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.
Copyright: Copyright ©2019-2020, Jennifer Ebeling|The Daily Gardener All rights reserved
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 NewsInterview 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 EventsNovember 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".
Early in his career, Charles spent 13 months touring England and Europe between 1885 and 1886. The trip was actually Olmsted's idea, and it was a great training ground for Charles's understanding of various landscape concepts. During this trip, Charles kept a journal where he wrote down his thoughts and sketches of the places he was visiting. During his time in Europe, Charles's benchmark was always Boston. Throughout his writings, he continually compared new landscapes to the beauty of his native landscape in New England.
Charles's story ended too soon. He died at 37 from spinal meningitis.
Before his death, Charles had worked with Charles Sprague Sargent to plan The Arnold Arboretum. When Charles died, Sargent wrote a tribute to him and featured it in his weekly journal called Garden and Forest.
Charles's death had a significant impact on his father, Charles Eliot Senior. At times, the two men had struggled to connect. Charles hadn't liked it when his dad remarried and, their personalities were very different. Charles, the architect, could be a little melancholy.
After Charles died, his dad, Charles Sr., started culling through his son's work.
In April 1897, Charles Sr. confided to a friend,
"I am examining his letters and papers, and I am filled with wonder at what he accomplished in the ten years of professional life. I should've died without ever having appreciated his influence. His death has shown it to me."
Despite his heavy workload as the president of Harvard, Charles Sr. immediately set about compiling all of his son's work. He used it to write a book called Charles Eliot Landscape Architect. The book came out in 1902, and today it is considered a classic work in the field of landscape architecture.
November 1, 1883On this day, the Brown County World (Hiawatha, Kansas) published a little blurb that said,
A distinguished botanist has found that by simply soaking the stems of cut flowers in a weak dye solution, their colors can be altered at will without the perfume and the freshness being destroyed.
Unearthed WordsOn the first day of November last year, sacred to many religious calendars but especially the Celtic, I went for a walk among bare oaks and birch. Nothing much was going on. Scarlet sumac had passed, and the bees were dead. The pond had slicked overnight into that shiny and deceptive glaze of delusion, first ice. It made me remember skates and conjure a vision of myself skimming backward on one foot, the other extended; the arms become wings. Minnesota girls know that this is not a difficult maneuver if one's limber and practices even a little after school before the boys claim the rink for hockey. I think I can still do it - one thinks many foolish things when November's bright sun skips over the entrancing first freeze.
A flock of sparrows reels through the air looking more like a flying net than seventy conscious birds, a black veil thrown on the wind. When one sparrow dodges, the whole net swerves, dips: one mind. Am I part of anything like that?
Maybe not. [...]
It's an ugly woods, I was saying to myself, padding along a trail where other walkers had broken ground before me. And then I found an extraordinary bouquet. Someone had bound an offering of dry seed pods, yew, lyme grass, red berries, and brown fern and laid it on the path: "nothing special," as Buddhists say, meaning "everything." Gathered to formality, each dry stalk proclaimed a slant, an attitude, infinite shades of neutral.
All contemplative acts, silences, poems, honor the world this way. Brought together by the eye of love, a milkweed pod, a twig, allow us to see how things have been all along. A feast of being.
― Mary Rose O'Reilley, The Barn at the End of the World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd
Grow That Garden LibraryFlora was also contributed to by Kew,the Royal Botanic Gardens.
This book was published back in 2018, and the subtitle is Inside the Secret World of Plants.
Well, let me tell you that when I got my copy of this book, I was so pleasantly surprised.
This is a big book - it's a coffee table book. The cover is predominantly white, and then it just has a single flower featured on the cover - and it is stunning.
I like to think about this fantastic book as a floral scrapbook. So imagine if you were to put together a book of flowers, and on each page, you feature: a different blossom, details about the plant, the history and some outstanding characteristics of the flower, and other various aspects of the plant. This book also reviews a little bit of the science behind why plants do what they do and how they do what they do. Flora is beautifully illustrated with modern photography and also some incredible botanical art from the ages. And it is just a joy to leaf through.
So whether you are a gardener or even a non-gardener, I think you would enjoy this book.
Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heartNovember 1, 1871 Birth of Stephen Crane, American poet, novelist, and short-story writer.
Stephen started writing at the tender age of four. As a young adult, he dropped out of college at Syracuse and started working as a reporter and writer. By 1895 his Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage won acclaim despite Stephen never having any personal experience as a soldier.
The following year he was asked to go to Cuba as a war correspondent. During the voyage, his ship, the SS Commodore, sank off the coast of Florida. Stephen survived after spending thirty hours adrift at sea in a small dinghy along with other survivors. The experience became the basis for his book called, The Open Boat.
Despite surviving the shipwreck, Stephen Crane died young of tuberculosis at the age of 28.
Today, The Red Badge of Courage is considered an American classic. But Stephen also wrote short stories and poetry. One of his biggest fans was Ernest Hemingway, who credited Stephen as a source of his inspiration.
In Stephen's poem, The Black Riders and Other Lines (1895), Stephen wrote,
There was set before me a mighty hill, And long days I climbed Through regions of snow. When I had before me the summit-view, It seemed that my labour Had been to see gardens Lying at impossible distances.
Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember:
"For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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:
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 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 picking spree, police said. Professor E.C. Volz reported that more than a dozen persons, some from nearby towns, stopped at his office Monday to find out where they might get flowers. October 15, 1951 Death of George Russell, English gardener and plant breeder. He's remembered for his work with lupins and the creation of his stunning Russell Hybrids. George was a professional gardener, but his interest in lupins was ignited after seeing a vase of the blossom at one of his clients, a Mrs. Micklethwaite. When he examined the bloom, he fell in love with the architecture and form of the flower, but he wasn't thrilled by the solid purple color. He reportedly remarked, Now, there's a plant that could stand some improving. Starting at age 54, George spent the next two decades cultivating five thousand lupines every year on his two allotments, and he used bee pollination to develop his hybrids. From each year's crop, just five percent were selected for their seed based on the traits George found most appealing. For over two decades, George kept his lupines to himself. But finally, in 1935, nurseryman James Baker struck a deal with George: his stock of plants in return for a place to live for him and his assistant and the opportunity to continue his work. Two years later, George's lupines - in a rainbow of colors - were the talk of the Royal Horticulture Society flower show. George won a gold medal and a Veitch Memorial Medal for his incredible work. After George died on this day, much of his work died with him. Without his yearly devotion, many of his lupines reverted back to their wild purple color and tendencies or succumbed to Cucumber mosaic virus. Today, Sarah Conibear's ("con-ah-BEER") nursery Westcountry Lupins in North Devon is doing her own exciting work with this plant. In 2014, her lupines were featured in the Chelsea Flower Show and her red lupin, the Beefeater, is a new favorite with gardeners. Now, the history of Lupins is pretty fascinating. The first lupins in England were sent over from the Mediterranean. Other lupins were found in the Western Hemisphere. During his time in North America, the Swedish botanist Pehr Kalm observed that livestock left lupin alone even though it was green and "soft to the touch." George Russell planted the variety discovered by the botanist David Douglas in British Columbia. Lupins are a plant in motion. They follow the sun in the daytime, but Charles Darwin observed that they sleep "in three different [ways]" when they close their petals at night. Henry David Thoreau wrote about Lupins in his book, Summer. He wrote, Lupin seeds have long been used by the Navajo to make a medicine that not only relieves boils but is a cure for sterility. [Lupine] is even believed to be effective in producing girl babies. Unearthed Words Brilliant, windy day—cold. It is fall. It is the kind of day in October that Pop used to talk about. I thought about my grandfather as I came up through the hollow, with the sun on the bare persimmon trees, and a song in my mouth. All songs are, as it were, one's last. I have been grateful for life. ― Thomas Merton, A Year with Thomas Merton: Daily Meditations from His Journals Grow That Garden Library The Scentual Garden By Ken Druse This book came out in October of 2019, and the subtitle is Exploring the World of Botanical Fragrance. The author Joe Lamp'l said, "A brilliant and fascinating journey into perhaps the most overlooked and under-appreciated dimension of plants. Ken's well-researched information, experience, and perfect examples, now have me appreciating plants, gardens, and designs in a fresh and stimulating way." Ken Druse is a celebrated lecturer and an award-winning author and photographer who has been called "the guru of natural gardening" by the New York Times. He is best known for his 20 garden books published over the past 25 years. And, after reading this book, I immediately began to pay much more attention to fragrance in my garden. The book is 256 illustrated pages of 12 categories of scented plant picks and descriptions for the garden - from plants to shrubs and trees. You can get a copy of The Scentual Garden By Ken Druse and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $40. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 15, 1959 On this day, Bloomington's Indiana University captured a photo of head gardener Hugh Wallace Scales (who always went by "Wally") hard at work with the plants in the greenhouse. Today, in memory of Wally, greenhouse staffers have named their prized Amorphophallus titanum (a.k.a. titan arum, corpse flower) "Wally." Wally was the first manager of the Jordan Hall greenhouse, and the building now serves as home to the biology department. In addition to collecting plants, Wally helped establish the teaching collection and conservatory. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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:
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 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 compact, so wise are we! Under the kitchen-table leg My knee is pressing against his knee. Our shutters are shut, the fire is low, The tap is dripping peacefully; The saucepan shadows on the wall Are black and round and plain to see. October 14, 1994 On this day, Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction opened in theaters. In the movie, Uma Thurman's character tells this joke: Three tomatoes are walking down the street - a papa tomato, a mama tomato, and a little baby tomato. Baby tomato starts lagging behind. Papa tomato get angry, goes over to Baby tomato, and squishes him..... and says 'Ketchup!'" Unearthed Words "Gardeners are never wicked are they?' said Ruth. 