Stay ConnectedThe Daily Gardener is a weekday podcast celebrating garden history, literature, and the small botanical stories that shape how we garden today.
Each episode follows an “on this day” format, uncovering the people, plants, books, and moments that have quietly influenced gardens across time.
New episodes are released Monday through Friday, and each show features a thoughtfully chosen garden book.
Copyright: Copyright ©2019-2020, Jennifer Ebeling|The Daily Gardener All rights reserved
Today we celebrate the man who wrote extensively about the history and flora of Germantown and... We'll learn about the 11-roomed garden created to honor the tobacco magnate James Buchanan Duke. We'll hear some beautiful thoughts on nature by an English Victorian author who was born on this day in 1819. We Grow That Garden Library with an adorable old book on topiaries. I'll talk about foraging for a Yule Log, and then we'll wrap things up with a friendly post about November strawberries from 1843. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Gravel Bed Garden Design: Tips On Laying A Gravel Garden | @gardenknowhow By: Becca Badgett, Co-author of How to Grow an EMERGENCY Garden I love gravel beds in gardens. I don't see them very often, but when I do, they definitely get my full attention. I especially love it when they are enhanced with a water feature like an urn fountain or a rain chain. Becca suggests incorporating: "Ornamental grasses, herbaceous perennials, and even trees or shrubs may be suitable. Install plants into the soil. Add any hardscape features such as benches, water features, clay pots, or tin planters. Large boulders complement the gravel garden construction." If you're thinking about installing a gravel bed in your 2020 garden, check out this post. The Ultimate List of 30 Best Perennials for Landscaping | Richard Spencer @rs_garden_care Secretsofgardening.com recently updated this comprehensive post. I love how Richard starts this post out: "When choosing plants for your yard for the first time, it can be overwhelming without a lot of experience to try to find the best perennials for landscaping and the ones that give the highest value for your money. As we are visual creatures, we tend to pay at first more attention to external things, and that's not always the right way to go." This is where advice from a seasoned expert comes in handy, and Richard's list is an excellent place to start. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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 track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the Germantown historian, botanist, and writer Edwin Jellett who was born on this day in 1860. The town of Germantown owes such a debt of gratitude to Edwin Jellett, who devoted himself to capturing the history and the flora of the area now part of Northwest Philadelphia. He was a font of knowledge about the area, and he was beyond generous with his research and time, happy to help anyone with a question or a mystery about Germantown. Edwin had a column in the local paper that appeared for forty weeks during the year 1903. It was charming, and it was pretty extensive, and it covered his minute and astute observations and thoughts his two main passions: history and botany. Every entry concluded with a list of all the plants shared in the post, along with both the Latin and common names. Often, those lists featured upwards of 30 to 40 different species. Recently, the Awbury Arboretum republished Edwin's entries online in honor of its centennial in 2016. Here's what the Chair of the Awbury Arboretum Association, Mark Sellers, wrote about Edwin's final entry, which was published on December 4th, 1903. I think Mark perfectly captures Edwin's love for the area. "To trace his path in this last article is to watch as a magician pulls one improbable thing after another from a hat that appears too small to hold them... Hemlock boughs bend under the weight of the snow and ice, and as Edwin stops to inspect a bird's nest that was occupied during his last visit, but now only contains snow. It is apparent Edwin knew this was his last column. He reached as far into his memory and his understanding of what was beautiful around him... While Edwin's observations have significant historical and botanical value to the student of horticulture in Philadelphia, what makes them interesting reading is his joy. Joy at seeing and knowing, joy from watching the seasons change and seeing the landscape and recognizing its significance. "On rocks or on exposed banks, speedwell - never in a hurry - waits, and in thickets, green ropy runners of smilax, and the more refined bittersweet may be seen climbing over banks... On trunks of trees nearby, are alabaster projecting seats fit for elves or fairies... Lichens, liver worts and mosses which escaped us earlier become conspicuous, the greater volume of light admitted to the woods exposing their hidden retreats. On hills and dry banks club mosses... prominently appear, and on damp rocks, where water trickles, marchantia, an exceeding odd plant, will be found carpeting many an exposure, and, like all hepaticaae, bearing unique flowers. Keen as may be the interest in summer stars, far greater is the interest of winter ones, because of the presence of a number of planets, and the enhanced brilliancy of the heavens. So the never-ceasing procession continues, and forever when day departs or seasons die galaxies of stars, constellations of indescribable beauty, and a moon whose splendor we can never fully know, course before us for observation and wonder." #OTD On this day in 1900, an article ran in The Indianapolis News called Science and Flowers: Study of the One Does Not Destroy the Love of the Other. "Can people dip at all deeply into the real science of botany, and yet enjoy flowers because of their beauty, because of the delight of finding them in lovely spots on lovely summer days, and because of their dear associations? Must the scientific sense blunt the aesthetic one? Often, ... this will be the case. Pistils and stamens, nectaries, and receptacles - these things will not always go well with artless talk about sweet blooms and bright berries, or even with the simple, very English names given by the unlearned to flowers. But on the other hand, there are many lovers of nature and field naturalists ... will still care for the flower because of Its beauty, because It grows in the best places at the best time of year, because It vividly recalls to them the glad, sorrowful days of childhood, or the tender passages - of true love. Flowers, apart from the science of botany, are inextricably woven about human life. When will the artist be tired of painting the children in the meadows with their laps full of cowslips or celandine? Let the botanist classify and name,... but let him be careful not to do anything to bring into contempt the love of flowers,... lest we rightly call him dry-as-dust and blind to beauty. Finally, let him help to keep up the old names as well as the new ones. We must always have our Sweet William, Kingcup (Marsh Marigold), Sweet Cicely, Loosestrife, Heartsease (Wild Pansy), Codlins-and-Creams (Hairy Willowherb), and Feverfew. All [these] names [have] stories and meanings, whose loss would be a loss to the language; their very mention turns our thoughts to the gardens and, the pasture lands of summer gone but coming again." #OTD Today is the birthday of the billionaire tobacco heiress and philanthropist Doris Duke who was born on this day in 1912. When Duke was 46, Duke created an exotic public-display garden called Duke Gardens to honor her father, James Buchanan Duke. Drawing inspiration from DuPont's Longwood Gardens, the eleven interconnected gardens followed various themes focusing on a particular country or period. Duke Gardens took visitors into an Italian courtyard, which featured a replica of Antonio Canova's sculpture, The Three Graces. Next came the Colonial Garden of the American South featuring camellias, azaleas, magnolia, and crepe myrtle. Then came the ferns and orchids of the Edwardian Garden, followed by the French and English gardens. There was an exceptional Elizabethan knot garden, an American Desert, a Chinese Garden, A Japanese Garden as well as an Indo-Persian Garden which featured a Persian rose garden. The final gardens were Tropical and Semi-Tropical featuring vines, papyrus, and Bird of Paradise. Clearly, Duke used what she had seen from her travels to design the elements in her displays, and Duke personally designed and installed the garden - sometimes working up to 16 hours a day. She donated the property to the Duke Foundation in 1960. In 2008, sentiments about the gardens changed as some folks felt that the gardens "[perpetuated] the Duke family history of personal passions and conspicuous consumption." The gardens remained open until May 25th, and then they were dismantled. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation said that, "The day of the display garden is past. [The gardens] consume an inordinate share of financial and staff resources, they would require a very expensive modernization, and they no longer reflect the vision of Duke Farm's future. A video record has been made for archival purposes." With the closure of Duke Gardens, another arm of the Duke family legacy, the Duke Farms Foundation created new indoor and outdoor display gardens as part of Duke Farms, which opened to the public on May 19, 2012. #OTD On this day in 1963, Japan's Emperor Hirohito, an accomplished amateur botanist and zoologist, published his fourth book. The book was a 24-page supplement to "The Plants of Nasu (pronounced "Na-soo"), a book he had published in the previous year. Unearthed Words Today is the 200th birthday of the English Victorian author George Eliot, who was born on this day in 1819. George Eliot was the pen name for a woman named Mary Ann Evans, and her many works like Silas Marner and Middlemarch are packed with images from the garden. To Eliot, plants were the perfect representation of faith - both required care and feeding to grow and flourish. On October 1st, 1841, Eliot wrote a letter to her old governess, Maria Lewis. She wrote: "Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love - that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." My favorite quotes from Eliot are about her love of roses. She wrote: "I think I am quite wicked with roses. I like to gather them, and smell them till they have no scent left." And, Eliot wrote this little poem about roses: "You love the roses—so do I. I wish The sky would rain down roses, as they rain From off the shaken bush. Why will it not? Then all the valleys would be pink and white, And soft to tread on. They would fall as light As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be Like sleeping and yet waking, all at once. Over the sea, Queen, where we soon shall go, Will it rain roses?" This concept of raining roses was something Eliot wrote about several times. This last quote about roses is the one she is most famous for: "It never rains roses; when we want more roses, we must plant more... " Today's book recommendation: Herb Topiaries by Sally Gallo This is such a cute and useful little book. It's old; it came out in 1992. Sally covers topiary basics, before going into the plants that are perfect for topiaries: Victorian Rosemary, Lemon Verbena, Scented Geraniums, and Dwarf Sage, just to name a few. And, Sally reminds us that gardening in pots - working with topiaries - offers all the pleasures of gardening on a larger scale. Of course, the epitome of this pastime is training fragrant, potted herbs into traditional topiary shapes. Sally walks us through it all. Sally's book is delightfully illustrated, and she gives us the history, lore, and culture of a dozen favorite herbs ideal for topiaries - which is another thoughtful feature of this book. You can get a used copy and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for about $3. Today's Garden Chore Forage for a Yule Log for your Thanksgiving table. I'm speaking about this little idea on an upcoming local TV segment for the American Heart Association. It's a great way to connect with nature and reduce stress, which can be a contributor to heart disease and stroke because it increases blood pressure. At the same time, you can enjoy a tradition that is centuries old. In the early 1600s, the yule log was a symbolic pillar meant to sweep away mischief and ensure a happy new year. People would go out and forage for a simple pine log. Often, the log was selected up to two to three years before it was used, so that on the big day, the yule log would undoubtedly burn "long and brightly." And it was essential to save a piece of the log to light next year's Yule log - it was considered bad luck not to do so. During the Elizabethan times, people didn't have Christmas trees. Instead, they followed the Scandinavian tradition of a Yule Log. Robert Herrick wrote: Kindle the Christmas brand, and then Till sunset let it burn; Which quench'd, then lay it up again Till Christmas next return. Part must be kept wherewith to tend The Christmas log next year, And where 'tis safely kept, the fiend Can do no mischief there. Once you start reading about it, there are so many charming traditions behind the Yule Log. After you find a specimen that fits your table, you can decorate it - using the yule log as a base for evergreens, florals, natural elements, dried fruit, spices, and fragrant oils. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart On this day in 1843, the New England Farmer out of Boston shared a little update called Strawberries in November. It highlighted a little friendly competition between two strawberry growers: Mr. Brandegree of New London and Simeon Marble of Boston. Here's what it said: "The New London Advocate noticed the fact that strawberries had been picked from the garden of Mr Brandegree and asked, "Who can beat this ?" [But then] Mr Simeon Marble yesterday presented us a bunch of ripe strawberries, just plucked from the vines in his garden, in this city. They were of two varieties, red and white. The New London folks will please to consider themselves beaten." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Full show notes at the publisherToday we celebrate the botanist who named the very first plant for his mentor Carl Linnaeus, and we celebrate the 160th birthday of one of the country's wealthiest orchidologists and the founder of the Amerian Orchid Society. We'll hear some garden poetry on leaves and November. We Grow That Garden Library with a book from one of my all-time favorite authors who wrote a history of vegetables. I'll talk about tidying up after the garden dies back, and we'll celebrate a sweet story about the very first TV gardening show that debuted on BBC 83 years ago today.
But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.
Dancing with bees | Bridget Strawbridge Howard @b_strawbridge Bridget Strawbridge Howard has written a new book that is truly lovely.
Here is the origin story for it:
"Brigit Strawbridge Howard was shocked the day she realized she knew more about the French Revolution than she did about her native trees. The thought stopped her—quite literally—in her tracks. But that day was also the start of a journey, one filled with silver birches and hairy-footed flower bees, skylarks, and rosebay willow herb, and the joy that comes with deepening one's relationship with place. Dancing with Bees is Strawbridge Howard's charming and eloquent account of a return to noticing, to rediscovering a perspective on the world that had somehow been lost to her for decades and to reconnecting with the natural world. With special care and attention to the plight of pollinators, including honeybees, bumblebees, and solitary bees, and what we can do to help them, Strawbridge Howard shares fascinating details of the lives of flora and fauna that have filled her days with ever-increasing wonder and delight."
