Stay ConnectedThe Daily Gardener is a weekday podcast celebrating garden history, literature, and the small botanical stories that shape how we garden today.
Each episode follows an “on this day” format, uncovering the people, plants, books, and moments that have quietly influenced gardens across time.
New episodes are released Monday through Friday, and each show features a thoughtfully chosen garden book.
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Today we remember the beloved botanist who served on Captain Cook's third South Seas trip. We'll also learn about the Austrian botanist and monk who pioneered the study of heredity. We celebrate the usefulness of daylilies. We also honor the life of a young man who was killed paying his florist bill and the life of the garden writer who wrote for The New Yorker. We'll hear some poems that highlight the Garden as a sanctuary, a holy place to heal and be refreshed. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about Gardening in Your Front Yard - it's packed with ideas and projects for big and small spaces. It's an idea that is gaining popularity and acceptance thanks to stay-at-home orders and physical distancing - one of the positive effects of dealing with the pandemic. And then we'll wrap things up with remembering Katharine Stuart and the people who loved her the most. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Unconventional Wisdom: 8 Revolutionary Ideas for Your Garden from Thomas Rainer - Gardenista "When you meet landscape architect Thomas Rainer he comes across as a pleasant, mild-mannered fellow… not at all the type to be traveling around the world, as he does, spouting revolutionary ideas calculated to upend years and years of conventional gardening wisdom. As he writes in his preface to Planting in a Post-Wild World, the 2015 book he wrote with Claudia West, his ideas come from his time as a boy in suburban Birmingham, Alabama, where he spent countless happy hours roaming a stretch of indigenous Piedmont forest near his home." This article reveals a list of Thomas's dos and don'ts for growing an earth-friendly garden that he says produces better results with less work. Here's a high-level overview - be sure to read the article for the full scoop. 1. Amending the Soil: Don't 2. Double Digging: Don't 3. Soil Testing: Do 4. Mulching: Don't 5. Planting Cover Crops: Do 6. Curbside Planting: Do 7. Buying A Lot of Plants: Do 8. Experimenting and Having Fun: Do Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1789 Today is the anniversary of the death of the British botanist David Nelson. David served as the botanist on Captain Cook's third South Seas trip; William Bligh was the Sailing Master. After gathering many new specimens, David spent the bulk of his time caring for over 500 breadfruit plants that Bligh was transporting to the West Indies. Breadfruit is a reference to the texture of the cooked fruit, which is similar to freshly baked bread. And, breadfruit tastes like potato. A likable fellow, David had traveled on another expedition with Captain Charles Clerke of the ship Discovery, who said David was "one of the quietest fellows in nature." As you might recall, the Captain Cook expedition suffered a mutiny on April 28, 1789. For his protection, David was kept below deck and under guard. David decided to go with William Bligh and his followers to Timor. The 3,500-mile voyage was grueling, and David died on this day, just 54 days after the mutiny. David's death was a blow to Bligh and his crew. To honor this mild man of botany, Bligh conferred full naval honors for his funeral service. Three years later, Captain Bligh visited Tasmania. He named "Nelson's Hill," the highest point on the island, in David's honor. Today Mount Nelson is the Hobart location of Tasmania University. 1822 Today is the birthday of the Austrian botanist and monk Gregor Mendel. Gregor discovered the basic principles of heredity through his experiments with peas in his garden at the Augustinian monastery that he lived in at Brno ("BURR-no") in the Czech Republic. Or, as I like to tell the kids, Gregor learned about heredity when he gave peas a chance. (Sorry, couldn't resist!) During a seven-year period in the mid-1800s, Gregor grew nearly 30,000 pea plants, and he took note of everything: their height and shape and color. And, his work resulted in what we now know as the Laws of Heredity, and to this day, most kids study this in school. And it was Gregor who came up with all of the genetic terms and terminology that we still use today, like dominant and recessive genes. 1960 On this day, the Chicago Tribune ran an article about the daylily, saying that they were "tops" in usefulness. Here are some highlights: "Because they combine exquisite charm with extreme hardiness, daylilies are without doubt nature's most useful flower... Their usefulness derives from their ability to thrive lustily under virtually any circumstances, which makes them particularly adaptable to so-called problem areas where the gardener may have experienced difficulty growing other flowers. For the weekend-gardener with a large tract to work, daylilies are the answer for far corners which ...never [get attended] to. The abundant foliage [of the daylily] will tend to keep the areas free from weeds, too." 1974 On this day, the IRA murdered Brian Shaw. Brian was just 21 years old when he was killed. A former soldier, Brian, had become a truck driver and had just married a girl from Belfast. Two weeks after their wedding, Brian disappeared when he went to pay the florist bill for flowers they had used at his wedding. And poignantly, the bill was still in his pocket when his body was found. 1977 Today is the anniversary of the death of the garden writer Katharine White. Now, Katharine was married to Andy - but most of us probably know him as E.B. White, the author of three beloved children's books, Stuart Little (1945), Charlotte's Web (1952), and The Trumpet of the Swan (1970). In the early 1930s, Katharine and Andy bought a farmhouse in North Brooklin, Maine. By the end of the decade, they left their place in New York for good and moved to the farmhouse permanently. It was Katharine White who once wrote: "From December to March, there are for many of us three gardens - the garden outdoors, the garden of pots and bowls in the house, and the garden of the mind's eye." Katharine began writing garden pieces for The New Yorker in 1958. In 1979, Katharine's book Onward and Upward in the Garden was edited and published posthumously by her husband, Andy. Gardeners especially enjoy Andy's tenderly written preface to his gardener wife. Anatole Broyard gushed about Katharine's book in his review saying, "It is itself a bouquet; the final blooming of an extraordinary sensibility." Now, Katharine carried on a marvelous correspondence with another garden writer: Elizabeth Lawrence. And, their letters convey a warmth and curiosity that I thought you would find delightful: July 2, 1958 [Katharine to Elizabeth] Dear Miss Lawrence, I am in New York for the moment, so it was on my desk here at The New Yorker that I found today your book, "The Little Bulbs"... Already I have dipped into it with delight. I shall carry it back with me to Maine next week and study it and consult it ... for years... The varieties [of bulbs] I have established ...are the obvious ones I'm afraid: the two colors of scylla, snowdrops, snowflakes, crocuses, white and blue grape hyacinths, and among the small tulips only Clusiana and Kaufmanniana. Your book will help me to expand, I hope… June 15, 1959 Dear Elizabeth, Here I am back again with a question, in spite of my promises. ...Do you know the address of Jan de Graaff, and does de Graaff bring out a catalog? I have been studying the lily offerings for the autumn of this year and every one of them, both in specialists' catalogs and in those of the big nurseries, of course, brags of lilies from the great de Graaff. P.S. It is 48 degrees here today and has been this for 48 hours. Discouraging. (Note the date!) October 8, 1959 Dear Elizabeth, Speaking of gourds, for the first time, my small decorative gourds did not mature in time for me to wax and polish them while watching the World Series. I am a baseball fan; I hate to confess — and I have loved baseball since I was a child. November 1959 Friday morning Dear Katharine, I don't know anything about modern flowers that have lost their fragrance. I think some hybrid roses are as sweet as old ones. At the fall flower show, I was intoxicated by the scent of one flower of Sutter's Gold... How in the world do you accomplish all you do? I have been interrupted five times since I came to my desk an hour ago, the last by a friend who wouldn't take the plants I offered on a day I was in the garden and would like to have them right now. I told her to come on. If she doesn't, she will choose a still worse time. Aren't those letters magnificent? You can read all of Katharine and Elizabeth's letters in detail in a wonderful book called Two Gardeners: Katharine S. White and Elizabeth Lawrence--A Friendship in Letters by Emily Herring Wilson. After Katharine died, her husband Andy sent a little verse he had written to their close friends and family. It said simply: To all who loved my lovely wife. To all who spoke their sorrow, I send this printed card of thanks so l can face tomorrow. I'd hoped to write a full reply To each, to say "I love you." But I'll reveal the sticky truth: There's just too many of you. Unearthed Words Here are some inspiring verses that highlight the Garden as a sanctuary, a holy place to heal, and be refreshed. God made a beauteous garden With lovely flowers strown, But one straight, narrow pathway That was not overgrown. And to this beauteous garden He brought mankind to live, And said "To you, my children, These lovely flowers I give. Prune ye my vines and fig trees, With care my flowers tend, But keep the pathway open Your home is at the end. ― Robert Frost, American poet, God's Garden If words are seeds, let flowers grow from your mouth, not weeds. If hearts are gardens, plant those flowers in the chest of the ones who exist around you. — R.H. Swaney, American poet For flowers that bloom about our feet; For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet; For song of bird, and hum and bee; For all things fair we hear or see; Father in heaven, we thank Thee! — Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and poet Grow That Garden Library Shrubs by Andy McIndoe ("MAC-IN-doe") This book came out in February of 2019, and the subtitle is Discover the Perfect Plant for Every Place in Your Garden. Gardens Illustrated said this about Andy's book, "McIndoe is a devoted and knowledgeable ambassador for shrubs…His advice is clear, practical, and honest: the sort of counsel every gardener needs. The book will be an invaluable addition not only to the bookcases of gardeners but also those of garden designers seeking to broaden their plant palette." This is one of my favorite books on shrubs, and it's 337 pages of fabulous photos and detailed shrub profiles - all shared with today's gardener in mind. You can get a copy of Shrubs by Andy McIndoe and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $14. Today's Botanic Spark After researching Katharine White, I discovered some touching correspondence that occurred between her husband, Andy, (the author of Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web), and her friend and fellow garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence. In July 1979, Elizabeth wrote to Andy about Katharine's book (after Katharine died): Dear Andy, Thank you for having the publisher send me Onward and Upward (it really is). I have been re-reading and re-reading ever since, with great pleasure and great sorrow. I can't bear not [being] able to tell Katharine what a wonderful book [she wrote]… [I am writing] to ask for permission to quote a paragraph from a letter you wrote to me [a while ago. You wrote:] "Katharine just spent three days in bed, in pain, caused by aback injury brought on by leaning far out over a flower bed to pick one spring bloom— the daffodil Supreme. It seems a heavy price to pay for one small flower. But when she is in her garden, she is always out of control. I do not look for any change, despite her promises." I am not sure about your [species], whether it is the daffodil supreme, or the daffodil Supreme, Rijnveld, 1947, 3a. But I don't think it likely that any Observer will know the difference. I thought the paragraph fits in with your loving introduction [to Onward and Upward in the Garden]. [...] I am having a miserable time trying to say something worthy of the book in the space allotted to me. Aff, Elizabeth On March 24, 1980, Andy concluded a letter back to Elizabeth with these words: Tired snow still lies about, here and there, in the brownfields, and my house will never look the same again since the death of the big elm that overhung it. Nevertheless, I manfully planted (as a replacement) a young elm. It is all of five-and-a-half feet high. By Katharine's grave, I planted an oak. This is its second winter in the cemetery, her third. Yrs, Andy Five years later, Andy died at home in Maine. He is buried next to Katharine in the Brooklin Cemetery.
