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 we celebrate a happy lyricist and poet. We'll also remember a charming diary entry from 1938 by a Canadian conservationist and naturalist. We'll honor a poem by Walt Whitman that inspired a beautiful composition that premiered this day in 1946. We hear an excerpt about the healing power of the garden. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a gorgeous book about Wave Hill garden in the Bronx. And then we'll wrap things up with a little story about the origin of ketchup. 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 Curated News Sloping Garden Ideas | Ideal Home | Tamara Kelly 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. Important Events May 14, 1840 Today is the birthday of the American poet, lyricist, and hymn-writer George Cooper. Today, George is remembered for his happy song lyrics, which were often set to music written by Stephen Foster. And George wrote a little poem dear to gardeners called, My Garden. When fields are green, and skies are fair, And summer fragrance fills the air, I love to watch the budding rose That in my pleasant garden grows; But when old Winter, fierce and free, Has hushed the murmur of the bee, And all the fields and hills are hid Beneath his snowy coverlid, Oh! then my only garden-spot Is just this little flower pot. May 14, 1938 On this day, the Canadian conservationist and naturalist Charles Joseph Sauriol wrote in his journal, "I have some most beautiful Pansies from the seeds of last year. Pansies are a surprise packet. You never know what to expect, and you are never disappointed if you [don't?] expect much." We found on Thursday night a section of Pine root with a Dogwood growing from its wood and rotted mold. Transplanted it to the Wild Flower garden. It will be exactly what I will require for certain Wild Flowers. Planted a Bleeding Heart. Have wanted to do so for several years. It's an old-fashioned flower. Mother always used to have one in her garden when I was a small boy." Bleeding heart is in the poppy family. Additional common names for Bleeding heart include "lyre flower" and "lady-in-a-bath." Native to Siberia, northern Asia, and North America, there are several cultivars for gardeners to consider, including 'Alba,' which has white flowers, 'Gold Heart,' which has yellow leaves; and 'Valentine,' which has red-and-white blossoms. Auntie Dogma's Garden Spot blog says, "No other plant bears perfect heart-shaped flowers like those of the Bleeding Heart. If you press the flowers between the pages of a heavy book, you'll have papery-thin little hearts to adorn letters or valentines. If you turn a flower upside down and pull the two halves apart, you'll see a lady in a pink bathtub, or perhaps you'll see a white lyre with strings of silk." And then, she shares the interactive story of the bleeding heart that uses a blossom to tell the story. "(To begin narration of the story, hold a heart blossom in the palm of your hand.) Long ago, there lived a noble prince who tried in vain to win the heart of a very beautiful princess. The prince had brought the princess wonderful gifts from his travels far and wide. Yet, she had taken no notice of him. One day the prince returned from a long journey with very special gifts to surely win the love of the princess. First, he presented her with two magical pink bunnies. (Peel off the two outer petals and set them on their sides to display two little pink bunnies.) The princess only sighed and barely looked at the little bunnies. The hopeful prince had one more gift saved for last – he presented a pair of beautiful enchanted earrings. (Remove the two long white petals and hold them next to your ears.) Again, the princess hardly noticed the prince's gift. Now the poor prince was utterly heartbroken. He could try no more to win the heart of the princess. He rose up, pulled a dagger from his sheath, and stabbed himself in the heart. (Remaining in the flower is a heart shape with the stamen, appearing as a dark green line down the center. Hold the heart up, carefully remove the dagger-like line, and plunge the dagger through the heart.) The princess was overcome by the dedication of the dying prince and his unending love for her. She realized too late that she loved him also. "Alas," she cried out. "I have done wrong. My own heart is also broken. I shall bleed for my prince forevermore!" And her heart bleeds to this very day." May 14, 1946 On this day, Paul Hindemith's composition When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom'd: A Requiem «For Those We Love» premiered. The music was inspired by a poem of the same title by Walt Whitman, When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom'd. Walt Whitman wrote his poem in the summer of 1865. The country was still mourning the assassination of President Lincoln. In 206 lines, Walt does not mention Lincoln's name or the assassination. Instead, he uses nature and nature imagery to move the reader from grief to acceptance. Lincoln was killed in the springtime - on April 14, 1865. Walt was at his mother's home when he heard the news. Later he recalled, "I remember… there were many lilacs in full bloom… I find myself always reminded of the great tragedy of that day by the sight and odor of these blossoms. It never fails." When Walt Whitman was 54 years old, he suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed. He spent the next two years immersed in nature, and he believed that nature had helped heal him. He wrote, "How it all nourishes, lulls me, in the way most needed; the open air, the rye-fields, the apple orchards." Unearthed Words But spring twilight found her barefoot in the garden, planting beans and helping me fill my pail with earthworms that were severed by her shovel. I thought I could nurse them back to health in the worm hospital I constructed beneath the irises. She encouraged me in this, always saying, "There is no hurt that can't be healed by love." ― Robin Wall Kimmerer, mother, plant ecologist, writer, and SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Grow That Garden Library Nature into Art by Thomas Christopher This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is The Gardens of Wave Hill. In this book, Thomas introduces us to Wave Hill - a garden that opened to the public in 1967. A public garden in the Bronx, Wave Hill is known for its daring and innovative horticulture. Thomas takes us on a tour of the different areas of the garden — the flower garden, wild garden, shade border, and conservatory. In addition, Thomas reviews the plants and design principles that underpin Wave Hill. Enchanting and inspiring, Wave Hill manages to delight and instruct gardeners all year long. This book is 296 pages of a private tour of a jewel of the Bronx - the iconic Wave Hill. You can get a copy of Nature into Art by Thomas Christopher and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $3 Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart May 14, 1846 Today is the anniversary of the death of the American scientist, horticulturist, and physician James Mease. A son of Philadelphia, James was a passionate gardener, and he consistently referred to tomatoes the way the French did - as "Love Apples." In 1812, James published the first known tomato-based ketchup recipe. Although Ketchup had existed in China for centuries, James added the tomato base - something that caught on not only in the United States but also in England. For his unique recipe, James used tomato pulp, spices, and brandy. Unlike many other recipes, James did not use sugar or vinegar. He named his recipe "Love-Apple Catsup." Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate a garden that transformed into a cemetery for our country's military. We'll also learn about one of America's oldest gardens that oped on this day over a hundred years ago. We hear an excerpt from one of the founders of the Garden Club of America about rescuing her family daffodils. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about the perfect plant partners in the garden. And then we'll wrap things up with the writer Daphne du Maurier - she loved gardens and incorporated them into her story. 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 Curated News The Essential Gardening Step You're Probably Skipping | Food52.com | Nadia Hassani 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. Important Events May 13, 1864 Today Private William Christman becomes the first person to be buried at Arlington Cemetery. Arlington National Cemetery didn't start out as a cemetery. It was actually a property that belonged to the Custis family - the family of George Washington Parke Custis, the adopted son of the first president of the United States. His biological mother was Martha Washington. Today, many people are unaware of the ties between the Custis family and the Lee family. It turns out that George's daughter, Mary, married Robert E. Lee. When George died, Robert inherited Arlington House - a place Mary loved dearly. As many visitors to Washington D.C. can attest, Arlington house was situated on a grand hill and overlooked 1,100 acres of land. When the Civil War started, Robert and Mary Lee abandoned the property. Since the Lees didn't dare return to the city to pay taxes on the property for fear of being arrested, they sacrificed Arlington House to the North. Union soldiers immediately took occupancy and set up an advantageous position on the hill. The burial of William Christman on a remote corner of the property on this day in 1864 marked the beginning of a new chapter for Arlington - it was becoming a graveyard for fallen Union soldiers. Soon the higher ranking soldiers and officers were being buried closer to the Mansion - around what was left of the Lee Family garden - where Mary had tended roses, honeysuckle, and jasmine. Today, there are over 400,000 graves at Arlington. May 13, 1911 On this day, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York City opened to the public. Today the garden is home to over 200 cherry trees representing forty-two different species. The garden is made up of several defined garden spaces. First, the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden was one of the first Japanese gardens to be created in an American botanic garden and the first Japanese garden to be accessible free of charge in America. Second, the Cranford Rose Garden came to be after being sponsored by the engineering company executive Walter V Cranford. The oldest garden on the property is the Native Flora Garden which started out as a wildflower garden before transitioning to a woodland garden. There's also a Shakespeare Garden, a Fragrance Garden, and