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 woman who was insatiable when it came to plants, and she is remembered forever with the Portland Rose. We'll also learn about a famous speech given at a Vermont botanical club about why botany wasn't taught in schools - and the reasons were pretty spot on. We hear a story about a beautiful cherry tree found near the Osakabe ("sah-KAH-bay") Hotel. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about Darwin's plants - in addition to his theory of evolution, Darwin experimented and observed plants extensively at his home in Kent. And then we'll wrap things up by getting you ready for Valentine's Day with a few of my favorite garden-inspired verses about love. 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 Gardening As A Salve For Stress And Anxiety: A Gardener's Personal Story | House & Garden | Charlie Harpur 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 February 11, 1715 Today is the birthday of the British aristocrat, naturalist, plant lover, and botanist Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, Duchess of Portland. Her family and friends called her Maria. Maria married when she was 19 years old. Together, she and William Bentinck had five children; one of their sons became prime minister twice. When William died after their 27th anniversary, Maria threw herself into her many passions. As the wealthiest woman in England, Maria could acquire virtually any treasure from the natural world - and she did. She cultivated an enormous collection of natural history, which was tended by two experts she hired to personally attend each item: the naturalist Reverend John Lightfoot and the Swedish botanist Daniel Solander. Maria's home in Buckinghamshire was referred to by society as the hive - it was a reference to the hub of activity for Solander and Lightfoot and the other people who helped process her acquisitions. At one point, Maria had reached out to Captain James Cook. James gave Maria some shells from his second expedition to Australia. Meanwhile, Daniel Solander was in charge cataloging Maria's massive shell collection, but, sadly, he left the work unfinished when he died in 1782. Maria had an enormous appetite for curation and collecting. In addition to her Botanic Garden on her property, Maria opened a zoo, kept rabbits, and had an aviary. A constant stream of scientists, explorers, socialites, and artists visited Maria to exchange ideas and inspect her collections. And, think about the limitless ambition she must have had as Lightfoot wrote that Maria wanted, "...every unknown species in the three kingdoms of nature described and published to the world." Now, Maria had a special love for collecting plants and flowers from far-off places worldwide. She retained the botanist and the incomparable botanical illustrator Georg Dionysius Ehret as a drawing instructor. Struck by the luminescence of his work, Maria bought over 300 of Ehret's paintings. Maria also became friends with the botanical artist Mary Delany. Mary made botanical paper mosaics, as she called them. Mary was essentially creating flower specimens out of tissue paper. And Mary was exacting - dissecting real flowers and then replicating what she saw with tissue paper. To gather more material for her work, Maria and Mary loved to go out into the fields and collect specimens together. As the Duchess of Portland, Maria shared her specimens with the public, and she displayed her various collections from around the globe in what she called her Portland Museum. Once, in 1800, Maria received a rose from Italy, which became known as the Portland Rose in her honor. The rose was a beautiful crimson scarlet with round petals - and it was a repeat bloomer. And, here's a fun fact: all Portland Roses were developed from that very first Portland Rose - the sweet gift to Margaret Cavendish Bentinck - Maria - the Duchess of Portland. February 11, 1896 It was on this day that the Burlington Free Press shared a story called Vermont's Flora: Winter Meeting of the State Botanical Club. Generally speaking, these early botanical meetings can err on the side of rules and regulation, and they can be a little boring to read. However, the account of this meeting caught my eye. The meeting started as per usual with a discussion of nomenclature. Here the club decided to follow the lead of Harvard and the way they pronounced botanical names. But, then, things got interesting because the topic changed to "How Should Botany be Taught In Schools?" after an address given by Reverend JA Bates. Bates began his popular presentation by saying that he could begin his speech like the boy who wrote a paper about "The Snakes of Ireland." The paper began, "There are no snakes in Ireland." Reverend Bates found himself in the same situation for his speech, "How Should Botany be Taught in Schools?" Well, as Reverend Bates began to speak, he bluntly pointed out there is no botany taught in schools. Bear in mind this speech was made in 1896 when Reverend Bates said that, "only one in forty students has studied botany." And I don't think we've moved the dial that much on that statistic. Then Bates attempts to explain why botany is not taught - and this is what caught my attention. He said, "The chief reasons for [botany not being taught in schools] are twofold. First, most of the teachers are poorly prepared for teaching botany. And second, botanists are conservative and conceal the charms of their study behind the long Latin names." Unearthed Words There, in a garden of a house near the Osakabe Hotel ("sah-KAH-bay"), towering above a tall wooden fence, stood a tree with narrow leaves and bunched clusters of double mauve-pink blossoms with close to 100 petals. Ingram's immediate reaction was to work out how to spirit cuttings of the tree to England. Fate was on his side. Nineteen years earlier, on his honeymoon, he had visited this very village while hunting birds, and he remembered meeting there, a one-legged war hero whose parents ran the Osakabe Hotel. That man, who had lost a limb during the Russo-Japanese war, was still alive, a villager told Ingram. Indeed he was now running the hotel. And his hobby was gardening! In typical Ingram fashion, he convinced the Innkeeper to send him scions from the tree in exchange for one yen to cover the postage. By 1929, a couple of sturdy offspring were growing in Benenden. — Naoko Abe, Japanese Journalist, author, and a 2016 Nihon Essayist Club Award winner, Cherry Ingram: The Englishman Who Saved Japan's Blossoms, Saving the Sakura Grow That Garden Library Darwin's Most Wonderful Plants by Ken Thompson This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is Darwin's Botany Today. In this book, Ken helps us understand Darwin as a botanist. After taking his famous voyage on The Beagle, Darwin experimented with and observed growing plants at his home in Kent. Carnivorous and climbing plants were a favorite of Darwin's; he was fascinated by their pollination and flower evolution. Thanks to Ken, we get to know Darwin as a pioneering botanist who was way ahead of his time. Darwin's work seems totally in step with plant science today: plant movement, hunting, and intelligence. This book is 256 pages of a side of Darwin that most folks have never known: Darwin as a curious and intelligent botanist. You can get a copy of Darwin's Most Wonderful Plants by Ken Thompson and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $14 Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today I thought I'd close the show by getting you ready for Valentine's Day with a few of my favorite garden-inspired verses about love. Violet has the shortest wavelength of the spectrum. Behind it, the invisible ultraviolet. Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. Poor violet, violated for a rhyme. — Derek Jarman, gardener and poet If apples were pears And peaches were plums And the rose had a different name. If tigers were bears And fingers were thumbs I'd love you just the same. — Anonymous "So, timely you came, and well you chose, You came when most needed, my winter rose. From the snow I pluck you, and fondly press Your leaves 'twixt the leaves of my leaflessness." — Alfred Austin, English poet Poet Laureate "Green fingers are the extension of a verdant heart." — Russell Page, British gardener, garden designer, and architect Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate a botanist who gave Meriwether Lewis a crash course in botany. We'll also learn about a poet who wrote some touching poems that incorporated the natural world. We hear some words about getting the garden ready for growing - straightforward advice on getting started. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about a garden style that's never gone out of style: cottage gardening. And then we'll wrap things up with a pioneer naturalist who wrote books that became a beloved part of many modern childhoods. 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 New Owners Of Barton Springs Nursery Plan To Add Learning, Community Spaces And Inspire Local Gardeners | Digging | Pam Penick 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 February 10, 1766 Today is the birthday of the American botanist, naturalist, and physician Benjamin Smith Barton. Benjamin worked as a Professor of Natural History and Botany at the University of Pennsylvania, where he authored the very first textbook on American Botany. In 1803, at Thomas Jefferson's request, Benjamin was tutoring Meriwether Lewis to get him ready for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Now Meriwether had many strengths, but he had little knowledge of natural history or plants. Thanks to Benjamin's tutelage, Meriwether was an awesome specimen collector on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. After the Expedition, Benjamin was supposed to create a book describing all of the plant specimens found on their great voyage. But, for some reason, he never began writing. Instead, the job ultimately fell to Benjamin's assistant, Frederick Pursh. And when Frederick ended up having a falling out with Benjamin, he secretly took the specimens and fled to England. Once there, Frederick found a patron and published his Flora of North America in two years' time — much to the embarrassment of Benjamin Smith Barton and all American botanists. And, there's an incredible story that came out two years ago, in February, regarding Benjamin. The story featured a little yellow butterfly that was found pressed between the pages of one of Benjamin's manuscripts from 1812 - his Flora Virginica. And it turns out that a delicate, tiny, yellow-winged butterfly was discovered by a library fellow named E. Bennett Jones at the American Philosophical Society as he was looking through the book. Well, naturally, this caused a stir, and butterfly experts were called in to examine the specimen, and they believed that it was placed deliberately since the butterfly was found on the pages listed "Plants beloved by Pollinators - such as Monarda." After this incredible discovery, the Barton Butterfly, as it