Full show notes at the publisherToday we celebrate the decoupage botanical artist that left her mark on botanical history. We'll also learn about a Louisiana botanist, naturalist and author who lived in a home called Briarwood. We salute the English poet who was killed in WWI - he appreciated the pure beauty of flowers. We also recognize one of Canada's leading botanists - he was 90 years old when he died on this day 100 years ago. We honor July with a beautiful poem called Keeping July. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that inspired kids to cook with their garden harvest, and it's part of the best-selling American Girl cooking series. And then we'll wrap things up with the Landscape Architect who fought to have a tree instead of a parking meter in front of his office building. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Ann-Marie Powell talks lockdown and sharing her garden. "No one is more surprised at the success of her lockdown project than Ann-Marie Powell. The popularity of her daily Instagram Live posts from her garden is, she says, simply astonishing. Begun on day one of lockdown and broadcast every day since, the My Real Garden account now has more than 9,500 followers, making it more successful than her official design Instagram feed. In fact, it's become such a part of her life she's planning to keep it going even as lockdown eases. Ann-Marie has turned a corner of her garden into a studio. The award-winning designer and RHS judge started the My Real Garden feed after being inundated with requests for gardening advice from friends as Britain went into lockdown. Someone suggested she put the advice online and base it on her own Hampshire garden, which had been sadly neglected while her house was done up. 'My garden was literally full of weeds because it had not been looked after for two years. I like to be doing so I thought it'll motivate me, it'll be like a bit of a diary and if I put it out there that I've got to do it. I didn't realize that so many people would be interested!' Broadcast live every lunchtime, My Real Garden followed Ann-Marie, who trained at Capel Manor, as she shaped her lawn, planted fruit and chose plants for shady spots. There's been advice on watering and deadheading to keep summer displays going." My Real Garden reaches its 100th consecutive broadcast today, July 1, and will now become a twice-weekly rather than daily event with the Sunday Social at 12.30 BST and the new Wine and Water Wednesday at 7 pm when followers will join Ann-Marie to water their gardens with wine in hand. 'My Real Garden' will continue twice a week on Instagram Live Although she's done television in the past, it's the freedom of the Instagram Live that Ann-Marie has loved: 'It's been really lovely just being in charge of what I say. I can be as silly as I want, have a bit of a laugh, and God knows, haven't we needed to have a laugh.' And she's made virtual friends from as far away as Canada, Belgium and Detroit. 'It's just been amazing to just have this nurturing, lively, thriving community of like-minded people.' You can follow My Real Garden on Instagram at @myrealgarden, and there's more information on the website." What's the Difference Between Oregano and Marjoram? If you've grown both, you know they look quite similar, and they are often confused for one another. But, when it comes to flavor and taste, it is easy to tell them apart. Oregano tends to be earthy, pungent, and spicy. It can easily overpower the other flavors in a dish. To subdue the pungency, cooks recommend using the dried form of oregano. On the other hand, marjoram is milder. Use that alliteration to help you remember, Mild Marjoram. Marjoram's flavor is more refined; it's floral and woodsy. Because marjoram is sweeter and milder, chefs recommend using fresh marjoram instead of dried marjoram for cooking. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1744 On this day, the botanical tissue paper decoupage artist Mary Delany wrote to her sister about her garden. Mary Delaney had an extraordinary life. Her family had forced her to marry a sixty-year-old man when she was 17. He was an alcoholic. To make matters worse, when he died, he forgot to include her in his will. Despite her lack of inheritance, Mary realized that, as a widow, she had much more freedom than she had as a single young lady. In society, she could do as she pleased. Fate brought fortune for Mary when love came knocking on her door in June 1743. Mary met an Irish doctor named Patrick Delany. He was also a pastor. Although her family wasn't thrilled with the idea of a second marriage to the son of a servant, Mary did it anyway. She and Patrick moved to his home in Dublin, and his garden was a thing of beauty, which leads us to the letter Mary wrote to her sister on this day in 1744. Mary wrote: "[The] fields are planted in a wild way, forest trees and … bushes that look so natural... you would not imagine it a work of art ... [There is] a very good kitchen garden and two fruit gardens which ... will afford us a sufficient quantity of everything we can want. There are several prettinesses I can't explain to you — little wild walks, private seats, and lovely prospects. One seat I am particularly fond of [is] in a nut grove, and [there is] a seat in a rock … [that] is placed at the end of a cunning wild path. The brook ... entertains you with a purling rill." Mary and Patrick were happily married for twenty-five years. When Patrick died, Mary was widowed again; this time at the age of 68. But Mary's life was not over. She hit it off with Margaret Bentinck. Bentinck was the Duchess of Portland, and together they pursued botanical activities. They loved to go out into the fields and collect specimens. It was thanks to the Duchess that Mary got to know Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. When Mary was in her early 70s, she took up decoupage - which was all the rage at the time - and she created marvelous depictions of flowers. Today, historians believe Mary probably dissected plants to create her art. Botanists from all over Europe would send her specimens. King George the Third and Queen Charlotte were her patrons. They ordered any curious or beautiful plant to be sent to Mary when in blossom so she could use them to create her art. Her paper mosaics, as Mary called them, were made out of tissue paper. Mary created almost 1000 pieces of art between the ages of 71 and 88. If you ever see any of her most spectacular decoupage pieces, you'll be blown away at the thought of them being made from tiny pieces of tissue paper by Mary Delany in the twilight of her life in the late 1700s. 1888 It's the birthday of the naturalist, botanist, ornithologist, prizewinning horticulturist, painter, archaeologist, historian, author of six books, and a proud daughter of the great state of Louisiana: Caroline Dormon. Her friends called her "Carrie." Carrie was a tiny woman; she was also a powerhouse, forming her own opinions and ideas about the natural world. A traditionalist, Carrie always wore dresses - she thought pants were quite scandalous. Carrie was born at her family's summer home called Briarwood. It would become her forever home and a national treasure. In the 1920s, Carrie built a writing cabin at Briarwood she called Three Pines because of the trio of tall pines around it. Carrie told her friends it was a place for daydreams. By the 1950s, a second cabin was built at Briarwood. Carrie liked to take the screens off the windows every spring so wrens could build nests inside. At Briarwood, Carrie installed trails through the woods, and she planted hundreds of plants. She even installed a reflecting pool for "Grandpappy" - her name for her favorite tree on the property. Grandpappy is estimated to be over 300 years old; he's a longleaf pine, and he's still alive today. And, I thought you would enjoy a story about Grandpappy that Carrie used to share with visitors: Once a forester wanted to "core" Grandpappy to determine a more exact age for the tree. Carrie stopped him and said, "It's none of your business how old Grandpappy is, or how old I am for that matter." And that's quintessentially Carrie Dorman, aka the Queen of the Forest Kingdom. 1889 Today is the birthday of the WWI English poet Leslie Coulson who was killed in action at the Battle of Le Transloy, in France. Coulson wrote: The gold stalks hide Bodies of men who died Charging at dawn through the dew to be killed or to kill. I thank the gods that the flowers are beautiful still. 1920 Today is the 100th anniversary of the death of one of Canada's leading botanists John Macoun. He was 90 years old when he died. Here's a little story John shared about growing up in Ireland: "We had a garden well fenced in. [My mom] encouraged us to spend our idle time in it...I seemed to prefer taking an old knife and going out to the fields and digging up flowers and bringing them in and making a flower garden of my own. I only remember primroses and the wild hyacinth. Another characteristic was the power of seeing. I could find more strawberries and more birds' nests ... than any other boy." After arriving in Canada, John had started out as a farmer. In 1856, he became a school teacher, partly to nourish his nearly "obsessive" interest in botany, but also to find a more balanced life. John wrote that before teaching, "I had never had more than one holiday in the year, and that was Christmas Day. [My brother,] Frederick, and I might take a day's fishing in the summer, but an eight-mile walk and scrambling along the river was not very restful." Within five years, John had begun regular correspondence with prominent botanists like Asa Gray and Sir William Hooker. In John's autobiography, there are many touching passages about his love of botany. Here's a little glimpse into how he cultivated his understanding of plants: "I would take a common species of roadside or garden plant of which I knew the name and then immediately endeavor to work out its correct name from the classification. The Mullein was the species that I took first. I found it more difficult than I had thought on account of its long and short stamens, but I soon came to understand the arrangement of the stamens and pistils so well that most plants could be classified by their form alone." Once, John was approached by his future father-in-law, Simon Terrill, who was a bit skeptical of John's prospects. John wrote, "Simon Terrill, who was a well-known Quaker in that district, ... found me with a plant in my hand and said: 'John, what dost thee ever expect to make out of the study of botany?' told him that I did not know but that it gave me a great deal of pleasure." Unearthed Words Dens of chairs and blankets, a circus show at home, lines and nets and rackets, no-one keeping score. Eight books each to represent, a fox in socks surveys, on July first the power went and the movie was delayed. Calves the very height of style in all their sepia glory, starlings at the seaside taking inventory. Lettuce growing rivalry in green and purple lines, questions answered silently, learning to tell time. Rapunzel can no longer hide, rooster calling on repeat, Gorse clicks and crackles from all sides, a nineties dance floor beat. Chippings, pavers, rollers, our road consolidated, filling tearing, smokers keep children fascinated. A linnet pair on seedy heads, thrushes gobbling berries, an old pink paper license, explaining pounds and pennies. Old heads of lavender on thin but sturdy stalks we edge through the calendar these days not to recall. — Joanna O'Sullivan, Irish writer and poet, Keeping July Grow That Garden Library Garden to Table by the Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen This book came out in 2018. It is part of the best-selling American Girl cooking series, and the subtitle is Fresh Recipes to Cook & Share. This book features recipes from six categories of garden harvests: veggies, herbs, berries, fruits, root vegetables and gourds, and citrus. The book is 144 pages of over 50 Recipes for kid-friendly dishes highlighting seasonal ingredients from the garden. You can get a copy of Garden to Table by the Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $9. Today's Botanic Spark 1933 Today is the birthday of Landscape Architect Robert Fenton who was born in 1933. Robert was a Harvard grad, and he settled down in Pennsylvania. While researching Robert, it was impossible to avoid all the newspaper articles that covered a disagreement Robert had with the city of Pittsburgh. In 1965, Robert was a young, 32-year-old Landscape Architect with an office at 6010 Centre Avenue. Newspaper accounts said he had wanted to "spruce up what he called a drab neighborhood in the East Liberty section." After trying for weeks to get permission to plant a tree in front of his building from the City Forester Earl Blankenship, Robert decided it was better to ask forgiveness, and went ahead with the planting. Robert told reporters that planting the tree was in line with President Johnson's thinking on beautification and that, "If you try to get anything done through the city, you get, "no, no, no." So we decided to break up the sidewalk and put it in... hoping no one would notice. Unfortunately, the installation accidentally took out a parking meter." Newspaper accounts shared that, "In the dead of night, Fenton brought in a high lift, a 15-ton truck, and five men. The tree he had selected was a beauteous 25-foot ash with a five-inch base and it cost Fenton $110 (in 1965). The total project cost Fenton $275." The city departments took umbrage at Robert's actions. After two weeks of discussions, the City Attorney David Stahl said the tree was cut down and hauled away by City Forester Earl Blankenship in the middle of the night. Robert came to work and was shocked to discover the tree gone, cut down to the ground. Just days earlier, Robert had told town reporters that, "I think it's going to be so difficult to remove the tree that the city will let it stay and merely warn me not to let it happen again." Newspaper accounts of this story were super punny: Tree Goes, City Barks Citizen on a Limb Poetic Tale of a Tree Somehow Lacks Meter A Tree Grew In...Violation 'Woodman Spare That Tree' Cry of Architect Falls on Deaf Ears City Thinks Meter Lovelier Than Tree Want Meter There and No Shady Deal Today, if you look at the same spot on Google Earth, whaddya know? There's a tree growing in front of the building... but there's no parking meter.