a Children's Garden. Before the pandemic, the garden welcomed nearly a million visitors every single year. Unearthed Words Narcissi and Daffodils live for generations. I know some double yellow Daffodils growing in my great-grandfather's garden that were planted over seventy years ago. The place was sold, and the house burned about thirty years since, and all this time has been entirely neglected. Someone told me that Daffodils and Narcissi still bloomed there bravely in the grass. With a cousin, one lovely day last spring, I took the train out to this old place and there found quantities of the dainty yellow flowers. We had come unprovided with any gardening implements, having nothing of the kind in town, and brought only a basket for the spoils and a steel table-knife. We quickly found the knife of no avail, so we borrowed a sadly broken coal shovel from a tumble-down sort of a man who stood gazing at us from the door of a tumble-down house. The roots of the Daffodils were very deep, and neither of us could use a spade, so the driver of the ramshackle wagon taken at the station was pressed into service. Handling of shovel or spade was evidently an unknown art to him. The Daffodil roots were nearly a foot deep, but we finally got them, several hundreds of them, all we could carry. The driver seemed to think us somewhat mad and said, "Them's only some kind of weed," but when I told him the original bulbs from which all these had come were planted by my great-grandmother and her daughter and that I wanted to carry some away, to plant in my own garden, he became interested and dug with all his heart. The bulbs were in solid clumps a foot across and had to be pulled apart and separated. They were the old Double Yellow Daffodil and a very large double white variety, the edges of the petals faintly tinged with yellow and delightfully fragrant. My share of the spoils is now thriving in my garden. By the process of division every three years, these Daffodils can be made to yield indefinitely, and perhaps some great-grandchild of my own may gather their blossoms. ― Helena Rutherfurd Ely, American author, amateur gardener, and founding member of the Garden Club of America Grow That Garden Library Natural Companions by Ken Druse This book came out in 2012, and the subtitle is The Garden Lover's Guide to Plant Combinations. In this book, plantsman and garden writer Ken Druse presents his time-tested recipes for plant pairings. Some plants are beautiful all are on their own, but some really shine when set beside another plant. Plant pairings are also a wonderful way to complement bloom times or foliage. There is so much to consider. Ken smartly organizes his book by theme within seasons. He covers color, fragrance, foliage, grasses, and edible flowers, just to name a few. In addition, his book shows the power of his plant combinations in real gardens in a variety of growing zones through photography. Like all of Ken's books, this book is filled with a ton of horticultural wisdom and guidance, in addition to garden lore, humor, and practicality. This book is 256 pages of perfect plant partners for your garden. You can get a copy of Natural Companions by Ken Druse and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $4 Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart May 13, 1907 Today is the birthday of the English author and playwright Daphne du Maurier ("Mor-ee-aya"), who was born in London. She was the middle daughter of a well-to-do family of creative bohemian artists and writers. Her father was a famous actor and a favorite of James Barrie - the author of Peter Pan. Daphne's writing inspired Alfred Hitchcock - especially her novels Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, and her short story, The Birds. In 1938 Daphne published her popular book, Rebecca. It has never gone out of print. During the pandemic in 2020, Netflix released their movie version of Rebecca starring Lily James, Armie Hammer, and Kristin Scott Thomas. In Rebecca, Daphne writes about the beautiful azaleas that grow on the estate at Manderley. And she says that the blooms were used to make a perfume for its late mistress. Yet, most azalea growers know that this is likely an example of artistic license since most evergreen azaleas have little to no fragrance. That said, some native deciduous azaleas can be very fragrant. In the opening pages of Rebecca, Daphne's narrator vividly describes the wild and wooly garden of Manderley: "I saw that the garden had obeyed the jungle law, even as the woods had done. The rhododendrons stood fifty feet high, twisted and entwined with bracken, and they had entered into alien marriage with a host of nameless shrubs, poor, bastard thing that clung about their roots as though conscious of their spurious origin. A lilac had mated with a copper beech, and to bind them yet more closely to one another the malevolent ivy, always an enemy to grace, had thrown her tendrils about the pair and made them prisoners." Daphne du Maurier incorporated gardens into many of her books. Her daughters recall that their mother loved flowers and flower arranging. Their home was always filled with flowers. In Echoes from the Macabre: Selected Stories, Daphne wrote: "As soon as he had disappeared Deborah made for the trees fringing the lawn, and once in the shrouded wood felt herself safe… It was very quiet. The woods were made for secrecy. They did not recognize her as the garden did." In The King's General, as in Rebecca, the garden feels like a dangerous place at times. "I was a tiny child again at Radford, my uncle's home, and he was walking me through the glass-houses in the gardens. There was one flower, an orchid, that grew alone; it was the color of pale ivory, with one little vein of crimson running through the petals. The scent filled the house, honeyed, and sickly sweet. It was the loveliest flower I had ever seen. I stretched out my hand to stroke the soft velvet sheen, and swiftly my uncle pulled me by the shoulder. 'Don't touch it, child. The stem is poisonous." Finally, in her work, The Parasites, Daphne showed a different side of herself - her cleverness and humor - with a brief commentary on what it was like sending flowers along with a telegram: "Most people would send their letters and telegrams to the Haymarket. The flowers too. When you came to think of it the whole business was horribly like having an operation. The telegrams, the flowers. And the long hours of waiting." Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate a woman named after Florence, Italy, and who loved flowers her entire life. We'll learn about the Floral Emblem of Manitoba. We hear an excerpt about spring at Green Gables. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about the relationship between people and plants. And then we'll wrap things up with some garden limericks for National Limerick Day. 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 Curated News Rooting for Brain Health: The Therapeutic Power of Horticultural Therapy for Dementia | Being Patient | Genevieve Glass 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. Important Events May 12, 1820 Today is the birthday of the English social reformer, statistician, and founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale. Florence earned the moniker "The Lady with the Lamp" during the Crimean War because she would make her rounds to visit wounded soldiers with a lamp during the night. Florence was named after Florence, Italy - the city where she was born. As a young girl, both she and her sister each had their own garden to plant and tend. When Florence was a young girl of 13, she collected flowers with a 77-year old botanist named Margaret Stovin. Together they gathered and pressed over 100 different species of plants. This charming story was featured in a 2008 book by Richard Mendelsohn. Today the flowers that Florence and Margaret collected are housed at the Natural History Museum in London. As an adult, Florence wrote, Poetry and imagination begin life. A child will fall on its knees on the gravel walk at the sight of a pink hawthorn in full flower, when it is by itself, to praise God for it. As a nurse, Florence believed flowers helped with the morale and recovery of her patients. And personally, Florence's favorite flower was the foxglove. And Florence received a lovely bouquet every week from William Rathbone, the man who founded the Queen Victoria Jubilee Institute for Nurses. In 2020, during the pandemic, one of the anticipated gardens was dedicated to Florence. The year 2020 marked the 200th Anniversary of her birth, and the garden was to be called The Florence Nightingale Garden - A Celebration of Modern Day Nursing. Instead, the garden will make its debut during the 2021 Chelsea Flower Show. The garden will feature "Images from Florence Nightingale's pressed flower collection and echoes of her handwriting … on… the timber walls." Today Florence is remembered in the Florence Nightingale Museum in London, which celebrates the life and work of the best-known figure in nursing history. She is also honored with the Florence Nightingale rose — a pretty pale pink fragrant rose. May 12, 1870 On this day, Manitoba became a province of Canada. In 1906, the Anemone patens, commonly known as the Prairie Crocus, was officially adopted as the floral emblem of Manitoba. The first prairie plant to bloom in the spring, the Prairie Crocus, left an impression with early pioneers, and they called it a crocus because it reminded them of the early blooming crocus in Europe. However, the Prairie Crocus is not a crocus; it's an anemone, and as such, it is part of the buttercup family. In 1841, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote to his future wife, "There has been but one flower found in this vicinity--and that was an anemone, a poor, able, shivering little flower that had crept under a stone wall for shelter." In Floriography or the language of flowers, the Prairie Crocus is a symbol of liberty and freedom. Unearthed Words Spring had come once more to Green Gables — the beautiful, capricious Canadian spring, lingering along through April and May in a succession of sweet, fresh, chilly days, with pink sunsets and miracles of resurrection and growth. The maples in Lover's Lane were red-budded, and little curly ferns pushed up around the Dryad's Bubble. Away in the barrens, behind Mr. Silas Sloane's place, the mayflowers blossomed out, pink and white stars of sweetness under their brown leaves. All the school girls and boys had one golden afternoon gathering them, coming home in the clear, echoing twilight with arms and baskets full of flowery spoil. ― Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author, Anne of Green Gables , Grow That Garden Library Natural Affairs by Peter Bernhardt This book came out in 1993, and the subtitle is A Botanist Looks at the Attachments Between Plants and People. When this book was written, Peter was a research assistant at the Missouri Botanical Garden. His book, Natural Affairs, is a mix of plant information and folklore, and science over the course of human history. Peter highlights the various interactions in time between humans and plants. For instance, the naming of passion vine comes from the Jesuit priests who felt the vines' blossom showed the passion of Christ on the cross. Whether the relationships are highly coveted - as with saffron (the spice worth its weight it gold), or even mysterious - as with the Asian slipper orchid - plants, like people, want to survive and thrive. This book is 225 pages of the incredible relationships we have with plants - be they quirky, charming, delightful, or serious. You can get a copy of Natural Affairs by Peter Bernhardt 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 Today is National Limerick Day. Here's a garden limerick that was featured in The Central New Jersey Home News on May 19, 1918 John soon had a fine garden growing, And said, in a manner quite knowing, "These beans and potatoes, Peas, corn, and tomatoes Will soon make a very fine showing. And here's one from 2020 @Paddysaurus on Twitter: There once was a gardener named Fred Who was struggling with his raised beds Nothing would grow Then a friend said, "you know, you'd be better off fishing instead!" Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate a Swiss philosopher who loved nature. We'll remember the famous Panama orchid hunter whose orchids were displayed on this day 93 years ago. We'll also learn about a fascinating discovery by a botanist who was exploring Death Valley on this day last year. We hear a thought-provoking excerpt about pruning as a metaphor for life. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about Mycelium - a network of fine white filaments beneath our feet. And then we'll wrap things up with a beautiful Garden Museum that opened on this day in 1985. 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 Curated News Cassian Schmidt | GRÜNES BLUT | Anke Schmitz 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. Important Events May 11, 1881 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Swiss moral philosopher, poet, critic, and nature-lover, Henri Frederic Amiel. Henri used the garden as a metaphor for life. He wrote, "Before my history can teach anybody anything, or even interest myself, it must be disentangled from its materials, distilled and simplified. These thousands of pages are but the pile of leaves and bark from which the essence has still to be extracted. A whole forest of cinchonas are worth but one cask of quinine. A whole Smyrna rose-garden goes to produce one vial of perfume." Henri also recognized the healing power of nature. On June 3, 1849, he wrote, "Come, kind nature, smile and enchant me! Veil from me awhile my own griefs and those of others; let me see only the folds of thy queenly mantle, and hide all miserable and ignoble things from me under thy bounties and splendors!" On April 29, 1852, Henri wrote about his spring garden. "I went out into the garden to see what progress the spring was making. I strolled from the irises to the lilacs, round the flower-beds, and in the shrubberies. Reverie is the Sunday of thought; It is like a bath which gives vigor and suppleness… to the mind as to the body; the banquet of the butterfly wandering from flower to flower over the hills and in the fields. And remember, the soul too is a butterfly." And also, in this passage, Henri famously advised, "A modest garden contains, for those who know how to look and to wait, more instruction than a library." May 11, 1928 On this day, Abel Aken Hunter shared some of his orchid collection at the Third Annual National Orchid Show held at Madison Square Garden. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported: "A mile of orchids, representing every known variety and worth more than $1,000,000 may be seen in the exhibit." Abel Aken Hunter's entry was specifically mentioned as, "Another extraordinary collection in the show was brought from the jungles of Central America by A. A. Hunter of Balboa, Panama." In a biography of Abel's older brother, it was mentioned that all the kids in the Hunter family were, "born naturalists, for they knew all the birds and many of the plants and insects around Lincoln, [Nebraska]." Incidentally, Abel studied botany at the University of Nebraska. And like many botanists of his time, he fit his passion for botany around his career. He'd been working for the United States Postal Service since he was 15 years old and Abel's 30-year Post Office career facilitated his collecting efforts all through his life. In 1906, Abel transferred to the post office in the Canal Zone in Panama. The move was perfect for Abel; his pay jumped to $1,250 a month, and he was smack dab in the middle of a botanical paradise. The year 1910 brought a fateful friend to Abel: the amateur horticulturist and nurse Charles Powell. And although Charles was two decades older than Abel, the two men got on famously. In addition to their love of botany, they shared a passion for fishing. Once, while they were fishing, they spied an incredible sight. Abel is recorded as saying, "Look, Powell – orchids! Oodles of orchids! Treefuls of orchids! Let's get some of 'em." That day, they brought home a "boat-load of orchids," and the orchids made their way to collectors across the globe. A few years later, after the Canal work in Gorgona wrapped up, both Abel and Charles transferred to Balboa. In Balboa, Abel and Charles coordinated their vacation requests to accommodate their botanizing trips in Panama. In the meantime, Charles created a special relationship with the Missouri Botanical Garden and he sent them 7,000 plants. In return, MOBOT established a Tropical Station in Balboa and Charles Powell served as its first director. Abel succeeded him, and during their tenure, the Station became a jewel in the crown of MOBOT. By the mid-1920s, Abel was collecting with MOBOT experts like George Harry Pring, who recalled, "To obtain… new species it is necessary to climb the 'barrancas' [steep, rocky slopes], ford streams, cut one's way through the jungle, and hunt for the coveted orchid, and it is truly a hunt. Abel's sharp eyes detected almost everything within range." A week before Thanksgiving in 1934, the Director of Mobot sent a party of three researchers, including Paul Allen, down to work with Abel; their primary mission was to find where the Sobralia powellii orchid originated. Abel's gut told him it would be near the headwaters of the river they were exploring. For three days, they made their way through rapids and a tropical rainstorm. Nothing went their way and they were ready to give up. As they were standing at the edge of a natural pool near the crater of an ancient volcano, Paul decided to jump in for a swim. As he climbed out, Paul's journal records this fantastical moment: "Climbing out [of the pool] on the opposite side my astonished gaze was met by a plant with great milky white buds nearly ready to open. The long-sought prize, Sobralia powellii, had been found. Its native home was no longer a mystery." Paul Allen called this area "a garden of orchids" and would not disclose the exact location. Abel and Paul found hundreds of small orchids in this spot; incredibly, many were even new to Abel. It was a veritable orchid treasure trove. This trip was everything to Abel. He had been diagnosed with intestinal cancer and it would be his final orchid hunt. When it was clear he could not go on, Paul brought Abel to a hospital in Panama City, where he died on April 6, 1935. Paul Allen finished the expedition alone. After his death, Abel's wife, Mary, operated the station at Balboa for 18 months until, fittingly, Paul Allen was appointed Director. Paul Allen traveled to Balboa with his new bride, Dorothy. They had been married for ten days. As for Abel Aken Hunter, many orchids have been named in his honor, including the Coryanthes Hunteranum, or the Golden Bucket orchid. May 11, 2020 It was on this day that a botanist discovered the wreckage of a CIA plane that crashed in January 1952 in Death Valley. The botanist was filming his hike in the valley - sharing the various specimens he encountered. I shared the film in the Facebook group for the show. In the film, the plane is initially seen in the distance. It's only after the botanist researches the wreckage that the story of plane becomes clear. Air Live reported that, "It turned out the plane has been there for 68 years. In January 1952 [the] SA-16 Albatross was flying from Idaho to San Diego supporting classified CIA Cold War operations when its left engine caught fire over Death Valley, California and the plane began losing altitude and velocity. The pilot gave the order to evacuate the plane and all 6 people on board jumped out the back door! They parachuted and safely landed 14 miles north of Furnace Creek which they then hiked to." Unearthed Words Whether working in the yard or just going about the daily business of life, you are continually adjusting, trimming, touching, shaping, and tinkering with the wealth of things around you. It may be difficult for you to know when to stop. We are all torn between the extremes of taking care of things and leaving them alone, and we question whether many things could ever get along without us. We find ourselves with pruning shears in hand, snipping away at this or that, telling ourselves that we're only being helpful, redefining something else's space, removing that which is unappealing to us. It's not that we really want to change the world. We just want to fix it up slightly. We'd like to lose a few pounds or rid ourselves of some small habit. Maybe we'd like to help a friend improve his situation or repair a few loose ends in the lives of our children. All of this shaping and controlling can have an adverse effect. Unlike someone skilled in the art of bonsai gardening, we may *unintentionally* stunt much natural growth before it occurs. And our meddling may not be appreciated by others. Most things will get along superbly without our editing, fussing, and intervention. We can learn to just let them be. As a poem of long ago puts it, "In the landscape of spring, the flowering branches grow naturally, some are long, some are short." ― Gary Thorp, Sweeping Changes: Discovering the Joy of Zen in Everyday Tasks Grow That Garden Library Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets This book came out in 2005, and the subtitle is How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World In this book, Paul shares the power of mushrooms and how growing mushrooms is the best way to save the environment. As Paul explains, "The basic science goes like this: Microscopic cells called "mycelium"--the fruit of which are mushrooms--recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements as they break down plant and animal debris in the creation of rich new soil." Paul is passionate about using mycelium to tackle everything from toxic wastes and pollutants, silt in streambeds, pathogens in watersheds, pest control, and general forest and garden health. This book is 356 pages of myco-restoration - using mycelium and mushrooms for restoration and environmental health. You can get a copy of Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets 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 May 11, 1985 On this day the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum in Long Island City, Queens, officially opened to the public. It was the first American museum established by a living artist for the display of his own work. A modernist sculptor and designer, Isamu founded and designed the museum in a repurposed 1920s red brick industrial building. The two-story Museum contains approximately 27,000 square feet of exhibition space and includes a sculpture garden. The beautiful Zen Garden can also be spied from the staircase exit on the second floor. It was the Japanese-American artist, Isamu Noguchi who said, When the time came for me to work with larger spaces, I conceived them as gardens, not as sites with objects but as relationships to a whole. The art of stone in a Japanese garden is that of placement. Its ideal does not deviate from that of nature. And he also had two other sayings that can be applied to the work of garden designers. When an artist stops being a child, he stops being an artist. We are a landscape of all we have seen. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate the man who first wrote about the secateurs. We'll also learn about the Scottish botanist who established the Edinburgh "Edinbura" Botanic Garden. We hear an excerpt about planting aconites from a garden writer who adored them. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a memoir full of charming insights and reflections on gardening. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of the scientist who is remembered for her discovery that stars are made largely of the two lightest chemicals, hydrogen and helium - but she started out as a botanist. 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 Curated News Butter Wakefield's London garden | House & Garden | Emily Tobin 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. Important Events May 10, 1589 Today is the anniversary of the burial of the English author, translator, and Clerk to the Kitchen of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Leonard Mascall - who was buried at Buckinghamshire. Mascall published several books; all were aimed at household management. In 1572 Leonardpublished A Booke of the Arte and Maner Howe to Plante and Graffe All Sortes of Trees. Along with cultivating fruit trees, this book was the first to refer to the secateurs or a pruning knife. The word secateurs is taken from the Latin secare, 'to cut.' Mascall's last book was published a year after he died, and it was called The Booke of Engines and Traps. In it, Leonard shared 34 traps and nine recipes for poison bates, most of which were dedicated to trapping mice. But Leonard also wrote about how to control slugs and snails in the garden - he described picking them off by hand early in the morning. While I was researching Leonard Mascall, I came across a bit of his advice regarding the placement of tender trees and shrubs from The Guardian (www.theguardian.com), Dec 9, 1891: "Leonard Mascall said, 'Most part of trees do love the sun at noon, and yet the south wind is very contrary against their nature, and specially the almond tree, the apricot, the mulberry, the fig tree, the pomegranate tree.' A gardener remarked: 'I am sure there is much in this. It is quite certain that all Japanese trees like shade and a north aspect; and the finest most fruitful old mulberry tree that I have ever seen is at Rochester, growing in a corner where it looks to the north and east, and is thoroughly protected from the south and west.'" May 10, 1725 Today is the birthday of the botanist, famous professor, and founder of one of the leading botanical gardens in Europe — John Hope. Alive during the Scottish enlightenment, John left his mark on the royal botanic gardens, plant classification, and plant physiology. He was appointed as the King's botanist for Scotland and superintendent of the Royal Garden in Edinburgh. John worked to expand the space of the Royal Botanic Garden, and he turned it into a place for research. During John's lifetime, Edinburgh was THE place to study medicine, and all medical students had to take botany courses. John created a school for botanists after spinning off the materia medica (pharmacy) department of the school, which allowed him to specialize exclusively in botany. John's students traveled to Edinburgh from all over the world. All in, John taught over 1,700 students during his tenure — and they included the likes of James Edward Smith (the founder and first President of the Linnaean Society), Charles Drayton (the future Lt. Governor of South Carolina), Benjamin Rush (a signer of the Declaration of Independence and founder of Dickinson College), and Archibald Menzies, who became the Scottish botanist and explorer. By all accounts, John was a captivating instructor. He was one of the first two people to teach the Linnaean system. John also taught the natural system. And, he pioneered the use of big teaching diagrams or visual aids to teach his lectures. A field botanist, John encouraged his students to go out and investigate the Flora of Scotland, and he awarded a medal every year to the student who collected the best herbarium. With John's accomplishments came impressive wealth. When John died, he had amassed more than £12,000, which he had left for his wife. Today the genus Hopea is named after John Hope. And, there's a magnificent beech tree that grows near the John Hope Gateway at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. Unearthed Words You cannot have too many aconites. They cost, as I said before, about fifty shillings a thousand. A thousand will make a brave splash of color, which lasts a month. If you can afford ten thousand, you are mad not to buy them. There are so many exciting places you can put them. . . in the hollow of a felled tree, by the border of a pond, in a circle round a statue, or immediately under your window, so that you can press your nose against the glass when it is too cold to go out, and stare at them, and remember that spring is on its way. ― Beverley Nichols, Down the Garden Path Grow That Garden Library My Wild Garden by Meir Shalev This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is Notes from a Writer's Eden. In this charmingly illustrated book, Meir shares his garden that lies on the perimeter of Israel's Jezreel Valley, with the Carmel mountains rising up in the west. Meir's garden is "neither neatly organized nor well kept," and he adores his lemon tree, figs, and rescuing plants like a purple snapdragon from the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway. Mitch Ginsburg of The Times of Israel wrote this after reading Meir's book: "I went to sleep every night with the smell of fresh figs and lemons and the sound of birdsong in my ears and the image of Shalev's beloved black cat, Kramer, the hero of many of his Hebrew children's stories, sleeping the day away beneath the buckthorn tree." Meir's book starts out with a little story about the time he awoke to find a wedding party trampling his garden as they posed for photos. After the group insisted his garden couldn't possibly be a real garden, he let them know they had three minutes before the sprinkler system turned on. Clever man. They left. He didn't have a sprinkler system. This book is full of stories like this, and they feature marvelous topics like lupines, cyclamen, poppies, sea squill, a mole rat, a wasp nest, and compost - just to name a few. This book is 304 pages of garden bliss from a novelist who shares his garden with wit and love. You can get a copy of My Wild Garden by Meir Shalev and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $21 Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart It's the birthday of scientist Cecelia Payne who discovered while still in graduate school that stars are made largely of the two lightest chemical elements – hydrogen and helium; she was born in 1900. And Celia decided her fate when she was just eight years old - that's when she decided to become a scientist. She had been walking in an orchard when she suddenly recognized a plant she had heard her mother describe – the plant that looks like a bumble: the bee orchid. Later she recalled her excitement at seeing the plant the first time: "For the first time I knew the leaping of the heart, the sudden enlightenment, that were to become my passion… These moments are rare, and they come without warning, on 'days to be marked with a white stone'." And it is Cecelia Payne who said these wonderful quotes: "An admission of ignorance may well be a step to a new discovery." And then this one (which harkened back to Payne's discovery of the bee orchid). "The reward of the young scientist is the emotional thrill of being the first person in the history of the world to see something or understand something." Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate the botanist who discovered the function of leaves. We'll also learn about a visionary German naturalist and polymath who recognized the power and complexity of nature as he explored Central and South America. We hear an excerpt about the power of gardening to turn a gardener into a philosopher. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about the best way - the very best way - to cook vegetables from the garden. This is a cookbook that teaches how to make individual vegetables shine - and it's a cookbook every vegetable gardener should have in their kitchen. And then we'll wrap things up with a fun little story about the winning entry at the 1917 Raisin Day Parade.
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
Curated News A farmer to chef reveals his deep vegetable knowledge | Agrinews | Mark Kennedy
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.