'Obstinate and grumpy and wanting to be alone, but not wicked. Oh, look at that creeper! I've always loved October so much, haven't you? I can see why it's called the Month of the Angels." ― Eva Ibbotson, The Morning Gift Grow That Garden Library Seeking Eden by Staci L. Catron and Mary Ann Eaddy This book came out in 2018, and the subtitle is A Collection of Georgia's Historic Gardens. What a fantastic topic! I always say that Georgia loves her gardens on a level that could rival the way England loves hers. And of course, what I love about this book is that it's marrying the beauty of these gardens, the design, the particular elements that make them special. A little bit about the families and the people that grew up and got to live in these beautiful gardens. Along with the great history of the gardens. So I just absolutely love this book and it is so, so, so, so beautiful. Now this book takes us back to the mid 18th century to the early 20th century - so that's the time period that we're focusing on here. And surprisingly, you're going to see all kinds of gardens in this book, not just colonial revival gardens, or country place era landscapes, but also you're going to see rock gardens, town squares, college campuses, and even an urban conservation garden. Now the authors do a wonderful job of walking us through the history of Georgia's gardens. And by the way, all of the gardens that are featured in this book, with the exception of ten, are all public gardens, so you can go and visit them with no problem. And, you know, another thing to keep in mind when you're reading about Georgia and Georgia's gardens is that Georgia was a battlefield during the civil war. So even if some of these gardens managed to get through unscathed, they still had to pull themselves out of the upheaval of the time, Because you had all of the economic, social, and political factors that definitely impacted these gardens and that adds a very unique dimension to the history of these gardens as well. But as I mentioned earlier, Georgians love gardening. In fact, the very first garden club that was founded in the United States that was super official - complete with things like a constitution and bylaws - was the lady's garden club and it was established in Athens, Georgia in 1891. Then, of course, you've got the garden club of America that gets formed in 1913. And that was really through a United effort of 11 different garden clubs, including, of course, The Garden Club of Georgia. So I share all of this to underscore the deep love of gardens and gardening in the state of Georgia - and that's why, of course, this is such a wonderful book. And it's a big book. This book is 488 pages of Georgia garden. Heritage. You can get a copy of Seeking Eden by Staci L. Catron and Mary Ann Eaddy and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $24. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 14, 1867 Birth of Masaoka Shiki, "Masah-oh-ka Sha-KEY" Japanese poet, author, and literary critic. He died of tuberculosis at age 34 in 1902. Regarded as one of the four haiku masters, he helped develop the modern form of haiku poetry, and he personally wrote nearly 20,000 haiku verses in his all-too-short life. Now in researching Masaoka, I stumbled on a wonderful video by Roger Pulvers, who not only reads some of his haikus but does a masterful job explaining his most controversial haiku, which happened to be about the coxcomb. It was about a simple flower. Now I'm not going to ruin it for you. I don't want to spoil it, but you really should head on over to the Facebook group and check out this video by Roger Pulvers, where he helps us to better understand and appreciate Masaoka's poetry - plus I think you'll really enjoy hearing that haiku that he wrote about coxcomb. I do not know the day my pain will end yet in the little garden I had them plant seeds of autumn flowers Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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:
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 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, 1995 On this day, Iowa Forester Mark Vitosh ("Vit-tosh") shared information about falling pine needles. Many folks can get alarmed by the amount of pine needle loss, and the enormous amount of shedding that takes place this time of year. Mark reminds us what is expected and what we can expect from his post via Iowa State University Extension. I have had many calls in the last few weeks concerning the abrupt discoloration of the interior needles in many different types of conifers. The good news in most cases is that this is a normal characteristic of many different conifers in the fall and not some fatal disease. This time of year, we are used to seeing deciduous (broad-leaved) trees showing their brilliant colors. However, when we see this on conifers, it does not appear normal and becomes alarming. Unlike their deciduous counterparts, evergreen conifers only discard a portion of their foliage each fall. For example, pine trees tend to keep 1-3 years of needles active, and in the fall, the old needles turn yellow-brown before they are shed. The pine species showing the most brilliant color change this year are white, Austrian, and Scotch. The color change is also noticeable on arborvitae and sometimes spruce. This color change occurs each year, but in some years, such as 1995, it is more eye-catching. As long as the color change is in the inner portion of the tree and in the fall, you should have no worries. So instead of worrying, enjoy the brilliant yellow fall color of your conifer tree(s). 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." ― G. K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was October Grow That Garden Library The Flower Recipe Book by Alethea Harampolis and Jill Rizzo This book came out in 2013. And the subtitle is 100 magical sculptural. Seasonal arrangements, and they are beautiful. And so that's where they get the title, The Flower Recipe Book, because they're pulling these things together. And they do a marvelous job. They dedicate the book to their nature-loving mothers, And I thought that was so touching. And then, right upfront in the book, they introduce the flowers they will be working with. And I love this idea because, as in many cookbooks that share a master list of ingredients - That's what Elisia and Jill are doing with their book. So, if you've struggled in the past with flower arranging, if you feel that you can just never get the look that you've been striving for., Jill and Alethea Are going to break this down, and they have three words that are their mantra for when they're creating their arrangements: base, focal, and bits. So they start with this group of flowers and greenery- That's their base. They add in a hero flower- that's their focal point. And then they toss in a little bit of color and character - and that's their bits. And that's what fills out their arrangements. Now, what I love about these two is that they genuinely love flowers. They start the introduction to their book this way, which tells you that they are truly kindred spirits. They write, A patch of unruly honeysuckle