Full show notes at the publisherToday we celebrate the English naturalist who kept a journal for almost three decades. We'll also learn about the famous English novelist who loved to garden. We salute the father of American landscape architecture and his trip to Gettysburg on this day in 1863. We also recognize the Spanish woman who pioneered a system of organic gardening known as synergistic gardening. We'll hear a classic poem for gardeners. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book devoted to the ecology, evolution, and life history of solitary bees - a must-read for gardeners dedicated to learning more about our precious pollinators. And then we'll wrap things up with a Maxfield Parrish Print that is beloved by gardeners ever since it appeared on the cover of Collier's Magazine. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News This Five-Minute Exercise Will Make You a Better Gardener | Mary-Kate Mackey "Phyllis Helland has a simple process for doing that. Phyllis is a friend of mine who is a home gardener, and also an artist by profession. Every day she spends a few minutes observing and drawing the growth on a single plant. This is an exercise in seeing, not producing a recognizable sketch. She advises: 'If you think you don't draw well, simply switch to your non-dominant hand. I always see more when I do that because it slows me down. Or use a phone camera instead. That's more of a broad stroke, but it still helps me see. It's like being a little kid again. Kids notice things, and the adults are astonished.' Now, why would doing this simple exercise help your gardening? Phyllis says it will raise your awareness of what's growing around you—whether it's those previously unnoticed predacious bugs on the beans or a glorious unplanned flower combination. The daily observations can also deepen your knowledge." Recently, I've started collecting cuttings from my garden to make my own potpourris and sachets. Here's is a quote from Eleanor Sinclair-Rhode about this lovely garden pastime: "No bought potpourri is so pleasant as that made from one's own garden, for the petals of the flowers one has gathered at home hold the sunshine and memories of summer, and of past summers only the sunny days should be remembered." Do a summer check of all your irrigation systems and repair anything broken. I sooo wish I would have done this last summer. By the time I discovered a leak, we had a big water problem to address. In the garden, too much water can be just as harmful as too little. Throw in temperature extremes, and you have a perfect storm - inviting fungal and other diseases, pests, and other problems. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1720 Today is the birthday of the English naturalist, Gilbert White. Gilbert kept a journal for almost three decades, where he recorded observations of his garden. Gilbert's observations were eventually published as a Calendar of Flora and the Garden. Then they were woven into a book called the Naturalist's Journal. People immediately recognized Gilbert had a gift for observation and for describing with vivid clarity the natural world. Here's a little of what Gilbert wrote in his journal on this day in 1781; his 61st birthday: "Farmers complain that their wheat is blighted. In the garden at Dowland's,... stands a large Liriodendrum tulipifera ("LEER-EE-OH-den-drum TOO-lip-IF-er-ah"), or tulip-tree, which was in flower. The soil is poor sand but produces beautiful pendulous Larches. Mr. R's garden... abounds in fruit, and in all manner of good and forward kitchen-crops. Many China-asters this spring seeded themselves there... some cucumber-plants also grew-up of themselves from the seeds of a rejected cucumber thrown aside last autumn. Mr. R's garden is, at an average, a fortnight before mine." Gilbert White's journals are a treasure, and luckily we can read them for ourselves online at one of my favorite websites: NaturalhistoryofSelbourne.com. 1817 Today is the anniversary of the death of the author and gardener Jane Austen. Jane loved gardens. She had a heart for ornamentals, herbs, and kitchen gardening. And, her family always had a garden - growing their food and beautifying their homes with flowers. In every one of her books, Jane included gardens. We know from Jane's letters to her sister Cassandra that gardens brought her joy, and they were also regulating. In 1807, Jane wrote about the redesign of her garden which included syringia or mock orange and laburnum - a small tree with beautiful hanging yellow flowers in spring, which is how it got the common golden chain or golden rain: "I could not do without a syringa... We talk also of a laburnum. The border under the terrace wall is clearing away to receive currants and gooseberry bushes, and a spot is found very proper for raspberries." In 1814, Jane wrote about the garden outside the rented room where she was staying, "The garden is quite a love... I live in the room downstairs; it is particularly pleasant...opening upon the garden. I go and refresh myself every now and then, and then come back to solitary coolness." 1863 It was on this day that the father of American landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted, walked the battlefield of Gettysburg - just 15 days after the battle. Olmsted was the General Secretary of the United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) - overseeing the support of sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army during the Civil War. There were times when Olmsted personally treated the battlefield wounds of soldiers. Olmsted was recruited for the job based on his success in designing and overseeing New York City's Central Park, one of the country's most significant public works projects. A week after the battle at Gettysburg, Olmsted arranged for 40 tons of supplies to flow into Gettysburg every day - bringing in items like surgeon's silk, fans, butter, shoes, and crutches. On this day in 1863, the scene had settled down enough that Olmsted could walk the fields of Gettysburg. In Martin's biography of Olmsted, he shared that Olmsted, "was struck by the scale of the place; everything had happened across distances far greater than he had supposed." Ever attuned to the landscape, Olmsted also noted that, "The hills were gentle and rolling, so very out of kilter with the carnage that was everywhere still in evidence... Olmsted came across spent shells and twisted bayonets, broken-down wagons, and half-buried dead horses. Particularly touching, to Olmsted, was the random strew of Union and Confederate caps, often together on the ground, shot through with bullet holes." 1937 Today is the birthday of the Spanish woman who pioneered a system of organic gardening known as synergistic gardening - Emilia Hazelip. Emilia was born in Barcelona. As a young adult, she embraced communal living and was part of the hippie movement. She managed to make her way to California, where she worked on ecological farms. At the time, Ruth Stout's no-work gardening and Alan Chadwick's raised bed concept were gaining traction. In 1977, Masanobu Fukuoka's ("MAH-SIN-oh-boo FOO-ku-OH-KAH") book, "The One-Straw Revolution" was translated into English. Emilia got a copy, read it, and immediately set about applying the principles in her own garden. By the time Emilia started tinkering with Fukuoka's principles, she was 40 years old, and she had been gardening for about 17 years. The gardening system she devised became known as synergistic gardening, and it was a mashup of Fukuoka's ideas and elements of permaculture. Emilia was the perfect person to come up with synergistic gardening; She was attuned to nature, and he questioned the effectiveness of human methods that altered natural systems. YouTube has a great video of Emilia, showing how she creates an edible vegetable garden. She says, "The work of Fukuoka was proof that my intuition was right, meaning that working the land is not necessary. However, when I started to reproduce it, the results I obtained were so poor that I quickly understood the need to modify and adapt his system to other cultural and climatic conditions; this is how it was born what I decided to call Synergic Agriculture." Back in 2012, Monica Brandies wrote an excellent article on Emilia that was featured in the Tampa Tribune. Here are some highlights. "I've watched [a DVD of The Synergistic Garden with Emilia Hazelip twice and learned some new ideas that Rosalind [Baker] is already using with success. Hazelip [says] the following: Don't worry about fertilizer. Don't disturb the soil any more than necessary - no tilling or digging, no stepping that compacts the soil. [This way,] the earthworms and microorganisms in the soil can work with multiplied efficiency. And instead of the soil wearing out as it does in modern agriculture, it gets better year by year. Cut down on compost. Hazelip uses no compost except in potting soil in flats in the greenhouse. Elevate beds. Hazelip's beds are elevated 10 to 30 inches by digging deeper paths and piling the soil upon beds that are 4 feet wide, so it's possible to reach the center without stepping in. Her paths are 20 inches wide. Cover the soil with mulch. The beds are always covered with organic mulch straw in her case, leaves in mine. But I have sinned by leaving some soil bare. I will try never to do that again. Nature always keeps the soil covered. Hazelip pulls back the mulch to add seeds or transplants but pushes it back right away around the transplants... Hazelip removes spent plants by cutting them off just above ground level, so the roots stay in the ground very important. Then the part of the plant you don't eat is laid on top as additional mulch. Over the years, you need less and less mulch. Use the weeds you pull. Weeds are pulled out by the roots and laid in the path until they are dead. Then they are added to the mulch. Obviously, she doesn't have any of the invasive vines we have here, but they are the only ones I will have to bag up and discard. At first, such beds need hand weeding as much as any beds, but as the years go by, they need less and less weeding. Hazelip used a spoon to plant some of her transplants and a trowel for the ones that needed a larger hole, but that was the extent of her digging. I am now doing all this as much as possible. It is never too late to learn." Unearthed Words The gardener does not love to talk. He makes me keep the gravel walk; And when he puts his tools away. He locks the door and takes the key. He digs the flowers, green, red, and blue. Nor wishes to be spoken to. He digs the flowers and cuts the hay. And never seems to want to play. Silly gardener! Summer goes, And winter comes with pinching toes, When in the garden bare and brown You must lay your barrow down. Well now, and while the summer stays To profit by these garden days O how much wiser you would be To play at Indian wars with me! — Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist and poet, The Gardener from a Child's Garden of Verses Grow That Garden Library The Solitary Bees by Bryan N. Danforth, Robert L. Minckley, John L. Neff, and Frances Fawcett This book came out in August of 2019, and the subtitle is Biology, Evolution, Conservation. The author Alexandra-Maria Klein said, "This book is a comprehensive most up-to-date resource on the biology and evolution of solitary bees. . . . People reading this book will likely further educate their friends, children, or colleagues by sharing stories about the interesting natural history of solitary bees they learned by reading across this book. By doing this, an increasing number of people will ultimately contribute to protecting nature and biodiversity." And, Stephen Fleming, said, "In the many vignettes and case studies throughout the text, the wonders of solitary bees are revealed. . . . I expect to return to this book to learn more about the truly incredible world of bees for a long time to come." The book is a whopping 488 pages devoted to the ecology, evolution, and life history of solitary bees - a must-read for gardeners dedicated to learning more about our precious pollinators. You can get a copy of The Solitary Bees by Bryan N. Danforth, Robert L. Minckley, John L. Neff, and Frances Fawcett and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $31. Today's Botanic Spark 1908 On this day, the Maxfield Parrish Print, called The Botanist, appeared on the cover of Collier's Magazine. Parrish's image shows a full-length profile of a man wearing a long botanical green coat. In his raised right hand, he is holding a plant, and in his left hand, he is clutching a magnifying glass. Some opened reference books are tucked under his arm. He has a specimen case slung over his back. The classic image was made into poster-sized prints in the 1970s. It's one of my favorite pieces of botanical art.
Today we celebrate one of Alabama's first botanists and the poet who went by the pseudonym AE. We'll also learn about Wood Expert and xylotomist ("xy·lot·o·mist") who solved the crime of the century. We celebrate one of the 20th century's leading landscape architects. We also celebrate the Dog Days of summer through poetry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about plant passion and inspiration in order to "Cultivate Green Space in Your Home and Heart." And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a touching 2014 botanical art installation around the Tower of London. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News New National Wildflower Network Opens Major Routes Across UK for Pollinating Insects | The Independent "A national network of linked wildflower highways has been launched this week to provide more habitat for the UK's vital pollinating insects, including bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and moths. The newly completed B-Lines network for England has been launched by conservation charity Buglife with support from Defra. The scheme will create a vast interconnected web of potential and existing wildflower habitats across the whole country. Catherine Jones, pollinator officer at Buglife, said: "A complete England B-Lines network is a real landmark step in our mission to reverse insect declines and lend a helping hand to our struggling pollinators. We hope that organizations and people across England will help with our shared endeavor to create thousands of hectares of new pollinator-friendly wildflower habitats along the B-Lines." Buglife is asking people to grow more flowers, shrubs, and trees, let gardens grow wild and to mow grass less frequently, not to disturb insects, and to try not to use pesticides. Almost 17,000 tonnes of pesticides are sprayed across the British countryside each year. The country has lost 97 percent of its wildflower meadows since the 1930s and 87 percent of its wetlands. Both of these habitats support a huge array of wildlife." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1901 Today is the anniversary of the death of botanist Charles Theodore Mohr. Although he was born in Germany and educated in Stuttgart, Charles became one of Alabama's first botanists. He emigrated to the United States in 1848. A trained pharmacist, Charles traveled the world before settling in Alabama, and he especially enjoyed collecting plant specimens in Surinam. Charles's travel log shows that he even participated in the California gold rush and lived Mexico, Indiana, and Kentucky before settling in Alabama. In 1857, Charles started Chas. Mohr & Son Pharmacists and Chemists in Mobile, Alabama. Charles spent his entire life collecting and organizing his specimens. In fact, by the time his book on the plants of Alabama was published, Charles was seventy-seven years old. After Charles died, his herbarium specimens were donated to the University of Alabama Herbarium (15,000 specimens) and the United States National Herbarium (18,000 specimens).