Gardeners will LOVE @b_strawbridge's new book 'Dancing with Bees.' If you're looking for a gift idea for the holidays - this should be on your list!Your Garden "Still Works" in the Winter - Neighborhood Greening | Mike Nowak @mikenow
This is an excellent post @mikenow! By cleaning up, we are "removing a garden's protective layers"/habitat, inadvertently hurting butterflies; pupae can look like leaf litter. I think gardeners, like docs, mean to do no harm... We have much to learn & habits to change. Highlights: "Every yard should have a rotting log (or two!). Dead trees, rotting logs (also known as "snags") are a crucial habitat for a wide range of insects–the lifeblood of our ecosystem." "Keep your garden's fallen leaves, plant stems, natural debris, and hiding places intact, not just in the fall, but throughout the year. Some insects require garden debris for more than just over-wintering habitat. Your garden is one place where it's OK to be messy! You will provide an important habitat for bees and butterflies, and other beneficial insects (the lifeblood of our ecosystem) as well. A winter garden left intact will also provide winter seeds for birds, attract wildlife, and provide visual interest for you.""Many species of native bees lay their eggs in the cavities of stems or rotting wood: some excavate pith-filled stems while others make their home in pre-existing cavities in rotting wood. According to Heather Holm, in her excellent book Bees, An Identification, and Native Plant Forage Guide, it is important to leave the garden alone in the fall and throughout winter. And because some native bees reuse these cavities in the spring, they should remain intact year-round. Holm explains, "Then in the spring, cut off the top of the old stems about 15″ above the ground, leaving flower stalk stubble. No further maintenance is required. Within a few weeks, new growth from the perennials hides the dry stems, and within a year or two, the stems naturally breakdown." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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 track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.
Brevities
#OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Dutch botanist Jan Frederik Gronovius who died on this day in 1762.
Gronovius's story is inextricably bound to the Virginia botanist John Clayton.
Clayton botanized Virginia. In the early 1700s, Clayton sent specimens to Gronovius both directly and indirectly through the English naturalist Mark Catesby.
Gronovius was a little in over his head as he attempted to make sense of the overwhelm ing amount of specimens from Clayton. So, he did what most of us would do. He asked for help - and he got it from Carl Linnaeus.
In a brazen move, Gronovius used Clayton's specimens and documentation to put together a Flora of Virginia in 1739. He published the work without notifying Clayton, and he certainly didn't see his permission before he started the endeavor.
Other than the Clayton situation, Gronovius is remembered for the many plants that he named.
After seeing the twinflower, it was Gronovius who suggested naming the plant after Linneus. Without Gronovius, Linnaeus probably wouldn't have a plant named for him during his lifetime - he was very modest about it. And, bless his heart, Gronovius was sensitive to Linnaeus's need to keep the honorary naming low key. So Gronovius wrote that,
"[The Twinflower was] "a plant of #Lapland, lowly, insignificant, disregarded, flowering but for a brief space - after Linnaeus who resembles it."
Thus, the Twinflower is the only plant named for the Father of Taxonomy and has the botanical name is Linnea Borealis.
Another plant that Gronovius named was the genus Gerbera which was named after the German botanist Traugott Gerber.
Finally, In 1739, It was Gronovius Who combined the words for water and jug - hydro and angeion. Put them together, and you get hydrangea (or water jug).
#OTD Today is the birthday of the orchidologist Albert Cameron Burrage who was born on this day in 1859.
Burrage had a passion for orchids, exceptionally rare orchids.
In 1922, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society rewarded him with the George R White medal for his outstanding collection of exotic orchid. Three years later, he received the Lindley Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society in England.
And, Burrage was the founding president of the American Orchid Society, where he served for eight years until his health no longer allowed him to work.
Now, growing exotic orchids can be a costly hobby. But, luckily, Burrage was a self-made man, and his story is jaw-dropping.
After getting a law degree from Harvard University, Burrage went to work for the Brookline gaslight company in the early 1890s. In a stroke of genius and probably luck, he discovered a little legal loophole that allowed the company to extend gas lines into the city of Boston. It earned Burrage a windfall - almost $1 million -, and he went on to have a series of successful positions with gaslight companies. His success was life-changing.
Burrage enjoyed his wealth. He lived in a gothic French chateau-style home. The exterior contained nearly fifty gargoyles and over three hundred bibliophiles, dragons, demons, cherubs, chimeras, and snakes in the carved exquisitely into the stonework.
And get this: when you walked into the house, the foyer opened into a large room with mahogany-carved paneled walls, a gold-gilded ceiling, stained glass windows, imposing fireplace, and a huge crystal chandelier.
And, here's the part gardeners will love. Burrage had an Orchid Room. His extraordinary collection lived in a glass-plated conservatory complete with a wall lined entirely with coral. It was an opulent home for his many exotic blooms. By 1922, Burrage had put together the most extensive private collection of tropical orchids in the world—over 1200 plants.
When he died in 1931, Burrage had been president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for ten years.
The longstanding secretary of the Society and garden writer, Edward Irving Farrington, paid tribute to Burrage, saying:
"Probably no other man has done so much to popularize the orchid in America. The present prosperity of the American Orchid Society is due largely to his efforts."
#OTD Today is the birthday of the diplomat Harold Nicolson who was born on this day in 1886.
In 1930, Sissinghurst Castle - at least what was left of it - was bought by Harold Nicolson and his wife, Vita Sackville-West, who restored the house and created the famous garden, which was given to the National Trust in 1967. In a letter to Harold, Vita wrote, "You are my eternal spring." On December 29, 1946, Harold wrote, "Trying to convince [Vita] that planning is an element in gardening… She wishes just to jab in things which she has leftover. The tragedy of the romantic temperament is that it dislikes form so much that it ignores the effect of masses."Unearthed Words
"It is also November. The noons are more laconic and the sunsets sterner, and Gibraltar lights make the village foreign. November always seemed to me the Norway of the year. - Emily Dickinson""How silently they tumble down And come to rest upon the ground To lay a carpet, rich and rare, Beneath the trees without a care, Content to sleep, their work well done, Colors gleaming in the sun. At other times, they wildly fly Until they nearly reach the sky. Twisting, turning through the air Till all the trees stand stark and bare. Exhausted, drop to earth below To wait, like children, for the snow." - Elsie N. Brady, Leaves
So dull and dark are the November days.
The lazy mist high up the evening curled, And now the morn quite hides in smoke and haze; The place we occupy seems all the world." - John Clare, November
Today's book recommendation: A Potted History of Vegetables by Lorraine Harrison
First of all, let me say that I'm a HUGE fan of Lorraine Harrison. I believe I have all of her books. She is just a fantastic garden writer - and I can't tell you how lovely it is to sit down on a cold winter's day with Lorraine Harrison and skim through a book like A Potted History of Vegetables. Lorraine has this quality to her writing that makes me feel like I am reading a piece of art, and Lorraine specializes in something I admire so much, which is giving us the little hidden gems and factoids that are often buried in garden history. I love what the Editor of Hortus, David Wheeler, wrote in the forward of her book:My father grew lush fruit and vegetables for a hungry family in our garden during the privations following the Second World War, and ever since I have taken a keen interest in the history, provenance, cultivation, and eating of home-grown food—evenwhenworkinginLondon, where my "garden" was a single north-facing window box—growing, I recall, some excellent French tarragon. Alas, there was no Lorraine Harrison to guide me in those days, but gardeners finding themselves similarly lusting after fresh vegetables will glean much from these pages.