came to be called, was carefully removed and preserved in a suspended container. And there was a final touching detail to this story: the butterfly left an indelible mark on the manuscript. Even with the specimen now safely preserved in a glass box, the pages bear a little mark of a golden butterfly-shaped stain in the spot where it lay pressed for over 200 years before it was discovered. February 10, 1882 Today is the birthday of the English writer Winifred Mary Letts. Gardeners love her quote on spring: That God once loved a garden, we learn in Holy writ. And seeing gardens in the Spring, I well can credit it. Winifred also wrote a poem about spring called "Spring the Cheat." This is one of many poems Winifred wrote about the Great War - WWI. Winifred wrote "Spring the Cheat" to remind people that they were not alone in their suffering. And her poem illustrates how pointless existence seems during wartime. And Winifred contrasts the season of rebirth - spring (which is cyclical), with a war-induced season of loss (which usually spreads across many seasons and is wildly at odds during spring). Luminous evenings when the blackbird sways Upon the rose and tunes his flageolet, A sea of bluebells down the woodland ways, — O exquisite spring, all this — and yet — and yet — Kinder to me the bleak face of December Who gives no cheating hopes, but says — "Remember." Another poem that will thrill gardeners is Winifred's delightful verse that was written to honor the birth of a dear friend's baby (Peter John Dobbs). Winifred's poem is called To a May Baby, and I've often thought it would be perfect for a spring baby shower invitation. To come at Tulip Time how wise! Perhaps you will not now regret The shining gardens, jewel set, Of your first home in Paradise Nor fret Because you might not quite forget. To come at Swallow Time how wise! When every bird has built a nest; Now you may fold your wings and rest And watch this new world with surprise; A guest For whom the earth has donned her best. To come when life is gay how wise! With lambs and every happy thing That frisks on foot or sports on wing, With daisies and with butterflies, But Spring Had nought so sweet as you to bring. Unearthed Words When one is first beginning to garden or gardening in a place one does not yet know, soil can seem dumb and unhelpful, just dirt. It is gray and empty, or yellow, clammy, and stony, or perhaps it is black and full of worms. Little pebbles might be interspersed all through it, or big ones, or maybe there is a rock ledge a spades-depth away. The plants thrive or languish in mysterious ways. As one begins to work in it, a sense of the soil sharpens. One gets to know it's grit or muddiness, it's smell and warmth or chill, how it holds or drains water, what creatures inhabit it. One might notice how these qualities connect with each other, how they show themselves in the ways the plants grow. Most of all one discovers that the soil does not stay the same, but, like anything alive, it is always changing and telling its own story. — Carol Williams, American gardener and author, Bringing a Garden to Life, Preparing the Ground Grow That Garden Library Cottage Gardens by Claire Masset This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is A Celebration of Britain's Most Beautiful Cottage Gardens, with Advice on Making Your Own. In this book, Claire shares every possible type of cottage garden. Famous profiles include writer Thomas Hardy's cottage in Dorset; the glorious cottage garden at Sissinghurst by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson; Beatrix Potter's cottage garden property known as Hill Top, and many more. Best of all, Claire thoughtfully offers down-to-earth advice to gardeners who wish to learn how to create their own cottage garden. This book is 176 pages of cottage garden inspiration: winding garden paths lined with hollyhocks, climbing roses and honeysuckle, orchards, and wildflowers. You can get a copy of Cottage Gardens by Claire Masset 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 February 10, 1957 Today is the anniversary of the death of Laura Ingalls Wilder. One of the reasons so many of us have a soft spot in our hearts for the Little House books is because Laura was so descriptive; she was a natural storyteller. In retrospect, I think you may be surprised by the amount of material in Laura's books that was devoted to the natural world - ma's gardens, the landscapes Laura and her family experienced, and the reverence for life - plants, animals, and human - all of it is so cherished by Laura and her loved ones. In 2017, the author Marta McDowell wrote a book called The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and in it, she highlights the frontier landscapes that inspired the Little House books. And Marta's book sheds new light on Laura as a naturalist. In a blog post, Marta challenged us by writing: "I'd like to suggest a thought experiment. Instead of categorizing Laura Ingalls Wilder as an American children's author, think of her as a nature writer as well… Long before she was a writer, Laura Ingalls Wilder was a gardener and farmer, growing food for the table and raising crops for sale. Nature was her home, as well as little houses. Through her life and work, Wilder sowed a deep appreciation for the world outside one's own door. Her books still inspire budding naturalists to plant, preserve and appreciate their own wilder gardens." Well, Marta and I had a lovely chat featured in Episode 585 of the Still Growing podcast if you'd like to check it out. And one time, we even had a nice little lunch together as she was passing through the Twin Cities. Marta is one of my favorite modern garden authors, and I loved her idea of writing about Laura as a naturalist. In researching Laura, I discovered many wonderful things she had written about the natural world outside of her wonderful Little House books. In the Missouri Ruralist, Laura wrote, "The voices of nature do not speak so plainly to us as we grow older, but I think it is because, in our busy lives, we neglect her until we grow out of sympathy. Our ears and eyes grow doll and Beauties are lost to us that we should still enjoy. Life was not intended to be simply a round of work, no matter how interesting and important that work may be. A moment's pause to watch the glory of a sunrise or a sunset is so satisfying, while a bird song will set the steps to music all day long." In early February 1918, over a hundred years ago this month, Laura wrote: "Now is the time to make a garden! Anyone can be a successful gardener at this time of year and I know of no pleasanter occupation these cold, snowy days, then to sit warm and snug by the fire making a garden with a pencil, and a seed catalog. What perfect vegetables do we raise in that way and so many of them! Our radishes are crisp and sweet,our lettuce tender and our tomatoes smooth and beautifully colored. Best of all, there is not a bug or worm in the whole garden and the work is so easily done. In imagination we see the plants in our spring garden, all in straight, thrifty rows with the fruit of each plant and vine numerous and beautiful as the pictures before us. How near the real garden of next summer approaches the ideal garden of our winter fancies depends upon how practically we dream and how hard we work." Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate a man who published his garden journal in a book - and inspired countless gardeners and gardener writers with his resonant words. We'll also learn about a young botanist with drive and good intentions, as well as a personal beef with another botanist - both of these men had a dramatic impact on the Calcutta Botanical Garden. We hear some fascinating words about tree bark and pH - it's a little-discussed topic, but it's a good one. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us cook with flowers. And then we'll wrap things up with a look at winter chores for this week from 1889. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org Curated News Jade Plants Are the Low-Maintenance Houseplants Everyone Should Know About | MarthaStewart.com 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 February 9, 1830 Today is the birthday of the English gardener and writer Henry Arthur Bright. As an adult, Henry began a diary, which would become a book called A Year in a Lancashire Garden. Henry's book is one of the most beloved garden biographies of the nineteenth century, and Henry's book inspired future garden writers like Henry Nicholson Ellacombe, Theresa Earle, and Elizabeth Lawrence. And for today, I thought I would share a February 1874 excerpt from Henry's journal. Although this was almost 150 years ago, Henry was doing what gardeners do this time of year: worrying about how the winter would affect the garden, noticing the progress of the earliest blooming trees and shrubs, cleaning up and editing the garden for the new season, looking through his garden magazines for new and old plants, experiencing some disappointment in the spring showing of some of his flowers (in this case, his Aconites), and mulling over why some spring-flowering bulbs go unappreciated - like the humble spring Crocus. "Since I wrote, we have had the sharpest and keenest frost — sharper than we have had all the winter... Now spring has come again, and (as Horace says) has "shivered" through the trees. The Elders are already unfolding their leaves, and a Lonicera ("lon-ISS-er-ah") or Honeysuckle is in the freshest bud. I remember when, a few years ago, Mr. Longfellow, the American poet, was in England, he told me that he was often reminded by the tender foliage of an English spring of that well-known line of Watts, where the fields of Paradise, "Stand dressed in living green;" and I thought of this today when I looked... at the fresh verdure of this very Lonicera. But all things are now telling of spring. We have finished our pruning of the wall-fruit; we have ...sown our earliest Peas. We have planted our Ranunculus bed and gone through the herbaceous borders, dividing and clearing away where the growth was too thick, and sending off hamperfuls of Peony, Iris, Oenothera ("ee-no-THAIR-ah"), Snowflake, Japanese Anemone ("ah-NIM-oh-nee), Day Lily, and many others. On the other hand, we have been looking over old volumes of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, and have been trying to get, not always successfully, a number of old forgotten plants of beauty, and now of rarity. We have found enough, however, to add a fresh charm to our borders for June, July, and August. On the lawn, we have some Aconites in flower… This year they are doing badly. I suspect they must have been mown away last spring before their tubers were thoroughly ripe, and they are punishing us now by flowering only here and there. Then, too, the Crocuses are bursting up from the soil... "all gleaming in purple and gold." Nothing is more stupid than the ordinary way of planting Crocuses — in a narrow line or border. Of course, you get a line of color, but that is all, and, for all the good it does, you