1935 Today is the anniversary of the death of the poet George William Russell, who went by the pseudonym AE. Russell attended the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. There he met a lifelong friend - the poet William Butler Yeats. Russell became the editor of The Irish Homestead. His famous quotes include the following: "Our hearts were drunk with a beauty our eyes could never see." "You cannot evoke great spirits and eat plums at the same time." 1967 Today is the anniversary of the death of Wood Expert and xylotomist Arthur Koehler. Xylotomy is preparing little pieces of wood and then examining them under a microscope or microtome. Koehler worked as a chief wood technologist at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin. Koehler's expertise led him to become one of the very first forensic botanists. When the Lindbergh baby was kidnapped in 1932, a homemade ladder was used to access the nursery. Koehler, along with 38,000 others, sent letters to the Lindbergh's offering prayers and assistance. Yet Koehler's expertise would become the linchpin to convicting the man accused of the crime, making Koehler one of the world's first official forensic botanists. Forensic botany is simply using plants to help solve crimes. Three months after the crime was committed, samples of the ladder were sent to Koehler. Koehler studied the pieces through his microscope discovered that four different kinds of wood were used to make the ladder—Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Birch, and North Carolina pine. In an interview with the Saturday Evening Post, Koehler was quoted saying, "I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but I have specialized in the study of wood. Just as a doctor who devotes himself to stomachs or tonsils … so I, a forester, have done with wood." A year later, Koehler was invited to see the ladder in person, and that in-person visit was revealing. Koehler discovered the ladder was handmade. He measured each piece to the nose, getting exact measurements. He understood how each piece was cut, how the pieces would have fit into a car, and then assembled at the Lindbergh home. Incredibly, Koehler was able to determine the origin of the piece of North Carolina pine used to build the ladder - it was sold in the Bronx. Ransom notes from the case lead police to hone in on the same area. Koehler was convinced the suspect would have the woodworking tools required to build the ladder. In the Lindbergh case, the wood from the ladder helped identify a carpenter named Bruno Richard Hauptmann. When the police arrested Hauptmann, they not only found $14,000 of ransom money but the evidence Koehler could link to the ladder: the saws used to make the cuts, the particular nails used to build the ladder and a missing floorboard from Hauptmann's attic that was clearly used in the construction of the 16th rail of the ladder. In fact, when the rail was removed, it slipped perfectly back into place in Hauptmann's attic - right down to the nail holes and nails on the board. Koehler estimated the chances of someone else supplying the lumber for the ladder to be one in ten quadrillions. Koehler's knowledge and testimony during the trial were vital to Hauptmann's capture and conviction. The "Crime of the Century" solved by carefully studying the only witness - a "wooden witness." It was Arthur Koehler who said, "In all of the years of my work, I have been consumed with the absolute reliability of the testimony of trees. They carry in themselves the record of their history. They show with absolute fidelity the progress of the years, storms, drought, floods, injuries, and any human touch. A tree never lies." 1996 Today is the anniversary of the death of one of the 20th century's leading landscape architects, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe. Jellicoe was multi-talented, but his true passion was landscape and garden design, which he described as "the mother of all arts." He was a founder member of the Landscape Institute. Over his 70-year career, Jellicoe designed more than 100 landscapes around the world. Jellicoe designed the John F Kennedy memorial site by the River Thames in Berkshire. Jellicoe's final and most ambitious project was the Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas. Jellicoe imagined a design where visitors could walk through the history of the landscape, from the Garden of Eden and the gardens of ancient Egypt to a design inspired by Thomas Mann's novel The Magic Mountain (1924). As the Moody Garden website acknowledges, "It was the culminating work of his design career but has not, as yet, been implemented. We live in hope." Jellicoe's favorite garden was the gardens he designed in Hemel Hempstead. Jellicoe designed the Hemel Hempstead Water Gardens to improve the quality of life for the townspeople. Jellicoe designed a canal with dams and little bridges to take visitors from the town parking lot to shopping. Jellicoe designed the canal after seeing one of Paul Klee's paintings of a serpent. Jellicoe said, "The lake is the head, and the canal is the body," wrote Jellicoe in his book Studies in Landscape Design. "The eye is the fountain; the mouth is where the water passes over the weir. The formal and partly classical flower gardens are like a howdah strapped to its back. In short, the beast is harnessed, docile, and in the service of man." Unearthed Words Here are some words about the Dog Days of summer - which officially started on July 3 and runs through August 11. How hushed and still are earth and air, How languid 'neath the sun's fierce ray - Drooping and faint - the flowerets fair, On this hot, sultry, summer day. — Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon ("Lew-Pro-awn", Canadian writer and poet, An Afternoon in July Cool in the very furnace of July The water-meadows lie; The green stalks of their grasses and their flowers They still refresh at fountains, never dry. — John Drinkwater, British poet and dramatist Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world. — Ada Louise Huxtable, architecture critic, and writer A ladder sticking up at the open window, The top of an old ladder; And all of Summer is there. Great waves and tufts of wistaria surge across the window, And a thin, belated blossom. Jerks up and down in the sunlight; Purple translucence against the blue sky. "Tie back this branch," I say, But my hands are sticky with leaves, And my nostrils widen to the smell of crushed green. The ladder moves uneasily at the open window, And I call to the man beneath, "Tie back that branch." There is a ladder leaning against the window-sill, And a mutter of thunder in the air. — Amy Lowell, American poet, Dog Days "Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it." — Russel Baker, American journalist and satirist Grow That Garden Library How to Make a Plant Love You by Summer Rayne Oakes This book came out in July of 2019, and the subtitle is Cultivate Green Space in Your Home and Heart. Michael Brune, the Executive Director of the Sierra Club, said, "I don't care what color your thumbs are —Summer Rayne Oakes will not only inspire you to connect with nature by taking care of plants but open your eyes to how even the humblest of them take care of us." Summer keeps over 500 species of live houseplants in her Brooklyn apartment. She's an environmental scientist, an entrepreneur, and (according to a New York Times profile) the icon of wellness-minded millennials who want to bring nature indoors. The book is 208 pages of plant passion and inspiration. It covers both plant styling and care. You can get a copy of How to Make a Plant Love You by Summer Rayne Oakes and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $15. Today's Botanic Spark 2014 The outdoor public art piece called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red was installed in the moat around the Tower of London. The work commemorated the centenary of the outbreak of World War I and was made up of 888,246 ceramic red poppies, one for each British or Colonial serviceman killed in the War. The title, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, refers to the first line of a poem by an unknown soldier in World War I. For this magnificent piece fo public art, Paul Cummins designed the ceramic poppies, and Tom Piper handled the conceptual design. Almost one million of Paul's ceramic red poppies appeared to burst forth from the Tower and then flow across the moat. Poppies seeped out of the Weeping Window and cascaded down a wall. Almost 20,000 volunteers helped with the installation. And, although it was started on this day in 2014, it was not completed until November 11 of that same year.
Today we celebrate an English poet who was good friends with Alexander Pope. We'll also learn about the French painter, famous for his landscapes. We celebrate the co-creator of a new hybrid of popcorn called "snowflake." We also celebrate some of the flowers of the July garden with some poetry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us explore the world of botanical fragrance. And then we'll wrap things up with a story about a legendary Indiana botanist. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News 9 Hanging Garden Ideas That Will Turn Any Small Space Into a Lush Indoor Jungle | Tehrene Firman | WellandGood.com If you're living in a small apartment, there's really not a whole lot of room to make your greenery dreams come true. Unless you take things vertically, that is. 1. Plant wall 2. Hanging Bottles 3. Kokedama 4. Upcycled Stick 5. Wall Containers 6. Above-the-Bed Shelf 7. Doorway Garden 8. Wire Wall Grid 9. Scrap Wood Did you know Tarragon is an artemisia? Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1730 Today is the anniversary of the death of the English writer and poet Elijah Fenton. His tomb is ornamented with a pair of sleeping angels. Alexander Pope composed his epitaph. The first two lines are inspired by the poet Richard Crashaw. At Easthamstead, Berks, 1729 THIS modest stone, what few vain marbles can, May truly say, Here lies an Honest Man; A Poet blessed beyond the Poet's fate, Whom Heav'n kept sacred from the proud and great; Foe to loud Praise, and friend to learned Ease, 5 Content with Science in the vale of peace. Calmly he looked on either life, and here Saw nothing to regret, or there to fear; From Nature's temperate feast rose satisfied, Thank'd Heav'n that he had lived, and that he died. Elijah Fenton is remembered for working with Alexander Pope and William Broome to translate the Greek epic poem The Odyssey. Pope had specifically asked Elijah for his help with the major undertaking. Elijah is credited with many wonderful verses: Wedded love is founded on esteem. Beware of flattery, 'tis a weed Which oft offends the very idol--vice, Whose shrine it would perfume. O blissful poverty! Nature, too partial to thy lot, assigns Health, freedom, innocence, and downy peace. In a book about Elijah Fenton, it says, "It is late justice, to Fenton, to point out how often the footsteps of the greater poet may be tracked to his garden plots; how the tones, and something more, of his verses, are echoed in strains which give them their best chance of immortality. Pope was accustomed to say that Fenton's "Ode to Spring" addressed to Lord John Gower, was the best Ode in the English language since Dryden's Cecilia." O'er winter's long inclement sway, At length the lusty Spring prevails; And swift to meet the smiling May, Is wafted by the Western gales. Around him dance the rosy Hours, And damasking the ground with flowers, With ambient sweets perfume the morn; With shadowy verdure flourished high, A sudden youth the groves enjoy, Where Philomel laments forlorn. — Elijah Fenton, Ode to Spring Nature permits for various gifts to fall On various climes, nor smiles alike on all. The Latian eternal verdure wear, And flowers spontaneous crown the smiling year; But who manures a wild Norwegian Hill To raise the Jasmine or the coy Jonquil? Who finds the peach among the savage sloes Or in black Scythia sees the blushing Rose? Here golden grain waves over the teeming fields And they're the vine her racy purple yields; Rich on the cliff the British Oak ascends Proud to survey the seas her power defends; Her sovereign title to the flag she proves Scornful of softer India's spicy Groves. — Elijah Fenton, Variety of Nature 1796 It's the birthday of the artist Camille Corot ("CAH-MEEL CAH-row"), born in Paris. Corot was a French painter, famous for his landscapes, and he inspired the landscape painting of the Impressionists. Corot's quotes about painting are inspiring to gardeners. Here's a little sample of his sensitive perspective on the natural world: "Beauty in art is truth bathed in an impression received from nature. I am struck upon seeing a certain place. While I strive for conscientious imitation, I yet never for an instant, lose the emotion that has taken hold of me." Here are some of Corot's words about Nature at the end of the day: "...Everything is vague, confused, and Nature grows drowsy. The fresh evening air sighs among the leaves - the birds, these voices of the flowers are saying their evening prayer." Imagine sitting beside Corot as he wrote, "I hope with all my heart there will be painting in heaven." Gardeners would reply, "I hope there is a garden." 1907 On this day, Orville Redenbacher was born. Orville was a USDA scientist and the co-creator of a new hybrid of popcorn called "snowflake." It was lighter and fluffier than traditional popped kernels, and Orville became a household name with his commercials for his popcorn. To this day, Orville Redenbacher is the number one selling popcorn in the world. Nebraska produces more popcorn than any other state in the country. Unearthed Words Today we celebrate some of the flowers of the July garden. We like people not just because they are good, kind, and pretty but for some indefinable spark, usually called "chemistry," that draws us to them and begs not to be analyzed too closely. Just so with plants. In that case, my favorite has to be Physoplexis comosa. This is not merely because I am writing at the beginning of July when the plant approaches maximum attractiveness. — Geoffry B. Charlesworth, garden author, On the Physoplexis comosa or the Devil's Claw or Tufted Horned Rampion Light love in a mist, by the midsummer moon misguided, Scarce seen in the twilight garden if gloom insist, Seems vainly to seek for a star whose gleam has derided Light love in a mist. All day in the sun, when the breezes do all they list. His soft blue raiment of cloudlike blossom abided Unrent and unwithered of winds and of rays that kissed. Blithe-hearted or sad, as the cloud or the sun subsided, Love smiled in the flower with a meaning whereof none wist Save two that beheld, as a gleam that before them glided. Light love in a mist. — Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet, Love in a Mist The marigold, whose courtier's face Echoes the sun, and doth unlace Her at his rise, at his full stop Packs and shuts up her gaudy shop. — John Cleveland, English poet, The Marigold Grow That Garden Library Scentual Garden By Ken Druse This book came out in October of 2019, and the subtitle is Exploring the World of Botanical Fragrance. The author Joe Lamp'l said, "A brilliant and fascinating journey into perhaps the most overlooked and under-appreciated dimension of plants. Ken's well-researched information, experience, and perfect examples, now have me appreciating plants, gardens, and designs in a fresh and stimulating way." Ken Druse is a celebrated lecturer and an award-winning author and photographer who has been called "the guru of natural gardening" by the New York Times. He is best known for his 20 garden books published over the past 25 years. And, after reading this book, I immediately began to pay much more attention to fragrance in my garden. The book is 256 illustrated pages of 12 categories of scented plant picks and descriptions for the garden - from plants to shrubs and trees. You can get a copy of Scentual Garden By Ken Druse and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $40. Today's Botanic Spark 1987 Today in 1987, The Indianapolis Star announced the release of the biography of the legendary turn-of-the-century Indiana botanist Charles Clemon Deam who went by "Charlie". This biography of Charlie was written by Robert C. Kriebel, editor of the Lafayette Journal and Courier. Charlie Deam was a self-taught botanist, and he also served the state of Indiana as a forester. And there's a little story about Charlie in this article from The Indianapolis Star that I thought you would enjoy: In his home herbarium, Charlie kept a loaded pistol in a desk drawer. One time, Charlie was hosting a guest in his home. Charlie brought his guest into the herbarium, and they began chatting about plants and taxonomy. Charlie gave his guest quite fright when, without warning, he opened the desk drawer, pulled out the gun, and fired two or three shots through the open window. And all the while, Charlie uttered some disparaging comments about the "canine ancestry of a rabbit," that had been terrorizing his garden.
