Stay ConnectedThe Daily Gardener is a weekday podcast celebrating garden history, literature, and the small botanical stories that shape how we garden today.
Each episode follows an “on this day” format, uncovering the people, plants, books, and moments that have quietly influenced gardens across time.
New episodes are released Monday through Friday, and each show features a thoughtfully chosen garden book.
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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.
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Historical Events1715 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 RecommendationWilliam 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.
Botanic Spark1856 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 entombed in shops and parlors where the year might as well have been a perpetual winter.
Thanks for listening to The Daily GardenerAnd 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 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 routes to help contextualize the importance of this simple and yet profound invention. You can get a copy of The Wardian Case by Luke Keogh and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $25. Botanic Spark 1874 Birth of Amy Lawrence Lowell (books by this author), an American poet of the imagist school. In 1926, she posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for a collection that included her popular poem Lilacs. In Madonna of the Evening Flowers, Amy wrote: You tell me that the peonies need spraying, That the columbines have overrun all bounds, That the pyrus japonica should be cut back and rounded. You tell me these things. 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 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
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, Local Secrets. This is Pati's third cookbook. It follows two previous cookbooks that were very well received: Pati's Mexican Table: The Secrets of Real Mexican Home Cooking and Mexican Today: New and Rediscovered Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen. Born and raised in Mexico City, Pati Jinich ("Hee-nich") hosts her PBS television series Pati's Mexican Table, which is going on its tenth season and has won numerous awards, including James Beard Awards and Emmys. In her latest cookbook book, Treasures of the Mexican Table, Pati is sharing heirloom recipes that have been held onto in families for generations. These recipes utilize vegetables like peppers, onion, garlic, and countless herbs straight from the garden. If Chipotle's success indicates the popularity of Mexican food, then Pati's Treasures will be sure to please - taking center stage on your outdoor dining tables this summer. Pati's cookbook is a hefty work - 416 pages and weighing in at almost three pounds. Inside, you'll find history and tradition, as well as cherished family recipes covering every category of cooking from soups to tacos, quesadillas, burritos and tamales and salsas, pickles, guacamole, beans, rice, and pasta, just to name a few. You can get a copy of Pati Jinich Treasures of the Mexican Table by Pati Jinich and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $23. Botanic Spark 1819 Birth of John Ruskin (books by this author), Victorian-era English art critic, watercolorist, and philanthropist. John's love of nature is reflected in much of his writing. John wrote: Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty. John also recognized that beauty and utility didn't always go hand in hand. He once observed, Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies, for instance. John's named his home and garden Brantwood. The name Brantwood is Norse; Brant means steep. Situated on a wooded highpoint overlooking a lake, today Brantwood is administered by a charitable trust. As with most gardens from time to time, John's own garden experienced times of neglect. By the end of the summer in 1879, John wrote, Looking over my kitchen garden yesterday, I found it [a] miserable mass of weeds gone to seed; the roses in the higher garden putrefied into brown sponges, feeling like dead snails; and the half-ripe strawberries all rotten at the stalks. As for his legacy, there's one famous garden saying from John Ruskin that has remained popular through the years: Kind hearts are the garden, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the blossoms, Kind deeds are the fruit. 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 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 books, and she shed new light on Laura as a naturalist in one of her blog posts. She wrote, Long before she was a writer. Laura Ingalls Wilder was a gardener and farmer growing food for the table and raising crops for sale. In early February of 1918, over a hundred years ago, this month, Laura Ingalls Wilder used her writing talents to encourage people to garden in an article that she wrote for a local newspaper. Laura wrote, Now is the time to make a garden. Anyone can be a successful gardener at this time of year and I know of no pleasant, her occupation these cold snowy days than to sit warm and snug by the fire making a garden with a pencil and a seed catalog. What perfect vegetables do we raise in that way? Best of all, there is not a bug or worm in the whole garden and the work is so easily done. How near the real garden of summer approaches the ideal garden of our winter fancies depends upon how practically we dream. and how hard we work. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.