might as well have a line of colored pottery or variegated gravel. They should be grown in thick masses, and in a place where the sun can shine upon them, and then they open out into wonderful depths of beauty. Besides the clusters along the shrubberies and the mixed borders, I have a number [of Crocus] on the lawn beneath a large weeping Ash; the grass was bare there, and… it was well to do something to veil its desolation in the spring. Nothing can be more successful than a mass of Crocus, yellow, white, and purple. I sometimes think that the Crocus is less cared for than it deserves. Our modern poets rarely mention it; but in Homer, when he would make a carpet for the gods, it is of Lotus, Hyacinth, and Crocus… February 9, 1845 Today is the anniversary of the early death of the promising English botanist and naturalist, William Griffith. William's peers in Madras, India, honored William with a plaque that says, "He had attained to the highest eminence in the scientific world; and was one of the most distinguished botanists of his age." William was exceptionally bright and fit. Confident and capable, William made one discovery after another on his expeditions across the globe. But in researching William, while I discovered a man who was unquestionably intelligent and driven, he was also embroiled in a personal battle against a fellow botanist - an older peer named Nathaniel Wallich. One of the great botanists of his age, Nathaniel, was in charge of the Botanical Garden in Calcutta, India. During his time in India, he wrote a Flora of Asia, and the palm Wallichia disticha ("wall-IK-ee-uh DIS-tik-uh") was named in Wallich's honor. In 1824, Nathaniel was the first person to describe the giant Himalayan Lily (Cardiocrinum giganteum) - the world's largest Lily species. If you decide you'd like to grow giant Himalayan Lilies (and who wouldn't?), expect blooms anytime after year four. Now, Richard Axelby wrote an excellent in-depth paper that shares the sad story of dislike and mistrust between William Griffith and Nathaniel Wallich. It's a fascinating read, and it underscores the damage that can be done when people don't get along. In a nutshell, when William arrived at the botanical garden in Calcutta, he essentially played the role of the new sheriff in town, and he didn't like the way Nathaniel had organized the garden. He didn't like Nathaniel's arrogance and adherence to the old ways. And for his part, Nathaniel hadn't anticipated this kind of challenge to his authority; He had hoped to finish out his final years respected and revered until he received his pension and returned to England. When Nathaniel's health deteriorated, he was forced to leave the Calcutta Botanical Garden, and he went to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa to recover. During his absence, William went to work. After being put in charge of the garden, William set about executing a complete renovation. In hindsight, William's personal feelings likely got in the way of exercising a more thoughtful redesign. He essentially threw the baby out with the bathwater. For instance, there was an avenue of stately Cycas trees that was beloved by visitors to the garden; they were wiped out. William's total dedication to organizing the garden by classification meant that aesthetics and common sense were secondary, and that proved detrimental to the garden. Plants that had thrived under the canopy of established trees and shrubs were suddenly exposed to the harsh Indian sun, and they burned and perished out in the open. And even if he could be a difficult man to work with, it's hard not to imagine the shock Nathaniel experienced when he returned to the garden in the summer of 1844 and saw the complete devastation in every bed, every planting, and every corner of the garden. Nothing was untouched - it had all been changed. And as Nathaniel returned to the garden that summer, William was preparing to leave. In September, he married his brother's wife's sister - Emily Henderson - by the end of the year, on December 11th, and he quit and left the garden for good. Two months later, on February 8, 1845, Nathaniel poured out his pain in a letter to his old friend William Hooker: "Where is the stately, matchless garden that I left in 1842? Is this the same as that? Can it be? No–no–no! Day is not more different from night that the state of the garden as it was from its present utterly ruined condition. But no more on this. My heart bleeds at what I am impelled daily – hourly to witness. And yet I am chained to the spot, and the chain, in some respects, is of my own making. I will not be driven away. Lies, calumnies, every attempt... to ruin my character – publicly and privately... are still employed – they may make my life miserable and wretched, they may break my heart: but so so long as my conscience acquits me... so long will I not budge one inch from my post." Well, when Nathanial wrote this letter, William and Emily were back in Malacca in Southwestern Malaysia - but all was not well. William had gotten sick on the voyage to Malaysia. It was hepatitis, and he had languished for ten days. And the very day after Nathaniel sent his letter to William Hooker about his broken heart at seeing his dear Calcutta Botanical Garden, William Griffith died on this day in 1845 in Malaysia. He was just 34 years old. Unearthed Words Each tree's bark will have its own pH, and some are more acidic than others. Larches and Pines are notoriously acidic; Birch, Hawthorne and Oak are acidic too, but slightly less so. Rowan, Alder, Beech, Linden, and Ash are little less acidic again, and Willow, Holly and Elm are getting closer to neutral. Sycamore, Walnut, and Elder are alkaline. The less acidic the bark is, the more growth you are likely to see from colonizing plants and lichens. Pine bark is often bare, whereas Sycamore might have a glorious guest hanging off its bark. —Tristan Gooley, New York Times Bestselling author, The Lost Art of Reading Nature Signs, Bark Grow That Garden Library Cooking with Flowers by Miche Bacher This book came out in 2013, and the subtitle is Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers. In this book, Miche put together more than 100 recipes to create beautiful flower-filled dishes for your table! This botanical cookbook features creations that will speak to any gardener: sweet violet cupcakes, savory sunflower chickpea salad, pansy petal pancakes, chive blossom vinaigrette, daylily cheesecake, rosemary flower margaritas, mango orchid sticky rice, and herb flower pesto. Miche is an herbalist, chef, and owner of a custom confectionary studio, so she's an expert in preparing and using botanicals in the kitchen. Miche shares how to find, clean, and prep edible blossoms. You'll also learn that the color and flavor of various blooms can infuse vinegars, vodkas, sugars, frostings, jellies and jams, and even ice creams. This book is 192 pages of edible flowers, visually stunning desserts, and one-of-a-kind creations. You can get a copy of Cooking with Flowers by Miche Bacher and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $6 Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart February 9, 1889 On this day, The Lancaster Gazette shared a little snippet about the garden chores that should be done this week. So let's see how our chores stack up against chores from the late 1800s. "Outdoor Work must have a full share of attention. Whatever... winter work remains must now be cleared up, or the consequences will be serious. Make quickly a thorough clearance of the vegetable quarters. Prepare all plots requiring manure at once, as it is much better to have the manure completely incorporated with the soil than to sow or plant immediately after manuring. The ground for Peas, Beans, Onions, Cauliflowers, and Broccolis must be liberally manured and deeply stirred. Mark out the quarters for Onions into four-foot beds and raise the bed six inches above the general level and leave the surface rough. At sowing time, the surface will be nicely pulverized through exposure to the air, and the seed can be set clean and rolled in firm... Choose for Potatoes ground on which Cabbage, or Broccoli, or Celery has been grown... last year. Make up sloping borders under warm walls and fences for early Lettuce and Radish. Prick out Broccoli and Cauliflower from seed. Plant." Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Full show notes at the publisherToday we celebrate an English critic who wrote some of our most beautiful quotes about gardens, nature, and flowers. We'll also learn about a dedicated English naturalist who lived in the Rainforest for eleven years and provided ample proof of Darwin's theory of evolution. We hear words from a gardener and nursery owner about gardening and garden attire in winter. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us make some great garden projects with concrete - prepare to be amazed. And then we'll wrap things up with a letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra written on this day 214 years ago. 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 Gardening Doctor | Words and Herbs 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.
Today we celebrate a botanist and orchidologist who saved Kew, We'll also learn about an orchid hunter who collected plants on behalf of the London Horticultural Society. We hear some words about the challenging experience of a botanist in 1874. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about one of America's earliest botanists and the father of America's first female botanist. And then we'll wrap things up with a story of a plant that Joseph Dalton Hooker described as "The ugliest yet [most] botanically magnificent plant in the world." 