Today we celebrate St. Swithin's Day. We'll also learn about the English architect who brought classical Roman architecture and the Italian Renaissance to gardens. We celebrate the botanist who attempted to sell his cow to buy a botany book by Robert Morison. We also celebrate the birthday of a botanist and a teacher of Emily Dickinson. We learn about the grand opening of Niagra Falls. Today's poems feature insects. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about making gardening and yard work less work and more enjoyable. And then we'll wrap things up with a heart-warming story about a beloved gardener and journalist from Ireland. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News New research pinpoints which of the world's trees are climate change-ready | The Global Plant Council "Botanists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered that "penny-pinching" evergreen species such as Christmas favorites, holly and ivy, are more climate change-ready in the face of warming temperatures than deciduous "big-spending" water consumers like birch and oak. Remarkably, we found that with rising CO2 evergreen trees and shrubs are more efficient in using water than deciduous plants in cooler climate locations. Still, there is no evidence for such a pattern in parts of the world with warmer climates. The reason for the detected differences in the evergreen and deciduous plant responses to climate change lies in their leaf texture. The leaves of evergreens are generally thicker and sturdier than deciduous plants in colder climates, while they are mostly similar in texture between the two groups in the warmer climates." St. Swithin's Day (Click to read this original post) Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1573 Today is the birthday of the English architect, Inigo Jones. Inigo introduced classical Roman architecture and the Italian Renaissance to Britain. He left his mark on London building designs, such as the classically styled Queen's House for Anne of Denmark. Today, gardeners remember that Inigo designed the layout for Covent Garden square ("Cuv-int"). The Duke of Bedford asked Inigo to build a residential square using the Italian piazza for inspiration. The Duke felt he had to include a church, but he told Inigo to put up something simple like a barn. Inigo's famous response was that the Duke would have "the finest barn in Europe." And Covent Garden became the excellent setting for London's farmer's market for over three centuries. 1751 It's the anniversary of the death of the botanist John Wilson. It was John Wilson who first attempted a systematic arrangement of the plants of Great Britain in the English language. From a professional standpoint, John was a shoemaker and then a baker. There is a little story that is often told about John with regard to his love of botany. Apparently, John was so intent on learning about botany that he almost sold his only cow to buy a book written by the Scottish botanist and taxonomist Robert Morison. The transaction would have almost certainly caused John's financial ruin had a neighbor lady not purchased the book for him. And there's another story that reveals John's self-taught botanical expertise and personality. John had traveled to the county of Durham, where he met a man who enjoyed growing rare plants. Confident he could beat John, the man challenged him to a plant-naming contest. To his shock and dismay, John was able to name all of the rare specimens in his garden. When it was John's turn, he looked about and grabbed a wild herb growing nearby, which the man simply dismissed as a weed. John stated that the word "weed" was not sufficient, and he said that the man's answer proved he was merely a gardener and not a botanist. And that's how John Wilson ended up winning the contest. 1793 Today is the birthday of Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps. Almira wrote about nature, and her textbook, Familiar Lectures on Botany, was first published in 1829. Almira taught at Amherst Academy, and her textbook was undoubtedly known and used by Emily Dickinson, who was a student there. The following quotes show us that Almira was hip to the idea of mindfulness over 200 years ago. Here's what she wrote: "So, in the physical world, mankind is prone to seek an explanation of uncommon phenomena only, while the ordinary changes of nature, which are in themselves equally wonderful, are disregarded. How often are the beauties of nature unheeded by man, who, musing on past ills, brooding over the possible calamities of the future, building castles in the air, or wrapped up in his own self-love and self-importance, forgets to look abroad, or looks with a vacant stare. Each opening bud, and care-perfected seed, is as a page, where we may read of God." 1885 On this day, thousands of people watched as Niagra Falls was officially opened. The area had been thoroughly cleaned up, improved, and made more accessible. Prior to the restoration, Frederick Law Olmsted said of the Falls, "I have followed the Appalachian chain almost from end to end, and traveled on horseback, in search of the picturesque; over four thousand miles… without finding … the same quality of forest beauty which was once abundant about the falls." Unearthed Words Today's poems are about insects: The Poetry of earth is never dead: When all the birds are faint with the hot sun, And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead; That is the Grasshopper's — he takes the lead In summer luxury, — he has never done With his delights; for when tired out with fun He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed. The poetry of earth is ceasing never: On a lone winter evening, when the frost Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills The Cricket's song, in warmth, increasing ever, And seems to one in drowsiness half lost, The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills. — John Keats, English Romantic poet, On the Grasshopper and Cricket Mosquito is out, it's the end of the day; she's humming and hunting her evening away. Who knows why such hunger arrives on such wings at sundown? I guess it's the nature of things. — Niels Mogens Boedecker, Danish-American author and illustrator, Midsummer Night Itch Grow That Garden Library How to Cheat at Gardening and Yard Work by Jeff Bredenberg This book came out in 2009 and the subtitle is Shameless Tricks for Growing Radically Simple Flowers, Veggies, Lawns, Landscaping, and More. Jeff Bredenberg outlines essential tips for beginning gardeners. He aims to show gardeners: "How the right tool can save you time—and save your back, that doing less for your lawn actually means a better result, why planting a diversion crop cuts down on your pest-patrol efforts, and that groundcovers and foliage plants are no-hassle solutions for weedy flowerbeds." The book is 384 pages of tips and tricks - all shared with today's gardener in mind. You can get a copy of How to Cheat at Gardening and Yard Work by Jeff Bredenberg and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $2. Today's Botanic Spark 1838 Today is the birthday of the Irish practical gardener and journalist, the passionate William Robinson. It's been fun researching William Robinson, and I came across many different accounts of a story from his early days in horticulture. This gem was particularly memorable, and I thought you'd enjoy hearing about it: When he was young, William was working on the estate of an Irish baronet. One cold night, the fires for keeping the greenhouses warm failed - the reason is unclear. Whatever the particulars, whether he argued with his boss, forgot to tend the fire, or acted in revenge, the result was that the tender plants in the greenhouse died. That night, William left, and he walked all the way to Dublin - which he did not reach until the following morning. When William arrived in Dublin, he asked for a Dr. David Moore, the head of the botanical garden, and when they met, he asked Moore what he should do. Well, Moore must have liked William because he offered him a job on the spot - but not with the greenhouses. Instead, William was put in charge of herbaceous plants - plants that die back in the winter and return in the spring after their season of rest (no greenhouse required!) These plants also included English wildflowers. In any case, the truth remains that William Robinson forever after did not care for greenhouses, and he did not allow them at Gravetye Manor.
Today we celebrate the botanist who climbed Pikes Peak and discovered the Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris). We'll also learn about the man who is remembered for the Boysenberry. We celebrate a 1978 entry from John T. White's Country Diary. We also celebrate the environmentalist who fell in love with Maine. We hear the poem written by the Scottish children's author that celebrates grasshoppers. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about gardening on one and a half acres - featuring unexpected plant combinations, beautiful photography, garden inspiration, and a testament to the power of microclimates in a garden. And then we'll wrap things up with the night-blooming plant that caused a sensation in 1933. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News 26 Ideas for a Summer Garden Party | Janet Loughrey | Garden Design When summer heats up, it's time to sit back and relax in your yard. After all that hard work of weeding, planting, and mulching, what better way to enjoy the season than to throw a garden party? Celebrate with these festive tips. 1. Cozy Up The Back Yard Get the yard ready by updating your accessories for a fresh look. 2. Accessorize With Containers Dress up the yard with decorative containers brimming with colorful plants. 3. Pick A Theme Host a party based on a flower that's in season—such as sunflowers. 4. Set The Mood Nothing says magic and romance more than twinkling lights at night. 5. Create A "Happy Hour" Garden Grow a medley of herbs, fruits, and vegetables, and make refreshing drinks with ingredients fresh from your garden. 6. Grow Your Own Party Food Use fresh ingredients from your garden to whip up a delicious meal. 7. Play Games After drinks and appetizers with your guests, set up some outdoor games, and get active. 8. Take The Bite Out Of Bugs Keep pests off your guests without using chemical bug sprays. Get the party started and celebrate summer in the garden with family and friends. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1820 Today the botanist Edwin James, along with two companions, made the first ascent of Pikes Peak, Rocky Mountains, Colorado. Interested in plants from a very young age, James botanized extensively in his home state of Vermont, and he compiled the very first Flora of Vermont plants. James left his mark on the botanical world when he went on one of the first expeditions of the American West - traveling from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains. On the way of Pikes Peak, James came across the mountain Columbine, Aquilegia caerulea, which ultimately became known as the Colorado Blue Columbine and the State Flower of Colorado. James' account of his climb up Pikes Peak stated: "A little above the point where the timber disappears entirely commences a region of astonishing beauty . . . covered with a carpet of low but brilliantly flowering alpine plants. . ." And James' words, "a region of astonishing beauty," became the title of a 2003 book on the botanical history of the Rocky Mountains by Roger Lawrence Williams. After the expedition, James married and settled in Burlington, Iowa. In a sidenote that reveals his loving heart, James' home was part of the Underground Railroad. James died in 1861 after an accident. There is a monument to James on Pike's Peak, and the Des Moines County Medical Society planted Rocky Mountain Blue Columbine on his grave in the Rock Springs Cemetery in Iowa. Newspaper accounts say the location of Edwin James' grave was in the most picturesque part of southeastern Iowa. 1918 Bastille Day was celebrated in Paris. Accounts say it was a clear day. The skies over Paris were filled with French airplanes. Flowers covered the streets, and the air was fragrant, sweetly scented with strawberries. 1950 Today is the anniversary of the death of the plant hybridizer Rudolph Boysen. In the 1910s and '20s, Boysen had been playing around with plant genetics. He worked on an 18-acre farm owned by John Lubbens in Napa Valley. On one June morning, Boysen took a walk along a creek bank to inspect some of his new berry creations. Boysen was astonished when he saw that one of the vines bore fruit that was almost two inches long. The fruit would become known to the world as the Boysenberry. Boysenberries are similar to blackberries but have a larger, juicier, and sweeter fruit. The Boysenberry is a cross between the loganberry, the raspberry, and the blackberry. In 1927, Boysen advertised them as "the sensation of the 20th Century." Now as luck would have it, the grower, Walter Knott, had been looking for new varieties of berries. When Knott got some of Boysen's plants, he knew it was the berry he had been looking for over the past decade. Knott gave Boysen credit by naming the plant in his honor. But, Knott managed to make an empire for himself with the proceeds - establishing the world-renown Knotts Berry Farm. As for Boysen, he never earned a dime from the Boysenberry. 1978 Today John T. White's Country Diary was shared in The Guardian (www.theguardian.com) "The calendar said July 1 but the weather over Dungeness was more suited to January. Low clouds swept over the lighthouse and the foghorn sent out it's melancholy warning, three times every half minute, into the misty Channel. I was glad of jersey and anorak and turned my back to the driving rain as I explored the shingle wilderness. I was accompanied by the sea swallows, the terns flying so low that they zig-zagged between the willow scrub like yachts tacking so close that I could see crabs and small fish in their beaks. I decided to follow their route and stumbled over a succession of shingle ridges that mark the steady seaward extension of the headland. The flora, at least, was summery in its brilliance. Vipers Bugloss, dark blue, red-tipped, standing stiffly in the bare shingle. Valerian towering above carpets of Yellow Stonecrop and the white flowers of Sea-Beet rising from clumps of thick, fleshy leaves. Most remarkable in that wild garden was the Nottingham Catchfly, a rare plant, highly localized in its occurrence; its white ragged petals drooping with water. Anglers lined the shore, standing four-square behind their fixed rods and, above them, almost hovering as they turned into the strong breeze, were the terns, heads dipped, to survey the rough waves, plummeting down to take their share of the fish." 1946 On this day, the environmentalist Rachel Carson arrived in Maine and she promptly fell in love with the state. That summer, she rented a cabin on the Sheepscot River. She wrote: "The only reason I will ever come back is that I don't have brains enough to figure out a way to stay here for the rest of my life. … My greatest ambition is to be able to buy a place here and then manage to spend a great deal of time [here]." Rachel's time in Maine resulted in her classic book The Sea Around Us. And it made it possible for Rachel to realize her dream. In 1953, She bought a summer home in Maine. Five years later, Olga Owens Huckins and her husband, Stuart, observed birds and insects dropping dead in her Duxbury garden within 24 hours of the Massachusetts State Mosquito control program spraying DDT over her bird sanctuary at a rate of 2 pounds per acre. The day Olga's property was sprayed, the pilot had extra DDT fuel oil 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 an editorial. 