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:
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 Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org 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 bloom event. November 16, 1920 On this day, The Buffalo Times shared a poem by Louise Driscoll that had appeared in The New York Times called November Garden. Here's the first and last verse. In my November garden, I found a larkspur blossoming, A lovely, radiant blue thing. It swayed and shone, And did not seem to know It was alone In my November garden. Where dry, dark leaves are falling And all the birds have flown. The birds and Summer went A way that no man knows. But here is honey that No bee will find. No bird will linger at This larkspur cup. This grace the butterfly Has left behind. Summer went away And gave it up Yet it is bravely blue Swinging there alone As if to challenge you! Unearthed Words It is the pomegranate that gives Fesenjoon its healing capabilities. The original apple of sin, the fruit of a long-gone Eden, the pomegranate shields itself in a leathery crimson shell, which in Roman times was used as a form of protective hide. Once the pomegranate's bitter skin is peeled back, though, a juicy garnet flesh is revealed to the lucky eater, popping and bursting in the mouth like the final succumber of lovemaking. Long ago, when the earth remained still, content with the fecundity of perpetual spring, and Demeter was the mother of all that was natural and flowering, it was this tempting fruit that finally set the seasons spinning. Having eaten six pomegranate seeds in the underworld, Persephone, the Goddess of Spring's high-spirited daughter, had been forced to spend six months of the year in the eternal halls of death. Without her beautiful daughter by her side, a mournful Demeter retreated to the dark corners of the universe, allowing for the icy gates of winter to finally creak open. A round crimson herald of frost, the pomegranate comes to harvest in October and November, so Fesenjoon is best made with its concentrate during other times of the year. ― Marsha Mehran, Pomegranate Soup Grow That Garden Library Plant by Phaidon Editors This book came out in 2016, and the subtitle is Exploring the Botanical World. This book is gorgeous. You might remember it - it's got a black background and then a simple blossom design. Each of the leaves is made with a different type of fabric which makes for a magnificent cover. Now, of course, like all Phaidon books, this book is so visually appealing from the cover to the inside of the book. The whole point is to show the beauty and the diversity of plants through 300 works of botanical art that date back from ancient times all the way to modern times. You'll see plants and flowers and the entire botanical world portrayed using a variety of different mediums. Phaidon did a great job of curating all of these images. This is the first book to pull together botanical art across so many different media types and from such a broad timeline and every corner of the globe. Of course, in this book, you're going to see beautiful botanical art, but then you're also going to get lots of expert information about the pieces of art and the plants that are depicted. Phaidon is known for putting together high-level, very specialized books. And in this case, to tackle this broad topic of plants, they pulled together all kinds of experts, museum curators, horticulturists, historians, botanists, and more. Then they had each of them contribute their expertise in creating the text for this book. I love what Gardens Illustrated wrote about this book: "A dazzling collection of more than 300 images of plants that brings the evolution of botanical art right into the 21st century... Alongside old favorites, such as Redoute and Mary Delany, there is much here that is both unfamiliar and arresting... An extraordinary collection." This book is 352 pages of botanical art that gives us a new appreciation and understanding of plants and their role in our history and culture. You can get a copy of Plant: Exploring the Botanical World by Phaidon Editors and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $17. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart November 16, 1999 On this day, The Columbus Telegram shared a column by Elizabeth Coblentz - an Old Order Amish woman who handwrote her column by lantern light in her Indiana home. November is now on the calendar, and we are still having beautiful days in the 70s. The laundry is drying well out there on the clothesline, and work is continuing in our garden. I have been taking the celery, carrots, red beets, cabbage, and pumpkins out from the garden today. Hopefully, the weather will stay nice, and some vegetables will grow even larger. To the reader who sent me radish and turnip seeds to plant: I did plant them in August, and we are now feasting on them. They are very good and tender, which was surprising considering our hot, dry summer. I put some leftover small potatoes in the ground, and the yield was good. I should have put more sweet potato plants in the ground, but at least we have enough for a good taste this winter. We'll be glad for all this hard work in the garden during the long, cold, dark days of January when we can open those canning jars and taste the bounty of summer. Sunday evening, we planned a favorite around here for supper: tacos. We had a large gathering, but having family over is the best of times. Those sweet, precious grandchildren are always welcome here, so the house was full of children. We all enjoy a taco supper. The tomatoes, mangoes (peppers) and onions used on the tacos were all from our garden. Canned hamburger was browned for the tacos, and there was lots more to feast on because everyone else brought a covered dish. As the family gets bigger and older we have to use larger containers now. Here is a good dessert to use those beets from the garden: Red Beet Chocolate Cake 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 eggs 1 cup oil 1 1/2 cups cooked, pureed, fresh beets 2 (1 ounce) squares of unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 3/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda sifted confectioner's sugar
