The Daily Gardener

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1895 Birth of Spencer Woolley Kimball, American business, civic, and religious leader. He was the twelfth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was also a gardener and wrote, Where you have a plot of land, however small, plant a garden. Staying close to the soil is good for the soul. 1906 Birth of Jean Galbraith, Australian botanist, gardener, writer, and poet. Jean is remembered for her books on Australian botany including three editions of the seminal Wildflowers of Victoria (1950), Collins Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Southeast Australia, and a children's book Grandma Honeypot (1964). Her charming book, Garden in a Valley (1939), became an instant garden classic when it was republished in 1985. Born in Tyers (a little town in Gippsland, Australia), Jean spent almost eighty years in her family home called Dunedin ("Do-NEE-din"). At Dunedin, Jean maintained an enormous garden, which became a draw for visitors from all over Australia and the world. The artist, Peter Cuffley, painted a fabulous representation of Dunedin. It's one of the most iconic garden art pieces of the past century. Jean learned botany through letters she exchanged with the botanist Herbert B. Williamson during the 1920s. When Jean turned 21, Herbert sent her a microscope and it became one of her most treasured possessions. As a writer, Jean had a distinctive style and voice. Her writing was more akin to John Muir's than the stiff formal writing of her scientific peers. For 50 years she delighted the readers of the two magazines she regularly wrote for: The Garden Lover and the Victorian Naturalist. As a person, Jean lived an incredibly simple life. She did not have a car, tv, or phone and wrote her books longhand. By all accounts, she was one of the kindest souls to have ever walked the earth. She wanted children to know and love nature. She was an advocate for plant preservation - especially wildflowers in their native habitats. Jean believed in the spiritual and healing aspects of gardening. She believed that the garden was a metaphor for life and for living. In 1970, Jean was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion. Jean died in 1999, just before her 93rd birthday. Jean once wrote that she knew the stories of every plant in her garden, There is no flower in the garden that has not its remembered history. And Jean loved her garden, despite its faults. It is not a model garden, rarely, alas, is it even orderly. (But) in spite of its failures and mistakes and imperfections, its airs are sweet, its flowers love to bloom, and we are happy in it. 1928 On this day, Margarita Grace Phipps, wife of John S. Phipps (an heir to the Phipps family fortune), hosted the first meeting of The Garden Club of Palm Beach at her home, Casa Bendita. Fifteen women attended the event. Mrs. Frederick E. Guest is credited with having the original idea for the club Today Casa Bendita's remaining six-acre garden has evolved into Casa Phippsberger, the island's most sensational private botanical garden. And, The Garden Club of Palm Beach continues to grow. One of the ways the club stays relevant is to have a member attend every single town meeting to make sure the club can take advantage of opportunities to help the community. In 2010, the club installed a beautification and education garden at the Southern Oasis Traffic Circle. The garden features plants that thrive in the Palm Beach climate. That same year, the club installed xeriscape landscaping in eight Kaleidoscope Flower Beds on Royal Poinciana Way. In 2011, the club created a vertical garden on the Saks Fifth Avenue store. Called the Living Wall, the project has become an iconic element of the Worth Avenue Restoration Project. In 2021, the club created the four-acre Bradley Park Tidal Garden. When the club began work on a children's playground in Bradley Park, members realized that frequent flooding from king tides needed to be addressed in the plans. The solution was the creation of a tidal garden. King tides are bigger than normal tides and they can cause an enormous amount of damage to the Landscapeape. The new tidal garden was designed by SMI Landscape Architecture LLC, to withstand king tides by incorporating sunken gardens with channels that send water back where it belongs. The majority of the garden is designed with native plants and natural elements like climbable cap-stone boulders. The next project will be the restoration of the Chinese Garden at The Society of The Four Arts where the demonstration gardens are maintained by the Palm Beach Garden Club. The seven demonstration gardens illustrate different themed garden spaces and include the Chinese Garden, the Fragrant Moonlight Garden, the Palm Garden, the Bromeliad Garden, the Jungle Garden, the Spanish Facade

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events Lady Day March 25 is also known as Lady Day, the traditional name of the Feast of the Annunciation, which commemorates the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary. During this visit, Gabriel told Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Lady Day is also the first of the four traditional English quarter days. The Marigold is the flower dedicated to Mary on Lady Day. The etymology of the common name Marigold comes from Mary (probably referring to the Virgin Mary) + gold, thus Mary's gold. Mary's gold was also a common name used for a similar plant native to Europe, Calendula officinalis. Both Marigold flowers and leaves are edible, and Marigolds are commonly used as culinary herbs. In terms of medicinal uses, Marigold is good for the skin and has been used for topical healing to address cuts, soars, and general skincare. Marigolds have essential oils and a high concentration of flavonoids like carotene. In Floriography or the language of flowers, Marigolds represent the sun and therefore refer to the power, strength, and light inside each of us. Marigolds also represent lost love. So if someone's inner strength has been damaged by the loss of a loved one, whether by death or a breakup, the Marigold represents that despaired or lost love. 1641 Birth of Nehemiah Grew, English botanist. He's remembered as the Father of Plant Anatomy. Nehemiah was the first person to illustrate plants' inner structures and functions in all their unique intricacies. His 1682 book, Anatomy of Plants, was divided into four topics: Anatomy of Vegetables Begun, Anatomy of Roots, Anatomy of Trunks, and Anatomy of Leaves, Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds. Nehemiah used a relatively new invention to help his study of plant morphology: the microscope. He tried to recreate what he saw through the lens when he drew. Nehemiah's drawings of tree parts cut transversely look like intricate laser cuts - imagine a mandala - and the lines are impossibly thin. Nehemiah examined all kinds of natural elements under the microscope, and he wrote the first known microscopic description of pollen. If you'd like to try something fun this summer, channel your inner Nehemiah Grew, get a microscope on Amazon or at a thrift store, and check out your own plant specimens under the microscope. 1890 On this day, the naturalist João Barbosa Rodrigues established the Herbarium at the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro. The Herbarium was Rodrigues's first step toward expanding the scope of the garden to include education. Today, the Herbarium has over 750,000 mounted specimens of Brazilian flora, and most of the collection is from the Atlantic and Amazon forests. The botanic garden sits on 350-acres and features over 7,000 species of tropical plants. One of the most unique elements of the garden is the avenues of 100-foot-tall avenues of royal palms. 2021 On this day, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip garden in Kashmir opened to the public. The most extensive tulip garden in Asia, the garden was formerly known as the Model Floriculture Center and covers 74 acres. The government owns the garden. The garden was initially created in 2007 with 1.5 million tulip bulbs from Amsterdam's famous Keukenhof tulip gardens. Other spring-flowering bulbs like daffodils, hyacinth, and ranunculus have since been added to the 65 different varieties of tulips now growing in Kashmir. This year the Kashmir Tulip Garden Festival runs from April 1 through the 20th. Every year, the tulip garden is opened to the public during the month of March when the tulips start to bloom - a fantastic sight to see. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Violets of March Sarah Jio This book came out in 2011, and this book is a fiction book. The book is about a heartbroken woman who stumbles on a diary and then steps into the life of its anonymous author. The main character is named Emily Wilson. She has a bestselling novel and a GQ husband, and a one-way ticket to happily ever after. But ten years later, Emily's life has changed. Her Great Aunt Bee invites her to spend the month of March on Bainbridge Island in Washington State. When she's researching her next book, she stumbles on a red velvet diary dated 1943. And then, the contents of the journal have massive implications for her own life. Now I love what Jodi Picoult said about The Violets of March. She wrote Mix a love story history and a mystery and what takes root. The Violets of March is a novel that reminds us how the past comes back to haunt us and packs great surprises along the way. Now, if you're a gardener, you're going to love the cover of this book because it's an old chair with the diary that's open and then a violet cutting on top of the pages. It's gorgeous. So if you're looking for a bit of fiction book to tide you

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1682 Baptism of Mark Catesby, English naturalist, adventurer, explorer, and artist. Mark made two trips to the new world when America was still a British colony. On his second trip, he explored the lower southeastern corner of the United States. After returning to England, he published his masterpiece, the very first account of flora and fauna of North America, in two large folios called The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands. Mark provided the text and the outstanding illustrations. He also offered an overview of the climate, soil, water, and any crops that were grown. Mark was a superb nature artist. He depicted birds and plants together, something only a handful of artists did at the time. Maria Sybilla Merian did that, and like Maria, once you've seen Mark's work, you never forget it. Mark also painted living subjects, which made his depictions more lifelike. Mark's botanical illustrations showed both the fruit and the flower of a plant in a single image. And when you consider the fact that Mark paired his art with the text in two languages - English and French - to market this content to his audience, Mark Catesby's genius and dedication really become apparent. In Mark's book, the first plant he dedicated an entire page to was the Magnolia, and he also included a full page of text. Magnolias are one of the planet's earliest flowering plants, and as such, they existed before bees. Now for gardeners, this is an important clue about how Magnolias reproduce, which explains why magnolias rely on beetle pollination. Magnolia blossoms do not produce nectar. Instead, they produce pollen, and that pollen is food for the beetles. In terms of uses, in Chinese medicine, the bark of the Magnolia has been used to treat respiratory illness and anxiety. 1733 Birth of Joseph Priestley FRS, English chemist, polymath, author, and minister. Joseph conducted many experiments while he tutored the sons of American sympathizer William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, at Bowood House in Wiltshire, England. In one of his experiments, he put a mouse and a mint plant in a bell jar. Without the mint, the mouse died, but the mouse survived with a plant inside the jar. This laid the foundation for the study of ecosystems. Joseph also wrote the first comprehensive study of the history of electricity, invented carbonated water, created the first timeline, and discovered laughing gas. He also revealed a practical use for vegetable gum: it could remove pencil marks from paper, becoming known as the eraser. 1834 Birth of William Morris, British textile designer, poet, writer, and socialist activist. Born in 1834 to a wealthy family, William was the leading figure in the Arts and Crafts Movement. As a designer, William Morris remains widespread, and his designs are based on nature. Trees and plants figure prominently in his designs and patterns. Many of his designs feature the flowers that bloomed in his own garden, and among his favorites were honeysuckle, rose, acanthus, tulips, and chrysanthemums. Although he was not a fan of geraniums and once wrote, Red geraniums were invented to show that even a flower could be hideous. The first Morris wallpaper was 'Trellis' (1862) and was based on a rose trellis in his garden in Kent. William found inspiration in England's gardens and countryside. His most iconic designs include Larkspur (1872), Jasmine (1872), Willow (1874), Marigold (1875), Wreath (1876), and Chrysanthemum (1887). And William's poems are clever and offer a glimpse of his personality. In 1888, William created his design for 'Autumn Leaves' 1888 and a seasonal poem 'Autumn': 'Laden Autumn here I stand Worn of heart, and weak of hand: Nought but rest seems good to me, Speak the word that sets me free' In 1890, William designed his first tapestry, which depicts four medical women holding a banner with the words of an original poem by morris. The poem celebrates the orchard in every season, from the bounty of the harvest to the promise of spring. Midst bitten mead and acre shorn, The world without is waste and worn, But here within our orchard-close, The guerdon of its labour shows. O valiant Earth, O happy year That mocks the threat of winter near, And hangs aloft from tree to tree The banners of the Spring to be. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Reflections of Paradise by Gordon Taylor This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is The Gardens of Fernando Caruncho. Every time I think about this particular book, I regret the fact that it was released during the pandemic, as I believe it would've gotten so much more attention had it been released just a year earlier, in September of 2019. But that said, people, are still discovering the magnificent gardens created by Fernando Caruncho. Fernando is a Spanish landscape

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1699 Birth of John Bartram, American botanist, and explorer. John founded the first botanical garden in America, and Linnaeus called him the "greatest natural botanist in the world." Like many botanists of his time, John was born to a farming Quaker family in Pennsylvania. He never forgot his rural roots, and he always thought of himself as a farmer first. When asked to describe how he ended up in botany, he wrote, One day, I was very busy [plowing]… and being weary I ran under a tree to repose myself. I cast my eyes on a daisy; I plucked it mechanically and viewed it with more curiosity than common country farmers are wont to do, and observed ... many distinct parts, some perpendicular, some horizontal. ...I thought about it continually, at supper, in bed, and wherever I went.... On the fourth day I hired a man to plow for me and went to Philadelphia. [I bought] a Latin grammar [and] ...applied to a neighboring schoolmaster, who in three months taught me Latin enough to understand Linnaeus... Then I began to botanize all over my farm. 1907 On this day, a school garden for boys only was started at a school in Rhode Island. A summary report was published with the State Board of Education. Here's what the report said, On March 26th, all the boys wrote for catalogs, some sending several letters or cards. It proved a valuable letter lesson in letter-writing and geography as they looked at the places they had sent the letters and inquired about distances, railroads, and mail trains. More than fifty attractive catalogs were received. Tomatoes, lettuce, and radishes were planted in boxes ready for early transplanting. The seeds were obtained through a member of Congress, and despite all the rumors regarding the poor quality of government seed, [they] proved excellent. Two boys found an old sink in a dump. This was sunk in the middle of the West yard, partly filled with cement and now used as a birdbath. Each boy chose several vegetables from a list of corn, squash, onions, carrots, beans, beets, lettuce, radishes, pumpkins, potatoes, peas, and parsnips. The corn and a row of sunflowers were planted next to the fence; the other vegetables [were planted] according to height, living lettuce, and radishes in the front. Difficulties: There have been many difficulties in the way. Most of the work has been done outside of school hours, at noon when some of the boys have to hurry home or at night when they carry papers. Most discouraging of all, vegetables have been stolen and Gardens trampton almost nightly. Effect: But the effect of the garden work on the boys has been excellent. First of all it's giving them an outside interest. They have learned courtesy and generosity and showing visitors the garden and giving away their vegetables. Toads which we have raised from eggs are to be put in the garden when school closes. There has been less time for running about the streets and cigarette smoking. Since the gardens were started, there's only been one case of truancy and very little absence. Ten or fifteen minutes hard work during the school hours has often served to bring a cross, restless boy back to quiet and pleasant. Of the 23 boys, 18 have made gardens at home and most of them are doing well. A copy of one boy's notebook will give an idea of the garden from the boy's standpoint. March 25: Began to pick rocks. Got a backache. Wrote for catalogs. March 26: Laid out 23 beds - [each] 6 by 14 ft March 27: Planted radishes, lettuce, tomatoes in boxes. Miss Allen paid $0.25 for loam. May 1: Put down sink for Birds bath. May 3rd: Planted pumpkins, potatoes, beans, beets, lettuce, radishes. May 15, 16, 17: Cleaned up West yard. Got loam. Planted shrubs and trees. Planted marigolds, candytuft and poppies, Boston Ivy, cornus, weigelia, lilac, crab. It looks slick. May 20th: These seeds are up in my bed: radish, lettuce, beans. May 21: brought Bush to school. Went to Arlington for ferns. Pumpkins up. Put violets beside Birds tub. June 12th: Brought home 10 radishes. They were good ones. Saw a jay in our bath and a chipping sparrow. June 17: Mr Randall out. Hoeing. A lot of teachers came. Took home lettuce June 18: Sent radishes to Mr. Small. A man and lady came to see if we will get a prize. June 19: Everything in my garden is growing fine. It's a good thing. We have spent $11.45. 1913 Birth of James C. Rose, American landscape architect, and author. A high school dropout, James was expelled from Harvard University as a landscape architecture major because they disapproved of his design style. James fulfilled a lifelong dream despite his personal struggles with educational institutions when he created The James Rose Center for design study and landscape research. In From Creative Gardens (1958), James wrote, A garden is an experience. It is not flow

March 22, 2022 St. Catherine, Thomas Carew, New York Horticultural Society, Christine Johanna Buisman, The Earth in Her Hands by Jennifer Jewell, and John Banister Tabb

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1763 Birth of Jean-Paul Friedrich Richter, German Romantic writer. He's remembered for his humorous novels and stories. He once wrote, When one reads a poem in January, it is as lovely as when one goes for a walk in June. 1902 Birth of Harry Lutf Verne Fletcher, ("Luh-tf")(pen names John Garden and John Hereford), Engish writer. Harry wrote many books on gardening. In Purest Pleasure (1948), he wrote, Who has learned to garden who did not at the same time learn to be patient? 1917 Birth of Richard Henry Martin Robinson, gardener and professional horticultural photographer. He was regarded as one of the top gardeners of his generation. In 1955, Richard and his wife, Helen, began creating a spectacular garden at Hyde Hall set on 400 acres and nestled among the prairie wheat fields of Essex. Helen initially started gardening as a way to brighten up the place. Gardening at Hyde was hard. The landscape battles whipping winds and pitiful average yearly rainfalls. In summer, the clay soil is rock hard. In winter, whatever moisture there is, is locked in the suffocating clay. Early on, trees, pines, evergreens, and heathers were installed to provide structure and winter interest. Foxtail lilies and roses added color that the garden so desperately needed. Together, Richard and Helen transformed Hyde Hall into a garden masterpiece. In 1993, nearly forty years after the Robinsons bought Hyde Hall, the garden was gifted to the RHS. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Essentials of Garden Design by John Brookes This book came out in 2008, and it is a garden classic. John Brookes was a master garden designer who perfected his craft over five decades. And although John passed away in 2018, he is still regarded as one of the significant garden-makers of the late 20th century. John's books (like today's recommendation) continue to inspire and instruct gardeners with simple and timeless wisdom. John always began his design projects with his famous grid system. And in this book, The Essentials of Garden Design, he walks you through that process as well as everything you need - the tools, the techniques, the plants, the building materials - to create a garden that looks like it belongs in the landscape. So whether you're planning a large installation or just something small and functional, you can't go wrong with John as your guide. This book is 192 pages of garden design mastery from a man who firmly believed that gardens were about the people who lived in them. You can get a copy of The Essentials of Garden Design by John Brookes and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $2.51. Botanic Spark 1905 Birth of Phyllis McGinley, American poet, and writer of children's books. Her poems were often light-hearted and humorous, offering a clever examination of daily life in the suburbs. In 1961, Phyllis won the Pulitzer prize. She won a Pulitzer prize in 1961 for her book, Times Three, which featured seventy poems written over three decades in the mid-1900s. A gardener, Phyllis once wrote in The Province of the Heart (1959). The trouble with gardening is that it does not remain an avocation. It becomes an obsession. And here's a little poem Phyllis wrote called Daylight Savings Time. In spring when maple buds are red, We turn the clock an hour ahead; Which means each April that arrives, We lose an hour out of our lives. Who cares? When autumn birds in flocks Fly southward, back we turn the clocks, And so regain a lovely thing That missing hour we lost in spring. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Friends of the Garden Meeting in Athens, Georgia Register Here Spring Break Next Week Hi there. The show is on spring break next week. New episodes will resume on March 21. Historical Events 1775 Birth of Pierre Jean François Turpin (books about this person), French botanist and illustrator. Pierre was friends with the botanist, gardener, and botanical artist, Pierre Antoine Poiteau. And although we know that he learned a great deal about botany from his friend Poiteau, Pierre was self-taught when it came to his botanical illustrations. And Redouté's work was an obvious influence on him. Pierre created over 6,000 magnificent botanical watercolors. He was an expert on fruit trees, and his fruit prints are considered some of the best in the world. There are two fascinating stories about Pierre I wanted to share with you today. First, Pierre created a fictional plant for Goethe that was an amalgam of different angiosperms. Goethe wanted an illustration to show the diversity of angiosperms, and when Goethe saw Pierre's drawing, he named it the Urplant. Goethe wrote, The Urplant would be the most wondrous creation in the world, for which nature itself would envy me. With it, one could invent plants to infinity... The second Pierre story that I wanted to share with you is about his son, Pierre Jr. No doubt Pierre taught his son how to draw. But tragically, Pierre Jr. died young, and his final drawing was of an Amaryllis. After his death, Pierre made sure his son was credited for the work, and then he did something unusual for botanical illustrations: he made a little personal remark on his son's passing, writing: This original illustration was painted by Pierre John Frederick Eugene Turpin. The illustrator, who was 18 years and six days of age, ceased to live on the 21st of August in 1821. Less than 20 years later, Pierre himself would die in Paris in 1840 at 65. Now, speaking of Amaryllis, this is the time of year when gardeners get all kinds of questions about them. My neighbor Jan, up at the cabin returned from a trip to Las Vegas to find her Christmas gift, an Amaryllis, in full bloom - and she's utterly captivated by this gorgeous Amaryllis, but of course, she called me to say, What do I do with it after it's done blooming? And this is the question that's on everybody's mind because they're wrapping things up about now. So what are your options if you have an Amaryllis? Well, number one, you can throw it away. You can simply be done with it. If you choose to, you could put it in the compost pile and so forth. Or, if you're committed to trying to get your Amaryllis to bloom again next year, it is possible to do. You can force it to flower again next year. Keep it on a sunny window inside until June when things warm up and then harden it off, the way you would any of the houseplants that you bring outside, take it outside for a few hours, and then bring it back in. Gradually increase the amount of time it stays outside until it's out all day. Make sure that it's in a sunny spot. And then, in the fall, you can bring it back indoors. This is the time when you're going to impose dormancy. Put the Amaryllis in a cold area. (If you have a dark cellar, that would be ideal). And remember that during dormancy, you don't want to water your Amaryllis. Think about your Amaryllis like a sleeping beauty that you'll wake up in time for the holidays. And then, at that point, you can resume watering, and your Amaryllis, with any luck, will flower again. So there you go—a little Amaryllis care 101 inspired by the son of Pierre Turpin. 1811 Birth of Katherine Sophia Kane, Irish botanist, and horticulturist. Orphaned as a little girl, Katherine was raised by her uncle, who fostered Kate's love for the outdoors and, ultimately, her focus on botany. When Kate was 22, she anonymously published a book that became the first national flora of Ireland, called The Irish Flora Comprising the Phaenogamous Plants and Ferns (1833). Kate's book not only described all the Irish flowering plants but also ferns and other cryptograms. Accurate and informative, Kate's book became a textbook for botany students at Trinity College in Dublin. Three years later, in recognition of her work, Kate became the first woman to be elected to the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. The story of how Kate met her husband Robert is similar to how John Claudius Loudon met his wife, Jane Webb: through her book. In Kate's case, proofs of The Irish Flora had mistakenly landed on Robert's desk. Robert tracked down Kate's address and personally returned the proofs to her. The rest, as they say, was history. The two were married in 1838, and they went on to have ten children. In 1846, Robert was knighted, and Kate became known as Lady Kane. An economist, a chemist, and a scientist, Robert was hired to serve as