A Potted History of Vegetables reacquaints the reader with the origins and nature of the world's produce. Combining beautiful reproductions of the most exceptional nineteenth-century botanical illustrations with a collection of fascinating facts and extraordinary histories, the book immerses you in the incredible world of vegetables. You can get a used copy and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $1.Today's Garden Chore
As your garden dies back, it's time to tidy up.
Right now, your garden is revealing the structures and knick-knacks that have served their time.
You also get a real sense of the bones of your garden.
If you've had a hard time editing some of the items you've placed in your garden over the years, take a moment to do a quick tidy up now. During the gray days of November, items that are sun-faded are easy to spot. So are the broken pieces of pottery or furniture. Are there birdhouses that are beyond saving? Is there a build-up of items that are no longer life-giving to you?
So, if you're thinking of adding structural improvements in the spring, like installing a new path or building a fence, now's the perfect time to cull out the old, worn, or unhappy items that have accumulated in the garden.
Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart
#OTD On this day in 1936, the very first Gardening TV show 'In Your Garden' was broadcast on BBC television. The show was hosted by Cecil Henry Middleton (22 February 1886 – 18 September 1945), who was widely known only as Mr. Middleton. Middleton's dad was a head gardener in Northamptonshire. Early on, Middleton became a gardening columnist for the Daily Mail. His journalist background helped him transition into Mr. M, Britain's first celebrity gardener. Middleton presented In Your Garden from a garden at Alexandra Palace. The program was part of the lineup during the first month of the BBC's official television service.Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate the botanist who started the Botanical Gazette back in 1875 and the incredibly down-to-earth yet inspiring garden designer and writer who turns 90 years old today. We'll learn about the naming error based on the name of an early Governor of Florida and the almost 500 watercolors by a St. Louis botanist that languished undiscovered until the late '80s. We'll hear some relatable thoughts about the garden in prose about November. We Grow That Garden Library with a book that teaches us to turn our carrot stumps, cilantro sprigs, and avocado pits into plants. I'll talk about adding natural elements to your holiday planters, and then we'll wrap things up with a sweet story about the world's smallest rose garden. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. How to protect your crops from winter cold the sustainable way | The Telegraph
Here's a helpful post from @jackwallington
"Horticultural fleece is a veg plot wonder." Yes, it is!
Gardeners should look to move away from plastic cloches to more Sustainable options like glass and fabric. Stay Warm and Keep Gardening!
Horticulture Club buds into Staples – Inklings News @InklingsNews Great Post! Students must deal with increasing amounts of stress. Greenhouses in Schools are seldom used. Put the two together & you have a recipe for success. Bring horticulture into schools - 30 min of gardening = happier people at any age! Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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.
So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.
Brevities
#OTD Today is the birthday of John Merle Coulter, who was born on this day in 1851.
In November 1875, Coulter founded the Botanical Gazette, and a year-long subscription cost $1. The first issue was called the Botanical Bulletin. However, out of respect for the similarly named Torrey Botanical Club Bulletin, Coulter changed the name to the Botanical Gazette for the second issue, and the name stuck.
At first, Coulter edited the Botanical Gazette alongside his brother, Stanley, who was also a botanist. He had a number of co-editors throughout the years.
After twenty years of publication, the University of Chicago Press took control of the Botanical Gazette. Coulter remained an editor of the paper for half a century.
Coulter was a lifelong friend of Asa Gray, who he also considered his most influential mentor. Coulter was a prolific writer on the subject of botany, and he collaborated on a large number of scientific books. His Handbook of Plant Dissection was often referred to as the ABC botany book in honor of the last names of the authors: Joseph Arthur, Charles Barnes, and John Coulter.
Coulter led the Botany department at the University of Chicago, where he was especially impactful and beloved. A few days after his death, his widow received a volume containing testimonials from botanists around the country along with a silver tea set in recognition of her husband's work. Also, his students and peers had established a fellowship in his name in 1928 and had managed to raise over $25,000 to support future botany students. Coulter was alive to learn of these honors, but sadly, he died just days before the scheduled event, which was held in his honor. #OTD Today is the 90th birthday of the garden writer and designer Penelope Hobhouse who was born on this day in 1929. When Penelope visited Tuscany, she was captivated by the villa gardens, and she began teaching herself garden design. In a 2016 article in the New York Times, Penelope was praised for her work as a designer, saying Hobhouse is "a fixture in the minds of gardeners who love rooms and bones – the paths and walls and satisfying verticals that form the skeleton of a garden."
Penelope has designed gardens all over the world; including a garden for Elizabeth the Queen Mother, at Walmer Castle in Kent, an herb garden for the New York Botanical Garden, and an English cottage garden for Steve Jobs' Woodside home.
Gardens Illustrated recently shared a post featuring six of her garden design principles:
"Think about backgrounds Large trees can be used to frame the sky; hedges provide vertical and horizontal lines as well as a background for planting, while small trees with broad, globular, or pyramidal heads act as 'ceilings.' Low continuous hedging can be used to frame pathways.
Create a strong framework I tend to create a strong structure or framework for my gardens, with looser planting within. The architecture can be supplied by buildings, walls, steps, and pergolas, but also by plants.
Don't overuse colors The cardinal rule for planting is to use bright colors sparingly. Form is much more important than color, and flowers are fleeting, so start instead with the shapes and hues of trees, hedges and shrubs, and the leaf form and color of herbaceous plants, the shape they make, and the height they grow to.
Mix plants up Choose plants that will not only do well in any particular spot but will also associate happily with any neighboring indigenous plants.
Repeat, repeat, repeat To help unite the house and garden and create flow, repeat hard or soft features.
Don't forget it's for you Gardens should also provide shade and shelter, seats for contemplation, scents, and solitude, and require just the amount of maintenance to encourage relaxation, because, above all, they are places to be enjoyed." Despite all of her achievements, gardeners find Penelope relatable and personable. In a recent video, she said, "I'm still finding my way." #OTD On this day in 1933, the Knoxville Journal shared a story called "Department Botanists Agree Too Late to Change - Lespedeza was named in Error."
Lespedeza (pronounced "Les-pah-dee-zah") is a genus of around 40 species of flowering plants in the pea family, commonly known as bush clovers.
The article pointed out that the mistaken identity,
"...dates back to 1803 when [the] French botanist, Michaux, ...bestowed the name to honor the governor of Florida, Lespedez who allowed [the botanist André] Michaux to explore Florida as part of his botanizing efforts for France.