PS. You can put cream cheese icing on instead of powdered sugar. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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:
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 Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org 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 might indulge in a white cushion chrysanthemum. Chrysanthemums in my opinion cannot be made to look very grand or elegant, so I would not overdo them. Of course, they are fine for specialists who like to grow hundreds of different sorts, but I am speaking of just a green garden with a touch of white. Then you come again to the white Japanese anemones and bugbanes. November 15, 1984 On this day, The New York Times announced the return of a Spring Flower Show for the city. The International Flower Show ended, after over 10 years of exhibiting in the Coliseum, because of increasing costs and the demise of estates that recruited their garden staffs to create and grow exhibits, The new show's exhibition space will be 60,000 square feet, as against the 200,000 square feet provided by the Coliseum. An advantage of the new flower show's layout is that it will be on one floor. Larry Pardue, executive director of the Horticultural Society of New York, sponsor of the show, said: ''It will be unlike any show in the country. Rather than view a series of small gardens, visitors will be totally immersed in two huge gardens, 76 feet by over 100 feet long. It will be designed to be an emotional experience.'' By all accounts, the 1985 flower show was a huge success and was visited by more than 83,000 people. Larry Pardue became the Sarasota, Florida executive director of the Marie Selby Botanic Gardens, which specialized in orchids, bromeliads, and other epiphytes. Unearthed Words One day many years ago, a man walked along and stood in the sound of the ocean on a cold sunless shore and said, "We need a voice to call across the water, to warn ships; I'll make one. I'll make a voice that is like an empty bed beside you all night long, and like an empty house when you open the door, and like the trees in autumn with no leaves. A sound like the birds flying south, crying, and a sound like November wind and the sea on the hard, cold shore. I'll make a sound that's so alone that no one can miss it, that whoever hears it will weep in their souls, and to all who hear it in the distant towns. I'll make me a sound and an apparatus and they'll call it a Fog Horn, and whoever hears it will know the sadness of eternity and the briefness of life." The Fog Horn blew. ― Ray Bradbury, The Fog Horn Grow That Garden Library A House by the Sea by Bunny Williams This fantastic book came out in 2016 and it is all about Bunny's marvelous, Caribbean home called La Colina. This book is a beautiful coffee table book and what's really neat about this book is that each chapter is written by her friends. So Bunny has one friend write about the architecture and then another friend discusses the collections and another friend talks about the cooking and the food. Then Paige Dickey, the garden writer, toured the gardens and writes this wonderful essay about Bunny's beautiful gardens at La Colina. Of course, if I wasn't a huge bunny Williams fan if I didn't have her book called An Affair With A House or her book On Garden Style, I maybe would be tempted not to get this book. But I am a huge bunny Williams fan and I know that everything she does is done with so much beauty, grace, and style that I could not resist getting a copy of this book. Then once I learned that Paige Dickey was the person that got to review the gardens? Well, then I had to get my copy of this book. This beautiful book would make a great Christmas present. The photographs are absolutely incredible. I'll tell you a few of my favorite things from the garden section of this book. There is an entrance to the cactus garden that features all of this blue pottery and in each one of these blue pots is a cactus which makes for a stunning entrance to her cactus garden. There's also a gorgeous stone shell fountain at the end of the swimming pool and it's covered in vine. In fact, Bunny is known for her use of vines in the garden - something to keep your eyes peeled for if you get this book because you'll see her use of vines throughout the garden. Bunny not only has vines climbing up structures, but they also just ramble around and kind of make their way - softening a lot of the hard edges in the garden. The hardscapes are absolutely to die for and there's an avenue of Palm trees in this over-the-top, incredible garden. The entire property is just truly breathtaking. This book is 256 pages of Bunny Williams in the Caribbean and it's a must-have if you enjoy Bunny Williams and her work. You can get a copy of A House by the Sea by Bunny Williams and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $20. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart
November 15, 1985 On this day, The New York Times announced the auction of Empress Josephine's copy of Pierre-Joseph Redoute's botanical watercolors for ''Les Liliacees'' (''The Lilies''). Now the speculation in this article was that the auction could go from being five minutes long to five hours or longer. They had no idea who was going to ultimately win this particular auction and they estimated that Redoute The Lilies would go for anywhere from $5 to $7 million. Now this work was extra special because it was commissioned by Marie Antoinette. In fact, there's a famous story that Marie wanted to make sure that Redoute was as good as what she had heard and so she summoned him to come to her chambers in the middle of the night, one night and when he got there, she ordered him to paint her a cactus on the spot. He did and so obviously he proved his worth to her and he began painting many of the flowers that were in the Royal Gardens. Now Josephine Bonaparte was a huge lover of the gardens. She loved the flowers. She loved all of the new, exotic flowers from the tropics so she was always looking for new, beautiful blossoms to put in the Royal garden and of course, she was a huge Redoute fan. This impressive Redoute collection became hers and was passed on through her family line until 1935 when the collection was auctioned off in Zurich. Since that time it was held in a vault, in a bank as part of a family trust. Now, when it came to this particular auction, the reporter for this article spoke with a London dealer named Peter Mitchell who specialized in flower paintings and stressed the important significance of this work. He felt it was so unusual to have all of these originals still intact and still so beautiful and he expressed his concern that the collection might be bought by a syndicate, which basically means that a group of people would get together to buy the collection and then split it up. Thus, everybody in the syndicate would get their share of the collection. To cut the suspense, that's exactly what ended up happening. I checked the New York times for the result of this sale and here's what they wrote. "The sale lasted only three minutes. It was one of the fastest ever for such an expensive property. And the price achieved was the 10th highest for work purchased at an art auction house. ''I have $5 million against all of you on the phone and most of you standing,'' John L. Marion, Sotheby's president, said from the rostrum. ''Is there any advance on $5 million? I give you fair warning - sold for $5 million.'' The 10 percent buyer's commission brought the total selling price to $5.5 million. Now the gentleman that represented the syndicate said that he thought the collection was worth $20 million and so he was thrilled with his purchase. He also gave a little insight into the syndicate, which was made up of executives from different companies, there was also a shopping mall developer, partners in law firms, commodities traders, as well as every major investment bank in New York. He said that. 75% of them wanted the watercolors for themselves (they wanted to own a piece of Redoute's botanical art) while the other 25% were using it purely for investment. And so that was the fate of Pierre Joseph Redoute's The Lilies collection of botanical watercolors that had been owned by Empress Josephine Bonaparte. Today for you and I, we can purchase copies of Redoute's work on Etsy for around $20. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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 Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org 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 course, William didn't have a ton of life experience as a young person in his twenties. So, he performed exactly as one might imagine he would: dazzled by the luxury and lifestyle, he quickly began racking up bills. With each passing month, he found himself deeper in debt until he ended up arrested and in jail for the large debts that he owed. Incredibly, it was the Queen who bailed him out - but not before sending him home to Philadelphia with the hopes that he could still perform as a plant collector in America. And so it was on this day. November 3 in 1766, that William returned to America with his new title as botanist to the King and Queen. Instead of being humbled by his financial misdeeds, William returned proud and haughty. He strutted about under the auspices of his Royal appointment, but his behavior didn't endear him to his American peers. They heard the rumors about how William had acted when he was in England and they were turned off by his peacocking and attire. In a letter to the botanist Peter Collinson, John Bartram wrote, "I am surprised that Young is come back so soon. He cuts the greatest figure in town and struts along the streets whistling, with his sword and gold lace." And then Bartram confided that William had visited his garden three times, feigning respect and bragging about his yearly pay from the Royal family, which amounted to 300 pounds sterling. Now William was no fool, and it's clear that he craved acceptance from his peers. At the same time, he was probably aware of how some of his peers truly felt about him. But he did not dwell on this conundrum and focused on his work. He still had collecting to do for the King and Queen, and he needed to mend fences on that front if he ever hoped to make it as a botanist. And so, he set off for the Carolinas, where he spent an entire year collecting plants. Then, he carefully and quite expertly packaged up all of the plants that he had found and traveled back to