makes our hearts skip a beat. The gnarled and thorny stems of garden roses call to us, despite the guaranteed hand scratches. We also have a great respect for the clean lines of Calla lilies and the simplicity of a single blooming succulent. Now, doesn't that make them sound like gardeners? Yes, it does. Well, I tell you what, this book is a gem for flower arranging. It is so, so pretty. I think they have over 400 pictures in this book, along with step-by-step instructions. So you really can't go wrong. Jill and Alethea share the essential recipes for all of their arrangements, and just like with cooking, you can follow the recipe. Or you can add in a few substitutions; if you don't have everything, it's totally fine. You can still end up with a beautiful arrangement. Now Alethea and Jill are truly masters. In fact, the two work together, and they created their own San Francisco-based floral design studio. And their work has been featured in Sunset magazine, Food and Wine and Veranda; And it should, because it's absolutely gorgeous. Over at the blog Design*Sponge, they left this review for the book. A pitch-perfect combination of beautiful and functional. . . . Showcasing over 100 floral creations, The Flower Recipe Book breaks down flower arrangements as if they were recipes: including ingredients, how-to steps, and ideas for altering arrangements to suit your style. So super, super friendly, and hands-on. This book is 272 pages of simple flower recipes that will help you become the floral arranger that you've always wanted to become deep down. You can get a copy of The Flower Recipe Book by Alethea Harampolis and Jill Rizzo and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $6. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 13, 1868 On this day, Sophia Thoreau inscribed this hickory leaf with a poem entitled "Fair Haven" by her older brother Henry. It is preserved in the Concord Museum. The beautiful Fairhaven Hill, near Bear Garden Hill and the Boiling Spring, was one of Thoreau's favorite places on earth. He often went there to pick huckleberry. Today Fairhaven is only partially protected by the Concord Land Conservation Trust and The Walden Woods Project. The other part of Fairhaven has been sparsely developed for houses. Here are the verses from Henry David Thoreau's Fair Haven poem that Sophia wrote on the Hickory leaf over 150 years ago: When little hills like lambs did skip, And Joshua ruled in heaven, Unmindful rolled Musketuquid, Nor budged an inch Fair Haven. If there's a cliff in this wide world, 'S, a stepping stone to heaven, A pleasant, craggy, short hand cut, It sure must be Fair Haven. If e'er my bark be tempest-tossed, And every hope the wave in, And this frail hulk shall spring a leak, 'll steer for thee, Fair Haven. And when I take my last long rest, And quiet sleep my grave in, What kindlier covering for my breast, Than thy warm turf Fair Haven. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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:
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 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 story begins with these words, One day a hummingbird got caught in a cobweb in our greenhouse. It had no real need to seek that damp, artificial heat. We were in the very heart of that Creole summertime when bird-notes are many as the sunbeams. The flowers were in such multitude they seemed to follow one about, offering their honeys and perfumes and begging to be gathered. Our little boy saw the embodied joy fall, a joy no longer, seized it and, clasping it too tightly, brought it to me dead. He cried so over the loss that I promised to have the body stuffed. This is how I came to know Manouvrier "Man-vree-yay," the Taxidermist in St. Peter Street. In My Own Acre, he wrote, A garden, we say, should never compel us to go back the way we came; but in truth, a garden should never compel us to do anything. Its don'ts should be laid solely on itself. "Private grounds, no crossing"–take that away, please, wherever you can, and plant your margins so that there can be no crossing. Wire nettings hidden by shrubberies from all but the shameless trespasser you will find far more effective, more promotive to beauty, and more courteous. "Don't" make your garden a garden of don'ts. For no garden is quite a garden until it is "Joyous Gard." Let not yours or mine be a garden for display. Then our rhododendrons and like splendors will not be at the front gate, and our grounds be less and less worth seeing the farther into them we go. Nor let yours or mine be a garden of pride. And let us not have a garden of tiring care or a user up of precious time. Neither let us have an old-trousers, sun-bonnet, black fingernails garden–especially if you are a woman. Finally, in The American Garden, he wrote, One of the happiest things about gardening is that when it is bad, you can always–you and time–you and year after next–make it good. It is very easy to think of the plants, beds, and paths of a garden as things which, being once placed, must stay where they are; but it is shortsighted, and it is fatal to effective gardening. We should look upon the arrangement of things in our garden very much as a housekeeper looks on the arrangement of the furniture in her house. Except buildings, pavements, and great trees–and not always excepting the trees–we should regard nothing in it as permanent architecture but only as furnishment and decoration. At favorable moments you will make whatever rearrangement may seem to you good. October 12, 1895 Death of Cecil Frances Alexander, Anglo-Irish hymn writer, and poet. She wrote over 400 hymns. In addition to There Is a Green Hill Far Away and the Christmas carol Once in Royal David's City, she wrote All Things Bright and Beautiful. Here are the garden and nature-related verses, along with the refrain at the end. Each little flower that opens, Each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colours, He made their tiny wings. The cold wind in the winter, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one; The tall trees in the greenwood, The meadows for our play, The rushes by the water, To gather every day; All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all. Unearthed Words The name of the zoo was the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. As I crossed the parking area, I prepared myself for disappointment. I am going to see a collection of snakes, lizards, and miserable creatures in jars, feel terribly sorry for them and leave. It was October 1991. I was Terri Raines, a