[But,] in studying the early history of the plant recently. P. L. Ricker, of the United States Department of Agriculture, ... [couldn't find] a governor by that name in Florida State history.
By checking [the] old histories, records revealed that the governor in 1788 was actually named Cespedes, making it clear that the name as given by Michaux was either an error or a misprint. Botanists of the department agree that it would be a mistake to try to correct the mistake now if for no other reason [than] it would lead to confusion with a family of tropical trees, Cespedesia named in honor of an early professor of botany also named Cespedes."
#OTD On this day in 1989, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch shared an incredible story called Buried Blossoms by Patricia Rice, which shared the story of the long lost work of the botanist August Henry Kramer.
"After 40 years in basements, [Kramer's] collection of 493 botanical watercolors was scrutinized by two local art appraisers. You might Imagine that art appraisers become blase about seeing another beautiful painting. But not Barbara Messing. "They took my breath away," she said. Flowering mint, California poppies, hummingbird sage, wild parsnips, whispering bells, rare alpine flowers seemed almost fresh on the paper. Each had been meticulously painted from live botanical specimens by August Henry Kramer in his spare time as a fire lookout In California and Oregon. Kramer was born ... in south St. Louis but spent his adult life in the Western forests. ...Shortly before his death in the late 1940s, he brought his paintings to his sister in St. Louis, with careful notes detailing the care of the delicate watercolors. Kramer's great-nephew, [Art] Haack, does not know precisely when his great-uncle died or where he was buried. He packed "Uncle Gus' box [of watercolors]" each time he and his ... family moved. "Every once in a while, I would take them out, and we would look at them." A few years ago, Jeanne Haack, (Art's wife) and a volunteer guide at the Missouri Botanical Garden, took her husband to an art exhibit of botanical drawings at the Garden. They immediately reminded [Art] of his uncle's work. He wrote about the paintings to the Garden's [Director] Peter Raven, who sent two staff members to look at Kramer's work. When [the appraiser Barbara] Messing pulled the paintings from their brown paper wrappings, it was the first time they all had been seen outside the family In 40 years. After a couple of hours of looking at them, she felt hot tears flowing down her face. She said, "Each drawing was so beautiful. It made cry."
Unearthed Words
"I prefer winter and fall when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn't show." - Andrew Wyeth, artist
"In the evenings I scrape my fingernails clean, hunt through old catalogues for new seed, oil work boots and shears. This garden is no metaphor -- more a task that swallows you into itself, earth using, as always, everything it can." - Jan Hirshfield, November, Remembering Voltaire
Today's book recommendation: No-Waste Kitchen Gardening by Katie Elzer-Peters
The subtitle to this book is Regrow Your Leftover Greens, Stalks, Seeds, and More.
Katie's book is an excellent reminder to old and young gardeners alike that much of our food is part of a cycle of growth, and thanks to Katie, we can easily tap into that cycle with confidence. It's time to stop tossing your carrot stumps, cilantro sprigs, lettuce and cabbage stalks, apple cores, and avocado pits in the trash. Katie gives you everything you need to know to grow successfully and re-propagate produce from your kitchen scraps. With this book, you can enjoy fresh greens and herbs anytime you want. Best of all, you'll reduce food waste and save time and money. Katie's book is chock full of step-by-step photos and instruction. And, the little gardeners in your home will marvel at the new plants that are created right before their eyes. Today's Garden Chore
Add natural elements to your holiday planters to create layers of interest and texture.
Today I was out chiseling holes into my planters with a long screwdriver so that I could incorporate some permanent stems and seasonal items into my planters.
I was reminded of the importance of adding natural elements like twigs, nests, sticks, and even feathers to my holiday planters to give them a little more pizzaz. Bundling sticks with twine and then tucking them in among the branches looks very homey.
If you can't afford to buy birch cuttings, you can always spraypaint a few larger sticks with some white paint (a little goes a long way). I stumbled on this a few years ago when I decided to give it a shot, and I have to say that from the street, the cuttings definitely pass for birch.
Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today is the anniversary of the death of the Oregon Journal columnist and gardener Richard William Fagan, who died on this day in 1969.
As gardeners, we celebrate Fagan for installing the world's smallest rose park - Mill Ends Park - in Portland on February 23, 1954. The installation coincided with "Rose Planting Week."
The park is 18 inches in diameter and was named after Dick's column, which was also called Mill Ends. The name of the column Mill Ends came from Dick's passion for collecting little brevities and news items about the Pacific Northwest sawmills - thus, Mill Ends.
In fact, the mayor of Portland once commented, "I don't know why you invited me to talk on city affairs. Dick Fagan can tell you more."
Mill Ends Park is really just a small plot in the middle of an empty lamppost-hole on a cement divider on the street at the intersection of SW 1st and Taylor St.
That year, in 1954, the city of Columbus, Ohio, was claiming the title of "The Rose City" - an honor held by Portland for over 50 years. Portland gardeners were incensed and began planting roses all around the city.