London - personally bringing all of these plants to the King and Queen and hoping to get back in their good graces. Although William arrived in England only to be refused to be seen by the King and Queen, he still managed to make his trip a resounding success. By shepherding rare, live plants in wonderful condition from the Carolinas to England, he impressed English collectors. And there was one plant in particular that really helped to repair and save William's reputation, and that was the Venus Fly Trap. William brought many live specimens of the Venus flytrap to England, and as one might imagine, the plant caused a sensation. Without the flytrap, there was probably little that William could say to restore his reputation. So in this sense, his plants, especially the Venus flytrap, did the mending and the PR work for him. What William did was essentially no different than an apologetic spouse who brings their partner flowers after a fight. That's exactly what William did on this trip when he returned and presented the Venus flytrap to England. One other fact about this trip is that William proved himself to be an expert plant packer. Clearly, one of the biggest challenges for early botanists was keeping specimens alive - that was really hard to do. Dead specimens didn't garner anywhere near the attention or pay of living plants. William's skill in this area underscores just how intelligent and thoughtful William could be. A 1771 letter to Humphrey Marshall detailed William's packing technic: William Young sends his plants very safely by wrapping them in moss and packing them pretty close [together] in a box. He ties the moss in a ball around the roots with a piece of packthread...It's very surprising how well they keep in this manner. William's method differs little from the way plants are packaged and sent by mail today. William ends up devoting his life to botany. He returned to American and collected plants in the Carolinas, returning to England when he had a full shipment. William mastered his collecting strategy over his lifetime - returning again and again to the Carolinas, scouring the wilderness for rare plants like the Venus flytrap that had brought him so much success. Along the way, William continued to struggle financially as he paid his debts. But by the end of his life, William was able to get his affairs in order, and he actually died a fairly wealthy man. Tragically, he died young at the age of 43. In December of 1784, William decided to set out once again for the Carolinas. Unbeknownst to him, he was going on what would become his final collecting trip. He never did reach the Carolinas. He only made it as far as Maryland, where he collected along a waterway known as Gunpowder Falls, where he fell into the river and died after being swept away by the current. His body was found about seven weeks later. November 3, 1794 Birth of William Cullen Bryant, American poet. William drew inspiration from the natural world. He once wrote a lovely verse about roses: Loveliest of lovely things are they, On earth, that soonest pass away. The rose that lives its little hour Is prized beyond the sculptured flower. William also wrote about the month of November in a little poem called A Winter Piece. ...When shriek'd The bleak November winds, and smote the woods, And the brown fields were herbless, and the shades, That met above the merry rivulet, Were spoil'd, I sought, I loved them still,—they seem'd Like old companions in adversity. November 3, 1841 Birth of Eugenius Warming, Danish botanist. Eugenius was one of the founders of modern plant ecology. He's credited with writing the first ecology textbook with his book, Oecology of Plants: An Introduction to the Study of Plant Communities (1895). Unearthed Words She went to the window. A fine sheen of sugary frost covered everything in sight, and white smoke rose from chimneys in the valley below the resort town. The window opened to a rush of sharp early November air that would have the town in a flurry of activity, anticipating the tourists the colder weather always brought to the high mountains of North Carolina. She stuck her head out and took a deep breath. If she could eat the cold air, she would. She thought cold snaps were like cookies, like gingersnaps. In her mind, they were made with white chocolate chunks and had a cool, brittle vanilla frosting. They melted like snow in her mouth, turning creamy and warm. ― Sarah Addison Allen, The Sugar Queen Grow That Garden Library Genealogy for Gardeners by Simon Maughan and Dr Ross Bayton This book came out in 2017, and the subtitle is Plant Families Explored & Explained. Anything that has genealogy and gardening in the title is a book that I'm interested in. Before I get into this particular review, I should mention that this book is part of one of my favorite garden series by the RHS. So in this series is the book Latin for gardeners as well as botany for gardeners. And now this book Genealogy for Gardeners is designed to help you explore and understand plant families - and plant family trees, which to me is even more exciting. Now you may be wondering why. Well, I think the authors do a great job of explaining that in the preface to their book. They write, While most of us think of plants, that's belonging to one big happy family. The fact is they don't. There are hundreds of different plant families, which botanists have cleverly grouped together using what they know of family histories and genealogy and now, of course, DNA to bring some sense and order to more than a quarter of a million different plant species. But why should this