twenty-seven-year-old Oregon girl in Australia on an unlikely quest to find homes for rescued American cougars. A reptile park wasn't going to be interested in a big cat. I headed through the pleasant spring heat toward the park, thinking pessimistic thoughts. This is going to be a big waste of time. But the prospect of seeing new species of wildlife drew me in. I walked through the modest entrance with some friends, only to be shocked at what I found on the other side: the most beautiful, immaculately kept gardens I had ever encountered. Peacocks strutted around, kangaroos and wallabies roamed freely, and palm trees lined all the walkways. It was like a little piece of Eden. ― Terri Irwin, Steve & Me Grow That Garden Library Carving Out a Living on the Land by Emmet Van Driesche ("DRY-sh") This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is lessons in resourcefulness and craft from an unusual Christmas tree farm. Well, I have to confess that I'm a huge fan of Emmett's YouTube channel. He does everything that he's talking about in this book - Even carving his own spoons. But what I especially love about this book is learning about what it's like to be a Christmas tree farmer. I find this fascinating. (And to me, this book is an excellent option for a Christmas gift. So keep that in mind as well.) Now what Emmett is writing about is simplicity - living a life that's in tune with nature, A life that is away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the daily grind. Emmett is busy, but he has plenty of time to do the things that matter - Even pursuing his favorite pastime of spoon carving. Now I have to confess that I discovered a very pleasant surprise when I started reading Emmett's book; he's an excellent writer. And I wanted to give you a little taste for his writing, a little sample. Just by reading what he wrote in the introduction to his book. He wrote, The air is cold enough for my breath to show. But I'm about to break a sweat. I'm harvesting balsam branches, grabbing each with one hand and cutting them with the red clippers in the other. ...I work fast and don't stop until my arm is completely stacked with branches and sticking straight out, and I look like a kid with too many sweaters on under his jacket. Pivoting on my heel. I stride back to my central pile of balsam boughs and dump the armload on top, eyeballing it to gauge how much the pile weighs. I decide I need more and head off in another direction into the grove. The balsam fir grows from big wild stumps and thickets that can stretch 20 feet around, the trees crowded so closely together, in no apparent order or pattern, that their branches interlock. Instead of single trees, each stump has up to three small trees of different ages growing off of it. They are pruned as Christmas trees, and I am a Christmas tree farmer. Isn't that fascinating? Well, this book is 288 pages of self-reliance and the Christmas spirit. You can get a copy of Carving Out a Living on the Land by Emmet Van Driesche and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $13. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 12, 1907 On this day, a 41-year-old Beatrix Potter wrote to Millie Warne, the sister of her publisher, friend, and former fiance Norman Warne (who died two years earlier - a month after their engagement - at the age of 37). Beatrix wore Norman's ring on the ring finger of her right hand until she died three days before Christmas in 1943 at the age of 77. My news is all gardening at present and supplies. I went to see an old lady at Windermere and impudently took a large basket and trowel with me. She had the most untidy garden I ever saw. I got nice things in handfuls without any shame, amongst others a bundle of lavender slips ...and another bunch of violet suckers. Incidentally, twenty years earlier on this day, in 1887, that a 21-year-old Beatrix drew her first fungus, the Verdigris Toadstool "Vir-dah-greez" (Stropharia aeruginosa). Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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:
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 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 project for the Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries, the entity in charge of locating the graves of Britains service members who died during WWI. In 1915, Arthur became part of this project and served as horticulture advisor. The job required visits throughout Europe and the middle east. Anywhere the war was fought, Arthur visited - from France to Turkey, Italy to Palestine. In 1916, during the month of March alone, Arthur visited thirty-seven cemeteries. In 1917, Arthur visited the Somme Battlefields in France and wrote poignantly about the poppies and wildflowers that grew in the aftermath of the fighting that had occurred in the summer and fall of the previous year. Although the landscape was pockmarked from shells, Arthur wrote, ...One saw only a vast expanse of weeds of cultivation, which so completely covered the ground and dominated the landscape that all appeared to be a level surface. In July, poppies predominated, and the sheet of colour as far as the eye could see was superb; a blaze of scarlet unbroken by tree or hedgerow. No more moving sight can be imagined than this great expanse of open country gorgeous in its display of colour, dotted over with half-hidden white crosses of the dead. In no British cemetery, large or small, however beautiful or impressive it may be, can the same sentiments be evoked or feelings so deeply stirred. Nowhere, I imagine, can the magnitude of the struggle be better appreciated than in this peaceful, poppy-covered battlefield hallowed by its many scattered crosses. Unearthed Words After five or six years, I dig up my Roses about October tenth, cut the tops down to about twelve inches, cut out some of the old wood, cut off the roots considerably, trench the ground anew, and replant. The following year the Roses may not bloom very profusely, but afterward, for four or five years, the yield will be great. My physician in the[128] country is a fine gardener and particularly successful with Roses. We have many delightful talks about gardening. When I told him of my surgical operations upon the Roses, he was horrified at such barbarity and seemed to listen with more or less incredulity. So I asked him if, as a surgeon as well as physician, he approved, on occasion, of lopping off a patient's limbs to prolong his life, why he should not also sanction the same operation in the vegetable kingdom. He was silent. ― Helena