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 her old friend Rachel Carson. 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. Judith and Robert Vose, III, continue to preserve the site as a bird sanctuary and also as a way to honor the brave women who stepped forward when it was put in harm's way: Olga Huckins and Rachel Carson. Unearthed Words Come take up your Hats, and away let us haste To the Butterfly's Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast. The Trumpeter, Gad-fly, has summoned the Crew, And the Revels are now only waiting for you. And there came the Beetle, so blind and so black, Who carried the Emmet, his Friend, on his Back. And there was the Gnat and the Dragon-fly too, With all their Relations, Green, Orange, and Blue. And there came the Moth, with his Plumage of Down, And the Hornet in Jacket of Yellow and Brown; Who with him the Wasp, his Companion, did bring, But they promised, that Evening, to lay by their Sting. A Mushroom their Table, and on it was laid A Water-dock Leaf, which a Table-cloth made. The Viands were various, to each of their Taste, And the Bee brought her Honey to crown the Repast. Then close on his Haunches, so solemn and wise, The Frog from a Corner looked up to the Skies. And the Squirrel well pleased such Diversions to see, Mounted high over Head, and looked down from a Tree. Then the Grasshopper came with a Jerk and a Spring, Very long was his Leg, though but short was his Wing; He took but three Leaps, and was soon out of Sight, Then chirped his own Praises the rest of the Night. — Robert Michael Ballantyne, Scottish children's author, The Butterfly's Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast Grow That Garden Library A Tapestry Garden by Marietta and Ernie O'Bryne This book came out in 2018, and the subtitle is The Art of Weaving Plants and Place. Gardenista said, "This is the fascinating story of a tireless and simpatico couple, a pair of gardeners who have spent more than 40 years assembling a mind-boggling collection of plants and installing them in unexpected, sometimes truly revolutionary, combinations. . . . Throughout the book, we are offered useful tidbits and advice. . . [and] informative sections on specific plants such as Arisaemas ("Aris-SAME'ah"); trilliums; bulbs, corms, tubers, and rhizomes; and hellebores. . . . remarkably cheery and philosophical." From the publisher: "Marietta and Ernie O'Byrne's garden—situated on one and a half acres in Eugene, Oregon—is filled with an incredible array of plants from around the world. By consciously leveraging the garden's many microclimates, they have created a stunning patchwork of exuberant plants that is widely considered one of America's most outstanding private gardens. Profiles of the O'Byrne's favorite plants—include hellebores, trilliums, Arisaemas, and alpine plants—and they include comprehensive growing information and tips on pruning and care. A Tapestry Garden captures the spirit of a very special place." The book is 264 pages of unexpected plant combinations, beautiful photography, garden inspiration, and a testament to the power of microclimates in a garden. You can get a copy of A Tapestry Garden by Marietta and Ernie O'Bryne and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $17. Today's Botanic Spark 1933 On this day The Journal Times out of Racine, Wisconsin posted a notice about a local sensation: Mrs. William Vyvyan's night-blooming cereus. "Mrs. Kitty Shephard of Waukesha and Miss Loraine Brehmer of Milwaukee are making an attended visit at the William Vyvyan home. Mrs. Vyvyan had many visitors on Monday evening, who came to see the rare plant, the night-blooming cereus, which had four beautiful blossoms." Do tell. Well, the night-blooming cereus, is one of the desert's most unique plants. the night-blooming cereus is a member of the cactus family. Native to Arizona and the Sonoran Desert, the plant is also commonly called the Queen of the Night or the Princess of the Night. Now, generally, the cereus is grown as a houseplant, and it is often a pass-along plant - passed on from one friend to another. And, you should know, if you get one, that as a plant, it can be a bit of a mess. It's generally rather untidy and unruly. But it can be pruned without hurting the cactus. To create more of the Cereus night-blooming cactus, all you have to do is just pot up the cuttings. Just keep in mind that the night-blooming Cereus won't flower until it is four or five years old. And, the number of blooms increases as the plant ages. But once it blooms, the white flower is genuinely incredible. It's almost seven inches in diameter and smells divine - which is a good thing since you have it in your home. And it's true. It is a night-blooming plant. The flowers start to bloom at 9 or 10 p.m. and they are fully open by midnight. Then, the morning sun will cause the petals to fall off and die.
Today we celebrate the Roman leader who is still honored with flowers. We'll also learn about one of the best botanical writers of all time. We celebrate the man remembered with the naming of the Cottonwood. We also celebrate the life of a beloved English poet through his poetry - every year on this day, he is still remembered with flowers. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about a teacher from the Bronx who germinated an idea and started a movement, changing his life and the lives of his students. And then we'll wrap things up with the inspiring story of the Fairchild Tropical Garden. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Jennifer's Pesto Resources (During the Pandemic) Pine Nuts from Amazon Curated News 12 front garden ideas – inviting designs to boost your curb appeal | Real Homes These front garden ideas will transform your home, creating a smarter and more individual look 1. Keep The Route To The Front Door Simple 2. Choose Big Plant Pots To Create An Impactful Look 3. Choose Sympathetic Materials For The Path 4. Highlight Your Front Door 5. Hide The Bins In A Bin Shed 6. Pay Attention To Paintwork In A Small Front Garden 7. Paint Your Front Gate An Inviting Colour 8. Choose Cost-effective Gravel To Cover Ugly Surfaces 9. Parking Or Garden? 10. Choose A Planting Structure For Year-Round Interest 11. Pick A Front Garden Colour Scheme 12. Consider Front Garden Security Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 100BC Today is the birthday of the Roman leader Julius Caesar. On this day, Romans lay a wreath at his statue and throw flowers in the Forum where Caesar was murdered. 1858 Today is the anniversary of the death of Jane Loudon, who married the prolific garden writer and publisher: John Claudius Loudon. Jane was a fantastic writer in her own right, but she also possessed an inner determination; she was a survivor. When her father lost the family fortune and died penniless when Jane was only seventeen, it marked the beginning of her career writing Science Fiction. In her books, Jane wrote about cultural and technological advancements that eventually came to pass. For instance, the women in her books wore pants. In any case, her successful book, The Mummy was published anonymously, in 1827, in three parts. Now, in one of her books, Jane featured something she imagined would come to pass: a steam plow. And that concept attracted the attention of John Claudius Loudon - her future husband. Loudon wrote a favorable review of her book, but he also wanted to meet the author. Loudon didn't realize Jane had written the book using a nom de plume of Henry Colburn. Well, long story short and much to Loudon's delight, Henry was Jane; they fell in love and married a year later. The Loudons were considered high society, and they called Charles Dickens, a friend. As John and Jane grew old together, John's arms stopped working as he grew older, after an attack of rheumatic fever. As a result, Jane became John's arms, and she handled most of his writing. And, when his arms got so bad that surgeons needed to amputate his right arm, they found him in his garden, which he said he intended to return to immediately after the operation. Two weeks before Christmas in 1843, John was dictating his last book to Jane, and the book was called, A Self Instruction to Young Gardeners. Around midnight, he suddenly collapsed into Jane's arms and died. To honor John's memory, Jane completed the book on her own. 1890 Today is the anniversary of the death of the American explorer, soldier, and the first Presidential candidate of the Republican Party, John Charles Frémont. Frémont is remembered as "The Pathfinder" after helping many Americans who were heading West by creating documents and maps of his expeditions. In fact, John and his wife, Jesse, created an entire map of the Oregon Trail. Now, when Frémont saw Nebraska for the first time, he didn't see merely an endless prairie; he saw beauty. To Fremont, the entire state was one big garden, accentuated with fertile soil, swaying grasses, and wildflowers as far as the eye could see. Fremont was one of the first explorers to write about cottonwood trees. He discovered them near Pyramid Lake in Nevada on Jan 6, 1844. Years later, botanists would name the Cottonwood in his honor, calling it the "Populus fremontii." Cottonwoods are the fastest growing trees in North America. And, the Cottonwood was sacred to Native Americans. To the Apaches, the Cottonwood was a symbol of the sun. In Northern Mexico, Cottonwood boughs were used in funeral rights, and the Cottonwood was a symbol of the afterlife. And, there's an old Native American Legend that tells how the Cottonwood tree gave birth to the stars. For a time, the tree held the stars and kept them safe. But then, one late spring, the stars were released until they filled the night sky. And, every spring, we can remember the legend when we see the female trees release their star-shaped seeds into the air. Now when I was growing up, all of the beautiful elm trees at my childhood home succumbed to Dutch elm disease. My parents selected cottonwoods because they knew they would grow quickly - up to six feet or more each year. They couldn't stand how naked the house looked without the beautiful large elm trees. In truth, there's no comparison between a cottonwood tree and an elm tree, which is regarded as one of the most beautiful trees by landscape painters. Still, Cottonwood trees do grow quickly. But be forewarned: Cottonwood trees often have weak wood that can easily be injured or damaged. Cottonwood trees are in the Poplar species. Only the female trees produce the fluffy cotton seeds that float through the air and collect in your garden and garage in June. Unearthed Words Today is the birthday of the English poet John Clare who was born on this day in 1793. Each year on his birthday, the children of his village make little flower posies, and then they lay them on his grave where they read poems they write in his honor. All nature has a feeling: woods, fields, brooks Are life eternal; and in silence they Speak happiness beyond the reach of books; There's nothing mortal in them; their decay Is the green life of change; to pass away And come again in blooms revivified. Its birth was heaven, eternal is its stay, And with the sun and moon shall still abide Beneath their day and night and heaven wide. — John Clare, English poet, All Nature Has a Feeling Loud is the summer's busy song The smallest breeze can find a tongue, While insects of each tiny size Grow teasing with their melodies, Till noon burns with its blistering breath Around, and day lies still as death. — John Clare, English poet, July Grow That Garden Library The Power of a Plant by Stephen Ritz This book came out in 2017, and the subtitle is A Teacher's Odyssey to Grow Healthy Minds and Schools. Stephen Ritz is the founder of Green Bronx Machine and has devoted his teaching career to improving health and academic results for children in the South Bronx. His work has been featured by major media and documentaries, including Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, and his TEDx talk has been viewed over one million times. Dubbed the Pied Piper of Peas, Ritz and his family reside in the Bronx and continue to farm with children all year round. Tom Colicchio said, "The only thing bigger than the impact Stephen has had helping countless students understand the importance of their food choices is his infectious personality. The Power of a Plant outlines the remarkable work he has done to date and provides a blueprint for how educators around the world can implement his learnings effectively." The book is 304 pages of Stephen's's story - "a green teacher from the Bronx who let one idea germinate into a movement and changed his students'' lives by learning alongside them." You can get a copy of The Power of a Plant by Stephen Ritz and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $7. Today's Botanic Spark 1986 On this day, The Billings Gazette ran a story about the Fairchild Tropical Garden in a post called Florida Garden is a Must for Touring Northerners. It starts out this way: "Northern garden-lovers looking for a lush botanical escape from their own barren landscapes claim that this garden is at its best when northern winters are at their worst. Others say that it is prettiest right now and in the fall. In any case, this 83-acre botanical garden just south of Miami's Coconut Grove is a four-season attraction for those who are interested in plants, beauty, or in oddities. The Fairchild Tropical Garden is a distinguished first cousin of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, a place where rare plants are preserved, the public is educated, and serious research is conducted. Be forewarned that a visit can quickly reduce the most seasoned gardener to amateur status. You may know all about the different kinds of Iris and Lilacs, all about how to prune raspberries or harden off Tomato starts; you may even know your way around rare shrubs and trees. But what do you know about Lilly Pilly, Bushman's poison, Cannonball trees, or Shower-of-Orchid vines? A trip to Fairchild Tropical Garden is like a trip to a foreign country - actually, several foreign countries. More than 4,000 different plants from Australia, Sumatra, the Bahamas, Burma, South Africa, Jamaica, Zamboanga, and many other tropical regions have taken root here. There are Ficus Trees considerably larger than the one under your skylight. In fact, only a few representative species are grown here because of the great area each mature one requires. A single tree has been known to cover acres! "Ficus" means fig, and some kinds do bear edible fruit. So do some members of the philodendron family, which grow outdoors here year-round. One, called "Monstera deliciosa" (believe it or not), sets fruit that is among the world's most delectable. The Bromeliads... can be seen here growing on and among rocks and trees... There are ... jewel-colored tropical Water Lilies, ... Orchids that bloom year-round on the grounds … the orange and purple Bird-of-Paradise and the Columbian Flamingo Flower, or Anthurium, which looks a bit like a shiny red patent-leather Calla Lily. Many of the plants are definitely odd. The 40-foot-tall Cannonball Tree, a native timber tree in some South American countries, produces fragrant, fleshy, 6-inch purple blossoms on strange special branches that the trunk sprouts near the ground at flowering time. These are followed by 8-inch rusty cannonballs, dangling from heavy strings suspended from the trunk, that make a noise when the wind blows them against one another. In their native South American countries, these "cannonballs" are often hollowed out and turned into drinking cups. Another curiosity is the Calabash tree, whose egg-shaped fruit, when dried and filled with seed or BB shot, becomes the maracas familiar in Latin music. The garden is named after Dr. David Fairchild, an American plant explorer responsible for introducing many important species and varieties of plants to us, such as soybeans, dates, and improved varieties of rice, wheat and cotton. He was a close friend of the garden's founder, a New York tax attorney named Col. Robert H. Montgomery [co-founders of what is today the world's largest accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Montgomery] spent his fortune on collecting tropical plants and providing a place for them to grow. The Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is located at 10901 Old Cutler Road, Miami."" During the pandemic, the Garden is open every day, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., with special times available for seniors and individuals who identify as vulnerable. For your safety and theirs, guests and members must preregister for timed entry. Reserve Your Timed Ticket and Review their COVID Policies and Procedures on their website.