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 Carnation – A Little History and Some Growing Instructions | Harvesting History 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 February 5, 1799 Today is the birthday of the British botanist, pomologist, pioneer orchidologist, and flower show organizer, John Lindley. John's dad was a nurseryman, and he ran a commercial nursery in England. Despite his array of botanical talents and knowledge, the family was always under financial duress. Growing up in his father's nursery helped John acquire the knowledge to land his first job as a seed merchant. This position led to a chain of events that would shape John's life. First, he met the botanist William Jackson Hooker. And, second, Hooker introduced him to Sir Joseph Banks. As a result of these connections, John ended up working as an assistant in Bank's herbarium. In 1838 after Banks died, when the fate of Kew Gardens hung in the balance, John recommended that the gardens belonged to the people and that they should become the botanical headquarters for England. The government rejected John's proposal and decided to close the garden. But, on February 11, 1840, John ingeniously demanded that the issue be put before the Parliament. His advocacy brought the matter to the people; the garden-loving public was not about to lose the Royal Botanic. And, so, John saved Kew Gardens, and William Hooker was chosen as the new director. From his humble beginnings to his incredible standing in English Botanical History, John is remembered fondly for so many accomplishments. For 43 years, John served as secretary to the Royal Horticultural Society, which is why the RHS Library is called the Lindley Library. And, there are over 200 plant species named for John Lindley. There is "lindleyi," "lindleyana," "lindleya," "lindleyoides," etc., and they all pay homage to John. John once told his friend, the botanist Ludwig Reichenbach, "I am a dandy in my herbarium." John did love his plants. But, without question, John's favorite plants were orchids. Before John, not much was known about orchids. Thanks to John, the genus Orchidaceae was shortened to orchid – which is much more friendly to pronounce. And, when he died, John's massive orchid collection was moved to a new home at Kew. John's friend, the botanist Ludwig Reichenbach, wrote a touching tribute after John died. He wrote, "We cannot tell how long Botany, how long science, will be pursued; but we may affirm that so long as a knowledge of plants is considered necessary, so long will Lindley's name be remembered with gratitude." And here's a little-remembered factoid about John - he was blind in one eye. February 5, 1848 It was on this day, the botanist Karl Theodor Hartweg boarded a Hawaiian ship on his way back to England. The London Horticultural Society had hired Karl to collect plants in California. Yet when he reached London, the Hort Society was a little frustrated with Karl because he hadn't secured something they really wanted: Bristlecone Fir seeds. A short while later, Karl severed ties with London, and he ended up south of Frankfurt tending gardens for the Duke of Baden for thirty years until he died in 1871. Karl's journey as a plant collector began in the botanical garden in Paris. After working for the Chiswick garden in London, Karl began to turn his attention to plant exploration. Eager to travel and explore, Karl left for America in 1836. Although Karl was only supposed to stay for a three-year project, he actually ended up staying for over seven years. During the early to mid-1800s, native plants from Mexico, like dahlias and cacti, were all the rage. As for Karl, he became a noted orchid hunter. According to Merle Reinkka, the author of A History of the Orchid, Karl's work was significant, and he contributed, "The most variable and comprehensive collection of New World Orchids made by a single individual in the first half of the [19th] century." A man of the world, Karl himself once dryly remarked, "All the way from London just to look after weeds." Unearthed Words In 1874, the English botanist WEP Giles (William Ernest Powell) explored the vast deserts of central Australia. Setting out with his hunting partner from a base camp at Fort McKellar, he discovered a leak in one of his large water bags. The two men decided to continue, even though the temperature had already climbed to 96 degrees Fahrenheit. Camping that night, they hung their remaining bags of water in a tree to protect them. But one of their horses attacked a bag with her teeth— spraying the water all over the ground. Now neither the men nor the animals had enough water. — Anita Silvey, American children's author, The Plant Hunters, Bringing Themselves Home Alive Grow That Garden Library Cadwallader Colden by Seymour Schwartz This book came out in 2013, and the subtitle is A Biography. In this book, Seymour gives us the first complete biography of the American botanist Cadwallader Colden. Cadwallader was the longest-serving Lieutenant Governor of New York. He was incredibly intelligent and multi-talented - a true Renaissance man of America's colonial times. A trained physician, Cadwallader improved public health, and he wrote the first scientific paper published in the colonies, as well as the first map of New York. Cadwallader was also the father of America's first female botanist: Jane Colden. This book is 230 pages of the life of a multifaceted colonial Renaissance man: Cadwallader Colden. You can get a copy of Cadwallader Colden by Seymour Schwartz 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 February 5, 1806 Today is the birthday of the Austrian botanist and explorer Friedrich Welwitsch. Friedrich found a second home in the country of Portugal, where he served as the director of the Botanic Gardens in Lisbon. Friedrich had some fantastic experiences during his lifetime, but the pinnacle was clearly the day he discovered the Welwitschia mirabilis. The mirabilis refers to its unusual form. Portugal had to send him to Africa to collect plants - which he did for seven years. In 1860, Friedrich discovered a strange-looking plant that is actually a tree - a conifer and a gymnosperm - in terms of botanical classification. The Africans called it "Mr. Big." Now the Welwitschia is endemic to Namibian deserts, and it's also present on the country's coat of arms. When Friedrich discovered this unique plant, which can live for more than 1500 years and bears only two leaves in its entire lifecycle, he was so astonished that he, "could do nothing but kneel down and gaze at it, half in fear lest a touch should prove it a figment of the imagination." Imagine a two-tentacled octopus with very long arms and a red floral bouquet for a head, and you have the Welwitschia mirabilis. Welwitschia's two leaves grow continuously throughout the life of a plant. The pair of leaves are broad, leathery, and belt-shaped. Incredibly, some specimens, tested with carbon 14, are over 2000 years old. Today, if you search online, there is a spectacular photo of Friedrich seated behind a large welwitschia mirabilis. He's wearing a pith helmet, and the plant's leaves are clearly many times longer than Friedrich's arms and legs, which are mostly obscured by the plant. In 1862, Joseph Dalton Hooker described the plant in The Gardener's Chronicle as, "The ugliest yet [most] botanically magnificent plant in the world." Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate a botanist who helped us understand why plants are green: chlorophyll. We'll also learn about the dedicated Landscape Architect who was a protégé of Beatrix Farrand. We hear some tips for keeping a well-stocked winter larder. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a 2021 journal that you can use to keep track of your year - and it has some fantastic original sketches from a garden great on nearly every page. And then we'll wrap things up with a story that helps us see weedy plants through a different lens - and we're fools if we can't be more balanced in our perspective on these plants. 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 Starting Your Seeds for the First Time | That Bloomin' Garden | Kristin Crouch 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 February 4, 1847 Today is the anniversary of the death of the French botanist and physiologist Henri Dutrochet. After studying the movement of sap in plants in his home laboratory, Henri discovered and named osmosis. Henri shared his discovery with the Paris Academy of Sciences on October 30th, 1826. Like the cells in our own human bodies, plants don't drink water; they absorb it by osmosis. Henri also figured out that the green pigment, chlorophyll, in a plant is essential to how plants take up carbon dioxide. Hence, photosynthesis could not happen without chlorophyll. It turns out chlorophyll actually helps plants gather energy from light. And if you've ever asked yourself why plants are green, the answer is chlorophyll. Since it reflects green light, the chlorophyll makes the plant appear green. As for Henri, he was a true pioneer in plant research. He was the first to examine plant respiration, light sensitivity, and geotropism (How the plant responds to gravity, i.e., roots grow down to the ground.) Geotropism can be confusing at first, but I just think of it this way: The upward growth of plants - fighting against gravity - is called negative geotropism, and downward growth of roots, growing with gravity, is called positive geotropism. And there's a little part of the plant at the very end of the root that responds to positive geotropism, and it's called the root cap. So, what makes the roots grow downward? The small but mighty root cap - responding to positive geotropism. February 4, 1899 Today is the birthday of the Beatrix Farrand protégé, the American Landscape Architect Ruth Harvey. After graduating from Smith College, Ruth attended the first landscape architecture school to allow women: the Cambridge School of Domestic Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Before she earned her Master's degree in Architecture, Ruth had already started working for Beatrix Farrand - and it was this relationship that would lead Ruth to her professional destiny: Dumbarton Oaks. Dumbarton Oaks was a farm that was purchased by Robert and Mildred Bliss in 1920. A creative visionary, Mildred immediately had big plans for the property, and she hired the great Landscape Architect Beatrix Farrand to help with the transformation. And while Mildred had bargained for creating a magnificent garden property, she ended up with so much more: a very dear friendship with Beatrix. As for Ruth, after she was hired, she joined a small team of women, spearheaded by Beatrix, to design the magnificent gardens and Landscape at Dumbarton. But in a few years, after the project was underway, it was Ruth who took point on the work at Dumbarton. Ruth's leadership happened organically after she proved herself by working on various projects. Ruth's first major project at Dumbarton was something called the Green Garden Inscription to Beatrix Farrand. The inscribed stone tablet was something special that Mildred wanted to be added to the Green Terrace; she was looking for a permanent way to honor her dear friend Beatrix, and she wanted it set in stone. And so, Ruth designed a plaque that was placed within a balustrade - the stone railing of the terrace. Written in Latin, ("Somnia sub patulis videant nascentia ramis sidera fausa ferant omnia et usque bona. Testimonio amicitiae Beatricis Farrand nec illorum immemores qui postero aevo vitas veritati erunendae impenderint. Hanc tabellam posuerunt Robertus Woods Bliss uxorque Mildred") the inscription has two lines of elegy that read: "May they see their dreams springing to life under the spreading boughs; May lucky stars bring them every continuous good." And the inscription reads: "A testimony to the friendship of Beatrix Farrand. Robert Bliss and his wife, Mildred, remembering those who have spent their lives bringing truth forth for a later age, set this plaque here." The Green Terrace was designed to be an extension of the Bliss home. The patio area served as an outdoor dining room and a space for entertaining, and the Blisses hosted large parties and events there. Set on the highest part of the property, the Green Terrace offers the best views of Dumbarton and the spot where Mildred purposefully chose the inscription; it's the