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Friends of the Garden Meeting in Athens, Georgia Register Here Historical Events 1763 Birth of William Cobbett, English writer, Member of Parliament, and farmer. In Parliament, Wlliam fought for agrarian reform. He did this through his regular writings called Rural Rides, where he shared what he saw while taking horseback rides throughout rural England. William never forgot his rural roots, and he was a lifelong gardener. He once wrote, How much better during a long and dreary winter, for daughters, and even sons, to assist, or attend, their mother, in a green-house, than to be seated with her at cards, or, in the blubberings over a stupid novel, or at any other amusement that can possibly be conceived. And he also wrote, If well-managed, nothing is more beautiful than the kitchen garden. 1845 Birth of Wilhelm Friedrich Philipp Pfeffer, German botanist and plant physiologist. Wilhelm was born in his father's apothecary. He grew up and learned every aspect of the business, which had been in his family for generations. One of his childhood friends noted, In those days, it was not yet customary to obtain drugs in cut and powdered form; thus, he spent hours cutting roots and herbs and pulverizing dried drugs with a heavy pestle in a mortar. In addition to life at the A=apothecary, Wilhelm loved collecting plants in the Alps. His early study of plants and his natural curiosity set the stage for his in-depth plant experiments as an adult. In terms of plant physiology, he's remembered for the Pfeffer pot or pepper pot to measure osmotic pressure in plant cells. 1874 Birth of Karl Foerster, German plant breeder, writer, and garden designer. When Karl turned 18, he took over his family's Berlin nursery, which was a bit of a mess. Karl quickly streamlined the business by simplifying his plant inventory. Although Karl loved all plants, he was especially drawn to tough, low-maintenance, hardy perennials. Karl used three factors to determine whether a plant would be sold in his nursery: beauty, resilience, and endurance. Today, Karl is most remembered in Karl Foerster Grass. The story goes that Karl was on a train when he spied the grass growing along the tracks. Karl frantically pulled the emergency brake, stopped the train, and quickly collected the specimen that now bears his name. In 2001, Karl Foerster grass was the Perennial Plant of the Year. Karl's plant standards and his appreciation for low maintenance spaces with year-long seasonal interest helped shape the New German Garden Style of garden design. A Karl Foerster garden had some signature plants: grasses, delphinium, and phlox. Naturally, all of these plants were favorites in Karl's breeding work. Karl once wrote, Grasses are the hair of mother earth. And he also wrote, A garden without phlox is not only a sheer mistake but a sin against summer. Karl lived to the ripe old age of 96. And looking back, it's staggering to think that Karl spent nearly nine decades gardening, and it was Karl Foerster who said, In my next life, I'd like to be a gardener once again. The job was too big for just one lifetime. 1892 Birth of Vita Sackville-West, English author and garden designer. In 1930, Vita and her husband, the diplomat, and journalist Harold Nicolson, bought Sissinghurst Castle - at least what was left of it. Together, they restored the house and created the famous garden, which was given to the National Trust in 1967. Vita explored the depths of her own creativity as she shaped the gardens at Sissinghurst. When she came up with the idea for a Sunset Garden, she wrote, I used to call it the Sunset Garden in my own mind before I even planted it up. Vita's Sunset Garden included flowers with warm citrus colors, like the yellows, oranges, and reds of Dahlia's Salvias Canas and tulips. Vita also created a White Garden – one of the most difficult Gardens to design, maintain and pull off. Why is that? Well, the main reason is that, after flowering, most white blooms don't age well; they turn brown or yellow as they wither and die on the plant. But I have to say that ten years ago, I did help a friend install a white garden. And when it was in bloom, it really was spectacular. During World War II, there came a point when Vita and Harold were convinced that a German invasion of Britain was likely. Vita planted 11,000 daffodils, a message of defiance to the enemy. In 1955, Vita was honored with the Veitch Memorial Medal. She died seven years later in 1962. She once wrote, The waking bee, still drowsy on the wing, Will sense the opening of another year And blunder out to seek another spring. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Art of Edible Flowers by Rebecca Sullivan This book came out in 2018, and the subtitle is Recipes and ideas for floral salads, drinks, desserts, and more. This sweet little

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1746 Birth of André Michaux (books about this person), French botanist and explorer. André grew up on a royal farm in Satory south of Versailles. His father trained both he and his brother in horticulture, and after his father died, André carried on at the farm. André married a prosperous farmer's daughter from a nearby farm named Cécile Claye. A month shy of their first wedding anniversary Cécile delivered a son, Francois-André. Later in life, André would name an oak in his son's honor. Tragically, Cécile died after the delivery. André battled through the next decade by studying horticulture. His friend, the naturalist Louis-Guillaume Le Monnier ("Lew-ee Ghee-ohm Lew-moh-nay"), urged him to focus on exotic plants, and the great botanist Bernard de Jussieu gave André a solid understanding of botany. The next step for André was travel. In 1786, André was asked to go to North America. As a single father, he brought François-Andre, then 15, along with him. André's mission was to establish a botanical garden in America. The goal was to set up a botanical clearinghouse of sorts and send seeds and specimens back to France. André established his nursery on the land where the Charleston Area National Airport exists today. In fact, at the Charleston airport, there is a stunning mural installed in 2016 that honors Andre and his son. In one panel, Andre-François and his father are depicted in the potager or kitchen garden. The central scene shows the rice fields along the Ashley River and the Charleston Harbor, where Michaux introduced one of the first Camellia plants. Native to Asia, Camellias are small, evergreen flowering trees or shrubs, and Camellias are in the Theaceae or tea family, which is why Camellias are commonly called tea plants. In Floriography ("FLOOR-EE-ah-grah-FEE") or the language of flowers, the Camellia represents love and loyalty. Camellia blossoms are beautiful and come in various colors, sizes, bloom times, and forms. And, best of all, Camellias are long-lived and can grow for 100 to 200 years. Finally, here are two fun facts about the Camellia: In California, Sacramento is nicknamed the Camellia City, and the Camellia is the state flower of Alabama. 1836 Birth of Sir Michael Foster, English physician, and iris breeder. He's regarded as the father of iris cultivation. In the late 1800s, Michael became the first person to crossbreed new varieties of Iris. He started his work with purple and yellow iris and made a beautiful blend by the third generation. Soon Michael had large wild iris specimens arriving from all over the world. He found that missionaries could be a great help to him. They sent Trojana, Cypriana, and Mesopotamica varieties from the Near East. In time, Michael's iris creations had bigger flowers and grew taller. He crossed Irises in every conceivable way, and he once wrote to the plant breeder William John Caparne, "In hybridizing, be bold." Michael once said, Nature is ever making signs to us; she is ever whispering to us the beginnings of her secrets. April 26, 1970, Elizabeth Lawrence (books by this author) reflected on the spring, writing, This spring, I was asked if I am bored. How can anyone ask that of a gardener? No Gardener could ever be bored, for ... Every season is new and different from all those that went before. There always is something new in bloom, something expected and something unexpected, something lost that is found, and there is always disappointment, but being sad is not the same thing as being bored. "It acts like spring, but I dare not hope," Carolyn Dorman wrote on Saint Valentine's Day. "It was about this time in 1899 that the temperature here in Northern Louisiana was 20 degrees below… God spare us, daffodils are beginning now, and Magnolia Alba Superba will soon be in bloom." It is the white form of Magnolia x soulangiana that Caroline calls "alba superba". She thinks it more beautiful than the Yulan. In my garden the Yulan (Magnolia denudata) and two of its hybrids M. x soulangiana and M. x veitschii, came into bloom together on March 8th. I can't think of when, if ever before, all three have bloomed at once when the weather was warm but not hot, when there was no frost and no rain, and when only a few petals were whipped off by wind. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Private Gardens of Santa Barbara by Margie Grace This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is The Art of Outdoor Living. Margie is a two-time-named International Landscape Designer of the Year. She has worked in the field for over three decades, and she is the perfect host to showcase these magnificent private gardens in Santa Barbara, which is often called the American Riviera. This book features eighteen gardens designed by Margie and representing a range of spaces from large estates to s

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Friends of the Garden in Athens, Georgia Register Here Historical Events 1849 Birth of Luther Burbank (books about this person), American botanist and horticulturist. During his 55-year career, Luther developed over 800 varieties of plants. He is remembered for many plants, including the Shasta daisy and the white blackberry. A russet-colored variant of a Luther potato became the world's predominant potato in food processing and was called the Russet Burbank Potato. Luther hoped the potato would help revive Ireland's potato production after late blight destroyed potatoes all across Europe. Luther once said, Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the mind. 1858 On this day, Robert Fortune (books about this person) left for his fourth trip to China. Months earlier, he had sent thousands of tea seeds to the United States. The Americans didn't feel they required Fortune's oversight to cultivate the plants, although the distribution of the little seedlings wasn't very strategic. Most of the seeds and plants were distributed via members of congress from southern states who sent the plants home to their farming constituents. James Rion of South Carolina wrote, In the fall of 1859, I received from the Patent Office, Washington, a very tiny tea plant, which I placed in my flower garden as a curiosity. It has grown well, has always been free from any disease, has had full outdoor exposure, and attained a height of 5 feet, 8 inches There cannot be the least doubt but that the tea plant will flourish in South Carolina. Two years later, the start of the Civil War derailed those early hopes for tea production in the United States. 1865 On this day, Edmund Hope Verney received a letter. By this point, Edmund had been botanizing Vancouver Island for three years. All throughout his expedition, he was gobsmacked by the beauty of the landscape - especially during spring and had written, I cannot believe that any part of the world can show a greater variety and number of wildflowers than this. As much as he could, Edmund sent specimens back home to Claydon in England. Occasionally, he would get discouraged if he didn't hear back - sometimes not even a thank you. But on this day, 1865, Edmund's stepmother wrote with words of praise, Your seeds are excellent - just what we wanted - the Colony is celebrated for its Pines and Cypresses. The Bishop says bulbs, too. If [possible], perhaps you can bring some with you - all lilies are valuable. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Art and Science of William Bartram by Judith Magee This book came out in 2007, and it's one of the best authoritative books on William Bartram. William was an eminent artist and naturalist, and he was one of the first people to explore the flora and fauna of the American Southeast between 1773 and 1777. Bartram's work was sent to his patron back in London, and today the London Natural History Museum houses most of William Bartram's drawings. Judith's book showcased for the first time all sixty-eight Bartram drawings from the Natural History Museum, along with other pieces from his contemporaries. This book also shares some of Bartram's writings and letters, proving that Bartram was influential during his lifetime and a beacon for the next generation of American naturalists. Bartram's work had an impact beyond the world of science. Wordsworth, Coleridge, and other writers found in the significance of Bartram's drawings and writing a source of inspiration. Bartram accomplished so much during his lifetime, especially because he was entirely self-taught. Bartram's humility and compassion made it possible for him to spend time with Native Americans during his explorations. He became an authority on the birds of North America. In 1773, William collected and propagated seeds from the Franklinia or the Franklin tree. The tree survives today, thanks to William Bartram. This book is 276 pages of William Bartram's life and contributions in the context of modern scientific thinking. You can get a copy of The Art and Science of William Bartram by Judith Magee and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $46. Botanic Spark 2001 On this day, The Baltimore Sun shared a story called Maryland's Mr. Grass Plantsman: Kurt Bluemel ("Blu-MEL") by Nancy Taylor Robson. Nurseryman and landscaper Kurt Bluemel had dealt with groundhogs, rabbits, and rapacious deer. But nothing in his career prepared him for the destructive powers of elephants and giraffes. "They are like organic lawnmowers!" he [said]. Kurt Bluemel (the company) is one of the largest, most extensive wholesale growers of ornamental grasses in the nation, which is why six years ago the Disney company asked him to help design, supply and plant the 125 acres of

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Friends of the Garden Meeting in Athens Georgia Register Here Historical Events 1810 Birth of William Griffith, English botanist and naturalist. By the time a young William arrived at the botanical garden in Calcutta, he was eager to make his mark. But he clashed with the old ways of running the garden established by Nathaniel Wallich. When Nathaniel departed to tend to his deteriorating health, William was put in charge of the garden. In his youth and inexperience, he acted in haste and he executed a complete renovation of the garden. For instance, there was an avenue of gorgeous Cycas trees that was a signature element of the garden and beloved by visitors, but William had the entire avenue removed. And in his singular focus on organizing plants by classification, he sacrificed beauty and common sense. Plants that were happy under the canopy of established trees and shrubs were suddenly exposed to the harsh Indian sun, and they burned and perished out in the open. In a little over two years, the garden bore no resemblance of its former glory. In September of 1844, William married his brother's wife's sister - Emily Henderson. By the end of the year, William quit his post and left the Calcutta botanical garden for good. Together, William and Emily returned to Malacca in Southwestern Malaysia, but William got sick on the voyage. He had languished for ten days and then died from hepatitis. He was 34. Meanwhile, back at the Calcutta Botanical Garden, it's hard not to imagine the shock Nathaniel Wallich experienced when he returned to the garden in the summer of 1844 and saw the complete devastation in every bed and every planting in every corner of the garden. Nothing was untouched - it had all been changed. Nathaniel shared his grief in a letter to his old friend William Hooker: Where is the stately, matchless garden that I left in 1842? Is this the same as that? Can it be? No–no–no! Day is not more different from night that the state of the garden as it was from its present utterly ruined condition. But no more on this. My heart bleeds at what I am impelled daily – hourly to witness. And yet I am chained to the spot, and the chain, in some respects, is of my own making. I will not be driven away. Lies, calumnies, every attempt... to ruin my character – publicly and privately... are still employed – they may make my life miserable and wretched, they may break my heart: but so so long as my conscience acquits me... so long will I not budge one inch from my post. 1847 Birth of Henry Frederick Conrad Sander, German-English orchidologist and nurseryman. When he was 20, Conrad met the Czech plant collector Benedict Roezl. The two men struck up an idea for a business that left Benedict free to explore and collect plants and Conrad focused on selling the specimens. Conrad set up shop in St. Albans, and Benedict was soon sending shipments of orchids from Central and South America. After his successful arrangement with Benedict, Conrad expanded his operations. He soon had over twenty collectors gathering specimens and was growing orchids in over sixty greenhouses. Europe's top collectors and even royalty stopped by to examine Conrad's inventory. Soon known as the King of Orchids, Conrad wrote a two-volume masterpiece on every variety of orchid. He named his book Reichenbachia in honor of the legendary orchidologist Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach. In return, Reichenbach honored Sanders by naming the "Queen of Philippine Orchids" Vanda Sanderiana, which the locals called the waling-waling orchid. The waling-waling is considered one of the rarest, most beautiful, and most expensive orchids, and it is also one of the largest species of orchids in the world. Orchids are some of the world's oldest flowering plants, producing the world's tiniest seeds. A single Orchid seedpod can contain three million seeds! Orchids are also the largest family of flowering plants in the world. With over 25,000 species, Orchids represent about ten percent of all plant species on earth, and there are more orchids on earth than mammals and birds! Now, once they are germinated, Orchids can take five to seven years to produce a flower. And if you look at the orchid bloom closely, you'll see that the blossom, like the human face, is perfectly symmetrical, which only adds to their visual beauty. And, by the time you are buying that Orchid at Trader Joe's, it is likely already decades old. But never fear, Orchids are long-lived and can reach their 100th birthday. The vastness and complexity of orchids can be frustrating. Charles Darwin grew so discouraged writing his book about orchids that he wrote to a friend, I am very poorly today and very stupid and hate everybody and everything. 1949 On this day, the Santa Cruz Sentinel out of California, published a lovely story about an upcoming Ar

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Friends of the Garden Meeting in Athens Georgia Register Here Historical Events 1606 Birth of Edmund Waller (books about this person), English poet, and politician who was one of the longest-serving members in the English House of Commons. Edmund is remembered for his carpe diem or "seize the day" poem, Go, Lovely Rose (1645), in which the rose must relay an urgent message: that time is short, that she is beautiful and that he loves her. Go, lovely rose! Tell her that wastes her time and me, That now she knows, When I resemble her to thee, How sweet and fair she seems to be. 1616 Birth Mathias de l'Obel ("ma-TEE-us dew Lew-bell"), Flemish physician and botanist. Mathias practiced medicine in England, and he was the first botanist to recognize the difference between monocots and dicots. Today we remember Mathias de l'Obel ("LEW-bell") with the Lobelia plant. Before researching Mathias, I pronounced obelia as "LOW- beel- ya." But now, knowing the French pronunciation of his name, I will say it "LEW-beel-ya." It's a subtle little change (LOW vs. LEW), but after all, the plant is named in Mathias's honor. Now, for as lovely as the Lobelia is, the common names for Lobelia are terribly unattractive. They include names like Asthma Weed, Bladderpod, Gagroot, Pukeweed, etc. Vomit Wort, and Wild Tobacco. These common names for Lobelia reflect that Lobelia is very toxic to eat. Despite its toxicity, Lobelia is one of the sweetest-looking plants for your summer containers. This dainty annual comes in pink, light blue, and royal blue. Personally, every year, I buy two flats of light blue Lobelias. But no matter the color you choose, lobelias are a favorite of pollinators. The delicate blossoms frequently host bees, butterflies, and moths, which only adds to their charm. 1880 Birth Muriel Wheldale Onslow (books by this author), English biochemist. She researched flower color inheritance and pigment molecule biochemistry. Muriel married a fellow biochemist named Victor Onslow. Victor was actually the son of royalty - his dad was the fourth Earl of Onslow. When Victor was a student at Cambridge, he was paralyzed from the waist down after diving off a cliff into a lake. Victor's physical limitations did not stop Muriel from loving him. Even though they were married for only a little over three years before Victor's untimely death, Victor and Muriel's love story was one of mutual admiration and respect. When Muriel recorded her memoir of Victor, she wrote that he was a man of amazing courage and mental vitality; and that he was an inspiration to their peers in biochemistry. Muriel worked with snapdragons, which come in a range of flower colors including green, red, orange, yellow, white, purple, and pink - and now even bicolor and speckled. The snapdragon was the perfect subject for Murial's work. Muriel's coloration research resulted in four major papers on snapdragon color inheritance and worldwide recognition. In 2010, the Royal Institution in England sponsored a play about four female biochemists - including Muriel Onslow. The play was called Blooming Snapdragons. Snapdragons or Antirrhinum majus ("ant-er-EYE-num MAY-jus") are beloved cottage garden flowers. They are a cousin to the foxglove. Snapdragons are happiest when planted early, in cool weather. They will bloom their hearts out all summer long. Then, if you cut them back in August, you will get a second flush of color in the fall. 1899 Birth of Yury Karlovich Olesha (books by this author), Russian and Soviet novelist. He was part of the Odessa School of Writers and is considered one of the greatest Russian novelists of the 20th century. Here's an excerpt from his book, Envy (1927): "Once he raised his arm to show his friends the back of his hand, where the veins were laid out in the shape of a tree, and he broke out in the following improvisation: "Here," he said, "is the tree of life. Here is a tree that tells me more about life and death than the flowering and fading of tree gardens. I don't remember when exactly I discovered that my wrist was blooming like a tree…but it must have been during that wonderful time when the flowering and fading of trees still spoke to me not of life and death but of the end and beginning of the school year! It was blue then, this tree, blue and slender, ...and turned my metacarpus's entire landscape into a Japanese watercolor… "The years passed, I changed, and the tree changed, too. "I remember a splendid time; the tree was spreading. The pride I felt, seeing its inexorable flowering! It became gnarled and reddish-brown—and therein lay its strength! ...But now, my friends! How decrepit it is, how rotten! "The branches seem to be breaking off, cavities have appeared… It's sclerosis, my friends! And the fact that the skin is getting glassy, and the tissue beneath it is s