Dick got the idea for the park after spying the empty spot in the road divider from his window at the Newspaper building. It consisted of a single rose bush, a little wire fence, and a small wooden marker that said: "Mill Ends Park." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate the co-founder of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a man who maximized his small space garden about 130 years before the rest of us. We'll learn about the man who came to America to work with Andrew Jackson Downing, and then they both ended up dying by drowning 43 years apart from each other. We remember the poet laureate who wrote, "If I had a flower for every time I thought of you..." and the Catholic priest and poet who loved to garden and wrote elegantly about seasons. We Grow That Garden Library with a memoir featuring a gardener was working in naval intelligence in Washington on the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. I'll talk about using place card holders with your houseplants, and then we'll wrap things up with the tale of two botanical brothers at Gettysburg. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from Germany - Gardenista Jawohl! @Gardenista Here's 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from Germany. Verdant Practices include rooftop gardens, wildflowers & gardens, Kleingartenkolonies, the one-of-a-kind Prinzessinnengarten, the incredible work of the florist Ursula Wegener and more... How to care for and reflower your Christmas cactus - MSU Extension (Michigan State University) There is a simple formula for success with Christmas cactus: organic, humus-rich soil, a cute little pot since they like to be pot-bound, regular watering, cool temps, and 14 hours of darkness per day. Done! A Year Gardening the Grave of a Stranger - Atlas Obscura @atlasobscura shared this fascinating post about the kind folks at Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia who beautify gravesites with gardening. The cradle graves are especially poignant for gardeners... https://buff.ly/2Ea1bdC Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the Landscape Architect Nathan Franklin Barrett, who was born on this day in 1845. Instead of joining his father's dye company, Barrett went his own way. After serving in the Civil War, BarrettLearned about plantsBuyWorking in his brother's nursery. In 1866, the field of landscape architecture was brand new – just a baby - and there is no prescribed coursework or preparation. Like many Landscape Architects, Barrett secured work as a town planner. He laid out the town Dolgeville New York as well as Pullman, Illinois (now located in Chicago). The town of Pullman was named for George R Pullman, who was one of Barrett's closest friends. The planning Barrett carried out in Pullman became one of his proudest achievements. Pullman was the country's first planned industrial town. Gardeners will enjoy hearing about Barrett's personal home garden in New Rochelle. Set on half an acre, Barrett designed his garden in an attempt to show others how to maximize a small space. Listen to the various areas and gardens he managed to install in his modest yard: "[an] old fashioned Colonial garden, Japanese, Roman, and Moorish gardens, and English topiary work. His cellar... opened to the garden level and through which a long vista continued. [Barrett] also created a Normandy peasant's sitting room, a German peasant's kitchen, [and] a Pompeian Court. A little brook at the rear of the property... added picturesque effects, and the garden was replete with pleasant little nooks and surprises at every turn." And, one newspaper shared a description of Barrett's wild planting tendencies: "The Poppy and the Ground Ivy, and Creeping Charlie and Myrtle mingle together; the Aster and Goldenrod feel at home; Ferns and Mosses are used liberally, and while abandon is aimed at, there is 'method in the madness,' and the wild garden and the formal play their part, each enhancing the charm of the other." Barett co-founded the American Society of Landscape Architects and served as its president in 1903. Barrett worked all over the country, and when he retired, he had practiced Landscape Architecture for 50 years. By the time Barrett died in 1919, he had been the oldest living Landscape Architect in the United States. In 1902, Barrett went to Los Angeles to give a speech on Landscape Architecture. Sadly, he caught a cold and lost his voice, so his speech was read for him, and the entire talk was shared in the newspaper. Here's my favorite excerpt - it's where Barrett addresses the spaces where living areas connect with shopping areas, how good Landscaping should mask the sides of ugly buildings, and why maintenance is a vital habit: "The line between the store and the residence is a battle line. As the business increases, the residence is forced back. The only remedy for this in sight is to make the transition as inoffensive as possible. [And] let us ask the object of taking the valuable space In the city for lawns. Is it not to relieve the buildings? I think so. Therefore, we should plant large trees to take away the mass of masonry which must necessarily exist in both house, sidewalk, and street. Bull Street, Savannah, Ga. has always appealed to me, where the walls are covered with Ivy. The old parts of Norfolk, Va., where the Ivy makes a coping two to three feet thick and hangs down over the wall, is excellent. ...[And] the pushcart picking up rubbish is as Important as the trees and flowers. Neatness is as contagious as a new bonnet, and a clean face becomes a habit and is an excellent rivalry to encourage. " #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Landscape Architect Calvert Vaux ("Vox"), who died on this day in 1895. Vaux was born in England, but he came to the United States at the age of 24 to work on landscape projects with Andrew Jackson Downing. Together, they planned the grounds around the Capitol and the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington. After Downing's untimely death, Vaux named his second son Downing in honor of his partner and friend. Vaux went on to work with many talented people during his career, including Jacob Weidenmann and George Radford. When Calvert Vaux came up with the idea for a public competition to design Central Park, he teamed up with Frederick Law Olmsted, Senior. Together they created a plan they called Greensward, and while they worked on Central Park, Vaux first coined the term landscape architect to describe their profession. And, it was Calvert Vaux who said that his goal for Central Park was to "translate democratic ideas into trees and dirt." Since Olmsted and Vaux worked so well together, after Central Park they designed Prospect Park in Brooklyn, South Park in Chicago, and the New York Reservation at Niagara Falls. By 1895, at the age of 70, Vaux was living with his son in Brooklyn. He had a morning ritual of taking a walk - often going to visit Prospect Park. But, on this day in 1895, the weather was foggy, and Vaux decided to walk the pier along Gravesend Bay. Two days later, after his kids reported him missing, newspapers shared this description: "Missing since Tuesday. Calvert Vaux. Aged seventy years; four feet ten Inches; medium build; gray hair and full beard; ruddy complexion; wore blue overcoat with velvet collar, blue trousers, dark mixed undercoat, no vest, black derby hat; wears gold-rimmed eyeglasses; shirt has name on it." The following day Vaux's body was found in Gravesend Bay. Like his dear friend Downing, Vaux had drowned. At the end of November, the Statesville Record And Landmark out of Statesville, North Carolina ran an anonymous tribute to Vaux that read in part: "Calvert Vaux was in his line one of the most famous men in the world.... Calvert Vaux created Central Park [and] people who have traveled all over the world say that no park in any foreign city is so beautiful. But, the Brooklyn folks say that their own Prospect Park is handsomer. Yet that, too, was "created" by Calvert Vaux. It was he who soothed nature's rough places and touched up and brightened her attractive features. In Prospect Park, however, nature left little for man to do. But Central Park is almost wholly artificial, and it's beautiful vistas of hill and dale, of lake and wood, are largely the work of Mr. Vaux. Probably a statue of him will be erected in Central Park. Certainly, his name ought to be perpetuated in the most enduring of stone." Unearthed Words On this day in 1850, the British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, became the Poet Laureate. "If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever." Today is the anniversary of the death of the American poet and Catholic priest, John Banister Tabb who wrote: Indian Summer Tis said, in death, upon the face Of Age, a momentary trace Of Infancy's returning grace Forestalls decay; And here, in Autumn's dusky reign, A birth of blossom seems again To flush the woodland's fading train With dreams of May. Autumn Gold Earth in the house, and the golden-rod A-bloom in the field! O