matter to you as a gardener, aside from just wanting to become more knowledgeable about plant families? Well, here's the explanation from the authors: Plant families are all around us. Whatever the time of year, go for a walk and look for wild or garden plants. You'll be surprised at how many plant families are represented within a small radius of your home. Even in your own garden, there will be a fantastic genealogy of plants. Thanks largely to the efforts of plant collectors and horticulturists who brought the plants into cultivation from the four corners of the world. When it comes to being a good gardener making connections is what it's all about. And if you are faced with a strongly acidic soil, and know that rhododendrons will grow, then you can broaden your planting ideas to include other plants in the same family, such as Heather. Mountain Laurel, leather leaf, blueberries, and others. If you are designing with plants, you may know that all plants and a particular family, and share certain features, which enables you to mix displays effectively and extend your range. Now that is a very compelling reason to get to know your plant families. One of the things that I love about this particular series of books is that the illustrations are incredible. The editors have pulled images of botanical art that truly are the best example of some of these plants. The beauty of these books, including the cover, just is not rivaled. In fact, the minute I spot these books, they just have a look and a feel to them - I know immediately that it's part of this series from the RHS. These books are in my office on a special little bookshelf of books that I reference all the time, and this little series from the RHS is such a gem. This particular book about plant family, garden, genealogy - Basically the genealogy of plants- is one that I go back to again and again, and again. So this is a fantastic book. As I mentioned, the illustrations are great. It is very clearly laid out. They've really done the heavy lifting when it comes to simplifying this material, making it very understandable and accessible. And yet, they do not dumb it down. That's not what this book is about. If you want a book on this topic that is exceptionally clear And is a delight to read, then this is the book that you've been waiting for. So, whether you're a landscape designer, a horticulture student, or just an amateur gardener, Genealogy for Gardeners will help you better understand and utilize plant families in your garden. This book is 224 pages of plant families and plant family trees - and it's part of one of the top garden book series on the market today. You can get a copy of Genealogy for Gardeners by Simon Maughan and Ross Bayton and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $20. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart November 3, 1903 On this day, The Cherokee Sentinel (Cherokee, Kansas) published this heartwarming blurb about the gardens in the Heartland of America. Here's what they wrote: It's N…
Full show notes at the publisherToday 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:
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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 flows, sustaining and strengthening its petals... But other than the petals, it also has a pith; this is its individual teaching. November 2, 1954 On this day, The Journal Herald (Dayton, Ohio) ran a little snippet on the wonder of Potpourri from the November garden. The November garden has her odors. In most instances, they are not so beguiling as those of spring and summer, yet they are far from displeasing. There is the sharp, vinegary tang that rises from leaves, sodden and cold. There is the odor of soil on which frost has laid whiteness; an odor, which seems different from that of earth newly turned in spring. There is the pungence that rises from rotting apples and pears; and the heavy fragrance which issues from the chrysanthemum leaf and blossom. Occasionally a flower remains whose breath is that of July. Even though the hand of chill has pressed heavily on the garden, the sweet alyssum has summer perfume. And a rose, spared, has a scent which speaks nostalgically of June. But in the main, the odor of the November garden is distinctive, sharp, penetrating, and has something of that element of age, which cannot be associated with redolence but rather with a potpourri. Unearthed Words She felt strong and blissfully empty, gliding through the crisp November air, enjoying the intermittent warmth of the sun as it filtered down through the overhanging trees, which were mostly stripped of their foliage. It was that trashy, post-Halloween part of the fall, yellow and orange leaves littering the ground. ― Tom Perrotta, The Leftovers Grow That Garden Library The Art of the Islamic Garden by Emma Clark This book came out in 2011 - so an oldie, but goodie. (It's already ten years old.) And here's what Emma wrote at the beginning of this book: Even a glimmer of understanding of traditional Islamic art and architecture clearly reveals that its beauty is not simply surface decoration, but is a reflection of a deep knowledge and understanding of the natural order and of the divine unity that penetrates all of our lives. Studying Islamic art and architecture and completing a master's thesis on Islamic gardens and garden carpet at the Royal college of art opened my eyes to the meaning of art. Understanding something of the religion of Islam in general and Islamic art in particular, it became clear that all art to a greater or lesser degree should be a vehicle of