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Friends of the Garden Meeting in Athens Georgia Register Here Historical Events 1779 Birth of the physician, botanist, and American statesman, Joel Roberts Poinsett. In the 1820s, President John Quincy Adams appointed Joel to serve as a US ambassador in Mexico. Joel was introduced to a beautiful plant that the Aztecs called the cuetlaxochitl ("qwet-la-SHO-chee-til"), but today it's better known as the Poinsettia (books about this topic). Like most euphorbias, the Poinsettia has a white sap that the Aztecs used to treat wounds and skin issues, which is how it got the common name "Skin Flower." In 1825, when Joel Poinsett sent clippings back home to South Carolina, botanists had new common names for the plant: "the Mexican Fire Plant" or "the Painted Leaf." The botanist Karl Wilenow ("Vill-ah-no") named the Poinsettia the Euphorbia pulcherrima. Pulcherrima means "very beautiful." By 1836, English newspapers were reporting on the Poinsettia in great detail: Poinsettia Pulcherrima.. are of the most brilliant rosy-crimson color, the splendor of which is quite dazzling. Few, if any of the most highly valued beauties of our gardens, can vie with this. Every year, we celebrate National Poinsettia Day on December 12th, the day Joel Poinsett died. 1859 Birth of Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, better known under his pen name Sholem Aleichem ("Sholl-em A-LEK-em") (books about this person), Yiddish author and playwright. The musical Fiddler on the Roof (1964), was based on his stories. Sholom Aleichem wrote, It's as my mother says: If you want to learn how to grow cabbages, ask the gardener, not the goat. 1905 Birth of Geoffrey Grigson ("Jeffrey") (books about this person), British poet, and naturalist. Before publishing his own poems, Geoffrey edited a poetry magazine called New Verse. He once wrote: We do not feel, as Humphry Repton, the landscape gardener, felt in his epitaph, that our dust is going to turn into roses. Dust we believe simply to be dust. 1905 Birth of Alice O'Connor, Russian-American writer, and philosopher. Her pen name was Ayn Rand ("Eye-n Rand") (books about this person). She developed a philosophy called Objectivism. Her work The Fountainhead brought fame, but her 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged is considered her magnum opus. Ayn supported laissez-faire capitalism, and when she died in 1982, a 6-foot-tall dollar-sign floral arrangement was placed by her casket. 1887 On this day, Charles E. Bessey (books about this person), an American botanist and University of Nebraska botany professor. He helped pass the Hatch Act. The Act provides $15,000 for state land-grant colleges and universities in every state to establish experiment stations. Named for Congressman William Hatch, the experiment stations were the forerunner to state Cooperative Extension Services. Today, Hatch Act funding accounts for roughly ten percent of total funds for each experiment station. Nearly all Master Gardener programs in America offer training through a state land-grant university and its Cooperative Extension Service. Charles is remembered as America's greatest developer of botany education. His motto was, Science with Practice. Charles enjoyed plant science, but he never intended to become a botanist. He wanted to be a civil engineer and surveyor. But he agreed to pursue botany at the urging of his professors, and when he told the President of his school about his decision, he commented, Well, Bessey, I am glad of it, but you'll never be rich. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation By Any Other Name by Simon Morley This book came out late in 2021, and the subtitle is A Cultural History of the Rose. Simon Morley is a British artist and art historian. He's now Assistant Professor of Fine Art at Dankook University, Republic of Korea. He is also a keen rose gardener. I've watched a number of interviews with Simon. He does a wonderful job of helping us understand the significance of the rose in our world - socially, politically, and religiously - and how we celebrate the rose in our writing and art. Originating in the middle east and Asia, roses were associated with Venus or Aphrodite, the goddess of love in ancient times. This early association with love is why roses are the flower of Valentine's day. In Western society, roses were bred in the early 1800s in France and then in the late 1800s in England. Both countries have a long and royal history with the rose. Today, the rose is the national flower for many countries, including America, Iran, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Iraq, Maldives, Romania, Slovakia, and England. Simon Morley's quest for a deeper understanding of the rose lead him to appreciate the duality in the meaning and symbolism of the rose. The rose offers incredible beauty and fragrance, but the prickles or thorns mean the rose can bring pain. This complexity o

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Friends of the Garden Meeting in Athens Georgia Register Here Historical Events 1717 Birth of Catharina Helena Dörrien ("Durr-ee-in"), German botanist, writer, and artist. After the death of her parents, Catharina became a governess for the Erath ("AIR-rit") family in Dillenburg. Sophie Erath was a childhood friend of Catharina's, and Anton Erath was an attorney; they became Catharina's second family. While teaching the Erath children, Catharina turned to nature to teach almost every subject. Catharina even wrote her own textbooks, heavily focused on botany and the natural world. As the Erath children grew, Catharina focused on her botanical work. Anton helped her gain membership to the Botanical Society of Florence - something unheard of for women of her time. Catharina would go on to be a member of the Berlin Society of Friends of Nature Research and the Regensburg Botanical Society in Germany. When Catharina was alive, Dillenburg was part of the Orange-Nassau principality. And Catharine's 496-page flora called Flora for Orange-Nassau was published in 1777. Catharina not only used the Linnaean system to organize and name each specimen, but she also named two new fungi ("funj-eye") - two little lichens - she named major Doerrieni ("Durr-ee-en-ee") and minor Doerrieni- an extraordinary accomplishment for a woman during the 1700s. As for her botanical illustrations, Catharina created over 1,400 illustrations of local flora and fauna. Yet, these masterpieces never made it into her flora. Instead, Catharina's botanical art became an heirloom passed down through the generations of the Erath family. In 1875 a few pieces of Catharina's work were shown at an exhibition. However, fifteen years later, a large collection of paintings by Johann Philipp Sandberger was bought by the Museum of Wiesbaden. Johann was a dear friend of Anton Erath's, and today, his work is considered to be copies of Catharine's original watercolor masterpieces. Still, Sandberger's pieces are precious because they give us a glimpse of Catharine's breadth and depth of talent. Without Sandberger, all would be lost because the bulk of Catharine's work has been lost to time. The curator Friedrich von Heinbeck once said that the precision of Catharine's brush strokes was like that of an embroiderer who stitched with only the finest of thread. 1848 Birth of Augustus Saint Gaudens ("gaw-dens") (books about this person), American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation. He is remembered for his stunning Civil War monuments, including a work called Abraham Lincoln: The Man. In Augustus Saint Gaudens, biography, Reminiscences, he wrote, What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art. The Frick museum has a medallion carved by Augustus. He was a fan of Robert Louis Stephenson, and the two met toward the end of Stephenson's life. The medallion has an inscription: Stevenson's poem Underwoods (1887), which reads: Youth now flees on feathered foot Faint and fainter sounds the flute … Where hath fleeting beauty led? To the doorway of the dead Life is over, life was gay We have come the primrose way. 1877 Birth of Lenore Elizabeth Mulets, children's author, poet, and teacher Born Nora Mulertz in Kansas, Lenore's mother died when she was ten, and so she was raised by her uncle. In addition to teaching, Lenore was a marvelous children's author. Her books were always charming, and her titles include Stories of Birds, Flower Stories, Insect Stories, and Tree Stories, just to name a few. In the preface to Flower Stories, Lenore wrote, When the flowers of the field and garden lift their bright faces to you, can you call them by name and greet them as old acquaintances? Or, having passed them a hundred times, are they still strangers to you? And in her book Stories of Birds, Lenore wrote: Such a twittering and fluttering there was when this news came. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Stylish Succulent Designs by Jessica Cain This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is & Other Botanical Crafts. Jessica wants to teach you how to elevate your succulent creations and learn the tricks you need to know to create professional-quality succulent arrangements made simple! Jessica is the creator and owner of "In Succulent Love." She is a native of San Diego, the succulent capital of the world, and she fell in love with making succulent arrangements after working with succulents with her grandmother. Jessica's DIY guide teaches how to makeover forty creative projects using many varieties of succulents, air plants, and other easy-care botanicals. This book is 176 pages of creating beautiful and lush succulent designs that are simple to make and will last for months. You can get a copy of Stylish Succulent Designs by Jessica Cain and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $2. Bota

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1533 Birth of Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (books by this author), also known as Lord of Montaigne, French Renaissance philosopher. He was a prolific writer and was famous for his anecdotes. He once wrote, I want death to find me planting my cabbages, neither worrying about it nor the unfinished gardening." 1828 On this day, Frederick William Beechey (books about this person) wrote to William Jackson Hooker (books about this person) to apologize for sending an inferior collection of specimens. He explained that the expedition's collector opted to play the violin seven hours each day instead of exploring and gathering plants. 1844 The New England Journal published a little notice about a use for the milky sap of Sumac: [It] is the best indelible ink that can be used. Break off one of the stems that support the leaves, and write... In a short time it becomes a beautiful jet black, and can never be washed out. 1877 Birth of André Simon (books by this author), French wine merchant, wine expert, and writer. In The Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy (1952), André wrote, Beans... possess over all vegetables the great advantage of being just as good, if not better, when kept waiting, an advantage in the case of people whose disposition or occupation makes it difficult for them to be punctual at mealtime. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Hill House Living by Paula Sutton This book came out late in 2021, and the subtitle is The Art of Creating a Joyful Life. Paula's book is a delight. It's part antique-hunting, part gardening, and part a celebration of the seasons. A beloved British design and fashion influencer, Paula left her busy life in London at age 50 and started over in a gorgeous cottage home in the country. Paula likes to say she traded catwalks for dog walks (she has a beautiful lab) and couture for manure. A master of styling with vintage treasures in the home and outside in the garden, Paula shares all of her top tips and tricks for bargain hunting, repurposing, and incorporating old and new in a way that feels fresh, simple, and stylish. As a person, Paula is positive, generous, and authentic. You will love following her on social and having a little bit of her genius right on your bookcase, coffee table, or bedside table (which is where mine is as I write this ;). You can get a copy of Hill House Living by Paula Sutton and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $15. Botanic Spark 1865 Birth of Arthur William Symons (books by this author), British poet, critic, and magazine editor. Here's an excerpt from his poem, Lillian, which appreciates the green powers of the hot-house: This was a sweet white wildwood violet I found among the painted slips that grow Where, under hot-house glass, the flowers forget How the sun shines, and how the cool winds blow. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1872 Birth of Anna Gilman Hill, Director of the Garden Club of America (1920-1926) and assistant editor of the Club's Bulletin (1921-1945). Anna and her husband own an estate in East Hampton called "Grey Gardens," which was purchased by the American socialite Edith Bouvier Beale. Anna once wrote, Above all, in your absence, do not allow the children, the ignorant visitor, your husband, or your maiden aunt to play the hose on your poor defenseless plants. 1943 Birth of George Harrison (books about this person), English musician and singer-songwriter, and lead guitarist of the Beatles. His original song compositions include While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Here Comes the Sun. Sometimes referred to as the "Quiet Beatle," George relished his life out of the spotlight and said, I'm not really a career person. I'm a gardener, basically... Sometimes I feel like I'm actually on the wrong planet. It's great when I'm in my garden, but the minute I go out the gate, I think, 'What the hell am I doing here?" 1989 On this day, The Age newspaper out of Melbourne, Australia, ran a story about a brand new play written by Suzanne Spunner called "Edna for the Garden." The play featured the charismatic Australian gardener, designer, conservationist, and writer Edna Walling. During her lifetime, her garden design clients would say to their friends, You must have Edna for the garden. The familiar saying inspired the name of the play. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Secret Gardeners by Victoria Summerley This book came out late in 2017, and the subtitle is Britain's Creatives Reveal Their Private Sanctuaries. This book features the private gardens, the secret gardens, of some of Britain's most famous artists. In all, twenty-five gardens are featured in this drop-dead gorgeous book. You'll get to see the gardens of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Anish Kapoor, Jeremy Irons, Cath Kidston, Terry Gilliam, Prue Leith, Ozzy Osbourne, Sting, Julian Fellowes, and Rupert Everett, just to name a few. For the most part, these private sanctuaries - these great spaces - are not for public consumption. Without Victoria and Hugo's book, these gardens would remain hidden; they would remain secret gardens. But thankfully and generously, they all agreed to be part of this incredible book. In the introduction, Victoria reveals how she and Hugo have connected with these beautiful spaces. They've done a couple of great books together: Secret Gardens of the Cotswolds (2015) Great Gardens of London (2019) Victoria writes, When planning this book, Hugo Ritson Thomas and I did not set out to feature famous people who had lovely garden. Our original concept was a book on artist's gardens, looking at how those who had some training or background in the visual arts organize their outdoor spaces. We were all very enthusiastic about the idea, but realized that it might have a broader appeal if we included people who were involved in the performance arts as well. I'm often asked how I choose the garden for my books. The answer is that I don't — Hugo does. I have a power of veto… but Hugo is the one who persuades people to open their gates and let us in. How he does this I have no idea. I am firmly of the belief that Hugo could persuade St. Peter to open the gates of heaven... If our publisher decided to... commission a book on the Garden of Eden. Hugo and Victoria make a lovely garden book team. Hugo's indelible images transport us to these wonderful spaces, and Victoria helps us appreciate them on a much deeper level than we would otherwise without her lovely commentary. When you pick up a Victoria Summerly/Hugo Rittson Thomas book, you know it's going to be beautiful, you know that the gardens will be world-class, and you know that you're buying a book that is not for the bookshelf. It's way too pretty for that. This is a book that is set out so that when you walk by, you're tempted to stop and to read it — or when someone visits your home, they see that beautiful book and fall in love. This book is 272 pages of gorgeous, sublime, unforgettable, imaginative, secret gardens that are sure to knock your socks off. You can get a copy of Secret Gardeners by Victoria Summerley and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $30. Botanic Spark 1881 Birth of Olive Mary Edmundson Harrisson, British horticulturist. In 1898, Olive was the top student at Swanley Horticultural College and placed first on her exams with 285 points. By rights, she should have earned a spot at the RHS garden in Chiswick, £5,000, and a scholarship. But Olive was born just a bit too early because the RHS declined to recognize Olive's accomplishment since they were still an all-male institution. Women made up 10 of the top 25 test scores for 1898. So, two Marys, three Ethels, one Jessie, a

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1743 Birth of Joseph Banks (books about this person), English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Joseph is best known for his study of Australian flora and fauna as the botanist on board the Endeavor with Captain James Cook. Before returning to England, Cook worried the Endeavor wouldn't make it around the Cape of Good Hope. In a fateful decision, Cook brought the ship to Batavia, a Dutch colony, to fortify his boat. Batavia was rife with malaria and dysentery. As a result, Cook lost 38 crewmembers. Joseph and fellow botanist, Daniel Solander, became gravely ill but managed to survive. Even as they battled back from illness, they still went out to collect specimens. As gardeners, we owe a great debt to Joseph. When he returned to England, Joseph Banks advised George III on creating the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. And, in 1778, when Linnaeus died, Joseph acted with haste to buy Linnaeus's belongings on behalf of the Linnaeus Society. When the king of Sweden realized Linnaeus' legacy was no longer in the country, he sent a fast ship to pursue the precious cargo. But Joseph was too quick, and that's how Linnaeus's collection came to reside in London at the Linnaeus Society's Burlington House and not in Sweden. Earlier this month, there was breaking news that the HMS Endeavor was discovered lying at the bottom of the Newport Harbour in the United States. In 1778, 35 years after the Endeavor brought Joseph Banks and Captain Cook to Australia, the ship was sold. HMS Endeavor was renamed Lord Sandwich, and then during the Revolutionary War, the British deliberately sunk her off the coast of Rhode Island. 1955 Birth of Steve Jobs (books about this person), founder of Apple. A lover of simplicity and elegance, Steve once said, The most sublime thing I've ever seen are the gardens around Kyoto. To Steve, the ultimate Kyoto garden was the Saiho-ji ("Sy-ho-jee") - and most people would agree with him. The dream-like Saiho-ji garden was created by a Zen priest, poet, calligrapher, and gardener named Muso Soseki ("MOO-so SO-sec-key") in the 14th century during the Kamakura ("Comma-COOR-rah") Period. The Saiho-ji Temple is affectionately called koke-dera or the Moss Temple - a reference to the over 120 moss species found in the garden. Steve Jobs wasn't the only celebrity to find zen at Saiho-ji - David Bowie was also a huge fan. And when it comes to design, there's a Steve Jobs quote that garden designers should pay attention to, and it goes like this: Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But... if you dig deeper, it's really how it works. 1963 On this day, The Anniston Star out of Anniston, Alabama, published a little retrospective on the adventures of Joseph Rock, the great Austrian-American botanist, and explorer, who had passed away almost three months earlier in Honolulu at 79. Joseph was born in Austria but ended up immigrating to the United States and eventually settled in Hawaii, where he was beloved. He became Hawaii's first official botanist. Before he died, the University of Hawaii granted Joseph an honorary doctor of Science degree. In addition to plants, Joseph had a knack for languages. He cataloged and transcribed Chinese manuscripts and wrote a dictionary of one of the tribal languages. He had an enormous intellect and was multi-talented. In addition to being a botanist, he was a linguist. He was also regarded as a world-expert cartographer, ornithologist, and anthropologist. From a gardening standpoint, Joseph Rock introduced blight-resistant Chestnut trees to America. He also brought us more than 700 species of rhododendron. Some of his original rhododendron seeds were successfully grown in the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Joseph spent much of his adult life - more than 20 years - in southwestern China. There were many instances where he was the first explorer to enter many of the locations he visited. Joseph became so embedded in the country that there were many times that his counterparts in other parts of the world thought that he might have died in the Tibetan or Yunnan ("YOU-nan") mountains. And so it was on this day that The Anniston Star shared a few of Joseph's most hair-raising adventures, including this little story called Night Amid Coffins. Two of Dr. Rock's expeditions (1923-24 and 1927-30) were sponsored by the National Geographic Society. Reporting on the first of these in September 1925. National Geographic Magazine. Rock [was] trapped by bandits in the funeral chamber of an old temple in a small settlement north of Yunnanfu. While the small army he had hired for protection kept the brigands at bay, the explorer (Rock) sat amid coffins, with two .45 caliber pistols (one in each hand), and his precious plant collection nearby. By morning, the bandits

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1723 Birth of Sir William Chambers (books about this person), Swedish-Scottish architect, based in London. William designed Somerset House on the Strand in central London. He also designed Great Pagoda at Kew (1761) as a gift for Princess Augusta. The Great Pagoda was built with grey brick and is ten stories tall. It took just six months to build. Initially, the various roofs of the Great Pagoda featured eighty golden dragons. But by 1784, the dragons were removed. And although they most likely deteriorated naturally from the elements, rumors swirled that they were sold to satisfy the Prince Regent's gambling debts (scandalous). William Chambers had a special admiration for Chinese gardens. He went to China on three occasions in the 1740s. He even published a Dissertation on Oriental Gardening. Here are a few of his takeaways from Of the Art of Laying Out Gardens Among the Chinese, Nature is their pattern, and their aim is to imitate her in all her beautiful irregularities. The Chinese are not fond of walking, we seldom meet with avenues or spacious walks. The Chinese artists, knowing how powerfully contrast operates on the mind, constantly practice sudden transitions, and a striking opposition of forms, colors, and shades. Their rivers are seldom straight, but serpentine, and broken into many irregular points. When there is a sufficient suply of water, and proper ground, the Chinese never fail to form cascades in their gardens. The weeping willow is one of their favorite trees, and always among those that border their lakes and rivers... planted to have it's branches hanging over the water. Another of their artifices is to hide some part of a composition by trees, or other intermediate objects. This naturally excites the curiosity of the spectator to take a nearer view. The Chinese generally avoid straight lines; yet they do not absolutely reject them. The Great Pagoda underwent a 12-year renovation period that began in 2006. On July 13, 2018, the grand reopening revealed a fully restored Great Pagoda complete with 80 chinoiserie dragons perched on the roofs. The dragons were back. And since the roofs would not have supported wooden dragons or other heavy materials, the dragons were ingeniously made of nylon with the help of a 3D printer. Only the bigger dragons on the lowest roof are made of cedar. 1856 On this day, Henry David Thoreau writes in his journal: 9 am to Fair Haven Pond upriver – A still warmer day – The snow is so solid that it still bears me – though we have had several warm suns on it. I sit by a maple on a maple – It wears the same shaggy coat of lichens summer & winter. 1863 On this day, John Lewis Russell, an American botanist and Unitarian minister, sent a letter to his adult nephew. By all accounts, John was a lovely man, a great conversationalist, and a font of wisdom regarding the natural world. John Lewis Russell was an expert in lichens and cryptograms. The fungus Boletellus russelli was named in his honor. His friends included Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. John's letter to his nephew illustrates his love of nature and personal charisma. When this reaches you spring will have commenced, and March winds... will have awakened some of the sleeping flowers of the western prairies, while we shall be still among the snow-drifts of [the] tardy departing winter. As I have not learned to fly yet I shall not be able to ramble with you after the pasque flower ("pask"), or anemone, nor find the Erythronium albidum ("er-rith-THRONE-ee-um AL-bah-dum"), nor the tiny spring beauty, nor detect the minute green mosses which will so soon be rising out of the ground. But I can sit by the Stewart's Coal Burner in our sitting room and... recall the days when ... when we gathered Andromeda buds from the frozen bushes and traversed the ice-covered bay securely in the bright sunshine of the winter's day. I will not trouble you to write to me, but I should like a spring flower which you gather; any one will be precious from you to your feeble and sick Old uncle and friend, J.L.R. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Seasons at Highclere by The Countess of Carnarvon This book came out late in 2021, and the subtitle is Gardening, Growing, and Cooking Through the Year at the Real Downton Abbey. If you are a lover of Downton Abbey and gardening, you must get a copy of this book. This book was written by the actual Lady of the Manor, Fiona- the Countess of Highclere, and she gives the reader complete access To the English Country House and the garden. As with the fictitious Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle is governed by the seasons, which provide the backdrop to country life on this incredible estate. Written by the Lady of the manor, this book gives complete access to the world-renowned historic country hous