blossom, how, from the lifeless clod, When the fires are out and the ashes cold, Doth a vein that the miners know not, yield Such wealth of gold? It's time to Grow That Garden Library with today's book: Adventures of a Gardener by Peter Smithers. Sir Peter Smithers, was a British politician and diplomat, but also an award-winning gardener. He worked as a British spy during World War II. Smithers was said to have inspired the fictional character of James Bond. His obituary stated that: "Flowers were ... important to him. [He said] "I regard gardening and planting as the other half of life, a counterpoint to the rough and tumble of politics." Smithers learned to love the natural world from his nanny. It was when he was in his 50s, that Smithers was finally able to focus on horticulture and botany fulltime. Smithers loved rhododendrons, magnolias, tree peonies, lilies, and wisteria. He developed a garden that didn't require a ton of work - along the same lines as Ruth Stout. He wrote: "The garden is planted so as to reduce labor to an absolute minimum as the owner grows older." Today's book was the brainchild of the RHS - who asked Smithers to write his gardening memoirs. Thanks to Smither's travels, he had observed gardens in England, Mexico, Central America, and Switzerland. And, Smither's followed certain principals to help ground him as he pursued the hobby of gardening. He wrote: "It shall be a source of pleasure to the owner and his friends, not a burden and anxiety." This book is part-autobiography and part-garden book. Smithers shares stories from his incredible career like the time he was serving in naval intelligence in Washington when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. And, George Coen commented, "He's as comfortable talking about [his career] as he is in explaining the behavior of wasps in a flower garden." This book came out in 1996. It's considered somewhat rare. You can get a used copy and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for as low as $13. Today's Garden Chore Use place card holders to help you remember the names of your houseplants. If names like Schefflera or Hoya keeps slipping your mind, hop on the labeling bandwagon and use place card holders to label your plants. I used to practice saying the names of my plants as I watered them. When they finally rolled off the tongue, I moved on. Now I use the labels just because I think they're pretty. But, every now and then, when I get a new plant, they still come in handy. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Thomas Meehan who died on this day in 1901. Meehan was born in England to a gardener and his wife and raised on the Isle of Wight. He trained at Kew and then immigrated to Philadelphia. Although Meehan ultimately became known as the Dean of American horticulture, there was a charming little story that took place when Meehan was in his 40's. Drexel University shared itin 2018. When a curatorial assistant at the botany department at Drexel, named Elana Benamy, was digitizing plant images, she came across an image of milkweed - which is pretty common - but what made her take a double-take was the date and location of the plant specimen. The plant was labeled "Battlefield of Gettysburg, August 20, 1863." The battle in Gettysburg had occurred during the first three days of July. So this specimen had been gathered about seven weeks after the battle, and about five weeks after Frederick Law Olmsted had walked the field. Elana asked, "Can you imagine why on earth would someone be out plant collecting [there]?" As it turns out, the reason made perfect sense. The collector was Thomas Meehan. At the time of the civil war, Meehan had worked for Andrew Eastwick, who was the owner of Bartrum's garden in Philadelphia. Afterward, Meehan opened up his own nursery in Germantown. In 1853, Thomas's younger brother, Joseph, had come to the United States from England. The younger Meehan brother was working in the greenhouses for his brother when he enlisted to fight in the Civil War. As the battle of Gettysburg began, the younger Meehan was taken prisoner; but with the defeat of the army, he was given battlefield parole on July 4th. Historians now speculate that Thomas' brother, Joseph, might still have been at Gettysburg, or Thomas might've gone out with him on a botanizing trip there. In either case, 33 years later, Joseph would write a beautiful account of the landscape around Gettysburg in an article for a gardening magazine called Battlefield Flowers: Floral Treasures of Gettysburg. Apparently, both brothers, who had made their homes in the city of brotherly love, had inherited their father's love of plants. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate the gardener who turned his farm into a picturesque wonder and the Swiss botanist who survived a fall from a mountaintop that foreshadowed a life of highs and lows. We'll learn about the American botanist Darwin confided in two years before he shared his theory with the rest of the world and the pop star who found restoration and health through gardening. We'll hear some beautiful verses on gardening and the season from several writers associated with today's date. We Grow That Garden Library with one of my new favorite books on the writer and gardener who wrote, There's a certain Slant of light, Winter Afternoons – That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes – I'll talk about how you can repurpose a boot tray to great effect, and then we'll wrap things up with the fruit that was selling for around $6 about this time of year in 1843, and the sellers couldn't keep up with demand. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. The 15 best pictures from the National Trust's photo competition to find a cover for its 2020 member handbook Les Lockhart's photo of the Newtown Nature Reserve on the Isle Of Wight won the @nationaltrust photo competition. @Countrylifemag shared the top 15 photos - proving that the beauty of nature is unbeatable. The National Trust manages over 600,000 acres of gardens. The Forgotten Feminine History of Botany Here's a great post by Sienna Vittoria Lee-Coughlin on @verilymag called The Forgotten Feminine History of Botany. Throughout history, women collected specimens & seeds, mastered botanical illustration (vital to scientific study), and were patrons & promoters of botany. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the poet and Landscape gardener William Shenstone, who was born on this day in 1714. In the early 1740s, Shenstone inherited his family's dairy farm, which he transformed into the Leasowes (pronounced 'lezzoes'). The transfer of ownership lit a fire under Shenstone, and he immediately started changing the land into a wild landscape - something he referred to as an ornamented farm. Shenstone wisely bucked the trend of his time, which called for formal garden design (he didn't have the money to do that anyway.) Yet, what Shenstone accomplished was quite extraordinary. His picturesque natural landscape included water features like cascades and pools, as well as structures like temples and ruins. What I love most about Shenstone is that he was a consummate host. He considered the comfort and perspective of the garden from the eye of his visitors when he created a walk around his estate. Wanting to control the experience, Shenstone added seating every so often along the path to cause folks to stop and admire the views that Shenstone found most appealing. Then, he incorporated signage with beautiful classical verses and poems - even adding some of his own - which elevated the Leasowes experience for guests. After his death, his garden became a popular destination and was even visited by William Pitt, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. It was William Shenstone who said, "Grandeur and beauty are so very opposite, that you often diminish the one as you increase the other. Variety is most akin to the latter, simplicity to the former." #OTD Today is the birthday of a son of Switzerland, Charles Leo Lesquereux, (pronounced "le crew"), who was born on this day in 1806. Leo was born with a naturalist's heart. A self-described dreamer, Leo loved to go out into the forest, and he collected all kinds of flowers and specimens for his mother. Yet, when Leo was just seven years old, he fell off the top of a mountain. He was carried back to his home completely unconscious, with multiple injuries to his body as well as head trauma. He remained motionless and unconscious for two weeks. His survival was a miracle, yet the fall resulted in hearing loss that would eventually leave Leo utterly deaf by the time he was a young man. Despite the tragedy, nature still ruled his heart. As Leo matured and tried to provide for his family as a watchmaker, he found himself returning again and again to the outdoors. Eventually, Leo began to focus his efforts on peat bogs, and his early work protecting peat-bogs attracted the attention of Louis Agassiz of Harvard, who invited Leo to bring his family to America. When he arrived, Leo classified the plants that Agassiz had