Rutherford Ely, A Woman's Hardy Garden Grow That Garden Library Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally by Robert Kourik This book came out in 1986. And in 2005, it was back in print by popular demand. Now, as per usual, Robert is ahead of the curve here. He's talking about incorporating edibles into the landscape and he was doing this way back in the eighties. So props to Robert. Now, what I love about all of Robert Kirk's books. Is how practical and experience-based is advisive. And as with his other books, he puts tons of resources at the end of this book as well. So make sure to check that out. In this book, Robert mainly focuses on the edible plants you can put in your garden. That will help fertilize the soil and attract beneficial insects like pollinators and then provide additional benefits like helping your garden with issues like erosion or sheltering your home from cold heat and wind. Robert also talks about how to incorporate edibles in trouble spots. So think about areas where water is a problem or where you maybe don't get that much sun. Well. Robert guides you through all of that and makes edible suggestions for those areas as well. In this book, Robert also talks about making your soil better. He walks you through a ton of tree pruning styles. And he even dishes up some gourmet recipes. Because, of course, if you're growing edibles, You're going to want to eat them. That's the best part. This book is 382 pages of edible landscaping from a master. Robert installed his very first edible landscape back in 1978. And he brings all of that experience to bear in this fantastic resource. You can get a copy of Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally by Robert Kourik and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $18. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 11, 1926 Birth of Thích Nhất Hạnh ("Tick Nyot Hahn"), Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk and peace activist. His students call him Thay (pronounced "Tay" or "Tie"), which is Vietnamese for "teacher." In 1982 he cofounded The Plum Village, a Buddhist monastery in southern France. Thay often uses nature to teach. In 2014, he wrote No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering. He once wrote, Wilting flowers do not cause suffering. It is the unrealistic desire that flowers not wilt that causes suffering. In Fidelity: How to Create a Loving Relationship That Lasts (2011), Thai wrote, Every time you breathe in and know you are breathing, every time you breathe out and smile to your out-breath, you are yourself, you are your own master, and you are the gardener of your own garden. In his 1992 book, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, Thay wrote, I have lost my smile, but don't worry. The dandelion has it. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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:
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 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 known for her narrative quilts. One of her most beloved quilts is Sunflowers Quilting Bee at Arles, which depicts a group of African American women working on a sunflower quilt with Van Gogh off to the side, bringing them a vase of sunflowers. In 1999, Faith had a garden installed at her Englewood, New Jersey home. She says, [I love] to be able to look at the garden the first thing every morning, and I love to paint the green in as many ways as I can. For many years now, Faith has hosted a garden party in June to benefit the Anyone Can Fly Foundation. The mission of the Anyone Can Fly Foundation is to expand the art establishment's canon to include artists of the African Diaspora and to introduce the Great Masters of African American Art and their art traditions to children and adult audiences. In 2019, there was an exhibition of Faith's art at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens. Unearthed Words Something had shifted between us, faintly, but the change was almost palpable. Our friendship had sat lightly between us, an ephemeral thing, without weight or gravity. Once, in the Boboli Gardens, "Bo-bah-lee" under the shadow of a cypress tree on an achingly beautiful October afternoon, he had kissed me, a solemnly sweet and respectful kiss. But weeks had passed, and we had not spoken of it. I had attributed it to the sunlight, shimmering gold like Danaë's shower, "Dan ah ee" and had pressed it into the scrapbook of memory, to be taken out and admired now and then, but not to be dwelled upon too seriously. Perhaps I had been mistaken. ― Deanna Raybourn, Silent in the Sanctuary Grow That Garden Library Epitaph for a Peach by David M. Masumoto This book came out in 1996, and the subtitle is Four Seasons on My Family Farm. This memoir is a personal favorite. Mas's lyrical writing is a pleasure to read. Here are a few gems from the book: A new planting is like having another child, requiring patience and sacrifice and a resounding optimism for the future. I try to rely less and less on controlling nature. Instead, I am learning to live with its chaos. Good neighbors are worth more than an extra sixteen trees. Mas is an organic peach farmer who shares his story with humor, grace, and incredible insight into the natural world. The New York Times said, [Masumoto is] a poet of farming and peaches. This book is 256 pages of thoughts on growing from a peach farmer with the soul of a poet. You can get a copy of Epitaph for a Peach by David M. Masumoto and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $2. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 8, 1915 Birth of William E. 'Bill' Vaughan (pen name Burton Hillis), American columnist and author. In addition to his magazine features, he wrote a syndicated column for the Kansas City Star for over three decades. His folksy sayings include, Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them. Experience teaches that love of flowers and vegetables is not enough to make a man a good gardener. He must also hate weeds. The best of all gifts around any #Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. Bill Vaughan was beloved for his humor and his friendliness. He generally wrote thirteen paragraphs of humorous observations every single day for his column. He also was an artist. A 1970 profile of Bill in his beloved Kansas City Star stated, [He] has always had what art lovers describe as unfortunate yearnings to be an artist. While testing his fledgling wings as a columnist in Springfield, Vaughan became adept at drawing deep one-column sketches that relieved him substantially of the responsibility of filling the space with words. The day Vaughan filled virtually an entire column with a drawing of a garden hose with very little at either end, the editor ordered a halt to this sort of thing. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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:
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 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 Needle is one of our common fall flowers, sometimes covering low meadows with its bright yellow flowers and along roadside almost everywhere. Another group of plants that will attract your attention if you take a walk through the woods in almost any direction during the fall of the year is the Desmodiums or beggar's ticks [or beggar lice]. Not on account of their showy flowers, but of their seeds, which will stick to you "closer than a brother," as anyone can testify who has taken a walk in the country at this season of the year. October 7, 1935 Birth of Thomas Keneally, Australian novelist. He is most widely known for his non-fiction novel Schindler's Ark, which was adapted into Steven Spielberg's 1993 Academy Award-winning film for Best Picture, Schindler's List. As a child, Thomas had terrible asthma. He wrote, I [was] frequently sick, particularly with asthma for which there was no proper treatment then. In September of 2009, Thomas helped open the brand new Asthma and Allergy Friendly Garden in the Eden Display Gardens in Sydney. A first of its kind in Australia, the garden was developed by Eden by Design with guidance from the Asthma Foundation NSW to help people living with asthma and allergies enjoy the benefits of gardening. One of the keys for asthmatics and allergy sufferers is to select low-allergen plants and female trees. Some tree species are distinctly male or female. The male plant produces pollen, and the female plants are often less triggering for folks with allergies. Other tips include gardening in the morning when the grass is still wet with dew - that helps keep the pollen on the ground. Avoid gardening on windy days when pollen is in the air. And after being in the garden, make sure to shower and change your clothes to remove any allergens that are on your body and clothes. Unearthed Words I looked around the garden, the sun feeling warm on my back. "So why are you here? I would think you'd want to be as far away from a hurricane as possible." She looked at me as if I'd just suggested streaking down the beach. It took her a moment to answer. "Because this is home." She wanted to see if the words registered with me, but I just looked back at her, not understanding at all. After a deep breath, she looked up at a tall oak tree beyond the garden, its leaves still green against the early October sky, the limbs now thick with foliage. "Because the water recedes, and the sun comes out, and the trees grow back. Because" - she spread her hands, indicated the garden and the trees and, I imagined, the entire peninsula of Biloxi - "because we've learned that great tragedy gives us opportunities for great kindness. It's like a needed reminder that the human spirit is alive and well despite all evidence to the contrary." She lowered her hands to her sides. "I figured I wasn't dead, so I must not be done." ― Karen White, The Beach Trees Grow That Garden Library The New Shade Garden by Ken Druse This book came out in 2015, and the subtitle is Creating a Lush Oasis in the Age of Climate Change. In this book, Ken Druse does it again. He provides another comprehensive guide - but this time focuses on shade plants and our changing climate. Ken's conversational writing style makes his advice stickier and easier to implement. Today gardeners need to be planning for the conditions their garden may face long term to maximize their efforts and investment.
These are the questions current and future generations of gardeners face. Beauty is still a garden goal, but today's gardener is looking for earth-friendly, climate-wise, and super functional plants. This book is 256 pages of everything you need to know to create or upgrade a shade garden from a modern plant master. You can get a copy of The New Shade Garden by Ken Druse and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $30. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 7, 1939 Birth of Clive James, Australian-born British literary critic, poet, lyricist, novelist, and memoirist. In 1972, Clive gained notoriety as a television critic for The Observer. His voice was unique, and his writing reflected his wry and intelligent humor. Then, eleven years ago, in 2010, Clive was diagnosed with both emphysema and leukemia. As one might expect, his deteriorating health impacted his work, and Clive began using his poetry to write his earthly goodbyes. One day in 2014, his daughter gifted him with a tree, and he wrote a touching poem called Japanese Maple. Clive worried he wouldn't live to see the tree change color in the fall. Here are the words he wrote from that particular verse. My daughter's choice, the maple tree is new. Come autumn and its leaves will turn to flame. What I must do Is live to see that.That will end the game For me, though life continues all the same. Clive James enjoyed several autumns with that tree. He died in 2019. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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:
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 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 contracting smallpox during his imprisonment by Union soldiers during the Civil War. But all that was behind him by the time he was whipped on this day, October 6th, 1877. Levi stayed in Texas, and he continued to serve his community as a doctor. He eventually died in Bell County, Texas, in 1908 at the age of 77. Unearthed Words In early October, the woods begin to come alive again, and that surprises many people, who think of them in autumn as places of decay and dying, falling leaves and animals hiding away for their long winter hibernation. But it is summer there that is the dead time. In summer, the air hangs heavy and close and still, nothing flowers, nothing sings, nothing stirs, and no light penetrates. But, now, there is a stirring, a sense of excitement. ― Susan Hill, The Magic Apple Tree: A Country Year Grow That Garden Library The Tree Book by Michael Dirr and Keith Warren This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is Superior Selections for Landscapes, Streetscapes, and Gardens. This book is co-authored by Michael Dir and tree breeder