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1756 Birth of the handsome and tall Swedish botanist, Pehr Loefling. Pehr met Carl Linnaeus at the University of Uppsala, where Carl was his professor. Early on, Carl dubbed Pehr his "most beloved pupil," and he started calling Pehr "the Vulture." Carl came up with the moniker after observing that Pehr had an intuitive way of finding plants and observing the most minute details of plant specimens. After graduating, Carl recommended Pehr for an opportunity in Madrid. Pehr landed the position, learned Spanish, and was soon called Pedro by his friends. In short order, Pehr joined a Royal Spanish Expedition to South America. His mission was to find and learn about an improved cinnamon species. Two years into the trip, Pehr was botanizing in Venezuela when he died of malaria on the banks of the Caroní River. He was buried beneath an orange tree. He was 27 years old. By the end of the year, over half of the expedition's men would be dead from disease compounded by hunger and fatigue. When Linnaeus heard the news about Pehr, he wrote to a friend, The great Vulture is dead. 1801 Birth of William Barnes (books about this person), English polymath, writer, and inventor. He wrote over 800 poems and had familiarity with over 70 different languages. The English writers Thomas Hardy and Edmund Gosse visited William on his deathbed. Edmund later wrote that William was dying as picturesquely as he lived... We found him in bed in his study, his face turned to the window, where the light came streaming in through flowering plants, his brown books on all sides of him save one, the wall behind him being hung with old green tapestry. Any gardener who loves their garden has likely thought about the day they'll have to say goodbye. William wrote about that moment in a little poem called To a Garden—On Leaving It. Sweet garden! peaceful spot! no more in thee Shall I ever while away the sunny hour. Farewell each blooming shrub, and lofty tree; Farewell, the mossy path and nodding flower: I shall not hear again from yonder bower The song of birds, or humming of the bee, Nor listen to the waterfall, nor see The clouds float on behind the lofty tower. My eyes no more may see, this peaceful scene. But still, sweet spot, wherever I may be, My love-led soul will wander back to thee. 1870 Birth of Adolph G. Rosengarten, Sr., American businessman. His family pharmaceutical company would become part of Merck in the 1920s. In 1913, Adolph and his wife Christine wanted to escape the heat of Philadelphia and find a place suitable for a country home. They settled on a piece of land in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and commissioned their former friend and classmate Charles Borie to design the house and Landscape architect Thomas Sears to work on the terraces. After 1924, the family lived there year-round. Adolph named the estate Chanticleer as a tongue-in-cheek nod to "Chanticlere" in William Makepeace Thackeray's The Newcomes (1855), wherein the estate was "mortgaged up to the very castle windows." Adolph always said he sympathized with the fictional Chanticlere owner from the novel. The etymology of Chanticleer means rooster, and that's why there are so many rooster motifs at Chanticleer (books about this garden). Today the public garden at Chanticleer is among the best in the United States. The grounds occupy 35 of the 50 acres owned by the foundation. The garden opened to the public in 1993. The job of maintaining and designing Chanticleer now falls to seven full-time horticulturists who strive to preserve and improve a garden that's been called America's most romantic and creative garden. 1939 Birth of Phyllis Theroux (books by this author), American writer and journalist. She grew up in San Francisco following World War II. She once wrote, I think this is what hooks one to gardening: it is the closest one can come to being present at creation. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Flower Hunter by Lucy Hunter This book came out late in 2021, and the subtitle is Seasonal flowers inspired by nature and gathered from the garden. Lucy Hunter is a floral whisperer. She knows how to create beauty - true, artistic, Raphaelian, dreamy, sumptuous beauty. For a first book, Lucy has given gardeners quite a gift. Gardeners love nothing better than chatting with other gardeners and seeing their gardens. How do you do this? Why do you grow that? What do you do with this flower? In The Flower Hunter, Lucy Hunter welcomes us to a year in her North Wales garden. And trust me; you want to see what Lucy is doing with the beauty she finds in her own backyard. Lucy is generous with her step-by-step tutorials. She inspires with her essays on working with natural elements. She's funny, too. And Her photography is top of the top. Even if you feel no match for Lucy's level of maste

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter Facebook Group The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend and request to join. Historical Events 1554 Death of Hieronymus Bock (books about this person), German botanist, physician, and Lutheran minister. Regarded as one of the fathers of modern botany, he tended the gardens of Count Palatine Ludwig for nearly a decade. He also was one of the first true field botanists and searched for plants throughout the German empire. He coined the term Riesling as a type of wine in his herbal. His surname was translated in Latin to Tragus ("Trah-goos"); he was honored by the grass genus Tragus and the spurge genus Tragia. 1801 Birth of John Henry Newman (books by this author), English theologian, scholar, and poet. His words are in the intro to Abram Linwood Urban's My Garden of Dreams: The garden mystically… a place of spiritual repose, stillness, peace, refreshment, delight. 1885 Birth of Lady Joan Margaret Legge ("LAY-gee"), English botanist and the youngest daughter of the sixth Earl of Dartmouth. Lady Joan's story ends in the Himalayas. It can be linked to a 1931 expedition of three English mountaineers who got lost in the Himilayas and stumbled on a valley of incredible beauty. Blooms of exotic wildflowers made it seem like they were in a fairyland. One of the climbers was a botanist named Frank Smythe. In his book, Kamet Conquered, he called the area the Valley of Flowers. The Valley of Flowers is a seven-day trip from Delhi. It is now a protected national park. As the name implies, it is a lush area famous for the millions of alpine flowers that cover the hills and slopes and nestle along icy flowing streams. Along with daisies, poppies, and marigolds, there are primulas and orchids growing wild. And the rare Blue Poppy, commonly known as the Himalayan Queen, is the most coveted plant in the Valley. The Valley of Flowers remains hidden through most of the year, buried under several feet of snow throughout a seven-to-eight-month-long winter. But in March, the melting snow and monsoon activate a new growing season. This spring season opens a brief 3-4 month window when the Valley of Flowers is accessible to humans – generally during the months of July, August, and September. Lady Joan traveled to the Valley of Flowers as a direct result of Frank Smythe's book. Smythe's work inspired many, and it attracted the attention of Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden, and they decided to sponsor Lady Joan's trip. Although some of her friends were against her going to India, Lady Joan was eager to go. She was 54 years old and unmarried. And she likely needed a break from her regular duties of caring for her father, the poor, and herself ( she had just gotten over a bout of pneumonia). In 1939, Lady Joan arrived in the Himilayas, accompanied by guides and porters. As she made her way over the lower foothills, she collected alpine specimens. On the day she died, Lady Joan slipped on the slopes of Khulia Garva. After she fell, her porters recovered her body. They buried her in the Valley at the request of her older sister, Dorothy. Then, all of Lady Joan's belongings were packed up and sent home to England. The following summer, in 1940, Dorothy visited her sister's grave and placed a marker over the spot where she had been buried. Today, tourists still visit Lady Joan's grave, and it includes poignant words from Psalm 121: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills From whence cometh my help Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker by Ray Desmond This book came out late in 2007, and the subtitle is Traveller and Plant Collector. Joseph Dalton Hooker is remembered as a Victorian British botanist, explorer, President of the Royal Society, and director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. When he died at 94, he had accomplished a great deal. He had established a network of botanic gardens around the world to facilitate discovery and classification, which enhanced the world's economy and promoted trade. In 1877, Hooker was knighted for scientific services to the British Empire, and he was awarded the Linnean Medal in 1888. As Charle's Darwin's closest friend, he learned of Darwin's theory long before it was made public. And Hooker was instrumental in getting Darwin's work published. Many regard Hooker as Darwin's PR man. Hooker traveled the world in search of new plants. He nearly drowned in the Antarctic Ocean during his first major expedition on Sir James Clark Ross' epic voyage to Antarctica in 1839-43. During his trip to the Himalayas, he was imprisoned by the Rajah of Sikkim. He remarked after seeing the Rheum nobile in bloom: It is the most wonderful-looking plant in the whole of the Himalayas. Here are a few fun factoids about Joseph Dalton Hooker. His wife was named Hyacinth. And Kew Gardens recently shared that,

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter Facebook Group The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend and request to join. Historical Events 1515 Birth of Valerius Cordus, German physician, botanist, and pharmacologist. He wrote one of the most popular herbals in history and discovered a way to synthesize ether, which he called oleum dulci vitrioli, or "sweet oil of vitriol." Centuries later, the botanist Thomas Archibald Sprague re-published "The Herbal of Valerius Cordus" with his older sister. In 1544, Valerius spent the summer botanizing in Italy with two French naturalists. At some point, he waded into marshes in search of new plants. When he became sick, his friends brought him to Rome. Then, they continued on to Naples. When they returned to Rome, they found Valerius had died. He was 29. The Swiss botanist Konrad Gesner collected and preserved Cordus' work, which was significant. One expert once said, There was Theophrastus; there was nothing for 1,800 years; then there was Cordus. The plant genus Cordia is named for him. Cordia's are in the borage family, and many cordias have fragrant, showy flowers. Some cordias produce edible fruits called clammy cherries, glue berries, sebesten, or snotty gobbles. 1896 Birth of André Robert Breton (books by this author), French writer and poet. He is remembered as the co-founder of surrealism and he wrote the first Surrealist Manifesto. He once wrote, The man who can't visualize a horse galloping on a tomato is an idiot. 1931 Birth of Toni Morrison (books by this author), American writer, book editor, and college professor. In her book, Jazz, she wrote of the change in seasons. What can beat bricks warming up to the sun? The return of awnings. The removal of blankets from horses' backs. Tar softens under the heel, and the darkness under bridges changes from gloom to cooling shade. After a light rain, when the leaves have come, tree limbs are like wet fingers playing in woolly green hair. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Secrets of the Great Botanists by Matthew Biggs This book came out late in 2018, and the subtitle is What They Can Teach Us About Gardening. Matthew Biggs loves to research botanists and share their stories. In this book, he profiles 35 botanists who significantly increased our understanding of plants. As with most RHS books, this book is beautifully illustrated with that RHS look and feel. It is loaded with plenty of drawings, portraits, and photographs to make each story come alive. This book is 224 pages of pioneering botanists and how knowing their work can make us better gardeners. You can get a copy of The Secrets of the Great Botanists by Matthew Biggs and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $16. Botanic Spark 1827 Death of Antoine Nicolas Duchesne ("do-shayn") (books about this person), French botanist, gardener, and professor at Versailles. As a young botanist, Antoine was a student of Bernard de Jussieu at the Royal Garden in Paris and made many scientific discoveries. Antoine recognized that mutation was a natural occurrence and that plants could be altered via mutation at any time. In his work with mutation, Antoine began experimenting with strawberries. Ever since the 1300s, wild strawberries have been incorporated into gardens. But on July 6, 1764, Antoine changed the trajectory of wild strawberries when he created the modern strawberry - the strawberry we know today. Strawberries are members of the rose family, and they are unique in that their seeds are on the outside of the fruit. Just how many seeds are on a single strawberry? The average strawberry has around 200 seeds. To get your strawberry plant to produce more fruit, plant your strawberries in full sun, in well-drained soil, and trim the runners. Of the strawberry, Toni Morrison wrote, I have only to break into the tightness of a strawberry, and I see summer – its dust and lowering skies. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter Facebook Group The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend and request to join. Historical Events 1880 Birth of Reginald Farrer ("Fair-rur")(books by this author), the legendary English rock and alpine gardener, plant explorer, nurseryman, writer, and painter. A son of a wealthy family in the Yorkshire Dales, Reginald repeatedly referenced Yorkshire in his writing. Reginald was born with many physical challenges. He had a cleft palate, speech difficulties, and what Reg himself called a "pygmy body." He had many surgeries to correct his mouth, which meant he was homeschooled. But the silver lining of his solitary childhood was his connection to nature. Reginald found happiness among flora and fauna, and he particularly loved the rocks, ravines, and hills around his home. At 14, he created his first rock garden, which eventually became a Craven nursery specializing in Asian mountain plants. Every time Reginald went on expeditions, he sent new alpine plants and seeds to Craven. After college, Reginald became a devout Buddhist, and he liked to say that he found "joy in high places." The European Alps became a yearly touchstone. And although he saw some of the most incredible mountains vistas in the world - they held no sway with Reginald. For Reginald - it was always about the plants. Reginald wrote, It may come as a shock and a heresy to my fellow Ramblers when I make the confession that, to me, the mountains… exist simply as homes and backgrounds to their population of infinitesimal plants. Reginald's book, The Garden of Asia, launched his writing career and showed garden writers a new way to write about plants. The botanist Clarence Elliot observed, As a writer of garden books [Reginald] stood alone. He wrote… from a peculiar angle... giving queer human attributes to his plants, which somehow exactly described them. His passion for rock gardens was perfectly timed. The British gardening public latched on to rock gardening with a frenzy. Rockeries were in every backyard. Reginald's book My Rock Garden (1907)was an instant success and earned him the moniker Prince of Alpine Gardeners. In 1919, at the age of 40, Reginald took a trip to Myanmar. He would never see his beloved Yorkshire again. He met his end alone on a remote Burmese mountain. Most reports say he died of Diptheria, but the explorer and botanist Joseph Rock said he heard Reginald drank himself to death on the night of October 17th, 1920. And I thought of Reginald up on that mountain alone when I researched the etymology of the name of his nursery, Craven, which means defeated, crushed, or overwhelmed. Today Reginald is remembered in the names of many plants like the beautiful blue Gentiana farreri ("jen-tee-AYE-na FAIR-ur-eye"). And the Alpine Garden Society's most highly-prized show medal is the Farrer Medal, which honors the best plant in the show. It was Reginald Farrer who said, I think the true gardener is a lover of his flowers, not a critic of them. I think the true gardener is the reverent servant of Nature, not her truculent, wife-beating master. I think the true gardener, the older he grows, should more and more develop a humble, grateful and uncertain spirit. He also said, All the wars of the world, all the Caesars, have not the staying power of a lily in a cottage garden. 1918 On this day, Dora Hughes wrote an article for the New-York Tribune called, The Carrot Comes into its Own, (carrot cookbooks). She wrote, Time was when the carrot held high estate, for in the days of King Charles I, the ladies of the royal court used its feathery plumes in place of feathers for their adornment. Physicians prized the roots for their diuretic properties, from which came the general impression that eating carrots beautified the complexion and hair. Possibly the reason why carrots are not more often served is that, as a rule, they are prepared always in the same way. But one may serve carrots each day for a week and never have them twice in the same form. It is a pity that so few housekeepers seem to realize this. Then Dora offers up a diverse list of options for serving carrots: CRECY SOUP ("Chrissy") Crecy soup takes its name from the town in France where it was first made. MASHED CARROTS AND CARROT CAKES Carrots are excellent simply mashed and dressed with butter. CARROT CROQUETTES ("krow-kets") Carrot croquettes are made of mashed carrot and cracker crumbs, seasoned and mixed with egg. FRIED AND CANDIED CARROTS Fried carrots are prepared by cutting cooked carrots in long slices, dipping in egg and bread crumbs, and then brown in hot fat. Candied carrots: Butter a baking dish, lay in it slices of cold carrot.. sprinkle sugar ...and cinnamon or mace, add water or milk. FRENCH CARROTS AND PEAS Carrots and peas are a favorite French dish and their method is to cut

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter Facebook Group The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend and request to join. Historical Events 1911 Birth of Marie Clark Taylor, American botanist. In 1941, she became the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in botany from Fordham University. She spent her career at Howard University, becoming a beloved professor and mentor. Marie herself taught biology at Cardozo high school in Washington D.C early in her career. At Howard, she was passionate about training future generations of science teachers. And every summer, Marie's summer science institute helped high school teachers become better at teaching biology. Today, an auditorium at Howard University is named in her honor. 1926 Birth of David Austin (books by this author), English a rose breeder and writer. His technique was to breed roses with the best of both the old and new roses: blending the charm and fragrance of heirloom roses and the repeat-blooms and color options of modern roses. To his excellent staff, he was known simply as "Mr. A." David died in December 2018 at the age of 92. Today David Austin Roses is run by his son David and his grandson Richard. His niece is landscape architect, journalist, and radio personality Bunny Guinness. Her mother was David's sister. David once said, The work of the plant breeder should always be to enhance nature, not to detract from it....we should strive to develop the rose's beauty in flower, growth, and leaf. 1971 On this day, the New Jersey State Flower, the Violet, was officially adopted by the legislature after a proposal from Senator Josephine Margetts. Josephine and her husband, Walter, owned a nursery and an apple and peach orchard. She was a crusader for the environment and introduced legislation to protect the land and waterways of New Jersey. She worked to ban the use of DDT. By the time Josephine put forth her legislation for the Violet, New Jersey was the last state without an official state flower. When it came time for Josephine's bill to be debated, Senator Joseph J. Maraziti, R-Morris, read this poem: Roses are red, Violets are blue If you vote for this bill Mrs. Margetts will love you. Josephine's legislation was passed 30-1. The sole dissenting vote was Senator Frank Guarini, D-Hudson. He told the press, I'm a marigold man. As Josephine no doubt knew, Violets are spring flowers. They've been around for a long time - even the ancient Greeks loved violets. In floriography or the language of plants, their heart-shaped leaves are a clue to their meaning: affection, love, faith, and dignity. And the color of violets adds another layer of meaning. Blue violets symbolize love, white violets symbolize purity, and yellow violets convey goodness and high esteem. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Sleepy Cat Farm by Caroline Seebohm This book came out late in 2021, and the subtitle is A Gardener's Journey. The Sleepy Cat Farm Story begins in 1994 on six acres of land purchased by a retired CEO. Over twenty years later, those six acres have become a sprawling baker's dozen. With the help of landscape architect Charles stick, Fred Landman transformed Sleepy Cat into a true garden-lovers experience. (I do believe it is my new favorite garden…) The connective tissue between the garden spaces is the golden path that swoops past signature elements in the garden like a grotto, a celestial pavilion, a garden devoted to Japanese Iris, a spirit bridge, a koi pond, a reflection pool, a maze, serpentine hedges fashioned out of European hornbeam, and an enormous Atlas statue. The garden has become a popular stop for gardeners in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Fred is often found leading tours. If Sleepy Cat sounds like it appeared out of nowhere, well, it kind of did. There's also a bit of a mismatch between the name Sleepy Cat and the place's grandeur. The title references a dozen cats that get to live there. Even Ken Druse, who wrote the forward to this book, was a bit dubious about Sleepy Cat the first time he was invited to visit. As was the photographer for the book Curtis Taylor. As Ken shares in the forward, Curtis has a way of figuring out if a garden is worth his time. He casually asks the garden's owner, "How many daffodils have you planted recently?" When he asked Fred this very question, the answer was, "Only 5000". This book tells the Sleepy Cat story, and the stunning images by Curtice Taylor make that story unforgettable. In fact, if you don't want to visit Sleepy Cat after getting the book, then you are not a gardener. This book is 192 pages of a garden transformation that would make Beatrix Farrand smile. You can get a copy of Sleepy Cat Farm by Caroline Seebohm and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $30. Botanic Spark 2006 On this day, the 2006 memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, by American