Important Events May 6, 1742 Today is the birthday of Jean Senebier, a Swiss pastor and botanist. Where would we be without Senebier? Still breathing... but lacking the knowledge that carbon dioxide is consumed by plants and, in turn, that plants produce oxygen as part of the process of photosynthesis. In a nutshell, Senebier's work is crucial because he had learned the function of leaves: capturing carbon for food. Before Senebier, the purpose of leaves and what they did for plants and people was unknown. It was Jean Senebier who said, "Observation and experiment are two sisters who help each other."
May 6, 1859 Today is the anniversary of the death of the naturalist and botanist Alexander Von Humboldt. He was 89 years old. When it came to his expeditions, Alexander didn't travel alone. In 1799, Alexander was accompanied by the French botanist Aimé Bonplant. In 1806, Friedrich Georg Weitsch painted his portrait; two years after he returned from his five-year research trip through Central and South America. Friedrich painted a romantic, idealized vista of Ecuador as the setting for Alexander's painting. Alexander had climbed the Chimborazo Mountain in Ecuador, believed at the time to be the highest mountain in the world, so perhaps Friedrich imaged Alexander viewing the landscape from Chimborazo. Surrounded by a jungle paradise, a large palm shades Alexander's resting spot. In the painting, a very handsome Alexander is seated on a large boulder; his top hat is resting upside down on the boulder behind him. Friedrich shows the 37-year-old Alexander wearing a puffy shirt that would make Seinfeld jealous, a pinkish-orange vest, and tan breeches. In Alexander's lap, he holds open the large leather-bound Flora he is working on, and in his right hand, he has a specimen of "Rhexia speciosa" (aka Meriania speciosa). A large barometer leans against the boulder in the lower-left corner of the painting. It symbolized Alexander's principle of measuring environmental data while collecting and describing plants. King Ferdinand was so pleased with the portrait that he hung it in the Berlin Palace. that he ordered two more paintings to be made featuring Alexander's time in the Americas. Alexander was a polymath; he made contributions across many of the sciences. He made a safety lamp for miners. He discovered the Peru Current (aka the Humboldt Current. He believed South America and Africa had been joined together geographically at one time. He named the "torrid zone,"; the area of the earth near the equator. Apropos the area he was exploring, torrid means hot, blistering, scorching. He went to Russia, and it was there that he predicted the location of the first Russian diamond deposits. Alexander was also a pragmatist. It was the Great Alexandre Von Humboldt who said: "Spend for your table less than you can afford, for your house rent just what you can afford, and for your dress more than you can afford." Alexander developed his own theory for the web of life. Humboldt wrote: "The aims I strive for are an understanding of nature as a whole, proof of the working together of all the species of nature." In 1803, in Mexico, he wrote, "Everything is Interaction."
Unearthed Words "Lilacs on a bush are better than orchids. And dandelions and devil grass are better! Why? Because they bend you over and turn you away from all the people in the town for a little while and sweat you and get you down where you remember you got a nose again. And when you're all to yourself that way, you're really proud of yourself for a little while; you get to thinking things through, alone. Gardening is the handiest excuse for being a philosopher. Nobody guesses, nobody accuses, nobody knows, but there you are, Plato in the peonies, Socrates force-growing his own hemlock. A man toting a sack of blood manure across his lawn is kin to Atlas letting the world spin easy on his shoulder." ― Ray Bradbury, American author and screenwriter, Dandelion Wine
Grow That Garden Library Eating from the Ground Up by Alana Chernila This book came out in 2018, and the subtitle is Recipes for Simple, Perfect Vegetables: A Cookbook. In this book, Alana says, "Vegetables keep secrets, and to prepare them well, we need to know how to coax those secrets out." Alana divides her cookbook into these key sections: Barely Recipes (Recipes that let the vegetables shine), A Pot of Soup, Too Hot To Cook, Warmth, and Comfort, and Celebrations and Other Excuses to Eat With Your Hands. Alana's cookbook was inspired by the question, "But what's the best way to eat a radish?" Alana was at a booth at the farmer's market. "One side of the table held a tower of radish bunches, and the other, a basket of bagged baby arugula. When my first customer held a bunch of radishes and asked me for direction, I did my best to answer. "Throw them into a salad? Slice them up and dip them in hummus?" Not enamored with her lackluster response, Alana went home and experimented. "Next Saturday, when someone asked me my favorite way to eat a radish, I was ready. "Make radish butter! Chop them up fine and fold them into soft butter with some crunch salt, parsley, and a little lemon juice." I think the whole town at radish butter that week. Each week that first summer, I'd take vegetables home from one mark to prepare for the next, studying up for the following week's questions. The result was this cookbook. Isn't that fantastic?! This book is 272 pages of vegetable mastery in the kitchen. You can get a copy of Eating from the Ground Up by Alana Chernila and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $5
Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart May 6, 1917 On this day, The Fresno Morning Republican shared a full-page story about the raisin industry. The Raisin Day parade had been held the previous week. The winning entry was a series of five floats that told the story 40-year-old raisin industry. Here's an excerpt: The first float showed the pioneer and his family after their Journey from the east to the fertile valley of the San Joaquin. The pioneer's vision was portrayed by a float in advance. Then came the realization of his vision with the little home and the raisin grapevines. But there was no organization, no cooperative marketing, and each grower sold his crop to the packer or marketed his crop. Disaster came, and the third float denoted poverty. The vineyard was mortgaged and sold by the sheriff. The fourth float portrayed prosperity. The businessman, grower, and laborer were linked together for better conditions. The fifth float denoted the result of the cooperation and wealth to the vineyardist. The original Sun-Maid [Raisin Girl] Miss Lorraine Collett was on this float.
Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate a British garden designer, prolific Edwardian Landscape Architect, and town planner. We'll also remember a British garden designer and architect known for his innovative gardens in Tuscany. We hear an excerpt about a fantastical garden. We Grow That Garden Library™ with one of the top books on Flower Gardening by a modern garden master. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of the Iowa State Flower. 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 Curated News Two Secrets to Great Garden Design | Fine Gardening | Ann Stratton 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. Important Events May 5, 1861 Today is the birthday of British garden designer, prolific Edwardian Landscape Architect, and town planner Thomas Hayton Mawson who was born in Lancashire. When Thomas was a teenager, his dad started a nursery and fruit farm in Yorkshire. Thomas loved the orchard, but his happiness came to an abrupt end when his father died, and his mother was forced to sell the property. But the nursery experience had left an impression on Thomas and his siblings, and at one point, they all pursued work in horticulture. After the family moved to London, Thomas and his two brothers set up a nursery called Lakeland Nurseries. The business was a success, and it allowed Thomas to begin to focus on designing gardens - his zone of genius. In 1900, Thomas wrote his classic work, The Art and Craft of Garden Making, which is now considered foundational to modern Landscape Architecture. The book brought Thomas influence and authority - and to give an idea of its popularity, consider that it was reprinted five times. In short order, Thomas's firm Thomas H. Mawson & Sons became THE firm for Landscape Architecture in England. Thomas's most famous client was William Hesketh Lever, an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician. Thomas eventually designed many of William's properties: Thornton Manor, Lever's Cheshire home, Rivington Pike, and Lever's London home, The Hill, Hampstead. Thomas is also remembered for designing England's first purpose-built mosque, The Fazl Mosque in Wandsworth. As his reputation grew, Thomas's work on public spaces expanded. He was even commissioned to develop the Smokey Mountains National Park in the United States. Thomas's most notable public work was commissioned by Andrew Carnegie: the gardens of the Peace Palace in The Hague in 1908. May 5, 1884 Today is the birthday of the British garden designer and architect known for his innovative gardens in Tuscany, Cecil Ross Pinsent. Cecil worked with the American art historian Bernard Berenson on his iconic estate known as the Villa I Tatti. This relationship opened doors for Cecil, and soon he was soon designing gardens for the wealthy in Tuscany. In the 1930s, Cecil designed his masterpiece: the gardens at La Foce ("FOE-che") in Italy, midway between Florence and Rome. Tucked in 3,500 acres of farmland with scenes of the Tuscan landscape as a backdrop, La Foce was commissioned by the writer Marchesa Iris Origo ("O-ree-go"). In 1924, Iris and her husband, Antonio, purchased the villa, an old, rundown place. Iris reached out to Cecil, a family friend, and tasked him with creating a glorious garden. Knowing how Iris adored the gardens of Florence, Cecil set about creating the iconic structure of the garden - a series of intimate spaces lined with double box hedging, cypress, lawns, and meadows. The lush green garden is even more striking against the background of the barren Tuscan topography. Unearthed Words When spring came, I dug up the garden and planted it, and weeded it, and prayed over it, and fidgeted; and