and nurseryman Keith Warren. Together, this dynamic duo of tree expertise put together the latest and greatest must-have tree book. The two men feature old favorites and exciting new selections. My favorite is when they recommend the hidden gems, the overlooked, and the underappreciated trees that deserve a second look. I've been saying for the past two years that gardeners need to plant more trees. But gardeners often lack the expertise for trees that they cultivate for edibles or ornamentals. This is where The Tree Book can save the day. If you've wondered about the trees you should be considering, what tree is suitable for your space, why a tree is not working out, or how to put together a stunning tree portfolio for your property, this book is essential. This book is 900 pages of nerding out on trees from two masters who share information gleaned from training and experience. You can get a copy of The Tree Book by Michael A. Dirr and Keith S. Warren and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $32 - or 3 cents a page! Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 6, 2017 On this day, Chris Howell, the gardener at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, tweeted a beautiful fall photo of leaves. In a day and age where manicured lawns are still universally valued, leaves are often seen more as a nuisance to our busy lives, being quickly raked up, bagged up, or blown away. But on this day in 2017, Chris was so struck by the simple beauty of fallen leaves on a path, he tweeted that photo along with this caption: Some leaves just need to be left on the ground to admire for a while. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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:
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 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 drawing feathers for Harper Brothers magazine. His iconic peacock feather drawing sealed his fate as an illustrator. Once he began writing, he also became known as a nature writer. One of his favorite places to write was a wild corner of Prospect Park. There he enjoyed a rare oasis of flora and fauna unlike any other green space in the city. When the city sought to clean up the wild space by cutting trees and removing plants, William wrote articles for the newspaper and persuaded local leaders to see what the city stood to lose. After the city reversed course, William Hamilton Gibson became known as the man who saved Prospect Park. October 5, 1873 Birth of Merritt Lyndon Fernald, American botanist. He wrote over 800 papers and coauthored Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America (1919-1920) with Alfred Kinsey, the American scientist, and sexologist. On one of his herbarium sheets, he once wrote a quick poem about the Rhodora - the pink blooming azalea found in the Northeastern United States. The gay Rhodora long the margin stands, Forerunner of the summer's fairer Rose; Yet coming as she does to ope spring's lands, She brightens every mood wherein she blows. Unearthed Words Our gardening forebears meant watermelon to be the juicy, barefoot taste of a hot summer's end, just as a pumpkin is the trademark fruit of late October. Most of us accept the latter and limit our jack-o'-lantern activities to the proper botanical season. Waiting for a watermelon is harder. It's tempting to reach for melons, red peppers, tomatoes, and other late-summer delights before the summer even arrives. But it's actually possible to wait, celebrating each season when it comes, not fretting about its being absent at all other times because something else good is at hand. ― Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life Grow That Garden Library Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs by Michael A. Dirr This book came out in 2011, and it is a hefty gem of a resource. This book has over 3500 photographs of over 3700 species and cultivars. Michael covers thousands of plants in this very detailed book, from flowering shrubs to weeping trees. Photos show trees in winter and other seasons to make identification and selection 100% accurate. This book is an excellent resource for gardeners, landscape architects, designers, and anyone who wants the bible for trees and shrubs. This book is 952 pages of trees and shrubs by a respected plantsman who writes with passion, candor, and wit about every possible aspect of these plants - flower color, fall color, salt or shade tolerance, winter interest, and form, just to name a few. You can get a copy of Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs by Michael Dirr and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $37. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 5, 1713 Birth of Denis Diderot, French philosopher, art critic, and writer. Denis was an ordinary man. He was not part of the aristocracy like his contemporary, Voltaire. After he started work on the first encyclopedia in France, he was imprisoned - punished for claiming that knowledge came from our senses and not from God. In this way and many others, Denis Diderot challenged the church, but he learned to be a little more discreet with his criticisms over time. Diderot's concept for his encyclopedia was to gather together the brightest minds of his time and create a series of books that shared standard academic fair like philosophy and literature and everyday jobs in the crafts and trades. This type of information had never been captured, and by including it in his encyclopedia, he elevated the people's work. Some of the work he wrote about was horticultural and floral. For Instance, he featured the work of artificial flower makers and market gardeners. Today, the illustrated pages of these jobs have become popular as pieces of art. Speaking of art, Diderot was a huge admirer of artisans and art. He was a tough critic. He once wrote, First of all, move me, surprise me, rend my heart; make me tremble, weep, shudder, outrage me! Delight my eyes, afterwards, if you can... Whatever the art form, it is better to be extravagant than cold. Denis Diderot's 28-volume Encyclopédie (1751-1772) featured work from over 100 writers covering over 71,000 entries and 20 million words. Although it was banned by both King Louis XV of France and the Vatican, Diderot's Encyclopédie was a huge success and led Diderot to devise his famous saying that, A book banned is a book read. Today the Encyclopédie is considered one of the great works of the European Enlightenment. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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