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1564 Birth of Galileo (books about this person), Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer, mathematician, and philosopher. Galileo believed that the book of nature was "written in the language of mathematics." He recognized the complexity and the simplicity of that language when he wrote, The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do. 1803 Birth of Karl Friedrich Schimper, German botanist and poet. He was born into a family of scientists. His mother was a botanist. At university, he befriended botanists, Alexander Braun and Louis Agassiz. Karl made several keen scientific observations. He proved the association between the golden angle and the Fibonacci numbers. Karl also devised a theory of phyllotaxy which explained the serial addition of new leaves on a stem appearing in a spiral. And after studying mountain landscapes, he began questioning how enormous rocks came to be positioned on the foothills of the Alps. Realizing the many-ton slabs could have only been moved by ice, he began devising a theory of an ice age - something he called an eiszeit. Karl was a poet at heart, and he revealed his theory in a light-hearted 22-stanza poem - an Ode to the Iceage to honor Galileo on their shared birthday. One verse says, Ice of the Past! Of an Age when frost In its stern clasp held the lands of the South Dressed with its mantle of desolate white Mountains and forests, fair valleys and lakes! In his book Humans: from the beginning, Christopher Seddon acknowledged Karl's discovery. He wrote: 2,588 million years ago... the Earth entered an Ice Age. Cooler, arid conditions alternated with warm, wet conditions as ice sheets ebbed and flowed in higher latitudes... This alternation between a cooler and a warmer climate has continued right up to the present day... In fact the warm spells – interglacial periods – are no more than breaks in an on-going ice age... The term Eiszeit ('ice age') was coined in 1837 by the German botanist Karl Friedrich Schimper. 1876 Birth of Ernest Henry Wilson (books by this author), English plant collector and explorer. He introduced over 2000 plant species from Asia to the West. Of the regal lily, he wrote, Tis God's present to our gardens... Anybody might have found it, but — His whisper came to me. On his first trip to China, Ernest located the lost Dove tree, Also known as the Handkerchief Tree. He brought the tree to England in 1899. Ernest found the yellow Chinese poppy, the Regal lily, rhododendrons, roses, and primulas on his second trip. During that second trip, Ernest's leg was crushed in a landslide. His leg was splinted with his camera tripod. But before Ernest could be moved, a mule caravan came upon Ernest and his party. Ernest was forced to lie down on the narrow trail and let some 40-50 mules step over him on their way across the mountain. Ernest himself marveled at this experience, and he later said, The sure-footedness of the mule is well-known, and I realized it with gratitude as these animals one by one passed over me - and not even one frayed my clothing. A year later, Ernest could walk without crutches, but not with a limp - something he called his lily limp. He once reflected, The regal lily was worth it and more. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Sanctified Landscape by David Schuyler This book came out ten years ago in 2012, and the subtitle is Writers, Artists, and the Hudson River Valley, 1820–1909. David's book, the Sanctified Landscape, is about the first iconic American landscape: the Hudson River Valley. The title references a passage written by landscape painter Thomas Cole. In the early 1800s, the picturesque Hudson was home to writers and artists like Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and Thomas Cole. As far as the artistic community was concerned, there was no better place on earth. But the landscape was not immune to the changes happening in the country at large. The artist community in the Hudson Valley were among America's earliest conservationists and did their best to protect their slice of Eden. The Catskill and Hudson Valley remain a beloved areas of the country. David's book adds context and images that provide a deeper appreciation for the beauty and inspiration found in this Sanctified Landscape. You can get a copy of Sanctified Landscape by David Schuyler and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $15. Botanic Spark 1843 Birth of Russell Herman Conwell, American Baptist minister, lawyer, and founder of Temple University in Philadelphia. He once wrote, I ask not for a larger garden, but for finer seeds. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1750 Birth of René Louiche Desfontaines, French botanist. After studying in Paris, René botanized in Tunisia and Algeria in North Africa. His Masterwork, Flora Atlantica, included 300 new genera. René conducted a fascinating experiment with the sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) by seeing how it would react to a carriage ride through Paris. He discovered that the plant grew accustomed to riding in the carriage after initially closing its leaves and wilting the first few times it took a ride. René is remembered in the name of Desfontainia spinosa or the Chilean holly, native to Costa Rica, Chile, and Argentina. The Chilean holly is a beautiful ornamental, hardy to −5 °C (23 °F), but requires winter protection. 1863 Birth of Okakura Kakuzō ("Oh-ka- koo-rah Ka-coo-zoh") (books by this author), Japanese author, scholar, and supporter of the arts. In The Book of Tea, he wrote, In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends. 1869 Birth of Samuel Graveson, a Quaker printer, publisher, philatelist, and author who lived in Hertford, England. In his book, My Villa Garden (1915), he wrote, What another book of gardening! Are not our bookshelves already overburdened with literature on the subject? 1898 On this day, a court case involving the sale of an orchid and breach of warranty was settled in favor of the plaintiff. In Ashworth vs. Wells, the plaintiff bought a white orchid with a warranty. It was a one-of-a-kind Cattleya Acklandiae alba ("kat-lee-ya ack-land-ee-aye AL-bah"), a white orchid - only to discover two years later when it bloomed that it was just a common purple orchid. The plaintiff was awarded fifty pounds - the price paid for the imposter white orchid. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Rosie Sanders' Flowers by Rosie Sanders This book came out late in 2017, and the subtitle is A Celebration of Botanical Art. Rosie's work is featured in this book of botanical paintings that will take your breath away with their richness, drama, and sensuality. This book beautifully showcases eighty of Rosie's paintings which celebrate some of our favorite flowers: tulips, orchids, roses, irises, anemones, and amaryllis, just to name a few. If you didn't get flowers for Valentine's Day, consider grabbing a copy of Rosie's book! Rosie also has a book that focuses specifically on Roses. You can get a copy of Rosie Sanders' Flowers by Rosie Sanders and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $22. Today's Botanic Spark 2010 On this day, Georgia botanist Mincy Moffett Jr. staged a unique Valentine's Day for a rare dwarf sumac species known as Michaux's Sumac native to Georgia's Lower Broad River Wildlife Management Area. Mincy's plan was an ingenious one. He not only increased public awareness around the endangered plant, but he also helped save a species that desperately needed human-engineered botanical intervention for survival. In 2010, Michaux's Sumac was found in two small areas of Georgia - one population was made up of just five male plants, while the other community was all female. Additionally, the male and female Michaux Sumac plants were separated by seventy miles of dense forest. By not growing near each other, the plants could not reproduce with insect pollination and were forced to reproduce asexually, which resulted in reduced genetic diversity. Thanks to Mincy's romantic intervention, female plants were planted near the male plants. Mincy told a local reporter, Let's hope it turns into a torrid romance. Now, a decade later, it appears that Mincy's matchmaking was a success as the combined Michaux's Sumac community continues to thrive. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1715 Birth of Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, British aristocrat, naturalist, plant lover, and botanist. Her family and friends called her Maria. She and William Bentinck had five children; one of their sons became prime minister twice. When William died after their 27th anniversary, Maria threw herself into her passion: collecting. As the wealthiest woman in England, she cultivated an enormous natural history collection. She hired two experts to personally attend each item: the naturalist Reverend John Lightfoot and the Swedish botanist Daniel Solander. There was so much activity at Maria's Buckinghamshire home; it was called the hive. Maria shared her collections in her Portland Museum. In 1800, Maria received a beautiful red rose dubbed The Portland Rose from Italy. Today, all Portland Roses are descended from the original rose gift. 1893 On this day, the territory of Oklahoma officially recognized Mistletoe as the State Flower. The decision was made fourteen years before Oklahoma officially became a state. A symbol of Christmas, Mistletoe grows throughout southern Oklahoma and can be found growing in the tops of hardwood trees. Since it can be challenging to reach, Mistletoe is often shot out of trees with a shotgun. Oklahoma was the first state in the country to adopt a State Flower. But over the years, Mistletoe became an increasingly controversial choice. The tiny flowers are almost invisible to the naked eye, and Mistletoe is actually a semi-parasitic subshrub. And so, after 111 years, Oklahoma selected the red Oklahoma rose, Rosa odorata, as its new State Flower in 2004. 1896 On this day, the Burlington Free Press in Vermont published an account of the winter meeting of the state botanical club. During the Meeting, the Reverend JA Bates gave a presentation. He began his speech by telling of a boy who wrote a paper titled The Snakes of Ireland. The piece began, There are no snakes in Ireland. As the Reverend began to speak, he bluntly pointed out the obvious: botany is not taught in schools. In 1896, Reverend Bates said that "only one in forty students have studied botany." Then he attempted to explain why botany was not taught: First, most of the teachers are poorly prepared for teaching botany. And second, botanists are conservative and conceal the charms of their study behind the long Latin names. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation William Morris's Flowers by Rowan Bain This book came out in 2019, and the author Rowan Bain is the senior curator at the William Morris Gallery. Born in 1834 to a wealthy family, William was the leading figure of the Arts and Crafts Movement. As a designer, William Morris remains popular, and his designs have a timeless quality in terms of their appeal. William grew up on the edge of Epping forest. He played and sketched in the family garden. At college, he became inspired by John Ruskin and the art and architecture of northern Europe, William ditched a plan to pursue life as a clergyman, and he started to pursue art. As industrialization was taking hold, Morris sought to counter the smoke and grime advancement with design and art that celebrated the beauty of medieval times. A singular talent, Morris collaborated with artisans, craftsmen, and people from many different trades. Today his carpet, fabric, and wallpaper patterns remain aesthetically captivating. The majority of Morris's work is based on nature and gardens. Trees, plants, and flowers figure prominently in his designs and patterns. In this book, Rowan guides us through Morris's floral designs and his inspiration, which includes his own gardens at the Red House in Kent; sixteenth- and seventeenth-century herbals; illuminated medieval manuscripts; late medieval and Renaissance tapestries; and a range of decorated objects - including artifacts from the Islamic world. This book is gorgeously illustrated with over one hundred color illustrations of Morris's centuries-old work and is sure to delight and inspire gardens still today. You can get a copy of William Morris's Flowers by Rowan Bain and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $15. Botanic Spark 1856 Birth of Eliza Calvert Hall (books about this person), American author, women's rights advocate, and suffragist from Bowling Green, Kentucky. In Aunt Jane of Kentucky, she wrote: Each of us has his own way of classifying humanity. To me, as a child, men and women fell naturally into two great divisions: those who had gardens and those who had only houses. ...The people who had gardens were happy Adams and Eves walking in a golden mist of sunshine and showers, with green leaves and blue sky overhead, and blossoms springing at their feet; while those others, dispossessed of life's springs, summers, and autumns, appeared darkly

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1758 On this day, Carl Linneaus (books about this person), the man known as the "father of modern taxonomy," was feeling his age, which was fifty. He was also battling another bout of depression, and his Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day was poured out in words he wrote to his former pupil and friend, Abraham Bäck: I cannot write more today; my hand is too weary to hold a pen. I am the child of misfortune. Had I a rope and English courage, I would long since have hanged myself. I fear that my wife is again pregnant. I am old and grey and worn out, and my house is already full of children; who is to feed them? It was in an unhappy hour that I accepted the professorship; if only I had remained in my lucrative practice, all would now be well. Farewell, and may you be more fortunate. 1766 Birth of Benjamin Smith Barton (books about this person), American botanist, naturalist, and physician. Benjamin worked as a Professor of Natural History and Botany at the University of Pennsylvania, where he authored the very first textbook on American Botany. In 1803, at Thomas Jefferson's request, he tutored Meriwether Lewis in botany to get him ready for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Benjamin was no doubt excited for Meriwether's prospects. In 1798 Benjamin encouraged his fellow man to "add luster to their names" by looking for new medicines through plant discoveries. He wrote, The volume of nature lies before you: it is hardly yet been opened: it has never been pursued... [The] man who discovers one valuable new medicine is a more important benefactor to his species than Alexander, Caesar, or a hundred other conquerors. 2018 On this day, British botanists and horticulturalists Rod and Rachel Saunders were murdered by terrorists during their work in the oNgoye Forest. The couple led extraordinary lives committed to scientific advancement and had spent decades seeking to better understand the natural world - especially the world of Gladiolus. In the 1970s, they established Silverhill Seeds in Cape Town, the result of their lifelong dedication to collecting and studying rare South African plants. At the time of their deaths, they were nearing the end of their mission to find and photograph every known species of Gladiolus in South Africa; they had only one flower left to find and photograph. In the wake of their deaths and without the help of their missing laptops and notes, a small dedicated team of people completed Rod and Rachel's project. The book Gladiolus of Southern Africa was the result. Professor Fiona Ross wrote in the forward, Rod and Rachel always intended to dedicate the book to the tortoises they saved from Road deaths. We do not know what they would have said in their dedication, but to honor their intentions, this book recalls the tortoises. Historically gladioli symbolize courage. In contemporary floral or, they also represent perseverance and Remembrance, A fitting tribute to rod and Rachel's lives and work. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Fruit Trees for Every Garden by Orin Martin This book came out late in 2019, and the subtitle is An Organic Approach to Growing Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums, Citrus, and More. Orin is the long-time manager of the renowned Alan Chadwick Garden at the University of California, Santa Cruz. This book won the book award from the American Horticultural Society. Orin is a pragmatic plantsman, and his book is a genuinely useful resource for any budding fruit grower. The photos are beautiful, and the ease with which Orin shares his wisdom makes the reader want to plant a mini-orchard ASAP. If you have any desire to grow your own healthy, bountiful fruit trees, then Orin's book is a must-have. You can get a copy of Fruit Trees for Every Garden by Orin Martin and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $16. Botanic Spark 1882 Birth of Winifred Mary Letts, English writer. Gardeners often quote her thoughts on spring: That God once loved a garden, we learn in Holy writ. And seeing gardens in the Spring, I well can credit it. Winifred also wrote a poem about spring called Spring the Cheat, one of many poems she wrote about WWI. Winifred examines the season of rebirth (spring) with the never-ending season of loss that comes with war. O exquisite spring, all this — and yet — and yet — Kinder to me the bleak face of December Who gives no cheating hopes, but says — "Remember." Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1769 Birth of Samuel Thompson (books about this person), American self-taught New Hampshire holistic doctor, and herbalist. In 1809, he was tried and acquitted for the murder of Ezra Lovett after treatment with lobelia inflata, a herb commonly called puke weed that he regarded as a key to treating disease. Despite his iconoclast approach to medicine, Samual's herbal remedies and vapor baths were popular, and his followers were known as Thompsonians. In addition to lobelia, Samuel primarily used herbs like barberry bark, red clover, and cayenne. In his New Guide to Health (1833), Samuel wrote, I have made use of Cayenne in all kinds of disease, and have given it to patients of all ages and under every circumstance that has come under my practice... It is no doubt, the most powerful stimulant known, but its power is entirely congenial to nature, being powerful only in raising and maintaining that heat on which life depends. 1830 Birth of Henry Arthur Bright (books by this author), English gardener and writer. Henry began a diary, which would become a book called A Year in a Lancashire Garden. In February 1874, Henry was doing what gardeners do this time of year: cleaning up and editing the garden for the new season, looking through garden catalogs, and mulling over unappreciated plants - like the humble spring Crocus. But all things are now telling of spring. We have finished our pruning of the wall-fruit; we have ...sown our earliest peas… We have been looking over old volumes of Curtis's Botanical Magazine and have been trying to get... old forgotten plants of beauty, and now of rarity. We have found enough, however, to add a fresh charm to our borders for June, July, and August... I sometimes think that the Crocus is less cared for than it deserves. Our modern poets rarely mention it, but in Homer, when he would make a carpet for the gods, it is of Lotus, Hyacinth, and Crocus. 1944 Birth of Alice Walker (books by this author), American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she published The Color Purple, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In her book, In Search of Our Mother's Garden (1983), Alice wrote, In search of my mother's garden, I found my own. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Wardian Case by Luke Keogh This book came out late in 2020, and the subtitle is How a Simple Box Moved Plants and Changed the World. When Australian Luke Keogh ("Key-oh") set out to tackle the topic of the Wardian case, he was working in Munich on an Anthropocene Exhibit and curating a piece about how goods had been moved around the globe. This topic led him to the topic of the Wardian Case. Wardian Cases are a great topic, and original Wardian cases are getting harder and harder to find. For all their miraculous functionality, Wardian cases are actually quite simple. They essentially are wood boxes with a glass top. The box could be filled with potted plants or be layered with bricks, moss, and soil and then have plants potted directly into the box. Luke's book is a look back at not only the cases but the inventor of the Wardian case and the man they were named for: Nathanial Bagshaw Ward. Nathaniel's story began in 1829 when he was struggling to grow plants. He lived close to the London docks, and there was a lot of air pollution, which wasn't suitable for plants or people. Anyway, Nathaniel was a life-long naturalist, and he decided that he wanted to create this perfect environment for a moth to grow in. So he settled on using a large bottle, and then he put the moth pupa in the bottle along with some plants. As he was waiting for the moth to hatch, he realized that he had a beautiful little fern growing in the little biosphere he created, and he was suddenly struck by how well the fern had grown in that sealed environment (as opposed to his home garden). And that was the inspiration for the Wardian case, which was essentially the precursor to the terrarium. Nathaniel experimented for years before finally creating a Wardian case that could be used on ships and long voyages and make it possible for explorers to bring back live specimens. His first case went all the way to Australia. Ward waited for seven months for the ship to return, and he was pleased to hear from the captain that his case was a grand success. In fact, halfway through the journey, the plants were doing so well that they had to prune back some of the growth during the voyage. In his book, Luke shares many fascinating stories about Ward and his cases and how they transformed plant exploration, food, and the world. For instance, Ward was passionate about having windowsill boxes in the homes of the lower class so that they could grow plants in their home. Luke's book offers wonderful insights, history, images, and maps of trade

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1809 On this day, Thomas Jefferson (books about this person) wrote to his friend and favorite nurseryman, Bernhard McMahon. At the time, Jefferson was counting the days until he retired from the White House. From Jefferson's letters, it's clear that he was looking forward to spending more time in his garden. The previous July, Jefferson had written McMahon and confided: Early in the next year I shall ask [for] some cuttings of your gooseberries and [I'll also] send a pretty copious list for...the best kinds of garden seeds and flowers. I shall be at home early in March [and plan to] very much devote myself to my garden… I have the tulips you sent to me in great perfection, also the hyacinths, tuberoses, amaryllis, and artichokes. And so, when Jefferson wrote to McMahon on this day - a month before leaving office - he was following up with the list of plants he wanted at Monticello ("MontiCHELLo"). As you might imagine, Jefferson's letter reads the same as any written by an avid gardener in pursuit of new stock: Sir I have been daily expecting some of the large hiccory nuts from Roanoke… but they [have] not yet arrived. I must now ask [a] favor of you to furnish me with the [items mentioned below] for the garden, which will occupy much of my attention... at home. …If you will be so good as to send them by the stage which leaves Philadelphia on the 1st of March… they will come in time for me to carry on to Monticello. I salute you with esteem. Th: Jefferson Chili strawberry Hudson strawberry Some of the fine gooseberry plants of which you sent me the fruit last year Some roots of Crown imperials(Fritillaria imperialis - a dazzling and unique member of the Lily (Liliaceae) family) lilium convallarium (lily of the valley) Auricula Sea kale, or Crambe maritime One gallon of Leadman's dwarf peas (mentioned in your book page 310) 1823 John Galvin was born. An English-American born in Kent, he mastered his grandfather's nursery business in Ireland before immigrating to America with his mother at 18. After working for several nurseries in New England, including the property owned by Thomas Motley which would eventually become the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard, John went on to beautify Boston as the City's Forester. John's greatest legacy was transforming old circus grounds and a playground into the Boston Public Garden. After the Massachusetts Public Garden Act was passed in 1856, George Meacham was hired to design the park. But it was John Galvin, and his crew who installed the trees, shrubs, flowers, and turf. Outside of his work for the city, John opened the very first retail florist shop in Boston, making life much easier for him and his customers. Before John's flower shop, Bostonians had to order their roses and other cut flowers by mail. They would put their orders in little post boxes that John had placed in various stores around the city. It was a cumbersome process. John named his business John Galvin & Co., and the work became a family affair as John's wife and seven children helped the business prosper. Over time, the middle child, a son named Thomas, took over the business, and he became a successful gardener, landscape designer, and florist in his own right. John was a beloved member of many Boston social and charitable groups. He embraced his Irish heritage and loved dancing jigs and reels. One obituary noted that his favorite Irish song was Malony Don't Know that McCarthy is Dead, sung to the tune of the Irish Washerwoman. Two years before he died, at the age of 76, the April 6th, 1899 edition of the New England Florist shared a little story about John. They wrote, The veteran florist John Galvin, the father of Thomas W Galvin, had his pocket picked on the street the other day - March 31st, we believe. But [he] knew nothing about it until told by a friend whom [John] suspected of trying to spring an April Fool's on him. [That is,] until he found his pocketbook with $70 in cash missing. [But in a stroke of good fortune,] the thief, while being chased by the police, [dropped the pocketbook.] [John's ownership] was ascertained [after finding] his name marked [inside]. The moral is to get $70 in your pocketbook and then be sure your name is on it. 1944 On this day, Del Monte ran an ad supporting the quality of their canned and jarred fruit over homegrown. Despite prior marketing in support of Victory Gardens, on this day Del Monte floated a pitch to consumers on this day during WWII that featured a woman holding a can of peaches saying, I learned the hard way all right! — and believe me, since I put up fruit of my own I appreciate Del Monte quality more than ever! Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Treasures of the Mexican Table by Pati Jinich This book came out late in 2021, and the subtitle is Classic Recipes, Loc