Today we celebrate the man who inspired National Simplicity Day (It's dedicated every July 12th). We'll also learn about the tragic death of a Scottish botanist and prolific plant collector. We celebrate the friendship between Charles Darwin and his mentor. And, we also celebrate a woman who started botanizing late in life, yet made a significant impact on the world of horticulture. In Unearthed Words, we celebrate the fern. By this time in July, you are either loving them or digging them out of your garden. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a grilling guide for gardeners. And then we'll wrap things up with a sweet little story about the botanical name for San Francisco. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings Wedding Tulle from Amazon To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News I feel as if my garden has finally come of age | Nigel Slater | The Guardian The title of this post definitely caught my eye: I feel as if my garden has finally come of age. I thought Nigel did such an excellent job of capturing why he felt that way and what that meant in terms of the evolution of his garden. I wanted to give you a few excerpts that I thought were particularly touching and relatable. "Getting rid of the rectangle of mown grass that passed for a garden was almost the first thing I did when I moved into my new home on a bitterly cold New Year's Day, 20 years ago. I learned quite quickly that every disaster in the garden is an opportunity in disguise. Then, he writes about how he uses the Chelsea Chop in his garden. This is just a technique where you cut back your perennials to delay bloom time, and you also make the plant a little less leggy. Of late, the garden has settled into a gentle rhythm. Once a year, on a dry spring day shortly after the Chelsea Flower Show, everything gets a serious trim – the "Chelsea Chop" as it is known. Hedges are clipped, topiary is shaped, and overhanging branches of the fig and medlar tree are pruned. A tidy-up that might appeal to the sort of gardener who power-washes their flagstones and scrubs the moss from their pots, but, to me, it feels as if a much-loved and elegantly aging friend has gone in for a round of cosmetic surgery. Not unrecognizable, but slightly cold and distant and, to my mind, a little dishonest. For a couple of weeks a year, the garden doesn't quite feel like mine." I love Nigel's description of how Chelsea Chopping his garden makes him feel. It can be tough for gardeners to Chelsea Chop their gardens. New gardeners, especially, will feel a pang of uncertainty as they cut back perfectly good plants for the first time. I know it seems counter-intuitive. I thought it was hilarious that Nigel likens it to a round of cosmetic surgery. Now, I will forever think of the Chelsea Chop through Nigel's eyes. Finally, I wanted to share Nigel's perspective on his garden today. I found it particularly touching: I would like to say that the garden I have now will probably be my last. Twenty years on from digging up the lawn, I have a space that is more inspirational and restful than I could have ever imagined. I feel the garden has come of age. Yet the space still refuses to stand still. Even now, there are changes afoot. This year I reintroduced the vegetables and sweet peas that I missed so much. Tomatoes and calendulas now grow in huge terracotta pots on the kitchen steps, and there is an entire table of culinary herbs. There are tubs of marigolds and stands of bronze fennel. Next year there may be more. The garden will never be "finished." I have no idea what will happen next. All I know is that there won't ever be a lawn." July is the month of the lotus in China. This reminded me of a video I shared last year in the Facebook Group for the Show from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, which shows Senior Horticulturist, Pat Clifford, teaching their intern Hazel, how to remove the older leaves of the Giant Water Lily, so the pond does not get overcrowded. Using a pitchfork, Pat carefully folds the giant lily pad first in half, then quarters, and then once more. Then he stabs the large folded pad with the pitchfork, hoists it in the air to let the water drain out, and then flops the beast down on the edge of the pond. The camera zooms in to reveal the most savage thorns that grow on the underside of the lily pad and all down the stem of the plant. It was so surprising to see how vicious the thorns are - rivaling the thorniest rose. Propagate Pelargoniums Through Cutting If you've never taken cuttings of your pelargoniums before, you will be delighted with the results. Pelargoniums are also known as cranesbills or hardy geraniums. All you need to do is snip off short lengths of your favorite pelargonium, remove any leaves from the lower part of the stem that will get pushed into your growing medium, dip the stem in some rooting powder, and then place it in the pot. Pelargoniums root so quickly - you'll have many new plants in just a few weeks. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1817 Today is the birthday of the American essayist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau. An advocate for living a simple life, National Simplicity Day is observed every July 12th in Thoreau's honor. Thoreau said: "Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders." "Gardening is civil and social, but it wants the vigor and freedom of the forest and the outlaw." 1834 On this day, about a month before his 35th birthday, the Scottish plant explorer David Douglas and his little Scottish terrier named Billy arrived at the northern tip of Hawaii. After landing, David met up with a man named Ned Gurney. And I know it's hard to imagine, but Gurney actually made his living by trapping feral cattle in large pits. As a young man, Gurney had been convicted of stealing and had been shipped to Australia. But, somehow, he had made his way to Hawaii. It was on this day in 1834 that Gurney's path crossed with Douglas. That morning, Gurney told authorities that he had breakfast with Douglas, gave him directions, and sent him on his way. Tragically, by noon, Douglas's body, along with an angry bull, was found in one of the pits. And sadly, Douglas's dog Billy, who traveled with him on almost all of his expeditions, was sitting there, above the pit, all alone by his master's pack. Today we realize that how Douglas ended up in the pit remains a mystery. We will never know for sure what happened. But, we do know that Douglas was responsible for the identification of over 200 new plant species in North America, including the famous Douglas-fir. Despite his lack of formal training, Douglas sent more plants back to Europe than any other botanist of his time. There is a memorial to Douglas in Honolulu which says: "Here lies Master David Douglas - an indefatigable traveler. He was sent out by the Royal Horticultural Society of London and gave his life for science." And on the second bronze tablet there is a quote by Virgil: "Even here the tear of pity springs, And hearts are touched by human things." 1835 On this day, Charles Darwin wrote a letter to his friend John Stevens Henslow. He wrote: "In a few days' time, the Beagle will sail for the Galapagos Islands. I look forward with joy and interest to this, both as being somewhat nearer to England and for the sake of having a good look at an active volcano." Throughout his life, Darwin exchanged many letters with Henslow, who was a professor of Botany and Mineralogy at Cambridge University. His correspondence was a powerful influence on Darwin, shaping his thinking about the natural world. When they were young men, Henslow and Darwin had walked the Cambridgeshire countryside together. Their walks inspired Darwin to study the natural world and to travel. And, it was thanks to Henslow that Darwin received the invitation to join captain Robert FitzRoy on the HMS Beagle. Henslow had recommended Darwin for the journey because of his likable personality. Once Darwin was officially part of team Beagle, Henslow gave him a gift, a copy of Humboldt's Narrative, an account of Humboldt's travels in South America. In it, Henslow had inscribed these words: "J. S. Henslow to his friend C. Darwin on his departure from England upon a voyage around the world. September 21st, 1831." Well, needless to say, Darwin treasured this gift above all others. At his death, the book was safely brought to Cambridge University Library - where it remains to this day. 1938 Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Ynes Mexia ("EE-nez Muh-HAY-ah"). In terms of her botanical career, Ynes was a late bloomer. The first half of her life was turbulent, but at the age of 50, Ynes joined the Sierra Club. Nature had always been a balm to her. Eager to get some formal training, Ynes decided to enroll at Berkeley to take botany classes. She would take classes there on and off over the next 16 years. Ynes's goal was not to graduate but simply to learn more about plants. When she wasn't in school, Ynes fell in love with fieldwork. She said, "I found a task where I could be useful and really produce something of lasting worth; while living out among the flowers." Ynes was especially drawn to unique plants, and she absolutely adored sunflowers. In fact, on one of her botanizing trips, she discovered an entirely new genus of Compositae. And, Ynes's ability to speak Spanish came in handy as she botanized in the southwestern part of the United States, Mexico, and South America. Ynes's collecting efforts proved extraordinary. Many scholars argue that she was the most accomplished plant collector of her time. Ynes's first botanizing trip alone netted 500 specimens - the same number that Darwin brought back on the Beagle. Over Ynes's career, she collected 150,000 specimens and discovered over 500 brand-new plant species. Now, her botanist peers were well aware of her staggering amount of work, but not many liked her. Still, she did work closely with botanists Alice Eastwood, John Thomas Howell, and Agnes Chase. In 1938, Ynes had returned to Mexico in search of new specimens. But the pain in her stomach got the best of her; she was forced to return to the United States, and she died at Berkeley from lung cancer. Ynes' estate was donated in part to the Redwood Preserve in California. And there's a forty-acre grove there that has one of the tallest trees on the planet. Today, if you visit, that grove is named in Ynes's honor. Today, some 80 years after her death, scientists are still processing the plants she collected. And there's an excellent PBS short about Ynes Mexia ("EE-nez Muh-HAY-ah") that was narrated by narrator Julianna Margulies. Unearthed Words Here is the fern's frond, unfurling a gesture, Like a conductor whose music will now be pause And the one note of silence To which the whole earth dances gravely – A dancer, leftover, among crumbs and remains Of God's drunken supper, Dancing to start things up again. And they do start-up – to the one note of silence. The mouse's ear unfurls its trust. The spider takes up her bequest. And the retina Reins the Creation with a bridle of water. How many went under? Everything up to this point went under. Now they start up again Dancing gravely, like the plume Of a warrior returning, under the low hills, Into his own kingdom. — Ted Hughes, English writer and Poet Laureate, Fern Grow That Garden Library The Gardener & the Grill by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig This book came out in 2012, and the subtitle is The Bounty of the Garden Meets the Sizzle of the Grill. Dr. Mark Knoblauch said, "Americans have become so accustomed to firing up their backyard grills for all sorts of meats, from large joints to everyday burgers, that they forget that vegetables, flourishing in the nearby garden, profit equally from the punch of flavor that barbecuing bestows. Grilling potato slices before tossing them with strongly herbed French vinaigrette adds a level of flavor often lacking in mayonnaise-dressed potato salads. Grilling green tomato slices before sandwiching them with cream cheese delivers a somewhat less heavy alternative to frying. For all their imaginative ways of grilling greens, Adler and Fertig by no means ignore fish and meat. Fish tacos brim with leafy greens and blackened fish pieces, and there's even a comforting burger. The authors advocate grilled slices of bread, and they present examples from Afghan, Indian, and Italian traditions. Searing fruits such as peaches, apples, and figs underlies a number of sweet desserts." This book is 224 pages of recipes and tips - all shared with today's gardener in mind. You can get a copy of The Gardener & the Grill by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $1. Today's Botanic Spark 1969 During this week in 1969, newspapers across the country were sharing this little snippet about San Francisco. "San Francisco was originally known as Yerba Buena. Spanish for "good herb," a small mint-like plant early explorers found." Over the years, people have left their hearts in San Francisco. As the author Rudyard Kipling said, "San Francisco has only one drawback –' tis hard to leave."