almost three years of lying fallow had agreed with it because it produced radishes the size of onions, potatoes the size of melons, and melons the size of small sheep. The herb border ran wild, and the air smelled wonderful. ― Robin McKinley, American author of fantasy and children's books, Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast Grow That Garden Library Mastering the Art of Flower Gardening by Matt Mattus This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is A Gardener's guide to growing flowers from today's favorites to unusual varieties. Well, I remember when this book came out because I already had a copy. And of course, at the time it was published (on March 10th), many of us were in the middle of beginning our lockdowns for the pandemic. I remember thinking what a shame it was because this book is not only beautiful - and man, I mean, it is absolutely gorgeous - but it's also so helpful. It's really a wonderful reference. Another reason I knew this book would be so good is that Matt is such a true professional. He has decades of experience with his own garden and his greenhouse, and you can read all about both of them over on his blog called Gardening With Plants. It really is a wonderful online resource. So, if you haven't checked that out, make sure that you devote a little bit of time to that. Now, if you are someone who starts annuals from seed, you will really enjoy Matt's book. He talks about how to start over a hundred different annuals from seed. He also talks about things like summer bulbs and vines, which is a favorite topic of mine. I not only love to use vines as a vertical element in the garden, but also I think they're wonderful just ambling through the garden as a horizontal element, almost like a ground cover. So that's fantastic. And then Matt talks about things like blooming shrubs - one of my favorite topics. You get so much bang for your buck with blooming shrubs. They give your garden structure, and they're just so low maintenance. They're wonderful. So blooming shrubs are one of my go-to's in the garden. Now here's a little bit about what the publisher says about this book. You will learn little details and cultural facts about these flowers that will help you grow them. You'll find helpful tips for things like growing annual poppies and biennials, which can be a little bit challenging. You'll learn about forcing flowers for winter blooms, which is an enjoyable activity. In fact, one of the things that Matt talks about is how to force Lily of the Valley. That is a fantastic topic. And I'm sure now that I've mentioned it, it's making you very curious. If that doesn't do the trick, just trust me; this is a book that you're going to want to have in your botanical library. This book is 240 pages of a master class on flower gardening from a true master: Matt Mattus. I love the name and really loved the book. You can get a copy of Mastering the Art of Flower Gardening by Matt Mattus and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $17 Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart May 5, 1897 Today the Iowa State Flower was officially selected, and the winner was the wild rose. In the early days of the state, Iowa pioneers often came across the wild rose as they settled on the Iowa prairie. Although the Iowa legislature designated the wild rose as their flower, they failed to specify which wild rose was official. In Iowa, there are three native wild roses: Rosa arkansana, Rosa blanda, and Rosa Carolina. Of the three, Rosa blanda (meadow rose) is most often regarded as the State Flower. In 2006, a fifth-grade student Maranda Olson drew the wild rose with oil pastels and won Maranda a trip to Washington, D.C., where her artwork was displayed at the new National Garden when it opened in the fall.
The Des Moines Register reported that,
"More than 5,000 students nationwide submitted artwork for the state flower contest. One student from each state was selected by a panel of art specialists and botanists. Art teacher Karen Skophammer… had a gut feeling Maranda might win and took a photo of the drawing before sending it to the contest. "In my heart, I knew that it was outstanding," Skophammer said. "Maranda is quite talented." Maranda guessed why she won and acknowledged that she barely looked at the technical photo of the wild rose. "I off-centered the flowers. Most other people put it right in the middle," she said. "I looked at a picture in the beginning, but not while I was drawing or coloring it." Scotts Miracle-Gro sponsored the contest, and company officials said they were pleased with the turnout."
And there's just one more story that I wanted to share with you. About the Iowa state flower, the wild rose.
In 1897, Major Samuel H. M. Byers from Oskaloosa, Iowa, had worked behind the scenes with Senator Mitchell to make sure the legislation for the Wild Rose was passed.
Major Byers was remembered for his Civil War service. While he was held prisoner in Columbia, South Carolina, he wrote the words to the famous song Sherman's March to the Sea. But in better times, Byers also wrote a poem called "Song of Iowa" that became the lyrics to the Iowa State Song, The Rose of Iowa.
Hast thou seen the wild rose of the West, Thou sweetest child of morn? Its feet the dewy fields have pressed, Its breath is on the corn.
The gladsome prairie rolls and sweeps, Like billows to the sea, While on its breast, the red rose keeps The white rose company.
The wild, wild rose, whose fragrance dear To every breeze is hung, Tho same wild rose that blossomed here When Iowa was young.
Oh, sons of heroes, ever wear The wild rose on your shield; No other flower is half so fair In love's immortal field.
Let others sing of mountain snows, Or palms beside the sea, The State whose emblem is the rose Is the fairest far to me.
Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate the first woman to receive a Bachelor of Science in Forestry. We'll also remember the Academy Award-winning actress who narrated a 1990's PBS series called Gardens of the World. We hear a sweet little garden poem that celebrates spring. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a fantastic book about gardening in the shade and the best plants for shade. And then we'll wrap things up with an excerpt about this day 142 years ago - from the garden writer Henry Arthur Bright. 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 Curated News How to Grow Crown Imperial Plants | The Spruce | Sienna Heath 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. Important Events May 4, 1893 Today is the birthday of New Zealand forester and botanist Mary Sutherland. In 1916, Mary graduated from Bangor University in Wales with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry. She was the first female to become a degreed forestry professional in the world. Mary also became known in New Zealand as the first female forester when she was hired in 1923. It was a position she held for twelve years. Today, in one of the forests, she called her office, there is a memorial redwood designated with a plaque to honor Mary Sutherland. By the 1930s, Mary was working as a botanist for the forest service - and she was a pretty talented artist as well. Her drawing of a sprig from the rimu ("ree-moo") tree bearing ripe fruit became the official seal of the forestry service. Today more women than ever are entering the world of forestry, and the Mary Sutherland Award is given to the top female forestry student in their final year of schooling. May 4, 1929 Today is the birthday of Academy Award-winning actress and gardener Audrey Hepburn. The Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) star appeared with Penelope Hobhouse and Graham Stuart Thomas on the 1991 PBS special "Gardens of the World." The series featured sixty gardens over eight episodes. They included Monet's garden at Giverny, the Villa Gamberaia ("Vee-la Gahm-bur-eye-ah") in Florence, the old rose garden at Graham Stuart Thomas' garden at Mottisfont Abbey, the Roseraie de L'Haÿ ("rose-uh-ray du lay-ee") south of Paris, Saiho-ji ("Sy-ho-jee") - the famed "Moss Temple" garden - in Kyoto, and Hidcote Manor ("hid-cut") in Gloucestershire, England. Additionally, Audrey wrote the forward to a companion coffee table book also called Gardens of the World by Penelope Hobhouse and Elvin McDonald,, the volunteer director of special projects for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. In the forward, Audrey wrote, "We all have within us a need to create beauty. And we all can - in a garden, however small. Perhaps - if we now take a closer look at our gardens, we will, at last, awaken to the fragility of our beautiful planet and better understand our lovely earth." In 1991, the Spring Hill nursery in Peoria, Illinois, created a rose variety named for Audrey Hepburn. The Audrey Hepburn rose was marketed as an exceptionally vigorous rose, with highly fragrant 4-inch apple-blossom pink flowers. It was featured on display at the Brooklyn (N.Y.) Botanical Gardens and was available for mail-order purchase exclusively through Spring Hill Nurseries. And here's a little-known fact about Audrey Hepburn: one of the most beloved quotes about gardening is attributed to Audrey Hepburn, whose 92nd birthday would have been today. She wrote, "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow." Unearthed Words A poor old Widow in her weeds Sowed her garden with wild-flower seeds; Not too shallow, and not too deep, And down came April -- drip -- drip -- drip. Up shone May, like gold, and soon Green as an arbour grew leafy June. And now all summer she sits and sews Where willow herb, comfrey, bugloss ("byew-gloss") blows, Teasle and pansy, meadowsweet, Campion, toadflax, and rough hawksbit; Brown bee orchis, and Peals of Bells; Clover, burnet, and thyme she smells; Like Oberon's meadows her garden is Drowsy from dawn to dusk with bees. Weeps she never, but sometimes sighs, And peeps at her garden with bright brown eyes; And all she has is all she needs -- A poor Old Widow in her weeds. ― Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer, and novelist, Peacock Pie Grow That Garden Library Making the Most of Shade by Larry Hodgson This book came out in 2005, and the subtitle is How to Plan, Plant, and Grow a Fabulous Garden that Lightens up the Shadows. In this book, Larry features nearly 300 