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1688 Birth of Cadwallader Colden (books about this person), Scottish-American physician, botanist, and Lieutenant Governor of New York. The genus Coldenia in the borage family is named for him. After arriving in the United States in 1718, Cadwallader and his wife raised ten children in Queens on their Coldenham estate. His fifth child was a girl named Jane, and early on, she expressed interest in botany. Cadwallader could not resist teaching her the topic. He opened up his library to her, shared his correspondence with her, and allowed her to be present when the family was visited by many of the leading botanists of the time, like John Bertram. Today Jane is remembered as America's first female botanist. Cadwallader was so proud of Jane that he once wrote to a friend, I (have) often thought that botany is an amusement which may be made greater to the ladies who are often at a loss to fill up their time… I have a daughter (with) an inclination... for natural philosophy or history… I took the pains to explain to her Linnaeus's system and put it in English for her. She [has] grown very fond of the study… Notwithstanding that, she does not understand Latin. She has already (written) a pretty large volume in... the description of plants. 1812 Birth of Charles Dickens (books by this author). The English Victorian-era writer and social critic had a garden at Gad's Hill Place, and he walked around the garden every day before writing. Charles' favorite flower was the Mrs. Pollock geranium (1858). The bloom is a classic geranium, bred by the Scottish gardener and hybridist Peter Grieve. Charles grew geraniums in his garden and conservatory at Gad's Hill. He even wore geraniums on his lapel. Charles' novels contain many garden references. In Hard Times, he wrote, Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. And in Bleak House, he wrote: I found every breath of air, and every scent, and every flower and leaf and blade of grass and every passing cloud, and everything in nature, more beautiful and wonderful to me than I had ever found it yet. This was my first gain from my illness. How little I had lost, when the wide world was so full of delight for me. 1880 On this day, Henri Frederic Amiel (books about this person), Swiss philosopher and poet, wrote in his journal: Hoarfrost and fog, but the general aspect is bright and fairylike and has nothing in common with the gloom in Paris and London, of which the newspapers tell us. This silvery landscape has a dreamy grace, a fanciful charm, which is unknown both to the countries of the sun and to those of coal smoke. The trees seem to belong to another creation, in which white has taken the place of green…. No harshness anywhere -- all is velvet. My enchantment beguiled me out both before and after dinner. Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Green by Ula Maria This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is Simple Ideas For Small Outdoor Spaces. Jason Ingram did a lovely job capturing beautiful images of these enchanting outdoor vignettes designed by Ula Maria. Ula Maria is a young landscape designer from Lithuania. She won the RHS Young Designer of the Year Medal back in 2017. In her book, Green, Ula is determined to reveal a simple truth about dealing with outdoor spaces: you don't have to be a plant guru to have a beautiful and functional outdoor space. There are styles and types of gardens to suit every individual. In this book, Ula focuses on outdoor spaces that are on the smaller side. Do you want to install a tiny Oasis on the balcony of your apartment? No problem. Are you looking to add a touch of the Mediterranean to your garden space and incorporate more color and vibrancy into an outdoor dining room? Well, Ula has you covered. Ula shares some of her favorite plants, and she divides them into functional areas like plants that can be used for structure or interest, et cetera. Stepping outside the comfort zone of your home and into the unknown of the outdoors may seem daunting at first. But remember that, unlike interior spaces, even the best gardens are never truly finished and are often frayed around the edges. This sentiment is something that Ula embraces, saying, "that's the beauty of nature." Ula's book is 176 pages of doable ideas and encouragement to get your creativity flowing regarding your 2022 outdoor spaces - whether they're around your home or out in the garden, You can get a copy of Green by Ula Maria and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes. Note: I saw that a few used copies were going for around $4, but you'll need to act quickly if you want to get one at that price. Botanic Spark 1867 Laura Ingalls Wilder (books by this author)was born. The writer, Marta McDowell, profiled Laura in one of her recent b

Today in botanical history, we celebrate Laurel Hill and Root Crop Preservation in 1835. We'll also remember the botanist who discovered the Titan arum and a little poem about the November garden by Louise Driscoll. We'll hear an excerpt from Pomegranate Soup. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a beautiful garden book from 2016. And then we'll wrap things up with a look back at a charming garden column from 1999. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Circulating Specimens: History | herbariumworld.wordpress.com | Maura Flannery Important Events November 16, 1776 On this day, around 7 am Hessian troops allied with the Britsh opened fire on the American revolutionaries on Laurel Hill in Philadelphia. Laurel Hill is not named for the plant called Laurel. Laurel Hill was originally part of the Joseph Sims estate, and Joseph went by "Laurel," the property was named Laurel Hill in his honor. Mountain Laurel is botanically known as Kalmia latifolia in honor of the Finnish botanist Pehr Kalm. After his expedition to North America in the mid-1700s, Pehr correctly predicted that the American colonists would eventually rebel. Laurel Hill became America's first National Historic Landmark Cemetery. November 16, 1835 On this day, the Hartford Courant wrote a piece called Gardener's Work For November. It is now quite time to [preserve] the roots and ...Mr. McMahon's method of preserving roots is as follows: Previous to the commencement of severe frost, you should take up, with as little injury as possible, the roots of your turnips, carrots, parsnips, beets, salsify, scorzonera, Hamburg, or large-rooted parsley, skirrots, Jerusalem artichokes, turnip-rooted celery, and ...horseradish… On the surface of a dry spot of ground, in a well-sheltered situation, lay a stratum of sand two-inches thick, [the place the root crops], covering them with another layer of sand, (the drier the better,) and…continue to layer about of sand and roots till all are laid in… then cover the heap or ridge [with] a good coat of straw, up and down as if thatching a house. November 16, 1843 Birth of Odoardo Beccari, Italien botanist. After growing up an orphan, Beccarri managed to get an education in his native Italy, and he eventually traveled to England to study at Kew. Beccarri was friends with Hooker and Darwin, but he also befriended James Brooke, which meant he could spend three years exploring Borneo. During his lifetime, Becarri traveled all over India, Malaysia, and New Zealand. But it was on a little voyage he took to central Sumatra (in Indonesia) in 1878 that Beccarri discovered the plant with which he will forever be associated: the Amorphophallus titanum - or the Titan arum - the largest flower in the world. Seven years later, in 1885, the first Titan arum specimen bloomed at Kew, and when it happened, it created a sensation. Today, a Titan arum bloom still draws thousands of visitors. People love to take a selfie in front of the giant blooming plant. The flower is commonly referred to as the corpse flower as it smells like rotting flesh. In a recent fascinating article, scent scientists identified the compounds that make up that terrible smell. The odor includes aspects of cheese sweat, rotting fish, decomposing meat, and garlic, among even worse unmentionable compounds. The putrid smell is meant to attract beetles and other insects to move pollen between blooming plants so that they can reproduce. It takes the corpse flower a decade before it can bloom. Incredibly, the plants only bloom for 24-36 hours before collapsing. Between that first bloom at Kew (back in 1885) and the year 2000, fewer than fifty Titan arum blooms had been recorded. But, in 2016, suddenly, dozens of corpse flowers around the world bloomed within weeks of each other. Horticulturists are still attempting to discern the reason for the clustered bloo

Today in botanical history, we celebrate nutmeg, some flower recommendations for a green garden, and the rebirth of the NYC flower show after a ten-year hiatus. We'll hear an excerpt from some writing by Ray Bradbury. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a beautiful book by Bunny Williams. And then we'll wrap things up with the fate of Empress Josephine's copy of Pierre-Joseph Redoute's botanical watercolors known as ''Les Liliacees'' (''The Lilies''). 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News First NYC Tree Canopy Study Shows Growth as Storms and Budget Cuts Threaten Gains | thecity.nyc | Rachel Holliday Smith Important Events November 15, 1843 On this day, the New England Farmer ran a little blurb about the Nutmeg Tree. The nutmeg tree flourishes in Singapore, near the equator. It is raised from the nut in nurseries, where it remains till the fifth year when it puts forth its first blossoms and shows its sex. It is then set out permanently. The trees are planted thirty feet apart, in diamond order a male tree in the center. They begin to bear in the eighth year, increasing for many years, and they pay a large profit. There is no nutmeg season. Every day of the year shows buds, blossoms, and fruit, in every stage of growth to maturity. The nutmeg is a large and beautiful tree, with thick foliage and of a rich green color. The ripe fruit is singularly brilliant. The shell is glossy black, and the mace it exposes when it bursts, is of a bright scarlet, making the tree one of the most beautiful objects of the vegetable world. Well, this article from 1843 was correct. Nutmeg trees can actually grow to be about 65 feet tall. They bear fruit for six decades or longer - so they're very productive. The fruit of the nutmeg tree resembles and apricots. And by the way, in case you're wondering the nutmeg is not a nut, it is a fruit - and that's why people with nut allergies can enjoy nutmeg because it's not a nut. Now the botanical name for nutmeg is Myristica fragrans. The etymology of the word Myristica is Greek and means "fragrance for anointing", which gives us a clue to one of the ways that nutmeg was used in ancient times. You may have heard that nutmeg is illegal in Saudi Arabia. According to the journal of medical toxicology, nutmeg can be toxic and in Saudi Arabia, they consider nutmeg to be a narcotic. Nutmeg is not allowed anywhere in the country unless it's already incorporated into some type of pre-blended spice mix. November 15, 1981 On this day, Henry Mitchell wrote an article for the Washington Post called Blooms in the Boxwood in which he shared some of his favorite plants to grow in a primarily-green garden. Regarding the Japanese anemone, Henry wrote, It abides a good bit of shade and never looks better than against a background of box and ivy. The delicate-looking (but tough as leather) flowers are like white half-dollars set on a branching stem about four feet high, with a yellow boss of stamens in the middle. Its leaves all spring from the ground, like large green polished hands, so it looks good from spring to fall, and in winter you tidy it up and the earth is bare (sprigs of the native red cedar or holly can be stuck in… Regarding bugbane, Henry wrote, ...named for its supposed baneful effect on bugs... Its foliage is as good as or better than that of the anemone, and in October it opens its foxtail flowers (a quite thin fox, admittedly) on firm thin stems waist to chest high. The flowers are made of hundreds of tiny white florets, somewhat like an eremurus or a buddleis, only more gracefully curving than either. Against a green wall it is very handsome; gardeners who sometimes wonder what is wrong with marigolds and zinnias, reproached for their weedy coarseness, need only consult the bugbane to see the difference in elegance. For Chrysanthemums, Henry advises: As fall comes, you mig

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a German-American botanist who reached out to Queen Charlotte, an American poet who found inspiration in nature and the father of ecology. We'll hear an excerpt from The Sugar Queen - a great fiction book. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that's part of a wonderfully informative series from the RHS. And then we'll wrap things up with a little story about the glory of Kansas gardens in November. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News The Almanac A Seasonal Guide to 2021by Lia Leendertz Mercy Park garden adds 3 new sculptures | The Joplin Globe | Emily Younker Important Events November 3, 1766 On this day, a young botanist named William Young returned to America after receiving the title of the Queen's botanist. William Young was born in Germany, and he immigrated to the United States when he was just a little boy at the age of two. His family settled in Philadelphia and eventually became neighbors to one of America's first botanists, John Bartram. Growing up, William spent a great deal of his childhood exploring Bartram's gardens. Bertram even encouraged him to pursue botany, and he took him along on some collecting trips. By all accounts, William was a smart and self-directed young man. When he was in his early twenties, he decided that he wanted to get the attention of the brand new Queen of England, Queen Charlotte. Charlotte was the bride of George III, and William put together a little parcel for her - a little gift of seeds - along with a letter (no doubt congratulating her on her wedding and introducing himself as an American botanist.) Charmed by William's thoughtful gift, Charlotte decided to summon William to England. She wanted him to come to England to study botany for a year and then return to America to collect plants on behalf of the royal family. And so that's exactly what William Young ended up doing. When he left America, he had no formal training in botany. He was, however, full of potential and eager to learn. This opportunity in England was an extraordinary chance for William to learn the science of botany from the worldwide center for botanical research: England. At the same time, this series of events caused a bit of jealousy and a shock in the American botanical community. John Bartram himself was an old man by the time this happened for William, and he made comments along the lines of, "Hey, I've been in America, collecting and cultivating for decades, and I've never received an offer like this." And so many of the American botanists really couldn't believe William's good fortune. His trip was essentially like winning a botanist lottery with the promise not only of training but steady work and support from a generous, well-funded patron. Despite Charlotte's hopes for William, his peers were dubious of William's ability to measure up to the task. While William was passionate about botany, he hadn't demonstrated any particular acumen or success that should have garnered the kind of opportunity that had come his way. The bottom line was, they didn't think William had it in him. Yet, William's critics were not entirely fair. After all, William had been bold enough to send that package of seeds to the new Queen. And he was smart enough to leverage his German heritage when he wrote to her. Charlotte had German heritage as well, and when she first came to England, she surrounded herself with other Germans who spoke her language and shared her history, customs, and culture. Summoning William to England was just another example of Queen Charlotte making herself feel more at home away from home. When William arrived in England, he was in his early twenties. He had a huge learning curve to conquer when it came to his new station in life. He had no idea what it was like to be in front of royalty or how to behave in Royal circles. Of

Today in botanical history, we celebrate the botanical name of the Saguaro Cactus, a Russian writer and mystic, and November potpourri. We'll hear an excerpt from Tom Perrotta's best-selling 2011 book. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that celebrates the Islamic Garden. And then we'll wrap things up with some hip Book Recommendations from 1975. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Getting Happier with Horticulture: The Healthy Benefits of Gardening | gradynewsource.uga.edu | Gianna Perani Important Events November 2, 1902 On this day, Nathaniel Britton, one of the founders of the New York Botanical Garden, wrote to the industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie asking for permission to name a genus of Giant Cactus native to Arizona and northern Mexico in his honor. Three days later, Mr. Carnegie's secretary responded: "Mr. Carnegie has yours of November 2nd and asks me to say he is greatly honored by the proposal and will do his best to live up to it." And so, the majestic Saguaro ("suh-GWAR-oh") Cactus, the largest cactus in the United States and a plant synonymous with the American West, was christened the Carnegiea gigantea. Saguaros can live for over two centuries. The Saguaro root system has one large tap root accompanied by a very intricate and shallow root system that lies within the top three inches of the soil. Any precious drops of rain are guided down to the ground beneath its mighty arms. After thirty-five years of life, Saguaro's produce a white night-blooming flower that is bat-pollinated. Saguaros begin to develop their arms after reaching the age of fifty. The average Saguaro weighs three tons. The largest Saguaro ever recorded was called "Granddaddy." Granddaddy stood forty feet tall, had over 52 limbs, and was estimated to be three hundred years old. November 2, 1906 Birth of Daniil Andreyev ("Da-NEEL An-drave"), Russian writer, poet, and mystic. He wrote a book called The Rose of the World over eight-and-a-half years as a prisoner in a Stalin prison camp. Daniil once wrote, "Perhaps the worst will never come to pass, and tyranny on such a scale will never recur. Perhaps humanity will forevermore retain the memory of Russia's terrible historical experience. Every heart nurses that hope, and without it life would be unbearable." Daniil had uncanny powers of recall and memory. He was also a voracious reader and grew his personal library to over 2,000 books by the time he was arrested in 1947. Daniil suffered from a spinal defect and wore an iron corset while in prison to cope with the pain. Daniil began having mystic experiences as an adolescent. His first poem was called The Garden. In 1949, at the Vladimir high-security prison, Daniil started to have regular spiritual encounters and visions. And so he used those experiences to write Rose of the World at night. He had his final transcendent revelation in November of 1953 and then finished the book after his release from prison in 1957. And then, Daniil kept the book to himself - hiding it from the government in order to keep it from being destroyed. Daniil's Rose of the World remained hidden before finally getting published in 1991 under Gorbachev. The Rose of the World was an instant bestseller. Daniel H. Shubin wrote the latest English translation in 2018. Shubin writes that, "[Daniil] Envisioned the reign of rows of the world on Earth in the twenty-third century, the future Epoch being a golden age of humanity, whose essence will develop… into a close connection between God and people. It includes a society that consists of a worldwide ecclesiastical fraternity." Daniil himself explained Rose of the World this way: Rose of the World can be compared to an inverted flower whose root is in heaven, while the petal bowl is here, among Humanity, on Earth. Its stem is the revelation through which the spiritual sap

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a wealthy gardener and Apothecary whose garden became his legacy, a ​​pioneering Landscape architect who left his mark on the world in his all-too-short life, and the fine fine fun that can be had dying flowers - a hobby that's been around for quite a longe time. We'll hear an excerpt from a book by a Quaker woman who spent a year tending sheep. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about flowers in all their glory, and it takes us inside the Secret World of Plants... And then we'll wrap things up with a little poem written by an American writer, and it's a little poignant - so kleenex should be on standby. "If you're the first of November, you're Scorpio. A large reporter of his owne Acts. Prudent of behaviour in owne affairs. A lover of Quarrels and theevery, a promoter of frayes and commotions. As wavery as the wind; neither fearing God or caring for Man.' 'Better,' said Lymond coldly, 'to be stung by a nettle than pricked by a rose." ― Dorothy Dunnett, Checkmate Maggie Dietz poem 1995 Rosemary Verey's Making of a Garden 1995 The Unsung Season: Gardens and Gardeners in Winter: Sydney Eddison, Karen Bussolini 2001 A Garden from Hundred Packets of Seed by James Fenton What plants would you choose to grow, given a blank slate of a garden, and given the stipulation that everything you grow in this garden must be raised by you from seed? 2009 Jane Colden: America's First Woman Botanist Paperback – November 1, 2009 Curated News Interview with Lee Smith, Southern Writer | Southern Environmental Law Center 1944 Here's a short clip with writer Lee Smith about the importance of the natural world for writers and inspiration. In the video Lee says that the South does have a very strong literary tradition that is grounded in place and specifically a rural place. Lee says the land is so important to southern writing. Land not only shows up in southern stories but also in southern music and southern culture. Lee tells how her father used to fight her when she tried to get him to leave the mountains and move to her home in North Carolina and so he would always say I could never leave the mountains he said I need me a mountain to rest my eyes against and That resinates with lee who went on to say that there's something in the contemplation of mountains of nature of natural places that leads us to think of things that are really important that leads us to think of the real questions and issues and things that people need to be working on. And so Lee, like many of us, gets her inspiration from the natural world To borrow her phrase, I need me a garden to rest my eyes against... Important Events November 1, 1666Birth of James Sherard, English apothecary, botanist, amateur musician, and composer. His older brother, William, was also a botanist. James served as an apprentice to an apothecary named Charles Watts at Chelsea Physic Garden. He later followed his entrepreneurial instincts and started his own business, which made him quite wealthy. In August of 1716, he wrote that, "the love of Botany has so far prevailed as to divert my mind from things I formerly thought more material." After retiring, he purchased three residences - two manor homes and a place in London. At his London residence, he established a garden and began collecting and cultivating rare plants. Around the time his garden was becoming one of England's top gardens, James's brother William invited the German botanist Johann Jacob Dillenius to visit England. Dillenius created an illustrated catalog that described the plants cultivated in James's collection in London. The English botanical writer Blanche Henrey called Dillenius's book, "the most important book published in England during the eighteenth century on the plants growing in a private garden." Today, the walls of the Herbarium Room at the Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum are graced with the illustrations from Dillenius's book - so the plants in James Sherard's beautiful garden live on in that marvelous place. November 1, 1859Birth of Charles Eliot, American landscape architect. In his brief career, Charles established principles for regional planning and natural systems for landscape architecture. He also helped set up the world's first land trust and the Boston Metropolitan Park System. He was a prolific writer and observer of nature and Landscapes. His work set the stage for conservancies across the world. Charles was born into a prominent Boston family. In 1869, the year his mother died, his father, Charles William Eliot, became the president of Harvard University. In 1882 Charles went to Harvard to study botany. A year later, he began apprenticing with the landscape firm of Frederick Law Olmsted. As a young landscape architect, Charles enjoyed visiting different natural areas, and he conducted regular walking tours of different nature areas around Boston. In his diary, Charles made a charming list titled, "A Partial List of Saturday Walks before 1878