very best spot to stand to view the garden and the landscape beyond. Over Ruth Havey's long career, she took on additional projects out of her office in New York, and she was part of the first generation of working female Landscape Architects in the country. And with every project she completed, Ruth honed her superpower: tying the landscape to buildings on the property - making the garden a cohesive part of the whole. And although she had many impressive clients and gardens through the years, Ruth always felt a special bond to Dumbarton - a place she helped to mold and shape for over thirty years. And it's fitting that her best work - her masterpiece - was a Dumbarton project called the Pebble Garden. Initially, the Pebble Garden space was a tennis court, and Beatrix Farrand had actually installed it. Most gardeners can relate to tearing out a garden feature that no longer suits their needs. But the task of replacing a tennis court - a 60 by 120-foot flat space - with an intricate pebble mosaic must have felt like an enormous undertaking. The area was a clean slate. After a fateful trip to Florence, Italy, Mildred discovered a muse for the space. She had gone to see the Villa I Tatti, and Mildred's imagination lighted up when she saw an intricate mosaic of pebbles - a pebble garden - that made the walkways look like they were covered with an intricately patterned stone carpet. Now Villa I Tatti's elaborate pebble pathways were designed by the great Uruguayan-British garden designer and architect Cecil Ross Pinsent. Visiting elite gardens was not at all intimidating or overwhelming to Mildred. Instead, Mildred was invigorated by the practice of benchmarking the very best gardens in the world so that Dumbarton, too, could be extraordinary. Imagine being in Ruth's shoes as Mildred tells her she wants a pebble mosaic to replace the tennis court. Imagine sourcing images for inspiration, finding the perfect pebbles, and establishing a design that would likely inspire for centuries. This redesign was a massive challenge for Ruth Havey, and in the end, she nailed it, and the pride that she felt must have been very gratifying. Today when you view Ruth's pebble mosaic, I want you to imagine what it would look like with water above it - because that was what she originally intended. Sadly, the cement bedding below the mosaic had some flaws, and those cracks meant the mosaic would always be fully exposed, and I suspect that this development has actually prolonged the life of the mosaic. Anyone with a water feature knows how water degrades the structures beneath the water. Finally, the pebble garden features two cornucopias on either side of a large sheaf of grain. This harvest image of the two cornucopias and the grain is a visual reminder of the Bliss family motto: "Quod Severis Metes: You reap what you sow." Unearthed Words Harvested fruits and vegetables can be stored over winter in a number of ways. Perishable summer stone fruits can be dried, packed into sweetened alcohol syrups, or cooked into preserves or jellies. The pom fruits — apples, pears, and quinces — from late summer and early fall harvest will keep for several months in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place, as will hard squashes and winter roots. Brine- or salt-cured olives and a variety of nuts and dried beans make up the remainder of a traditional winter larder. Salty anchovies and olives from the larder go surprisingly well with winter's starchy potatoes and storage onions. All kinds of dried beans are good in slow-simmered dishes, especially if the beans were harvested the preceding fall and still retain their fresh flavor. — Georgeanne Brennan, author and co-founder Le Marche Seed Company, Potager, Winter Grow That Garden Library Bunny Mellon Garden Journal by Linda Holden This journal came out in 2020, and it is absolutely gorgeous. In this journal, Linda added many lovely little Bunny Mellon touches. There are Bunny's wonderful sketches along with quotes about gardening and life. Linda thoughtfully alternated blank and lined pages, honoring every gardener's need to draw and write. This journal is perfect for the garden designer, as well as the gardener. And I think that the sweet little sketches throughout the journal are incredibly inspiring. Each drawing and doodle is taken from notes and letters that Bunny wrote to her friends and family. Linda's journal features an elastic band closure, an inside pocket, and a ribbon bookmark, making this journal a lovely keepsake and handy reference for wherever you like to journal. You can get a copy of Bunny Mellon Garden Journal by Linda Holden and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $7 Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart February 4, 1995 On this day, the North County Times ran a little article about weeds. It started out with this question: "What do Yarrow, Chicory, Horsetail, Shepherd's Purse, and Ground Ivy have in common?" Well, in case you haven't guessed, the answer is that they are all considered weeds. Yet the author of Just Weeds, Pamela Jones, countered "I would like to see the word weed abolished altogether for being one of the most intolerant, negative words in the English language." Pamela's book features insights on the uses (medicinal and otherwise) of 30 different weeds - and she also shares the lore and history of each plant. The part of the Yarrow that grows above ground has been used to tree everything from fever and cold to tummy troubles and toothaches. Chicory is known as the herb for perseverance. I always think of the little Chicory flower I once say blooming happily through a crack along the side of a highway - such a great example of determination! And all the parts of the Chicory are useful for both medicine and food. And Horsetail or Milkweed (Asclepias) was a valued medicinal plant to Native Americans who used it for snakebites and increased lactation. Meanwhile, Shepherd's Purse has been called the most essential plant in all of the Cruciferous family for its ability to stop bleeding. Finally, Ground Ivy or Creeping Charlie helps stop headaches, earaches, sinusitis, and it also moves the lymph system, which is why it is known for it's drying and draining abilities. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate a man with, perhaps, the perfect last name for a botanist: Blume. We'll also learn about a wild berry that is a sister to the blueberry and the cranberry. We hear some words about the devastating impact of the poisonous White Snakeroot on the family of one of our American Presidents. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about the story of two botanists with different fates - yet both made their mark in horticulture. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a Southern poet born on this 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: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org Curated News Drawing On History, Philosophy, Psychology & Art, The Gardens Of Shute House Are Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe's Masterpiece | House & Garden 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 February 3, 1862 Today is the anniversary of the death of the German-Dutch botanist with the perfect last name - Carl Ludwig Blume. Born in Germany and orphaned by the age of five, Carl proved to be a bright little boy and a successful student. He studied at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands - a place that would become his Northstar. When he died in Leiden, on this day in 1862, he had become a naturalized Dutch citizen. Scholastically, Carl went the path of most botanists. He first became a physician, and he ran an apothecary. In short order, he started botanizing in the Dutch East Indies, specifically on the island of Java, where he was the Botanic Garden director. Carl wrote a spectacular book on the collection of orchids that were available on the island. The title page is stunning, and it features three native women from Java performing a ceremonial dance. The mountains of Java in the village are in the background, and a garland of orchids frames the stunning portrait. This publication is considered one of the finest works of scientific literature during the early 1800s. In 1825, Carl established the Dendrobium genus of orchids. The genus name is derived from the Greek; "dendron" for tree and "bios" meaning life. The two terms, tree and life, refer to orchids' epiphytic habit of growing on trees. And, here's a great story about Carl. During his time in Java, Carl saw what he thought was a group of moths flying in a motionless fashion by a tree. It was a strange vision. But, when he got closer, Carl realized what he thought were moths were actually orchid flowers. Carl named the species Phalaenopsis amabilis (fayl-eh-NOP-sis ah-MA-bo-lis). In nature, the phalaenopsis orchid stems are not clipped to a bamboo pole like they are when we buy them in the supermarket. Instead, they arch away from the tree they are attached to and sway easily with the Wind. It was the motion of the Orchid flowers swaying in the wind that lead Carl to believe he saw an insect and not a blossom. The etymology of the word phalaenopsis comes from the Latin word "phal," which means moth - which is why this Orchid is commonly referred to as the Moth Orchid. Phalaenopsis orchids are native to Southeast Asia. Their popularity has steadily grown because they are so easy to grow and because they bloom indoors all year round. This makes them one of the most popular house plants in the world. Now, should you be tempted this summer to move your phalaenopsis orchid outside, think twice. Just because they are a tropical plant doesn't mean they want full sun. Phalaenopsis orchids grow in the shade of trees under the tree canopy. They like indirect light, and if you put them in full sun, they will get sunburned. If you are going to move them outside, make sure to put them in a place where they will not get direct sunlight. Sometimes I'll put mine onto my north-facing covered porch. In 1853, Carl Ludwig Blume discovered another popular plant in the mountains of Java: coleus. Coleus bluemei was named in Carl's honor until it was changed in 2006 to Coleux x Hybridus in recognition of all the new hybrid variations. As of 2012, the botanical name for coleus is Plectranthus scutellarioides (Plek-TRAN-thus SKOO-til-air-ee-OY-deez). And Coleus is in the Mint or Lamiaceae family. They have that signature square stem and opposite leaves - along with other famous members of the Mint family: Basil, Peppermint, Oregano, Salvia, Swedish Ivy, and Thyme. An early nickname for Coleus was painted nettle or flame nettle. Coleus is easy to propagate from cuttings. You can simply pop them in a glass of water, and in a few days, roots will start to form. To encourage your Coleus to grow more compactly, keep pruning them before they bloom. You might remember that the National Garden Bureau made 2015 the year of the coleus. February 3, 1941 On this day, The Daily Republican out of Monongahela, Pennsylvania, published a tiny snippet about the