hope. It should remind us what it means to be human of our place in the universe and our role as is said in Islam as God's vice-regent on earth. And then she writes, and bear in mind; this is 2011: In the increasingly difficult times in which we live, it is good to be reminded that gardens and nature, transcend nationality, race, religion, color, and ideology. The Islamic garden is not only for Muslims, it's beauty is apparent to everyone. In her book, Emma offers an introduction to the design, the symbolism, and the planting of the traditional Islamic garden. Emma also gives some practical tips if you're interested in creating an Islamic garden for yourself. Emma points out that we all have different starting points for our gardens. We have different garden sizes and situations (urban garden or a country garden), obviously different climates and soils, etc. And so, she spends a couple of chapters offering up ideas for plants and trees and shrubs that you might want to consider incorporating into an Islamic-inspired garden. Now there is a pattern to Islamic gardens. They're often constructed around a central pool or fountain with four streams flowing symbolically to the earth's four corners. My favorite part of this book is exploring the symbolism behind Islamic art and gardens. And by the way, there is a magnificent chapter in this book that is all about the prince of Wales carpet garden. It's just spectacular. Now this book is out of print, and I predict that copies of this book will only get harder to get as time goes on. So if you have any interest, you should make sure that this one gets on your list. You can get a copy of The Art of the Islamic Garden by Emma Clark and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $26. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart November 2, 1975 On this day, The New York Times Around the Garden segment recommended some new garden books. Some bright newcomers have been added to the trowel‐watering can library. Here they are. Masakuni Kawasumi spent three years in this country adapting his Japanese methods of bonsai growing to American species of trees. His "Bonsai With American Trees" ($10, Kodansha International) is the result, an excellent basic primer... Tapeworm plant, living stones bead vine, spiderweb, and polka dot are a few of the off‐beat plants described in "Fun With Growing Odd and Curious House Plants" Virginie and George Elbert ($8.95, Crown). The odd‐sized book, 6½ x 11 inches, gives brief biographies and how‐to‐grow tips for many unusual house plants, delightful changes from the tried‐and‐true. And while on the subject of fun, there is Jack Kramer's "How to Identify & Care for House Plants" ($8.95, Doubleday). The fun comes in matching line‐drawings and silhouettes to the author's organizational key. Though probably not meant to be a puzzle book, it is. ...a plant number 8‐1‐3 turns out to be none other than a cattleya orchid. Thalassa Cruso, television "lady of the trowel" has done it again. This time she is telling about "Making Vegetables Grow" ($8.95, Knopf), one of her best with chatty helpful tips on bringing the crop in abundantly. Light gardens are booming, especially among those who have dark apartments and want some greenery indoors. "The Complete Book of Houseplants Under Lights" by Charles Marden Fitch ($9.95, Hawthorn) updates the hobby and is full of ideas. Joining the series of "state" books on wildflowers by John E. Klimas Jr., is "A Pocket Guide to the Common Wild Flowers of New York" ($5.95, Walker). Compact tuck in a backpack, Descriptions are in everyday language, not botanist's twang. Environmental awareness has come full circle with "Organic Flower Gardening" by Catherine Osgood Foster ($12.95, Rodale Press). An organic gardener's book on raising flowers? Mrs. Foster explains why, "One is for the sake of the bees, wasps and other beneficial insects and butterflies … another good reason is to protect the birds … the most important is that you avoid starting chain reactions in the environment from poisonous chemical sprays and dusts you might introduce." And for winter reading by the fireplace, here are a few: "A Gardener Touched With Genius, The Life of Luther Burbank" by Peter Dreyer ($10, Coward, McCann & Geoghegan): "The Best of American Gardening" by Ken and Pat Kraft ($10, Walker), a clip hook of garden tips gleaned from 100‐year‐old seed catalogues; "The Plant Hunters" by B. J. Healey ($8.95, Scribners), a brief biography of discoverers of exotic species from the 17th century to the present. And for reference; "Ornamental Grasses" by Mary Hockenberry Meyer ($9.95, Scribners), an excellent well-illustrated guide to this unusual group of plants. "The Personal Garden, Its Architecture and Design" by Bernard Wolgensinger and Jose Daidone ($30, Van Nostrand Reinhold), beautifully illustrated with design concepts from European, Western and Japanese gardens. "Plant A Tree" by Michael A. Weiner ($15.95, Macmillan) subtitled, "A working guide to regreening America." Good reference book for city planners, libraries, and schools on tree planting and care, nationwide. Florida, Texas, and California where the avocado is grown commercially, the trees do not start flowering until six years old, or sooner if grafted. One rare exception was reported by Barbara Stimson, a gardener in Maine, who wrote in a recent Letters to the Editor, Flower and Garden, that her indoor avocado did flower, but no fruit, when it was about two years old and four feet high. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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