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an American poet and writer, a look back at a one-of-a-kind event at the gardens at Iowa State, and the English gardener who bred phenomenal lupins. We'll hear an excerpt from Thomas Merton's diary entry for October. We Grow That Garden Library™ with an award-winning modern book on scent in the garden. And then we'll wrap things up with the legacy of a college head gardener and how his memory still lives on at the greenhouse. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News 10 Things Your Landscape Architect Wishes You Knew (But Is Too Polite to Tell You) | Gardenista | Barbara Peck Important Events October 15, 1830 Birth of Helen Hunt Jackson, (pen name H.H.) American poet and writer. She fought for the dignity of Native Americans and wrote about mistreatment by the US government in A Century of Dishonor (1881) and Ramona (1884). Today Helen is remembered for her light-hearted poems like: By all these lovely tokens September days are here, with Summer's best of weather and Autumn's best of cheer. And O suns and skies and clouds of June, And flowers of June together, Ye cannot rival for one hour October's bright blue weather Her poem Vanity of Vanities is a favorite of gardeners. Bee to the blossom, moth to the flame; Each to his passion; what's in a name? Red clover's sweetest, well the bee knows; No bee can suck it; lonely it blows. Deep lies the honey, out of reach, deep; What use in honey hidden to keep? Robbed in the autumn, starving for bread; Who stops to pity a honey-bee dead? Star-flames are brightest, blazing the skies; Only a hand's breadth the moth-wing flies. Fooled with a candle, scorched with a breath; Poor little miller, a tawdry death; Life is a honey, life is a flame; Each to his passion; what's in a name? Swinging and circling, face to the sun, Brief little planet, how it doth run! Bee-time and moth-time, add the amount; white heat and honey, who keeps the count? Gone some fine evening, a spark out-tost! The world no darker for one star lost! Bee to the blossom, moth to the flame; Each to his passion; what's in a name? October 15, 1897 On this day, The Des Moines Register ran a headline from Ames Iowa: Crowd Ruins Iowa State's Flower Plots. An unfounded rumor that flowers in the Iowa State college gardens could be had for the picking because of an expected frost led to an unprecedented display of vandalism here. A crowd estimated at 150 to 200 persons Sunday went through the horticulture department gardens, stripping off flowers and pulling up bushes until routed by Ames police. Officers relieved the mob of most of the flowers they had seized, but members of the horticulture department said the loss would be heavy. Most of the flowers and plants stripped were being used for experimental work, they added, and the loss, therefore, could not be measured in dollars and cents. Chrysanthemums sent to Iowa State by E. G. Kraus of the University of Chicago were picked clean. The flowers were being used In tests to determine resistance to cold weather and the experiment was ruined, officials said. The college gardens are used primarily for research, and their part in campus beautification is secondary. The college rose garden is one of 16 being used as part of a national research program. Horticulture department members said it never has been college policy to permit picking of flowers by the public, although visitors always have been welcome to come and look at any time. Signs are displayed prominently throughout the gardens warning visitors not to pick anything. College officials were at a loss to explain how the rumor might have started and said it was the first time the gardens ever had been invaded by any sizeable number of flower pickers. Ames townspeople and Iowa State college staff members were among those who went through the gardens on the pi

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a fun little story from the White House, a New Zealand writer, and a pop culture film that debuted on this day 27 years ago today. We'll hear an excerpt from an Eva Ibbotson book. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that promotes an awareness of and appreciation for Georgia's rich garden heritage. And then we'll wrap things up with an adorable little poem from one of the most prolific haiku writers who ever lived. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Gardener's Checklist for October 14th | Berkshire Edge | Ron Kujawski ("kee-AH-skee") Adele - Easy On Me Important Events October 14, 1862 On this day, President Lincoln wrote Navy Captain John Dalgren and asked him to find a gun for his youngest child, 9-year-old Tad. In the note, Lincoln specifically asked for, "a little gun that he can not hurt himself with." Tad was seven years old when he arrived at the White House. The following day the Civil War started, and the constant presence of soldiers and battle talk sparked the boy's early love of the military. He and his brother Willie played together and pretended to be soldiers in the White House, where the roof was their fort, and the attic was a prison. One of Tad's favorite toys was a doll he named Jack that he received from the Sanitary Commission. Jack was part of many imaginary battles and skirmishes. Jack suffered grueling amputations (which were promptly sewn back on) and injuries and was even sentenced to prison. Julia Taft's younger brothers played with the Lincoln boys, and she would often babysit all four of them. In her memoir of the Lincoln White House entitled Tad Lincoln's Father (1931), she tells of Jack being regularly buried with honors in the White House Gardens to the dismay of the head gardener, John Watt. Tad had already irritated Mr. Watt after eating strawberries that were intended for a White House dinner. When Mr. Watt suggested Jack might be pardoned, Tad asked his father to give Jack another chance. President Lincoln got out a pen and paper and wrote, The Doll Jack is pardoned by order of the President. A. Lincoln. October 14, 1888 Birth of Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand poet, and writer. She once wrote, The mind I love must have wild places. Reflecting on her life, she wrote, I want a garden, a small house, grass, animals, books, pictures, music. And out of this, the expression of this, I want to be writing. Katherine's book The Garden Party is a collection of short stories that cover the gamut of emotions and begins with The Garden Party. The first paragraph is a delight: And after all the weather was ideal. They could not have had a more perfect day for a garden-party if they had ordered it. Windless, warm, the sky without a cloud. Only the blue was veiled with a haze of light gold, as it is sometimes in early summer. The gardener had been up since dawn, mowing the lawns and sweeping them, until the grass and the dark flat rosettes where the daisy plants had been seemed to shine. As for the roses, you could not help feeling they understood that roses are the only flowers that impress people at garden-parties, the only flowers that everybody is certain of knowing. Hundreds, yes, literally hundreds, had come out in a single night; the green bushes bowed down as though they had been visited by archangels. In her poem Camomile Tea she wrote, Outside the sky is light with stars; There's a hollow roaring from the sea. And, alas! for the little almond flowers, The wind is shaking the almond tree. How little I thought, a year ago, In that horrible cottage upon the Lee That he and I should be sitting so And sipping a cup of camomile tea! Light as feathers the witches fly, The horn of the moon is plain to see; By a firefly under a jonquil flower A goblin toasts a bumble-bee. We might be fifty, we might be five, So snug, so co

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a French writer and poet, an adorable poem called Song of October that's kind of faded into obscurity, and a Forester's advice about pine needles. We'll hear an excerpt from an English writer often called the prince of paradox. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a lovely recipe book as we settle into fall - it's called The Flower Recipe Book. And then we'll wrap things up with a charming little story from the Thoreaus. This one comes our way via Sophia Thoreau, the friend, and collaborator of her brother, Henry David Thoreau. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Fall Garden: Outside In | Rural Intelligence | Madeline Sparks Pumpkin Turkey Chili | P. ALLEN SMITH Important Events October 13, 1878 On this day, the Chicago Tribune ran a feature article on Victor Hugo, French poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, and dramatist. Opposed to the Second Empire of Napoleon III, Hugo was banished from his home country of France. In October 1855, the exiled Hugo was in desperate need of asylum, and he arrived on the rainy island of Guernsey seeking refuge. (Guernsey is just twenty-six miles off France's Normandy coast.) In deep sorrow, Hugo wrote in a letter, Exile has not only detached me from France, it has almost detached me from the Earth. Eventually, Hugo came to see the island as his "rock of hospitality and freedom." Hugo was a prolific writer during the serenity of fifteen years of island life. It's where he completed his masterpiece Les Misérables. He also enjoyed spending time doing something he had never experienced before: working on his home and garden, the first he ever owned. Today, the City of Paris has renovated Hugo's island garden, including a kitchen garden, fruit trees, a large fountain, and his bench of contemplation. In 1870, Hugo planted an oak tree in the middle of his lawn, and he named it the United States of Europe. The tree was symbolic and represented Hugo's vision of European unification. He would not have been a fan of Brexit. In 1878, the Chicago Tribune piece described the magnificent view beyond the garden visible from Hugo's 2nd-floor study. It is impossible to conceive a finer view than one gets from this aerial room of glass... At our feet, the furthermost rocks of Guernsey plunge themselves into the sea. Everywhere the great ocean. At the extreme point of the port, we view the old castle and the red-coated soldiers of Great Britain. In front, the Islands of Herm and Sark bar the horizon like a colossal dyke. On the right, the lines of Jersey are vaguely to be seen, always in a perpetual fog. And finally, in the far, far dim distance, the coast of France. But it takes clear weather to view it. This is the magical panorama before which Victor Hugo has worked for sixteen years. When I descended [the outdoor staircase], I found [his] old face under a huge straw hat in his garden, playing with his little granddaughter, and following with rapt attention the frolics of young George Hugo, who was blowing with terrible effort a tiny [boat] across the fountain-basin. October 13, 1895 On this day, the Omaha Daily Bee (Nebraska) shared a little poem called An October Song from Clinton Scollard, which had been shared in the Ladies Home Journal. There's a flush on the cheek of the pippin and peach, And the first glint of gold on the bough of the beech; The bloom from the stem of the buckwheat is cut, And there'll soon be a gap in the burr of the nut. The grape has a gleam like the breast of a dove. And the haw is as red as the lips of my love; While the hue of her eyes the blue gentian doth wear, And the goldenrod glows like the gloss of her hair. Like bubbles of amber the hours float away As I search in my heart for regrets for the May; Alas, for the spring and tho glamour thereof; The autumn has won me the autumn and love. October 13, 1

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Dutch botanical illustrator, a writer from New Orleans, and a hymn writer - who wrote over 400 hymns. We'll hear an excerpt from Terri Irwin - just fabulous - wife of the late great Steve Irwin. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about Living on the Land. A hot topic since 2020. And then we'll wrap things up with a touching story about Beatrix Potter. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News TOP TREES FOR FALL COLOR | Garden Design | Mike MacCaskey Fall Foliage Prediction Map Important Events October 12, 1817 Birth of Berthe Hoola van Nooten ("Bair-tah Hole-lah van NO-ten") Dutch botanical artist. Berthe's life story is incredibly moving. She was born in Utrecht in the Netherlands. She married a judge named Dirk Hoola van Nooten who secured a position in the Dutch colony of Suriname SurahNAM in South America. The couple frequently traveled between Jakarta and Suriname. Along the way, Berthe collected and drew plant specimens which she would send back home to the botanical gardens in the Netherlands. By the mid-1840's the couple moved to New Orleans to establish a Protestant school for girls on behalf of the Episcopal Church. But in the summer of 1847, New Orleans was ravaged by an epidemic of yellow fever that wiped out ten percent of the population. After the yellow fever claimed Dirk's life, Berthe was left to fend for herself and her five children at the age of thirty. She attempted to open another school in Galveston but was unable to pay her creditors. Eventually, Berthe joined her brother on a trip to Java. There she opened another school, but she also had a patron in Sophie Mathilde, the wife of William II (Netherlands). The result was her masterpiece - a collection of forty plates of her botanical art - called Fleurs, Fruits et Feuillages Choisis de l'Ile de Java or Selected Flowers, Fruits and Foliage from the Island of Java (1863-64). Berthe's work was dramatic, featuring rich colors and bold illustrations. Most Europeans had never seen such magnificent plants. In the introduction, aware of her station as a woman and penniless widow during the Victorian age, Berthe apologized for her daring attempt at creating such work, writing, You may not, like myself, have tasted the bitterness of exile… you may not, like myself, have experienced, even in the springtime of life, the sorrowful separation from home and country – the absence of the friendly greeting, on a foreign shore… Death may not have snatched away from you, the arm which was your sole support… bereavement may not have entered your dwelling, like mine, as with one sudden stroke to tear away the veil of sweet illusions, which, as yet, had hidden from your eyes the stern realities of life – to place you, with a lacerated heart, a shrinking spirit, and a feeble and suffering body, before an unpitying necessity, which presents no other alternative than labour. In 1892, Berthe died impoverished on the island of Jakarta. She was 77. October 12, 1844 Birth of George Washington Cable, American writer, and critic. A son of New Orleans, he has been called the first modern southern writer. Despite being a German Protestant, instead of French Catholic, George understood Creole culture and is most remembered for his early fiction about his hometown, including Old Creole Days (1879), The Grandissimes "Gran-DE-seem" (1880), and Madame Delphine "Delphine" (1881). Today the George Washington Cable House is open to visitors. The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1962. Located at 1313 8th Street, in the Garden District of New Orleans, the home features gardens that George designed. In fact, The neighborhood is known for outstanding restaurants and beautiful gardens. The beauty of New Orleans inspired George, and he was especially fond of nature and gardens. In The Taxidermist, his st

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Philadelphia plant lover who we get to know only through his correspondence to other botanists, we'll also learn about the German palm expert and the man who became a director at Kew - but not before becoming an expert in the graves of the fallen during WWI. We'll hear an excerpt from the amateur gardener Helena Rutherford Ely. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book from one of my favorite modern garden experts Robert Kourik. And then we'll wrap things up with a Thay - the Buddhist monk, writer, and peace activist. And I'll also add naturalist to his list of titles because he draws so much insight from nature - as should we all. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News 14 Tips for Planting Your Favorite Bulbs | BHG | Editors Important Events October 11, 1818 On this day, the Philadelphia botanist Zaccheus Collins to Jacob Bigelow in Boston. Zaccheus was a big-time plant collector and he had a large herbarium of most of the plants in the vicinity of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Zaccheus never published anything, but he corresponded with the botanists of his time, especially Henry Muhlenberg, Frederick Muhlenberg, Stephen Elliott, and Jacob Bigelow. In his letter to Jacob, written on this day, Zaccheus wrote, The schooner Hero [with] Capt. Daggett... may be at Boston as soon as the present letter. On board [is] a little open box containing a growing plant of Aristolochia serpentaria (Virginia snakeroot), roots of Euphorbia ipecac (American ipecac), Spiraea trifoliata( Bowman's Root), & Convolvulus pandurata (wild sweet potato vine). These were put up under the direction of the worthy Mr. Bartram, my friend, still living at the old Bot. gardens, home of the father of Amer. Botany. You will only have to pay the freight. October 11, 1825 Birth of Hermann Wendland, German botanist. He followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both botanists, and served as director of the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen in Hannover. Each generation of Wendlends had their specialty; the grandfather worked with ericas or heather, the father's focus was phyllodineous acacias, and Hermann's love was the palm family, the Arecaceae. Hermann's monograph established the classification for palms. He's remembered in the South American palm genus Wendlandiella. During his life, Hermann turned Herrenhausen into the world's leading garden for palm cultivation and research. Herrenhausen's palm collection was unrivaled, and the focus on these stately and elegant trees resulted in Herrenhausen's construction of the tallest glasshouse in all of Europe. In addition to naming over 500 palm species, Hermann named the Arizona palm Washingtonia filifera in memory of George Washington. Hermann is also remembered for calling the genus Saintpaulia (African violet) after Baron Walter von Saint Paul. In 1882, Baron Walter was the Governor of the Usambara ("Ooh-sahm-bar-ah") District in German East Africa. During his time there, he explored the Usambara Mountains located in northeastern Tanzania. There, in the cloud forests, he collected seeds and specimens of a small herb, which he sent home to Herrenhausen. Hermann immediately cultivated the little plants, and he recognized that they were an entirely new species in an entirely new genus. And so, he named the plant Saintpaulia ionantha ("saint-paul-ee-ah ii-o-nan' thah"). Today we call the plant by its common name, the African violet. Hermann also called it the Usambara veilchen ('Usambara violet'). Today, African violets continue to be one of the most popular house plants. But, at home in their native Usambara Mountains, the plants face extinction. October 11, 1875 Birth of Arthur William Hill, English botanist, and taxonomist. He served as Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Before he became director of Kew, he worked on a proje

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an American civil servant and poet, an American art expert, and a Harlem artist and gardener. We'll hear an excerpt from historical fiction by Deanna Raybourn. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a lyrical book by a peach farmer. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a humorist who made a living writing about the sunny side of life. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Why it took nearly 50 years for scientists to name this mysterious tropical plant | CNN | Megan Marples Lauritzen Gardens - Omaha Botanical Center 20th birthday! Important Events October 8, 1838 Birth of John Hay, American politician, diplomat, and poet. He served three assassinated American leaders, including President Lincoln. Along with John Nicolay, he co-wrote a ten-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln that helped shape his legacy. Like Lincoln, John lost a son, and the loss profoundly affected him. Three years later, he wrote, The death of our boy made my wife and me old at once and for the rest of our lives. After the death of his father-in-law, John became enormously wealthy and took over the family business and investments. His family enjoyed regular trips to Europe, a grand mansion in Washington D.C., and a cottage in New Hampshire that John called the Fells. John had cobbled together 1,000 acres of land after quietly buying up abandoned farms. The etymology of The Fells name was Scottish and means rocky upland pastures. John especially enjoyed time at The Fells, which overlooked pastoral view. In the foreground, sheep grazed among prehistoric boulders that dotted the landscape, and in the distance were views of scenic Lake Sunapee. John's wife, Clara, was a gardener, and she had a special love for roses and hydrangeas. In 1890, John wrote, I was greatly pleased with the air, the water, the scenery. I have nowhere found a more beautiful spot. In terms of poetry, John was best known for a collection of post-Civil War poems compiled into a book called Pike County Ballads (1871). Here's one of his poems called Words, in which he uses nature to show the power a simple word can have on our lives. When violets were springing And sunshine filled the day, And happy birds were singing The praises of the May, A word came to me, blighting The beauty of the scene, And in my heart was winter, Though all the trees were green. Now down the blast go sailing The dead leaves, brown and sere; The forests are bewailing The dying of the year; A word comes to me, lighting With rapture all the air, And in my heart is summer, Though all the trees are bare. October 8, 1934 Birth of J. Carter Brown, American art expert, intellectual, and visionary. He was the director of the U.S. National Gallery of Art from 1969 to 1992. Although he was born in a family of great wealth - the Browns of Newport, the Browns of Brown University - he was a champion of public access to art. He believed people needed to see art in person and used a garden analogy to drive that point home: No one will understand a Japanese garden until you've walked through one, and you hear the crunch underfoot, and you smell it, and you experience it over time. Now there's no photograph or any movie that can give you that experience. October 8, 1930 Birth of Faith Ringgold, American painter, writer, mixed media sculptor, and performance artist. Faith was born in Harlem into a family that embraced artistic creativity. She grew up after the Harlem Renaissance, and her neighborhood was home to the likes of Duke Ellington and Langston Hughes. One of her childhood friends was jazz musician Sonny Rollins. Growing up, Faith had chronic asthma, so she learned to pass the time indoors, creating visual art with the help of her mom. She became an expert seamstress and began experimenting with fabric as a medium for her art. Today Faith is know

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a beloved Indiana poet, the Engelmann Botanical Club and their display of fall flowers over 120 years ago, and an Australian author who had asthma as a child. We'll hear an excerpt from the New York Times bestselling author, Karen White. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a terrific book by a modern plantsman and nurseryman. And then we'll wrap things up with a poignant poem from a writer and critic who said his goodbyes through his writing. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Prairie Strips Prevent Soil Erosion, Help Pollinators | Farm Progress | Fran O'Leary Important Events October 7, 1849 Birth of James Whitcomb Riley, American writer, and poet. In Indiana, he was especially beloved and is remembered as the Hoosier poet. James wrote in dialect - in the voice of the common man - and the majority of his over 1,000 poems were often sentimental or humorous. He managed to have a successful writing career despite a lifelong struggle with alcohol. Today, in James' hometown of Greenfield, Indiana, the Riley Festival is touted as Indiana's largest four-day gathering. The event started in 1925 and took place the first or second weekend of October. The "Riley Days" festival traditionally ends with a flower parade, and children place flowers around 1918 Myra Reynolds Richards' statue of Riley on the county courthouse lawn. James wrote several poems about flowers and gardens. One of his most famous poems is When the Frost is on the Punkin. Here's an excerpt from When The Green Gits Back In The Trees: In Spring, when the green gits back in the trees, And the sun comes out and stays, And yer boots pulls on with a good tight squeeze, And you think of yer bare-foot days; When you ort to work and you want to not, And you and yer wife agrees It's time to spade up the garden-lot, When the green gits back in the trees When the whole tail-feathers o' Wintertime Is all pulled out and gone! And the sap it thaws and begins to climb, And the swet it starts out on A feller's forred, a-gittin' down At the old spring on his knees— When the green gits back in the trees — October 7, 1900 On this day, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) shared articles about autumn-blooming flowers. The wild flower exhibition held by the Engelmann Botanical Club in the Public Library Building gave the observer a striking idea of the beauty and profusion of the uncultivated flowers which can be found In the vicinity of St. Louis in the autumn. To many it was a revelation. Miss Ellen C. Clark, President of the Englemann Botanical Club, wrote, The table that attracted the children the most was that on which the fruits and seeds were collected. The pods of the milkweed and dogbane families, with their hairy seed, those of the trumpet creeper and others, showed them how seed could fly; the berries of the dogwood, buckthorn, the coralberry, the pokeberry had each its special attraction. The Engelmann Botanical Club has had only a short existence. [It started] a little more than two years ago… When a name for the club was considered it seemed most fitting to honor Dr. Engelmann, the eminent St. Louis physician who made time in the midst of a large practice to do botanical work that distinguished him among the botanists of the world. J. H. Kellogg wrote, Besides the large exhibits of gentians, lobelias, asters, and goldenrods, there were others equally as attractive, although the Cardinal Lobelia is one of the most glaringly beautiful wildflowers to be found. Eupatorium ageratoides, or whitesnake root, growing in rich shady woods with white flowers, is a very pretty plant, blooming until late in the fall. Eupatorium coelestinum. or mistflower, with its delicate blue flowers, is very beautiful. It Is found growing in low grounds and blooming until cold weather. Bidens Bipinnata or Spanish