Box Huckleberry (Gaylussacia brachycera). "In Tuscarora Forest, Perry county, there is a large box huckleberry bush considered the largest on earth. In 1846, Dr. Asa Gray, the famous Harvard botanist, wrote the first description of the bush, which covers hundreds of square feet of earth. Experts estimate its age to be about 12,000 years, five times as old as the big California trees." Today, that massive colony of Box Huckleberry still lives in the Tuscarora Forest (I checked). In fact, it's listed on the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources website. And they thoughtfully include a Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area Trail Guide (PDF) right on their website. Speaking of websites, I love what Zoe Bommarito wrote about the western Huckleberry species in a post on the National Forest Foundation website: "Coming from the Midwest, I heard about huckleberries as a child – but I had never eaten one, or even seen a huckleberry for that matter. They don't grow in Michigan. When I moved to Missoula, Montana, I began to hear about these iconic berries. People are obsessed. Driving through Montana, I guarantee you'll see at least a couple of roadside signs advertising huckleberry milkshakes. I thought everyone was crazy. I soon learned that huckleberries are in my own backyard — they're abundant in our National Forests. These delicious, sought-after, and magical berries are available to you on our public lands. Huckleberries are small red and purple berries related to both blueberries and cranberries. Smaller than a blueberry and sweeter than a cranberry, many believe that huckleberries are the best of both worlds. Huckleberries come from a shrub-like plant that grows in the underbrush of forests. More than twelve species of huckleberries are found throughout Pacific Northwest forests." And here are a few additional points about the Huckleberry. Many gardeners think blueberries and huckleberries are interchangeable - but this is not the case. Although you can't tell by color alone, since some huckleberries are blue and some blueberries are almost purple, you can distinguish them by the seeds. Blueberries have lots of itty-bitty seeds in their pulp, while Huckleberries have exactly ten small seeds. The etymology of the word Huckle is a reference to an old word for joint or hip because of the Huckleberry plant's joined stems. In fact, the handles on a coffin are often called Huckles - so when you carry a coffin, you are a Hucklebearer - or pallbearer. And the phrase, "I'm your Huckleberry," is a way of letting someone know you're just the person for the job. And don't forget that Tom Sawyer's trusted friend was Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberries love to grow on the forest floor in acidic soil - they feel right at home under a fir or pine canopy. And although plenty of gardeners have tried to grow Huckleberries from seed, their attempts didn't yield fruit. To this day, Huckleberry plants have never been reliably cultivated. Thus, Huckleberries are still harvested the old fashioned way: foragers pick them. And the laborious foraging is precisely why Huckleberries are so expensive; they sell for double-digits - over $10 a pound. Unearthed Words One of the most famous victims of milk sickness was Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of Abraham Lincoln. She fought the disease for a week but finally succumbed, as did her aunt and uncle and several other people in the small town of Little Pigeon Creek, Indiana. She died in 1818 at the age of thirty-four, leaving behind nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln and his sister, Sarah. Lincoln's father built the coffins himself; young Abraham helped by carving the pegs for his mother's casket. — Amy Stewart, gardener and garden writer, Wicked Plants, White Snakeroot Grow That Garden Library Both by Douglas Crase This book came out in 2004, and the subtitle is A Portrait in Two Parts. In this book, we learn about a fascinating fifty-year relationship between Dwight Ripley (the heir to an American railroad fortune and a polymath who excelled in horticulture, music, language, and painting) and Rupert Barneby (the son of an aristocratic English family and one of the greatest botanists of the 20th Century). After meeting at Harrow, an exclusive boarding school in England, Dwight and Rupert discovered a shared obsession for botany and love for each other. Ultimately, the two would go on many botanizing trips before settling in Los Angeles in the 1930s. In addition to regular botanizing trips in the American Southwest, Dwight and Rupert were part of a lively social circle among the artistic élite of New York that included W. H. Auden, Peggy Guggenheim, and Jackson Pollock. This book features the incredible life stories of Dwight and Rupert, and gardeners will thrill to learn more about their botanical mania and exploits through their "exquisite prose on plants, snatches of Barneby's witty poetry, and reproductions of drawings in each of their distinctive styles." This book is 320 pages of the extraordinary lives of two immensely talented men and their impact on botany, horticulture, and American art in the 20th Century. You can get a copy of Both by Douglas Crase 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 February 3, 1842 Today is the birthday of the American poet, musician, and author, Sidney Lanier. Born in Macon, Georgia, Sidney rose to fame after writing a poem about, of all things, corn. He had been visiting friends when he was immediately struck by the "beauty of cornfields and the pathos of deserted farms." Sidney is one of our under-appreciated 19th-century poets. Music and nature were endless wells of inspiration for Sidney's work. After fighting in the civil war, he wrote a book about his experience called Tiger Lilies. He could be light-hearted: I am but a small-winged bird: But I will conquer the big world As the bee-martin beats the crow, By attacking it always from above. And Sidney was also spiritual - as in his poem A Ballad of Trees and the Master about the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, with a compelling first verse that ends: But the olives they were not blind to Him, The little gray leaves were kind to Him: The thorn-tree had a mind to Him When into the woods He came. Today gardeners can visit the Sidney Lanier Cottage in Macon, Georgia. And if you go, there is a marvelous little herb garden with cobblestone paths and a sundial in the center. The little cottage gets high marks on Trip Advisor, where one reviewer wrote, "From the moment we walked in and breathed in the scent of the old building, to the end of the (extra good) tour, we enjoyed everything we learned." And there is a school called the Sidney Lanier Center in northeast Gainesville, Florida, which offers education to elementary and secondary students with disabilities. In 2015, students created the Sidney Lanier Community Garden with the help of a master gardener named Susan Lucas. Today, the whole school enjoys the garden, which grows herbs (for cooking and sensory therapy), carrots, kale, as well as blueberries, and strawberries. Sidney's dream was to teach at a new University called Johns Hopkins. Three years after the University opened, Sidney was invited to teach. He became an instant sensation with the students, but his body was failing him. In 1880, after battling years of poor health due to tuberculosis contracted during his time in the Civil War, Sidney wrote his final poem, "Sunrise," After lecturing for a little over a year, Sidney had to teach sitting down. He was 39 years old. When the school year ended, Sidney and his family went to North Carolina to reset his failing health. Instead, he died with his family around him in a home in Tryon, just a few blocks west of where the musician Nina Simone would grow up. Fittingly, Sidney's grave in Baltimore is inscribed with words from his final poem, "Sunrise," "I am lit with the Sun." Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Full show notes at the publisherToday we celebrate a star from the silent film age, whose best movie featured a blind woman selling flowers. We'll also learn about Candlemas - the ancient celebration of the quickening of the year. Candlemas is associated with the snowdrop, candles, and predicting just how much longer winter will last…. We hear a passage about a wonderful mini-farm - an inspiring example of the Nature Principle at home. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that teaches how to propagate almost 400 plants - and if you get it, I see many baby plants in your future... And then we'll wrap things up with a little story about the Snowdrop Fairy. 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 Tips to Help Your Garden Now | Fine Gardening 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 February 2, 1914 On this day, the English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer Charlie Chaplin made his film debut in Making a Living. With regard to his enormous catalog of work, Charlie's onscreen persona, The Tramp, is considered iconic, and it brought him wealth and fame. In 1931, Charlie created the silent film that Roger Ebert regarded as his best: City Lights. In the film, Charlie, as The Tramp, falls in love with a blind flower girl. And here's some incredible movie trivia about City Lights: The scene where The Tramp bought a flower from the blind girl had 342 takes. Charlie could not figure out how to convey a key plot point: the blind woman needed to know that The Tramp - who didn't speak - was wealthy. So, until he got it just right, the actress, Virginia Cherrill, had to say, "Flower Sir?" 342 times. February 2, 2021 Today is Candlemas - a celebration of the quickening of the year. While today we might say we're half-way between Christmas and spring, this Celtic tradition honored the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox and was a forerunner to Groundhog Day. Like Groundhog Day, Candlemas was all about predicting when winter would come to an end. This is why there are so many verses for Candlemas: If Candlemas Day be mild and gay Go saddle your horses, and buy them hay But if Candlemas Day be stormy and black, It carries the winter away on its back. If Candlemas be fair and clear, there'll be two winters in the year. If Candlemas Day be fair and bright Winter will have another flight. If Candlemas Day be cloud and rain, Then Winter will not come again As for the garden, in the middle ages, your Christmas greenery could be left up until Candlemas - but then it needed to come down. And in England, the Snowdrop blooms in February, and this is reflected in the common names "Fair Maid of February" and "Candlemas Bells." Hence the verse: The snowdrop, in purest white array, First rears it head on Candlemas Day. And, if you were tempted to bring some cut snowdrops in the House before Candlemas, you probably wouldn't have - because that was considered bad luck. And it should be noted that snowdrops are stronger than we give them credit for; they contain a natural antifreeze, which