Full show notes at the publisherToday we celebrate National Rainier Cherry Day.
We'll also learn about the Scottish Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Calcutta and Kew.
We celebrate a journal entry from this day in 1938 by one of Canada's most-beloved naturalists.
We also celebrate a rare orchid breeder from Denver.
We honor the discovery of a very unusual dwarf Amaryllis species.
Today's poetry features a beloved mid-summer tree: the Linden.
We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that will inspire you to decorate your outdoor space for comfort and beauty, and for coaxing us all to enjoy our gardens as a space for breakfasts, lunchtime picnics, and even dinners by candlelight.
And then we'll wrap things up with the 103rd birthday of a Danish botanist.
But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news.
SubscribeApple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart
Gardener GreetingsTo participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org
And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy.
Curated NewsHow to Harvest and Dry Flowers & Herbs From Your Garden | The Nerdy Farm Wife
This is an excellent post by Jan Berry. Here's an excerpt:
"Learn how to harvest and easily dry flowers and herbs from the garden. Also included is a list of common flowers and herbs along with ideas for using them!
An ideal time to collect fresh flowers and herbs from your garden is on a dry, sunny day, after morning dew has evaporated, but before the midday sun is out in full force.
Some flowers, such as dandelion, chamomile, calendula and lavender can be dried whole. The petals from larger flowers, such as roses and hollyhocks, should be separated from the flower head before drying. An exception to this is if you're drying small rosebuds. They can also be dried whole, just be sure to turn a few times a day so one side doesn't dry flatter than the other.
I dry flower clusters, like elder flowers and lilacs, upside down on a towel as shown above, to help preserve some of the shape. Small branches of leaves that easily lay flat when placed on a surface, such as elderleaf, can stay together while drying. Leaves that cluster together, like lemon balm and mint, often do best if you detach each leaf before drying."
It's National Rainier Cherry Day.
Rainier cherries were bred at Washington State University by crossing Vans and Bings.
They are one of the most delicate and challenging cherries to grow because of one big drawback: their thin red-yellow skin. This makes them super sensitive to the elements, and they bruise easily.
Even if a grower can address these challenges, they still must contend with the birds.
Birds LOVE Rainiers and can eat as much as 1/3 of the cherry crop before the harvest arrives. Watch what happens if you add a few Rainier Cherries to your bird feeder.
Deadhead to Encourage More Blooms
What happens if you don't deadhead?
You might miss out on valuable time that your plant could use to create that second flush of blooms.
Plants to deadhead include coreopsis, blue and white clips, geraniums, and dianthus.
Another reason is to encourage more blooms the following year.
Dead flower heads become seed pods, and that takes energy from the plant. So be sure to deadhead peonies, roses, iris, and lilies.
As a general rule, when any plant looks leggy, it will benefit from deadheading or plain ol' pruning.
Alright, that's it for today's gardening news.
Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community.
There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.
Important Events1857 On this day in Fettercairn Scotland, the amateur botanist David Prain was born.
He would ultimately become the Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Calcutta and Kew.
In 1887, David was sent to Calcutta to be the curator of the herbarium. While he was there, he researched Indian Hemp along with crops like Wheat, Mustard, Pulses, and Indigo. But, David's most crucial work involved Cinchona plantations. The bark of Cinchona trees contains quinine, which is used to treat malaria. In David's obituary, it said that he set up a system with the local post offices to send quinine to every Indian village and undoubtedly saved countless lives.
After David returned to England, he became the director at Kew. During his tenure, David implemented many notable changes. David oversaw the effort to have the medicinal garden installed at Cambridge Cottage, and he acquired the Japanese gateway for the 1910 Japan-British exhibition. In terms of promotional efforts, David also reinstated the Kew Bulletin.
David's most significant professional challenge at Kew came not from a plant, but a person. William Purdom was a sub-foreman at Kew, and he was passionate about making sure that the garden staff was being treated fairly.
Tensions started when some of the gardeners discovered that their positions were only temporary. In addition, wages were well below market level. Even though all of these challenges were legacy issues David had inherited, the problems fell squarely on his shoulders.
David's humble origins gave him a heart for his workers, and he did his best to mediate the situation. While David stayed professional, Purdom made it personal, and he pressured David relentlessly. Finally, when he felt despite his best efforts that Purdom would never be satisfied, David forced the issue. David basically said to the powers that be, that they had a choice; it was him or Purdom.
In the end, David got the support he needed, and Purdom moved on. In a noble gesture, David worked to get Purdom a lead spot on the expedition to China sponsored by Harry Veitch and the Arnold Arboretum. Today, history looks back at David Prain with admiration, that he could recognize the talents of an employee, even while disagreeing with him - acting with both fairness and integrity.
1938 On this day Canadian Naturalist Charles Joseph Sauriol ("Sar-ee-all") wrote in his diary:
"I find it hard to come in from the flower borders. My Pansies are a garden of enchantment in themselves. People who love Pansies should grow them from seed. I took the advice and I have never had such a profusion of bloom and of so many colors."
1941 On this day, the Amarillo Daily News ran an article featuring Charles Sumner Lambie, who was a Denver area civil engineer by day and a rare orchid breeder by night.
Charles grew up in Pittsburgh, tending the family garden. He later married Margaret McCandless, and together they raised nine children.
As his engineering firm became successful, Charles's wife said he turned to the hobby of raising orchids as a means of relief from the stresses of his job. Charles shared an upside that he discovered about greenhouse gardening: He no longer suffered from hayfever as he did when he gardened outside.
After sharing the various types of orchids grown by Charles Lambie, the article shared his unique and detailed method for documenting his plants. Here's what it said:
"Mr. Lambie has a card index file ... on each plant. Here is a sample entry from the card of C. Talisman:
L.O. Talisman: 6 inches, December 1938, Christmas; Winter Bloomer, October to early summer, variable. Flowers large, Sepals and petals – Light to dark rose. Lip, dark rich crimson; Throat purple with yellow – gold veins."
Mr. Lambie puts a protective canopy over the orchids when they are in bloom, and he sprays them several times a day.
When Mr. Lambie leaves town on business, Mrs. Lambie makes sure that the orchids are watered several times today.
As the reporter for the story was leaving, Mrs. Lambie showed him a small orchid and shared that Mr. Lambie was given the orchid when he subscribed to an orchid magazine.
The orchid is called the Charles Lambie Rittenberry orchid named for their grandson, and of course, it receives "very careful attention," she added with a smile.
1950 On this day, a very unusual dwarf Amaryllis species was collected in Peru by the eminent botanist, Dr. Ramon Ferreyra ("feh-REY-rah").
Dr. Ferreyra sent the bulbs to another botanist, Dr. Hamilton P. Traub, in the United States.
Unfortunately, the bulbs experienced frost while they were in the mail. Some of the bulbs were totally destroyed, the surviving bulbs all had been damaged.
It took almost 18 months for Dr. Traub to nurse the frosted plants back to health. In recognition of his patience and skill, the Amaryllis was named Hippeastrum traubii.
Unearthed WordsThe Linden, in the fervors of July, Hums with a louder concert. When the wind Sweeps the broad forest in its summer prime, As when some master-hand exulting sweeps The keys of some great organ, ye give forth The music of the woodland depths, a hymn Of gladness and of thanks." — William Cullen Bryant, American poet and editor, Linden
Before midsummer density opaques with shade the checker- tables underneath, in daylight unleafing lindens burn green-gold a day or two, no more, with intimations of an essence I saw once, in what had been the pleasure- garden of the popes at Avignon, dishevel
into half (or possibly three- quarters of) a million hanging, intricately tactile, blond bell-pulls of bloom, the in-mid-air resort of honeybees' hirsute cotillion teasing by the milligram out of those necklaced nectaries, aromas
so intensely subtle, strollers passing under looked up confused, as though they'd just heard voices, or inhaled the ghost of derelict splendor and/or of seraphs shaken into pollen dust no transubstantiating pope or antipope could sift or quite precisely ponder. — Amy Clampitt, American poet and author, Lindenbloom
Grow That Garden LibraryKathryn at Home by Kathryn M Ireland
This book came out in 2016, and the subtitle is A Guide to Simple Entertaining.
I ordered a copy of this book at the start of the pandemic. What I thought would be a simple book of eye candy, became an inspiration: for using fresh ingredients from the kitchen garden, decorating my outdoor spaces for comfort and beauty, and for coaxing us out of the house by heading outdoors for breakfasts, lunchtime picnics, teas, barbecues, and dinners by candlelight.
Kathryn Ireland is among House & Garden's "10 to Watch" architects and designers expected to influence 21st-century style. For the last decade, House Beautiful has named her one of the top 100 designers in the United States. She is the author of Creating a Home and Classic Country. She divides her time between Santa Monica, California, and Montauban, France.
This book is 224 pages of gorgeous images and inspiration. It is truly a beautiful scrapbook of ideas and style.
Today's Botanic Spark1936 On this day, the Danish botanist Clarence Henry Dennesen celebrated his 103rd birthday.
Dennesen was once an internationally recognized authority on botany, and he led a wonderful life.
Dennesen served as a captain under Christian IX in Denmark's war with Germany. He was wounded in battle and captured by the enemy. He was shipwrecked on the Isle of Crete and sailed around Cape Hope. After the adventurous days of the soldier and sailor, he became a professor at the Copenhagen School of Botany, and among his pupils was a little princess who later became Queen Alexandria, mother of King George of England, and a little prince who later became King Constantine of Greece.
The newspaper reported that,
"The men's Bible class of St. John's Lutheran Church, in Jacksonville Florida, had planned a surprise birthday party, but the jolly old Dane winked as he hinted it is hard to surprise the man who has been around for 103 years."
Dennesen immigrated to America in 1881 and lived to be 111 years old.
Now that's an old botanist.
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