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Kentucky botanist, a French priest and plant explorer, and a Texas doctor and botanist. We'll hear an excerpt from Susan Hill's book, The Magic Apple Tree. We Grow That Garden Library™ with another great book by Michael Dirr. And then we'll wrap things up with a reminder from a modern gardener to stop and enjoy the leaves. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Garden Border Ideas | Country Living | Matt Rees-Warren Important Events October 6, 1794 Birth of Charles Wilkins Short, American botanist, and doctor. A Kentuckian, Charles wrote a flora of Kentucky in 1833. He had one of the largest, most valued private herbariums with 15,000 plant samples, and his massive garden covered several acres. Charles was honored in the naming of many plants, including the Oconee bell named the Shortia galacifolia. Now in terms of botanical history, this plant has quite a story. Back in the 1800s, when Charles was still alive, the plant's location had become a mystery. People couldn't find it. And in 1863, after Charles Short died, botanists still did not know where to find this plant, or even if it still existed. In fact, many botanists were asked the question, Have you found the Shortia yet? It was driving them crazy. But finally, in May of 1877, a North Carolina teenager named George Hyams sent an unknown specimen to Asa Gray at Harvard. And when Asa laid eyes on this plant, he knew immediately that it was the Shortia, and he could be heard crying 'Eureka' when he saw it. Two years later, Asa and his wife along with his dear friend, the botanist John Redfield, the director of the Arnold Arboretum Charles Sprague Sargent, and the botanist William Canby all stood around the little patch of earth where the Shortia grew in oblivion of all the hubbub it had caused. The long search to find the Shortia was over. It was growing right where George Hyams said it would be. October 6, 1858 Birth of André Soulié, French Roman Catholic missionary, herbalist, healer, and botanist. Many of the first plant collectors were missionaries. André was one of a handful of the last missionary collectors. He collected thousands of dried plants and seeds and then sent them back to Paris. André was so fluent in the different Chinese dialects that he could pass as a local. In the 1800s and early 1900s, plant collecting in China was a dangerous business. Collectors not only contended with geographic challenges like terrain but also political upheaval. The Opium Wars and the ongoing dispute with Tibet increased distrust and hostility toward foreigners. In 1905, in retaliation for an invasion of Tibet by a British explorer named Francis Younghusband, André was abducted by Tibetan monks. He was grabbed right in the middle of packing up his plant specimens. André was tortured for over two weeks before finally being shot dead by his captors. André is remembered for his discovery of the Rosa soulieana and the butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii). He also has a Rhododendron, a Lily, and Primula named in his honor. October 6, 1877 On this day, a 46-year-old American doctor and botanist named Levi Jasper James Russell was whipped. He was lured out of his home at midnight to treat a sick woman and instead met with a mob who stripped him naked and gave him 100 lashes for being an "infidel." A leading member of the Freethinkers, Levi was agnostic and a pioneering doctor and herbalist. He served as chairman of the committee on medical botany of the Texas State Medical Association. Before his life in Texas, Levi had gone west to California to dig for gold with his brothers after leaving their home state of Georgia. The three brothers were among the first to prospect for gold in Colorado and helped found the city of Denver. Levi survived being shot with a bow and arrow by Native Americans in Montana and contra

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Flemish Renaissance painter who painted the first landscapes, the American naturalist and artist who saved Prospect Park, and an American botanist who jotted down a little poem on one of the pages in his herbarium - a little known treasure. We'll hear an October excerpt from Barbara Kingsolver from one of her best-selling books. We Grow That Garden Library™ with the bible for trees and shrubs - it's a must-have monster resource. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of the Enlightenment author who captured the work of gardeners and various trades at his own peril. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News House & Garden | Nicola Harding's tips for outdoor dining | Nicola Harding Important Events October 5, 1524 Birth of Joachim Patinir, Flemish Renaissance painter of history, religion, and landscape. He worked primarily in Antwerp, and he's credited with creating landscape painting as an independent subject. Joachim's scenes are imaginary. His world landscape offers a panoramic landscape with craggy rocks and boulders jutting out a cliff on one side and partially obscuring the view. Then he usually included small figures portraying religious events. His use of vibrant colors and little details set in the sweeping landscapes is mesmerizing. October 5, 1850 Birth of William Hamilton Gibson, American illustrator, author, and naturalist. Born in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, William grew up with an immediate love of the natural world. When he was ten years old, his parents sent him to a boarding school called the Gunn school for advanced training. Frederick Gunn loved the natural world, and he incorporated the study of nature into the academic teachings of the school. As a young teen, he wrote his mother, I have just found an Imperial moth worm on a maple tree. Will you please look on one of the small apple trees in the orchard near the place where the arbor used to be… there is a tree on which I put a Cecropia worm for myself… I think a great deal of it, or I wouldn't write about it. The boys are leaving from here very fast, and we all will leave in 13 days more.... P. S. That worm that I told you about on the apple tree, if very large, must be taken off and put into a box with fresh apple leaves every day; if small, do the same. In another note to his mother, he ended with this offer, In a garden up here, there is a kind of Columbine, very large, of two kinds, purple and white and very large. I am welcome to all the seed that I want. I don't know whether you want any or not, but nevertheless, I'll get you a lot. I remain Your aff. son Willie. At the Gunn school, William was able to study all aspects of the natural world - even botany - and he benefited from being surrounded by the immersive nature of the school. He wrote, There is often an almost inexhaustible field for botanic investigation even on a single fallen tree. My scientific friend ...recently informed me... that he had spent two days most delightfully and profitably in the study of ...a single dead tree, and [was surprised to learn that] a hundred distinct species of plants congregated upon it. Plumy dicentra clustered along its length, graceful sprays of the frost-flower with its little spire of snow crystals rose up here and there, scarlet berries of the Indian turnip glowed among the leaves, and, with the ….lycopodiums and mosses, ...ferns and lichens, and [a] host of fungous growths, it [was] easy… to extend the list of species into the second hundred. It is something worth remembering the next time we go into the woods. As an adult, William lived in Brooklyn. He started out in a soul-crushing job selling insurance until the day he tried to sell insurance to a draftsman. He ended up spending the day watching him draw and immediately pivoted to pursue an art career. His first gig was drawin

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an English artist and clergyman, an old diary entry from the great Henry David Thoreau, and we'll also learn about an American publishing tycoon and his family's retreat called Bird Haven Farm. We'll hear an excerpt on October from a Harry Potter book. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book from one of the great plantsmen of our time and his excellent resource on Viburnums. And then we'll wrap things up with a charming garden verse. I bet you've heard it before - but you may not be familiar with the woman who wrote it. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Improve Your Soil by Raking Less | Fine Gardening | Terry Ettinger Important Events October 4, 1761/1762 Birth of William Gilpin, English artist, teacher, clergyman, and landscape designer. He coined the term picturesque. He had documented his visit to Ross-on-Wye, and the resulting book became England's first tourist guide. William inspired others to enjoy the sights of the town, including the picturesque Wye river, and visitors came to the area in droves. William spent a great deal of time outdoors painting landscapes. He observed, Every distant horizon promises something new, and with this pleasing expectation, we follow nature through all her walks. During his life, many looked to William as an arbiter of artistic taste. In addition to the picturesque landscape, he was especially fond of old ruins, mountains, and trees. William's paintings were created on-site out in nature, and he wasn't opposed to using a little artistic license to make the scene even more compelling - adding more trees, a little bridge, or enhancing an old ruin. In 1786, William wrote, A ruin is a sacred thing. Rooted for ages in the soil; assimilated to it; and become, as it were, a part of it ... William was the first president of the Royal Watercolor Society, and he also authored several books related to his work as an artist. One of his more popular books was called Forest Scenery, which featured forty-five watercolors of trees and shrubs along with descriptions. He also included his tips and tricks for capturing a picturesque effect on canvas through the clumping of trees. Tree painting was a William Gilpin specialty. He adored trees. He once wrote, It is no exaggerated praise to call a tree the grandest and most beautiful of all productions on earth! October 4, 1853 On this day, Thoreau wrote in his journal: The maples are reddening, and birches yellowing. The mouse-ear in the shade in the middle of the day, so hoary, looks as if the frost still lay on it. Well it wears the frost. Bumblebees are on the Aster undulatus, and gnats are dancing in the air. October 4, 1862 Birth of Edward Stratemeyer, American publisher, writer of children's fiction, and founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate. He produced over 1,300 books and sold over 500 million copies. He's remembered for series like The Bobbsey Twins and The Hardy Boys. The very day his new series, Nancy Drew, was released, he died. Regarding his legacy, Fortune wrote: As oil had its Rockefeller, literature had its Stratemeyer. After Edward died, his widow, Magdalene Van Camp, bought a Bird Haven farm for a weekend retreat. It was a place she enjoyed living on weekends and holidays for more than forty years. During those four decades, she wrote over half of the Nancy Drew books and developed plots for many other series. Edward and Magdalene's daughter Harriet took over the family business and ran it for fifty years. She also spent the last half of her life at Bird Haven. In 1982, while watching The Wizard of Oz for the very first time, she had a heart attack and died. Today the twenty-five acres known as Bird Haven Farm in Tewksbury Township is part of the Garden Conservancy Open Day. The barns, outbuildings, and the original nineteenth-century stone house are joined by

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an American botanist, professor, and writer, an American short-story writer, and her last novel, and the amateur botanist honored with the Australian Native Plants Award. We'll hear an excerpt from Neil Gaiman's book, Season of Mists. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a master book on wreaths. And then we'll wrap things up with a garden classic that came out on this day in 2013. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News How your electric toothbrush can aid pollination | The Guardian | James Wong Important Events October 1, 1874 Birth of LeRoy Abrams, American botanist, professor, and writer. Born in Sheffield, Iowa, he moved west with his parents as a small boy. As a graduate student, he botanized around Los Angeles. A biographical sketch of LeRoy said, [He] crisscrossed southern California in a wagon, on the back of a mule or burrow, and on foot to make field observations... and collected specimens from Santa Barbara to Yuma, from Needles to San Diego, and from the Salton Sink prior to its flooding to the summits of Old Baldy. He published Flora of Los Angeles and Vicinity (1904), encompassing a fifty-mile radius around LA. In 1909, LeRoy married a fellow student at Stanford named Letitia Patterson. The couple handbuilt and enjoyed their mountain cabin on the west side of Fallen Leaf Lake. When their only daughter died a few short years after her college graduation, they shouldered their grief together. LeRoy served as the director of the Natural History Museum at Stanford, where he taught botany for thirty-four years. The final volume of his four-volume work An Illustrated Flora of the Pacific States was completed posthumously. LeRoy was a loving teacher. His students called him "Father." When, at 51, the great botanist Ynes Mexia decided to pursue a career in botany, her first course was on flowering plants, and her professor was LeRoy Abrams. October 1, 1972 On this day, The Tampa Tribune profiled American short story writer Eudora Welty and shared some backstory on what would be her last book: Miss Welty was writing "Losing Battles" at home with her [dying mother] and two nurses and laughing a great deal (the book is beyond grief and funny as owls in heaven), and the nurses did not approve of anything. And right in the middle of it, the nematodes did in the roses, which had been packed in that garden tight as a trunk, but nothing that could be tried availed at all. Ordinarily, an attack on her roses would have brought [the older] Mrs. Welty right out of the kitchen, as they say, but she was past those battles then. Her characters in her stories are like the roses: some make it, some don't. October 1, 2019 On this day, amateur botanist Glenn Leiper received the Australian Native Plants Award. He co-wrote a popular field guide of native plants in southeast Queensland called Mangroves to Mountains. While botanizing the area, he rediscovered the rainforest myrtle tree Gossia gonoclada a century after the plant was considered extinct. He also discovered a native violet colony. Once, he spied a fifteen-centimeter-tall from his car while driving. The unusual spotting resulted in the naming of the plant in his honor: Androcalva leiperi. Glenn acknowledges his most helpful skill for botany, I've got good eyes. Unearthed Words October knew, of course, that the action of turning a page, of ending a chapter, or of shutting a book did not end a tale. Having admitted that, he would also avow that happy endings were never difficult to find: "It is simply a matter," he explained to April, "of finding a sunny place in a garden, where the light is golden, and the grass is soft; somewhere to rest, to stop reading, and to be content. ― Neil Gaiman, Season of Mists Grow That Garden Library Wreaths by Terri Chandler This book came out in 2018, and the subtitle is Fresh, F

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an old English poet, a Mexican botanist, and a British gardener and survivalist who was way ahead of his time. We'll hear an excerpt from a beautiful Jack Gilbert poem We Grow That Garden Library™ with a garden classic of our time from a contemporary garden expert. And then we'll wrap things up with a fun movie that featured a botanist. It debuted six years ago today in England. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Is a coconut a fruit, nut, or seed? | Library of Congress Important Events September 30, 1669 Death of Henry King, English poet. He served as Bishop of Chichester and was close friends with John Donne. He wrote, Brave flowers - that I could gallant it like you, And be as little vain! You come abroad, and make a harmless show, And to your beds again. You are not proud: you know your birth: For your embroidered garments are from earth. September 30, 1901 Birth of Helia Bravo Hollis, Mexican botanist. She was the first woman to graduate with a degree in biology in Mexico. By 29, she was curator of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Mexico City) herbarium, where she studied cacti. Her work brought notoriety, and she became known as The Queen of the Cacti. She co-wrote her masterpiece, Las Cactaceas de México, with Hernando Sánchez-Mejorada. In 1951, she cofounded the Mexican Cactus Society, which planned to celebrate her 100th birthday in 2001, but she died four days shy of the century mark. In 1980, Monaco's Princess Grace Kelly, who was also fond of cacti, presented Helia with the second-ever Golden Cactus Award. Helia helped found the Botanical Gardens at UNAM, where she served as the director throughout the 1960s. Once, when a strike occurred at the gardens, she offset her workers' lost wages with her own savings. In 2018, Google commemorated Helia's 117th birthday with a Google Doodle. Online, there is a memorable image of Helia dressed in a skirt and blazer - with a knife in her hand - and standing next to an enormous Echinocactus platyacanthus, aka the giant barrel cactus. In Mexico, where the cactus is a native, the hairs are harvested for weaving, and a traditional candy is made from boiling the pith. Today, the Helia Bravo Hollis Botanical Garden, with more than 80 species of Cactaceae, is found at the Biosphere Reserve of Tehuacán. Helia once wrote, My reason for living is biology and cacti. September 30, 1910 Birth of Edward Solomon Hyams, British gardener, French scholar, historian, anarchist, and writer. He was a gardening correspondent for the Illustrated London News and The Spectator and various horticultural journals. After WWII, he lived a self-sufficient lifestyle at Nut Tree Cottages in Molash in Kent. He planted a small vineyard and later wrote The Grape Vine in England (1949). The following year, he wrote From the Waste Land (1950), which describes the transformation of three acres at Nut Tree Cottages into a market garden that generated food and income. In The Gardener's Bedside Book (1968), he wrote, I have never been interested in and am incapable of writing about the great hybrid garden tulips. I do not mean to condemn them or anything foolish like that; but one cannot be interested in every kind of garden plant, and that particular kind has never made any real appeal to me whatsoever. But the botanical species tulips are quite another matter. Unearthed Words Love is like a garden in the heart, he said. They asked him what he meant by garden. He explained about gardens. "In the cities," he said, "there are places walled off where color and decorum are magnified into a civilization. Like a beautiful woman," he said. How like a woman, they asked. He remembered their wives and said garden was just a figure of speech, then called for drinks all around. Two rounds later he was crying. ― Jack Gilbert, Ovid in Tea

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an English novelist and travel writer who loved the pleasure gardens he created at a cemetery, an English writer and friend of Charlotte Bronte, and a beloved and humorous garden author. We'll hear an excerpt from Ali Smith's Autumn. It's perfect for this time of year. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about a species among the most ancient of Earth's inhabitants. And then we'll wrap things up with the birthday of an American garden 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Vegetable Garden Design: DIY Bean Trellis - Gardenista| Gardenista | Michelle Slatalla Important Events September 29, 1760 Birth of William Beckford, English novelist, travel writer, and architect. His family's enormous wealth stemmed from the enslavement of Jamaicans. Reclusive and eccentric, William is best known for his romance novel, The History of the Caliph Vathek (1782). William was fascinated with Italianate gardens. He especially enjoyed the landscape at Lansdown Cemetery after he installed a pleasure garden. He designed a large tower there and hoped to be buried in its shade near one of his favorite dogs. But it was not to be. The ground was considered unconsecrated, and the dog only made the situation even more untenable. And so, William's sarcophagus was moved to Abbey Cemetery in Bath. William once wrote, Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul to. September 29, 1810 Birth of Elizabeth Gaskell, English writer. She married a Unitarian minister named William Gaskell, and his work led them both to help and advocate for the poor. In 1850, she met Charlotte Brontë at the summer home of a mutual acquaintance, and the two became instant friends. Once when Charlotte visited her, her shyness got the best of her, and Charlotte hid behind some curtains rather than meeting other visitors who had stopped by the Gaskell's Manchester home. After Charlotte died in 1855, her father, Patrick, asked Elizabeth to write her biography, which resulted in The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857). Elizabeth's work included the novels Mary Barton (1848), Cranford (1851–53), and North and South (1854–55). She once told her daughter, Marianne, It is hard work writing a novel all morning, spudding up dandelions all afternoon, and writing again at night. Elizabeth was a gardener, and she loved flowers - especially roses. Gardens, flowers, fragrances, and country life permeate her writing. In Ruth (1853), she wrote, With a bound, the sun of a molten fiery red came above the horizon, and immediately thousands of little birds sang out for joy, and a soft chorus of mysterious, glad murmurs came forth from the earth...waking the flower-buds to the life of another day. In Wives and Daughters (1865), she wrote, I would far rather have two or three lilies of the valley gathered for me by a person I like than the most expensive bouquet that could be bought! September 29, 1920 Birth of Geoffry B. Charlesworth, garden author. Regarding the Devil's Claw or Tufted Horned Rampion (Physoplexis comosa), he wrote, We like people not just because they are good, kind, and pretty but for some indefinable spark, usually called "chemistry," that draws us to them and begs not to be analyzed too closely. Just so with plants. In that case, my favorite has to be Physoplexis comosa. This is not merely because I am writing at the beginning of July when the plant approaches maximum attractiveness. In A Gardener Obsessed (1994), he wrote, A garden is a Gymnasium; an outlet for energy, a place where accidents occur, where muscles develop, and fat is shed. — Uneventful living takes up most of our time. Gardening is part of it, possibly a trivial part to the rest of the world, but by no means less important to the gardener than the big events. In The Opinionated Gardener (1988), he wrote, Every

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an Irish physician and botanist, an English poet and critic, and an African-American poet. We'll hear an excerpt from Elin Hilderbrand. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that tells the story of 3,500 acres of land and its return to the wild. And then we'll wrap things up with an Australian-English writer, gardener, and traveler. 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." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. 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 original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News A Native Super-Edible on the Rise | gardencentermag.com | Jolene Hansen Important Events September 28, 1793 Birth of Thomas Coulter, Irish physician, botanist, and explorer. He founded the herbarium at Trinity College, Dublin. He spent a year and a half studying with the great Swiss botanist Augustin de Candolle before exploring Mexico and the American Southwest in the early 1900s. Today he is remembered in the names of several plants. The Romneya coulteri or the Coulter poppy is a white-blossomed flower native to southern California and Baja California. Also called the California tree poppy, the Coulter poppy has the largest flower of any poppy. Another Southern California specimen, the Coulter pine, is known for creating the largest pine cones in the world. Called "widowmakers" by the locals, each pinecone can weigh up to ten pounds. September 28, 1824 Birth of Francis Turner Palgrave, English poet and critic. He compiled The Golden Treasury (1861), which featured English Songs and Lyrics. The popular anthology is still published with new editions under Francis Palgrave's name. In Eutopia, Francis wrote, There is a garden where lilies And roses are side by side; And all day between them in silence The silken butterflies glide. I may not enter the garden, Though I know the road thereto; And morn by morn to the gateway I see the children go. They bring back light on their faces; But they cannot bring back to me What the lilies say to the roses, Or the songs of the butterflies be. September 28, 1867 Birth of James Edwin Campbell, African-American dialectic poet. In his poem, A Night in June, he wrote, "What so rare as a day in June?" O poet, hast thou never known A night in rose-voluptuous June? And in When The Fruit Trees Bloom, James wrote, When the fruit trees bloom, Pink of peach and white of plum, And the pear-trees' cones of snow In the old back orchard blow -- Planted fifty years ago! And the cherries' long white row Gives the sweetest prophecy Of the banquet that will be, When the suns and winds of June Shall have kissed to fruit the bloom -- Then Falstaffian bumble-bees Drain the blossoms to the lees. When the fruit trees bloom. Unearthed Words The Herb Farm reminded Marguerite of the farms in France; it was like a farm in a child's picture book. There was a white wooden fence that penned in sheep and goats, a chicken coop where a dozen warm eggs cost a dollar, a red barn for the two bay horses, and a greenhouse. Half of the greenhouse did what greenhouses do, while the other half had been fashioned into very primitive retail space. The vegetables were sold from wooden crates, all of them grown organically before such a process even had a name- corn, tomatoes, lettuces, seventeen kinds of herbs, squash, zucchini, carrots with the bushy tops left on, spring onions, radishes, cucumbers, peppers, strawberries for two short weeks in June, pumpkins after the fifteenth of September. There was chèvre made on the premises from the milk of the goats; there was fresh butter. And when Marguerite showed up for the first time in the summer of 1975, there was a ten-year-old boy who had been given the undignified job of cutting zinnias, snapdragons, and bachelor buttons and gathering them into attractive-looking bunches. ― Elin Hilderbrand, The Love Season Grow That Garden Library Wilding by Isabella Tree This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is The Return of Nature to a British Far