helps them survive in freezing weather. Over the centuries, the forecast of Candlemas was shared differently across Europe. In France and England, a bear would tell the forecast, and the Germans look to the badger for signs of spring. When German immigrants in Pennsylvania were looking to maintain the custom, they turned to the groundhog - a creature (unlike the badger) that was relatively easy to find and easy to catch. In the United States, the first Groundhog Day was celebrated in Gobbler's Knob, Pennsylvania, on this day in 1887. Today the mother of all Groundhog Celebrations is held in Punxsutawney with the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil the star attraction. If you're looking to celebrate Candlemas, you can always light a candle in your garden tonight and invite spring and the sunshine back into your life. Unearthed Words The yard surrounding Karen Harwell's home is only six hundred square feet, yet it harbors ducks, a beehive, eighteen semi-dwarf fruit trees, an organic vegetable garden, calming places to sit and read and think, and neighborhood teenagers. The teens visit summer, the dog, and sit in the rabbit hutch, hold the baby rabbits, and conduct that archaic form of social networking: talk. "I wake up in the morning and I throw on my vest over my nightgown and then summer and I head out the front door and we just walk around the garden noticing things. It's just a wonderful way to start the day," Harwell said, as she escorted me around her minifarm. — Richard Louv, American author and Audubon Medal Winner, The Nature Principle, The Nature Principle at Home Grow That Garden Library How to Propagate 375 Plants by Richard Rosenfeld This book came out in 2018, and the subtitle is A Practical Guide to Propagating Your Own Flowers, Foliage Plants, Trees, Shrubs, Climbers, Wet-Loving Plants, Bog and Water Plants, Vegetables and Herbs. In this book, Richard gives us a masterclass in propagation. In addition to covering seed planting basics, Richard shows the proper way to take cuttings, so you don't hurt the parent plant and have a cutting that gives you the best chance at propagation success. Then Richard guides you through dividing plants as well as layering and grafting methods. Best of all, everything is thoroughly explained with step-by-step instructions and photographs. The directory of 375 plants includes growing tips for each species. This book is 256 pages of a propagation masterclass with sound advice, beautiful photography, and best of all, these propagation skills can be put to use right away in your garden this year. You can get a copy of How to Propagate 375 Plants by Richard Rosenfeld 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 Today I thought I'd end the show with a little whimsy. The English illustrator Cicely Mary Barker painted a flower fairy for the fair maids of February, the snowdrops, and she called it the Snowdrop Fairy. Cicely loved wildflowers, but she didn't believe in fairies. In the foreword to Flower Fairies of the Wayside, Barker wrote: "I have drawn all the plants and flowers carefully, from real ones, but I have never seen a fairy..." Today, Cicely is remembered for her depictions of fairies and flowers. In Cicely's fabulous fantasy world, every flower was granted its particular Fairy to protect it from harm. Cicely would draw the flowers and the fairies and then write poetry about them. There's a lovely website called Flower Fairies, which has organized Cicely's fairies by season. For winter, there are fairies for these plants: Snowdrop, Groundsel, Dead Nettle, Shepherd's Purse Spindle Berry Old Man's Beard, Yew, Lords-and-Ladies, Holly, Blackthorne, Pine Tree, Box Tree, Rush Grass And Cotton Grass, The Plane Tree, Burdock, Winter Jasmine, The Hazel-Catkin, Totter Grass, Winter Aconite, And The Christmas Tree. In any case, here's what Cicely wrote about the Snowdrop Fairy. Deep sleeps the Winter, Cold, wet, and grey; Surely all the world is dead; Spring is far away. Wait! the world shall waken; It is not dead, for lo, The Fair Maids of February Stand in the snow! Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate a Harlem poet who loved children and flowers. We'll also learn about a newspaperman who wrote a fantastic essay about a harbinger of spring: the skunk cabbage. We'll hear some thoughts on how to start a garden. We Grow That Garden Library™ with an extraordinary book that takes us on a tour of brilliantly curated plant life. And then we'll wrap things up with a little obscure verse about the language of trees. 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 Removing Deadwood Makes For Happier, Healthier Shrubs And Trees — Here's How To Know If Branches Are Still Alive | The Chicago Tribune | Beth Botts 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 February 1, 1902 Today is the birthday of the American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist Langston Hughes. Langston was one of the leading voices of the 1920s. He was also part of the Harlem Renaissance Cultural Movement, and for the last twenty years of his life, Langston lived on the top floor of a Brownstone on 127th Street. And when Langston lived in Harlem, everyone knew which house was his - because it was the one covered in Boston Ivy. Langston loved the look of the Ivy, and it was planted at his request. Langston was just 5 feet and 4 inches tall, and he reportedly saw the world through the wonder-filled eyes of a child. Langston's outlook no doubt helped him relate to kids, and he loved being around children. One of the most charming details I learned about Langston was the little garden that he kept near the front steps of his home. Langston called the garden "Our Block's Children's Garden," and with the neighborhood kids there to help, he filled it with nasturtiums, asters, and marigolds. And all the neighbor kids were in charge of the watering and weeding. And if you search for Langston's garden online, you'll find an adorable photo of Langston from 1955 - he's surrounded by kids (one of them is holding a watering can), and they are kneeling behind a white picket fence. On the fence pickets is a round sign that says, "Our Block's Children's Garden," along with the names of 26 children. As for his writing, Langston always said that Harlem was his muse. Langston's poem, Poet to a Bigot, is still timely, and the last line will find purchase with gardeners. I have done so little For you, And you have done so little For me, That we have good reason Never to agree. I, however, Have such meager Power, Clutching at a Moment, While you control An hour. But your hour is A stone. My moment is A flower. February 1, 1916 On this day, the American newspaper editor, essayist, short story writer, and poet, Ben Hur Lampman, moved to Portland and began working for The Oregonian. On March 2, 1942, Ben wrote an article defending a harbinger of spring, the Skunkweed or Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), that appeared in the Medford, Oregon newspaper. In this magnificent piece, Ben compares the yellow bloom of the Skunk Cabbage to a candle. "What a flower [the Skunk Cabbage] is, to be sure. When it lifts to burn coolly in the swampy wayside, there are few wayfarers who do not exclaim to see it. There seems to be something votive about it, as perhaps there is. The reason one is sure that people care about it... is simply because they must. There is no other choice; for the elder law is that people must always care about beauty. A Skunk Cabbage [is a] kind of calla lily, and though its odor is faintly mephitic, you don't have to sniff it. It may be supposed that the farmer who tends the cattle thinks he has little use for a Skunk Cabbage if he meditates in the least on its utility - but if ever the year should come when the golden, cool candles were not kindled, the farmer would be first to remark this and worry about it. For a farmer can't plow, and a farmer can't plant until the Skunk Cabbage is up everywhere." Unearthed Words As with most occupations, there are different ways to approach the garden. The absolutely right way to start a garden, for instance, is to bulldoze your whole yard, then, according to a friend of mine, a brilliant (if obsessive gardener), spend some time in it naked in the middle of the night, wandering around looking for microclimates — those slightly warmer or slightly cooler pockets of air that hover over even a tiny tract of land. After that, you start measuring and marking with stakes and string the beds and borders, and enrich the soil with different things depending on what you're going to plant where, after installing a complicated and expensive underground sprinkling system. Meanwhile, months ago, you made careful lists of new and replacement plants you needed and ordered them all from the catalogs, early enough to make sure you got what you wanted. You've also been germinating and grafting plants for weeks in your greenhouse or electrically heated cold frames so that everything will be ready at the right moment, gauging by the last frost date plus a few extra days to be on the safe side, to plant outside in an orderly blooming sequence. You are armed and ready for spring. Perhaps a less desirable but still reasonably effective, way to start a garden is to notice one day that the weather is sunny and fine and to think that it might be fun to plant a few things and see what happens. — Cheryl Merser, American gardener and author, A Starter Garden, How to Start a Garden Grow That Garden Library Botanicum by Kathy Willis This book came out in 2017, and the subtitle is Welcome to the Museum. Designed to teach students, this oversized coffee-table book offers the chance to walk through a curated guide to plant life - and the entire experience is stunning. Katie Scott of Animalium fame provides the extraordinary artwork, which you can see even on the cover of the book - which is why it has a standing spot on the coffee table in my botanical library. The author, Kathy Willis, is the director of science at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England. And so, Kathy had the perfect background to create Botanicum, which shares a worldwide collection of diverse plant life - from perennials to exotics. In addition to the artwork, Botanicum reviews botanical scientific knowledge, including cross-sections of how plants work. As a virtual museum in book form, Botanicum features more than 160 captivating exhibits. This book is 112 pages of botanical knowledge brought to life in a virtual museum - complete with cross-sections - called Botanicum. You can get a copy of Botanicum by Kathy Willis 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 We're in the grips of winter now, and the trees dominate the landscape. I thought I'd close today's show with a little poem about trees that I stumbled upon doing some tree research. We're learning more and more about trees thanks to folks like the great German forester and author Peter Wollhenben and his book The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate―Discoveries from A Secret World. Anyway, this