than myself." 811 - Call Before You Dig - And, right now - Don't. Add 811 in your phone contacts. Save it under "Digging." In the notes, add a reminder to call at least three days before you dig. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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 1838 Today is the birthday of George Edward Post. We remember George because he wrote a Flora of the Middle East. Westerners were delighted because, for the first time, it was written in English, and they could understand it. George botanized in Syria, which is where he lived most of his life. He was in Syria, serving as a missionary and doctor. In his spare time, he would be off collecting plants and working on his Flora. George was a man who had tremendous energy and stamina. He worked long hours, and many colleagues acknowledged that he accomplished more than most folks in a 24-hour period. In his personal life, it turns out that George had the ability to fall asleep quickly, which no doubt helped him recharge on-demand and as needed. One account of George's tremendous lust for life and for plant collecting relayed that he would go off into the mountains on horseback. The story goes that George was such a good horseman, he could collect specimens without getting off his horse. He was allegedly able to lean below his saddle and reach way down to cut and collect a specimen. Then, he'd just sit back up and go on his way. At the end of his life, George was aware that his body was worn out, and he said something to that effect in the days before he died. Around that same time, he received a visitor who knew just how to revive his spirits. The guest placed a few pieces of ripe wheat in his hand as a symbol of the harvest and of the spe