perennials, annuals, bulbs, ferns, ornamental grasses, and climbing plants that thrive in the shade. Shaded gardens are cool places that offer tranquility and a space for contemplation—Larry shares how to create a sense of lushness and vibrancy in areas with little or no sun. The first half of the book covers how to plan, plant, and grow in the shade. The back half of the book offers an encyclopedia of the best plants to grow in the shade. This book is 416 pages of shade garden mastery - from design and care to top plant profiles. You can get a copy of Making the Most of Shade by Larry Hodgson and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $11 Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart May 4, 1879 On this day Henry Arthur Bright recorded inA Year in a Lancashire Garden: "May set in this year with (as Horace Walpole somewhere says) 'its usual severity.' We felt it all the more after the soft, warm summer weather we had experienced in April. The Lilac, which is only due with us on the 1st of May, was this year in flower on the 28th of April. Green Gooseberry tarts, which farther south are considered a May-day dish, we hardly hope to see in this colder latitude for ten days later, and now these cold east winds will throw back everything. No season is like "Lilac-tide," as it has been quaintly called, in this respect. Besides the Lilac itself, there are the long plumes of the white Broom, the brilliant scarlet of the hybrid Rhododendrons, the delicious blossoms, both pink and yellow, of the Azaleas, the golden showers of the Laburnum, and others too numerous to mention. A Judas-tree at an angle of the house is in bud. The Général Jacqueminot between the vineries has given us a Rose already. The foliage of the large forest trees is particularly fine this year. The Horse Chestnuts were the first in leaf, and each branch is now holding up its light of waxen blossom. The Elms came next, the Limes, the Beeches, and then the Oaks. Yet still 'the tender Ash delays To clothe herself when all the woods are green,' and is all bare as in mid-winter. This, however, if the adage about the Oak and the Ash be true, should be prophetic of a fine hot summer." Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate a Canadian conservationist and author. We'll also learn about a pioneering Belgian-American gardener, poet, and novelist. We hear an excerpt about how poets find inspiration in nature. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a cookbook that shows how to prepare beautiful meals with fewer ingredients and offers foolproof meal-prepping and effortless entertaining. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a brand new gazebo in a community garden. 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 Curated News 5 Agritourism Destinations for Modern Farmers Once it's Safe Again | Modern Farmer | Shelby Vittek 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. Important Events May 3, 1904 Today is the birthday of the naturalist and conservationist Charles Joseph Sauriol. An esteemed son of Toronto, Charles worked to preserve natural areas in Canada. He was primarily devoted to the forests and waterways of Ontario, including his beloved Don River Valley - where his family had a cottage. Even as a teenager, Charles loved the Don, writing in an unpublished manuscript: "The perfume I liked was the smell of a wood fire.... The dance floor I knew best was a long carpet of Pine needles." In 1927 Charles purchased the 40-hectare property at the Forks of the Don, which would become his second home. The Sauriol family cottage became the place that Charles and his wife and their four children would stay over the long months of the summer. Life at the cottage was elemental and straightforward. Charles tapped the maple trees for syrup and kept beehives near his cottage. The family also had ducks, a goat, and a pet raccoon named Davy, who followed Charles around like a dog. Charles wrote: "In the '20s and 30s, entire slopes of the East Don Valley...were carpeted with flowering trilliums in the spring. It was an unforgettable sight… A woodland without wildflowers is as empty and desolate in some respects as a community without children." During 2018 the Toronto Archives shared many of Charles's charming diary entries on their Twitter feed. The Toronto Archives is the repository for the Charles Sauriol record and it consists of diaries, manuscripts, subject files, and over 3,000 photos. Charles kept a lifelong diary. At the Don cottage, Charles created a little woodland garden. Many of his diary entries share his gardening adventures and philosophies on plants, like this one from 1938: "I find it hard to come in from the flower borders. My Pansies are a garden of enchantment in themselves. People who love Pansies should grow them from seed. I took the advice, and I have never had such a profusion of bloom and of so many colors." and "One particular toad has taken quite a fancy to the Wild Flower garden. His den is alongside the Hepatica plant. There he sits, half-buried, and blinks up at me while I shower water on him." At the end of his first summer at the cottage in Don Valley, Charles wrote about leaving the place he loved so much: With summer's heat, the weeks sped by, And springtime streams did all but dry. But days grew short and followed on, Oh, blissful memory of the Don. Of you, we think with saddened heart, Our time is up, and we must part. Today the annual Charles Sauriol Leadership Award recognizes people who make lasting contributions to conservation. May 3, 1912 Today is the birthday of the prolific writer and poet May Sarton. She came out in 1965 after her parents died. The decision impacted her career. May's writing centers on our humanity, our relationships with ourselves and others, our values, and mindfulness. In a 1983 profile in The New York Times, May said, "I make people think, 'I have flowers in my house, why don't I look at them?' The thing that is peaceful for me is that I feel I have helped people. I'm constantly told, 'You've said the things I've wanted to say.'" Margaret Roach writes about discovering May Sarton this way: "She actually came to my attention thanks to two men, at different times in my life. I might have missed her altogether if not for a one-two punch by Sydney Schanberg, an ex-New York Times colleague who, thirty-odd years ago, offhandedly said, "You would like May Sarton," and then years later my therapist gave me "Journal of a Solitude"... They knew that the natural world, and specifically the garden, called to me, as it did Sarton." May wrote : "A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself." May's tiny home in Nelson, New Hampshire, was her happy place. She had a garden which she loved, and she cared for many houseplants. She once wrote these relatable garden witticisms: "I am not a greedy person except about flowers and plants, and then I become fanatically greedy." "True gardeners cannot bear a glove Between the sure touch and the tender root." And some of her thoughts on gardening are prayerlike: "Help us to be ever faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, and without light nothing flowers." "Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace." Unearthed Words The seasonal urge is strong in poets. Milton wrote chiefly in winter. Keats looked for spring to wake him up (as it did in the miraculous months of April and May 1819). Burns chose autumn. Longfellow liked the month of September. Shelley flourished in the hot months. Some poets, like Wordsworth, have gone outdoors to work. Others, like Auden, keep to the curtained room. Schiller needed the smell of rotten apples about him to make a poem. Tennyson and Walter de la Mare had to smoke. Auden drinks lots of tea, Spender coffee; Hart Crane drank alcohol. Pope, Byron, and William Morris were creative late at night. And so it goes. ― Helen Bevington, American poet, prose author, and educator, When Found, Make a Verse of Grow That Garden Library Half Baked Harvest Super Simple by Tieghan Gerard This book came out in October of 2019, and the subtitle is More Than 125 Recipes for Instant, Overnight, Meal-Prepped, and Easy Comfort Foods: A Cookbook. In this New York Times Best-Selling cookbook, Tieghan delights and tempts us with comfort food - much of it made with ingredients fresh from the garden - in her Half Baked Harvest Super Simple. Tieghan is known for her blog, where she effortlessly shows how to make beautiful food for your family. Her Super Simple versions of her famous recipes are distilled into quicker, more manageable dishes. Tieghan includes one-pot meals, night-before meal prep, and even some Instant Pot® or slow cooker recipes. Highlights for family meals include everyday dishes like Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese and Lobster Tacos. And Tieghan's stress-free dinner party recipes include Slow Roasted Moroccan Salmon and Fresh Corn and Zucchini Summer Lasagna. Tieghan's cookbook was named one of the best cookbooks of the year by Buzzfeed and Food Network. This book is 288 pages of the 125 easy, show-stopping recipes - each with fewer ingredients, foolproof meal-prepping, and effortless entertaining. You can get a copy of Half Baked Harvest Super Simple by Tieghan Gerard and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $15 Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today at the Grow Regina Yara community garden, a gazebo, designed by Victor Cicansky, will be installed. Two years ago, the Regina community garden received a $90,000 grant from Federated Co-op. Grow Regina wanted to add a gazebo to the community garden for many years. The garden is a unique space in that it offered the community a place to grow and a place to admire art. The garden features a variety of art pieces, including two massive sculptures installed in August of 2010 that frame the entrance to the garden by local artist Victor Cicansky. Gardens have been a consistent theme in Victor's life. His 2019 memoir, Up From Garlic Flats, is set in the east end of the community in Regina, Saskatchewan. Victor's father came from Romania, and his Romanian ancestors were gardeners. To Victor, the garden is a place of endless inspiration. Much of Victor's work features garden tools like shovels and spades, along with aspects of nature like roots and trees. Victor even incorporates garden imagery from fruit, vegetables, and canning jars in his creations. An article featured in the Regina Post from June 2019 said one of Victor's pieces called "Compost Shovel" featured, "A gigantic blue ceramic shovel covered in vegetables, eggshells, and soil." Today, the installation of the gazebo today marks the beginning of a new chapter for the garden. Once the install is completed later this week, the gazebo will host numerous functions. And to give you an idea of how beautiful Victor's artistic gazebo is: Imagine a gazebo that has sculpted trees with branches for support beams and a canopy of leaves for a roof. And then the railing of the gazebo features the garden harvest - all kinds of vegetables. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate the woman who was the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein - and we'll hear all about their wonderful garden at Bilignin. We'll also learn about the French modernist painter known for his peonies and peony art. We'll hear an excerpt about a perfect spring day. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that is pure gold - it's all about an honest journey to beekeeping between two unlikely friends. And then we'll wrap things up with the ten-year Anniversary of a botanical society located in Northern New York, about 4 hours north of Manhattan and two hours south of Montreal. 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 Curated News Goodbye April....Hello May, Already! | Shoestring Elegance | Theresa Begin 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. Important Events April 30, 1877 Today is the birthday of the American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century and the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein - Alice B. Toklas ("Toe-kliss"). In 1954, Alice's cookbook, simply called the Alice B Toklas Cook Book, was published. It became one of the best-selling cookbooks of all time, thanks to Alice's recipe for hashish fudge made with nuts, spices, fruit, and cannabis. Calling it the food of paradise, Alice recommended serving her special fudge at gatherings to liven things up but advised limiting one's self to no more than two pieces. She also casually mentioned that it was quote "easy to whip up on a rainy day." Now the last chapter of the cookbook offers a delightful glimpse at Alice and Gertrude's vegetable garden at Bilignin "Bill-in-ya" in southeastern France. And I thought I'd share a few lovely excerpts with you today in honor of Alice's birthday. "For fourteen successive years, the Gardens at Bilignin were my joy, working in them during the summers and planning and dreaming of them during the winters. The summers frequently commenced early in April with the planting and ended late in October with the last gathering of the winter vegetables. Bilignin, surrounded by mountains and not far from the French Alps… made early planting uncertain. One year we lost the first planting of string beans. Another year, the green peas were caught by a late frost. It took me several years to know the climate and quite as many more to know the weather. Experience is never at a bargain price. Then too, I obstinately refused to accept the lore of the farmers, judging it, with the prejudice of a townswoman to be nothing but superstition. They told me never to transplant parsley and not to plant it on Good Friday. We did it in California, was my weak reply. In the spring of 1929, we became tenants of what had become the manor of Bilignin. We were enchanted with everything. But after careful examination of the two large vegetable gardens... it was to my horror that I discovered the state they were in. Nothing but potatoes have been planted the year before. Poking about with a heavy stick, there seemed to be some resistance in a corner followed by a rippling movement. The rubbish and weeds would have to be cleared out at once. In six days, the seven men we mobilized in the village had accomplished this. In the corner where I had poked, a snake's nest and several snakes have been found. But so were raspberries and strawberries. The work in the vegetables …. was a full-time job and more. Later it became a joke. Gertrude Stein asking me what I saw when I closed my eyes, and I answered, "Weeds." That, she said, was not the answer, and so weeds were changed to strawberries. It took me an hour to gather a small basket for Gertrude Stein's breakfast, and later when there was a plantation of them in the upper garden, our young guests were told that if they care to eat them, they should do the picking themselves. The first gathering of the garden in May of salads, radishes, and herbs made me feel like a mother about her baby — how could anything so beautiful be mine. And this emotion of wonder filled me for each vegetable as it was gathered every year. There is nothing that is comparable to it, as satisfactory or ss thrilling, as gathering the vegetables one has grown." April 30, 1883 Today is the anniversary of the death of the French modernist painter Édouard Manet ("Mah-nay"). His painting, 'Music in the Tuileries Gardens' ("TWEE-luh-Reehs"), was his first significant work depicting modern city life. Sensitive to criticism, Manet once wrote, "The attacks of which I have been the object have broken the spring of life in me... People don't realize what it feels like to be constantly insulted. " When it came to the complexity of still life painting, Manet wrote, "Bring a brioche. I want to see you paint one. Still life is the touchstone of painting." Manet grew peonies in his garden at Gennevilliers ("Jen-vill-EE-aye"); they were reportedly his favorite flower. Manet's paintings of peonies were the perfect blend of skill and subject. Manet's blousy technique was perfect for the petals and leaves. Today in many of Manet's paintings, the pink peonies have turned white due to the deterioration of the pigments in the paint. Regarding Manet's peony art, his Peonies in a Vase on a Stand is considered one of his best pieces. A 1983 exhibition catalog by the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais in Paris, wrote: "Van Gogh was much struck by this painting.. and [asked,] 'Do you remember that one day we saw a very extraordinary Manet at the Hôtel Drouot, some huge pink peonies with their green leaves against a light background? As free in the open air and as much a flower as anything could be, and yet painted in a perfectly solid impasto.'" In China, the peony is known as the sho-yu, which means "most beautiful." When the explorer Marco Polo saw peonies in China for the first time, he misidentified them - calling them "Roses as big as cabbages." Traditionally, peonies are used to celebrate the 12th wedding anniversary. If you planted one on your first Anniversary, the peony could easily outlast your marriage; peonies can live for over 100 years. Unearthed Words It was a perfect spring day. The air was sweet and gentle, and the sky stretched high, an intense blue. Harold was certain that the last time he had peered through the net drapes of Fossebridge Road (his home), the trees and hedges were dark bones and spindles against the skyline; yet now that he was out, and on his feet, it was as if everywhere he looked, the fields, gardens, trees, and hedgerows and exploded with growth. A canopy of sticky young leaves clung to the branches above him. There were startling yellow clouds of forsythia, trails of purple aubrieta; a young willow shook in a fountain of silver. The first of the potato shoots fingered through the soil, and already tiny buds hung from the gooseberry and currant shrubs like the earrings Maureen used to wear. The abundance of new life was enough to make him giddy. ― Rachel Joyce, British author, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Grow That Garden Library Liquid Gold by Roger Morgan-Grenville This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is Bees and the Pursuit of Midlife Honey. Thor Hanson, the author of Buzz, said this about Roger's book: "Beekeeping builds from lark to revelation in this carefully observed story of midlife friendship. Filled with humor and surprising insight, Liquid Gold is as richly rewarding as its namesake. Highly recommended." Roger writes about meeting his friend Duncan in a pub. And on a chance decision, they resolve to become beekeepers. Ignorant but eager, the two learn, through their mistakes and their friendship, how to care for bees and become master beekeepers. After two years, they have more honey than they can personally use. The experience teaches them resilience, along with a newfound appreciation for nature and a desire to protect the honeybee from increased threats and extinction. Humorous and informative, Liquid Gold is an uplifting and educational story about humans and bees, making it pure gold for your summer reading. This book is 272 pages of an honest journey to beekeeping between two unlikely friends. You can get a copy of Liquid Gold by Roger Morgan-Grenville and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $15 Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart April 30, 2011 Today is the tenth anniversary of the Adirondack Botanical Society. ABS is "an organization dedicated to the study, preservation, and enjoyment of the plants of the Adirondack Mountain Region. Members may live in, visit, or care about the region and strive to educate others about the importance of its plant life and the environment that supports it." The group has an active Facebook page. If you have been on a hike or paddle lately and have a few pics you would like to share; you can do so on the Facebook page for the group. Recent posts include: "Ray and I visited Elder's Grove today. I used the "measure" app on my iPhone to measure the trunk of a large eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). I attach a photo that the app generates with the total length printed on the screen. The trunk lying on the ground was 159'10". Add the 16' of still standing stump, and the total height of the tree before it fell was approximately 176'. I neglected to bring my D-tape, but the dbh was well over 50". An amazing tree, even dead and turning to humus (HYew-mis")!" In any case, happy tenth anniversary to the Adirondack Botanical Society. Here's to many more! Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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