little obscure poem is from the Scottish poet Charles MacKay, and it seemed like an excellent way to end the show for this first day of February. I heard the language of the trees, In the noons of the early summer, As the leaves were moved like rippling seas By the wind - a constant comer. It came and it went at its wanton will, And evermore loved to dally With branch and flower, from the cope of the hill To the warm depths of the valley. The sunlight glowed; the waters flowed; The birds their music chanted, And the words of the trees on my senses fell, By a Spirit of Beauty haunted: Said each to each, in mystic speech, The skies our branches nourish; The world is good — the world is fair, Let us enjoy and flourish! Again I heard the steadfast trees; The wintry winds were blowing; There seemed a roar as of stormy seas, And of ships to the depths down-going. And ever a moan through the woods was blown, As the branches snapped asunder, And the long boughs swung like the frantic arms Of a crowd in affright and wonder. Heavily rattled the driving hail; And storm and flood combining, Laid bare the roots of mighty oaks Under the shingle twining. Said tree to tree, "These tempests free Our sap and strength shall nourish; Though the world be hard, though the world be cold, We can endure and flourish." — Charles MacKay, Scottish poet, The Language of the Trees Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate a woman who helped change the way pesticides were used in the United States. We'll also learn about the man who taught thousands of people how to prune and graft fruit trees and also founded the Home Orchard Society. We'll hear about how to prune Willow (Salix) trees with one of my favorite gardeners. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a lovely set of postcards - they're so pretty - you may just want to display them. And then we'll wrap things up with a marvelous article about a source of winter joy for gardeners: scented houseplants. 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 Eight Steps to Create a Stunning Winter Garden | Stihl 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 January 29, 1958 On this day, a letter to the editor appeared in the Boston Herald in Section 3 on Page 14 and was titled "Evidence of Havoc by DDT." It was written by a Duxbury resident, journalist, and nature-lover: Olga Owens Huckins. Olga and her husband, Stuart, had created a little bird sanctuary around two kettle ponds on their property. It was a place, "where songbirds sang, ducks swam, and great blue herons nested." When the Massachusetts State Mosquito control program began spraying in their area, Olga observed birds and insects dropping dead in her garden. During that time, the DDT was sprayed at a rate of two pounds per acre. The day Olga's property was sprayed, the pilot had extra DDT in his tank, and he decided to dump it - right over Olga's land. As a former Boston newspaper reporter, Olga voiced her anger and frustration in the best way she knew how; she wrote about it. Olga wrote, "The 'harmless' shower-bath killed seven of our lovely songbirds outright. We picked up three dead bodies the next morning right by the door. They were birds that had lived close to us, trusted us, and built their nests in our trees year after year." After writing the paper, Olga wrote another letter to an old friend named Rachel Carson. Olga wanted Rachel to help her find people in Washington who could provide more information about the aerial spraying of DDT. Olga's letter sparked four years of research for Rachel. She put it all together in a book called Silent Spring. Rachel's book opened people's eyes to the hazards of DDT, and public opinion eventually forced the banning of DDT in 1972. Today, Olga & Stuart's property has new owners, and they continue to preserve the site as a bird sanctuary - and also as a way to honor the two brave women who stepped forward when it was put in harm's way: Olga Huckins and Rachel Carson. January 29, 2005 Today is the anniversary of the death of the founder of Home Orchard Society, Larry L. McGraw. Larry's obituary stated that pomology was his passion for more than 50 years. Pomology is the science of growing fruit. In an effort to preserve fruit trees in the Northwest, Larry began collecting scion wood specimens in his twenties, and he founded the Northwest Fruit Explorers - an organization and clearinghouse for fruit information and fruit growers. During his retirement, Larry worked as a horticulturist for the Oregon Historical Society. One day, Larry discovered an envelope that contained apple seeds that were a hundred years old. The letter inside the envelope referenced Marcus Whitman and his orchard. Marcus Whitman was a doctor who led a group of settlers West to Washington State by Wagon Train. His wife was named Narcissa, and she was very bright, a teacher of physics and chemistry. Marcus and Narcissa were part of a group of missionaries. They settled in an area now known as Walla Walla, Washington, and apparently, the Whitman's had an orchard. Beyond that, Marcus and Narcissa's time in Washington was not fruitful. They attempted to convert the local Native Americans to Christianity but were unsuccessful mainly because they didn't bother to get to know or understand them. Sadly, their only daughter drowned when she was two years old. After that, Narcissa's eyesight began to fail. When the Native Americans came down with measles, they blamed the settlers; but they specifically blamed Marcus since he was the town doctor. After almost all of the Native American children died, the surviving Native Americans launched an attack on the settlers. The Native Americans killed Marcus and Narcissa in their home on November 29, 1847, and this event became known as the Whitman Massacre. The seeds that Larry found at the Historical Society were one of the last pieces of the Whitman legacy. Larry's attempts to germinate the Whitman apple seeds were unsuccessful. However, Larry did successfully obtain apple trees from Russia for his Portland Orchard. By 1973, Larry had over 300 varieties of apples growing in his garden. Two years later, in May of 1975, Larry hosted a meeting with a group of other orchard growers. It was the official first meeting of the Home Orchard Society. During his lifetime, Larry taught thousands of people how to prune and graft fruit trees. And during his 50 years of researching apples, Larry estimated he had come across over 2,000 different apple varieties from all over the world. Unearthed Words 'How often do you prune your willows?' you may ask. It varies. We have to consider the vigor of different varieties and also, of course, the amount of time we have to spare. We do not always do what is ideal. If you can manage it, I think it is probably best to prune every year in February, removing about half the shoots, leaving the youngest, brightest looking stems. Some we prune every two years, others we leave longer, but not too long. I once left [the rosemary willow] Salix elaeagnos ""SAY-lix el-ee-ag-nus"(rosmarinifolia "rose-mah-ren-uh-FOE-lee-uh") for several years. With long, fluttering, grey leaves, white-backed on purple stems, they made superb specimens. I was loath to touch them but eventually found we had to restrain them from smothering other good things. Faced with the huge framework in winter how hard dare I cut? Gingerly I went round, saw in hand, cutting off vast pieces but leaving, to my mind, an acceptable framework. Along came a young member of staff who, not before consultation, confidently took the saw and slaughtered my framework almost to the ground. I knew, in theory, he was right, but I just hadn't the courage. Would it be too great a shock to the system? Well, they were slow to start, but by the end of the season, they looked magnificent. — Beth Chatto, garden writer and gardener, Beth Chatto's Garden Notebook, January Grow That Garden Library Botanicals: 100 Postcards This wonderful postcard set came out in 2017, and the subtitle is 100 Postcards from the Archives of the New York Botanical Garden. "This box set contains 100 rare and brilliantly colored botanical art selections from the New York Botanical Garden archives. The images include portraits of exotic flowers, cacti, and succulents from the New York Botanical Garden collections. Each image is printed on lush, uncoated stock to mimic the original paintings. These postcards are perfect for mailing, framing, or using as gift tags." You can get a copy of Botanicals: 100 Postcards from the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) 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 January 29, 1998 On this day The Courier-Journal out of Louisville, Kentucky ran an article by Tovah Martin called "Winter is the Best Time for Scented Plants." Here's an excerpt: "In spring, there are violets, but who wants to crawl around sniffing flowers 2 inches above the ground? In summer, roses abound, but close encounters with rosebuds can be thorny. No, winter is when scents are sampled to the best advantage. With a horde of houseplants huddled on the windowsill, nostrils can have a field day. Fragrant plants, however, have one slight drawback: They're not very showy. The blooms of most fragrant flowering plants are a subdued cream, white, or yellow in color and rather diminutive in size. Take heliotrope, for example. It smells like a comforting combination of baby powder, mulled cider, and vanilla. The flowers are white or purple in dense clusters, and they bloom lustily in any bright, south-facing window, if you can keep the white fly at bay. Or try a hoya in an east or west window; the blossom umbels smell something like freshly baked croissants. If you prefer something along the line of apricots warm from the oven, try Osmanthus fragrans, the sweet olive. If you crave the citrus scent but don't have a sizable south window, consider a mock orange, Pittosporum tobira, instead. It tolerates low light and produces nosegays of creamy flowers amid laurel-like leaves. Several jasmines (especially Jasminum sambac Maid of Orleans, J. nitidum, and J. tortuosum) are easy houseplants. They exude deep, romantic, come-hither-type perfumes with a hint of musk thrown in after dark. If you like the idea but not the musky note, go for a jasmine imitator. Trachelospermum asiaticum is known as pinwheel jasmine but bears no kinship to jasmine whatsoever. It looks like jasmine with vining branches studded by umbels of star-shaped blossoms with twisted petals. And it smells like jasmine, without the questionable undertones. One word of caution before you delve into the realms of fragrant plants: If you can, try to sample potential perfumed roommates before adopting them. One person's perfume is another's stench. Even certain jasmines can rub some people the wrong way. British garden designer Gertrude Jekyll spent a night abroad and sent her lady's maid searching for a dead rat. It turned out to be Jasminum polyanthum, growing by the window." Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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