discovered on his expedition to Lake Superior. Then, on Christmas Eve, 1848, Asa Gray summoned Leo to help William Starling Sullivant. Gray predicted the collaboration would be successful and he wrote to his friend and fellow botanist John Torrey: "They will do up bryology at a great rate. Lesquereux says that the collection and library of Sullivant in muscology are Magnifique, superb, and the best he ever saw." So, Leo packed up his family and traveled to Columbus, Ohio, and settling near the bryologist, William Starling Sullivant. Bryology is the study of mosses. The root, bryōs, is a Greek verb meaning to swell and is the etymology of the word embryo. Bryology will be easier to remember if you think of the ability of moss to expand as it takes on water. Mosses suited Leo and Sullivant's strengths. They require patience and close observation, scrupulous accuracy, and discrimination. Together, Leo and Sullivant wrote the book on American mosses. Sullivant funded the endeavor, and he generously allowed Leo to share in the proceeds. In 1873, Sullivant contracted pneumonia - ironically, an illness where your lungs fill or swell with fluid - and he died on April 30, 1873. Leo lived for another 16 years before dying at the age of 83. It was Leo Lesquereux who said, "My deafness cut me off from everything that lay outside of science. I have lived with Nature, the rocks, the trees, the flowers. They know me, I know them." #OTD Today is the birthday of one of the leading American botanists of his time and a member of Team Darwin, Asa Gray, who was born on this day in 1810. In 1857, Asa Gray received a confidential letter from Charles Darwin. In the letter, Darwin confided: "I will enclose the briefest abstract of my notions on the means by which nature makes her species....[but] I ask you not to mention my doctrine." Two years later, Darwin revealed his concept of natural selection in his book, "On the Origin of Species." Early adopters of natural selection, like Asa Gray, helped to advance the march of all science. It was Asa Gray who said, "Natural selection is not the wind which propels the vessel, but the rudder which, by friction, now on this side and now on that, shapes the course." During his long tenure at Harvard, Gray established the science of botany and guided American botany into the international arena. He also co-authored 'Flora of North America' with John Torrey. When the botanist Joseph Trimble Rothrock arrived at Harvard, he worked every day in the private herbarium of Asa Gray. And, of Dr. Gray, Rothrock said, "[He] was kindness personified, though a strict disciplinarian and a most merciless critic of a student's work. I owe more to him than to any other man, and I never think of him without veneration." #OTD Today is the birthday of the pop singer Kim Wilde who was born on this day in 1960. After a successful music career, thanks to hits like "Kids in America" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On," Wilde bought a 16th-century barn and began gardening at the age of 30. Her move to the countryside, not only brought her new challenges thanks to the restoration of the barn and property, but the connection with the outdoors - especially working her garden - was a balm to her anxiety. In an article in the independent, Wilde said, "Spending time outdoors, learning about plants and nurturing them, really helped me find balance and gave me a greater sense of confidence and peace. I love the way that plants are always changing and growing, just like us. [Gardening] can help people get back on top of things and restore balance when it feels like life is veering out of control." In 2005, Wilde won a gold medal and an award for Best Courtyard Garden at the Chelsea. Unearthed Words Today is the anniversary of the death of the French writer Marcel Proust (pronounced"proost") who died on this day in 1922 and is remembered with this quote: "Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." And Today is the birthday of the Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, who was born on this day in 1939. She wrote: "Gardening is not a rational act. What matters is the immersion of the hands in the earth, that ancient ceremony of which the Pope kissing the tarmac is merely a pallid vestigial remnant. In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." And, listen to what Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal about Yarrow on this day in 1855: "[The] yarrow is particularly fresh and perfect, cold and chaste, with its pretty little dry-looking rounded white petals and green leaves. Its very color gives it a right to bloom above the snow, —— as level as a snow-crust on the top of the stubble. It looks like a virgin wearing a white ruff." It's time to Grow That Garden Library with Today's Book: Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life by Marta McDowell. The subtitle to the book is The Plants and Places That Inspired the Iconic Poet. I love what Tovah Martin says about this book: "In these pages, you are beside Emily Dickinson's elbow—feeling the dense heat of summer, learning the skills of an ultra-observant plantswoman, finding the poetry in nature." Emily Dickinson was a keen observer of the natural world. Still, less well known is the fact that she was also an avid gardener—sending fresh bouquets to friends, pressing flowers in her letters, and studying botany at Amherst Academy and Mount Holyoke. At her family home, she tended both a small glass conservatory and a flower garden. The author, Marta McDowell, traces a year in her garden, and the book reveals details few know about Dickinson. Marta masterfully weaves together Dickinson's poems, excerpts from letters, contemporary and historical photography, and botanical art. And McDowell gives an enchanting new perspective on one of America's most celebrated but enigmatic literary figures: Emily Dickinson. Marta McDowell lives, gardens, and writes in Chatham, New Jersey. She consults for public gardens and private clients, writes, and lectures on gardening topics. She teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden, where she studied landscape design. Her particular interest is in authors and their gardens, the connection between the pen and the trowel. Today's Garden Chore Repurpose a boot tray and create a substantial pebble tray corral your houseplants and provide humidity. I'm telling you - I saw THE CUTEST galvanized zinc boot tray by Smith & Hawken for just this purpose at Target. When I saw it in the store, it has almost an oil rubbed bronze look. It's quite large - perfect for the top of a buffet or table - it's 15.3 inches by 31 inches. The description says, "The raised edges on this tray keeps water and dirt contained to protect your tables or floors from stains." Anyway, the minute I saw this tray, I fell in love with the size and the durability - no water is going to leak through this baby. Best of all, it is substantial enough for you to group your plants and create a lovely pebble tray for easy watering and to create a care-free water reservoir beneath your plants. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Back in 1843, cranberries were causing a sensation in towns and cities around the country. The New England Farmer shared a charming update on the demand for the seasonal fruit, saying: "Cranberries. This pleasant fruit is now received in large quantities from the West. The crops at the East are said to have been cut off in a great measure by frost, and the market is now supplied by the western railroad and the connecting links westward. No doubt Michigan cranberries will be eaten in the very headquarters of cranberries, Barnstable, Mass. We had no idea, until today, of the quantity sold in this city. One house in Front street, sold within a few days, 250 barrels, received from Michigan, at $6 - $6.50 per barrel, and have had application for more than they can supply. Of the same lot, 300 barrels, went over the western railroad to Boston, and were there sold as soon as received." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate the first grapes that were grown down under and the poet who saved a tree that looks like it came straight out of a fairy tale. We'll learn about the painter who was supposed to paint pineapples but never did and the florist who did the flowers for Queen Elizabeth's coronation. We'll hear some thoughts on autumn from a Swiss philosopher and poet. We Grow That Garden Library with a riveting biography of a floral artist extraordinaire and the founder of the cordon bleu cooking school. I'll talk about how you can repurpose a big bulky item taking up space in your kitchen cupboard, and then we'll wrap things up with the Florida State Flower - think citrus! But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Bob Randall's gardening book explains how to cope with Houston's hotter temperatures. Dr. Bob has a new book for Houston gardeners - and great tips for dealing with warmer temps: 1. Grow your own food — even if it's just a single pot of lettuce on a balcony. Food gardening cuts your carbon footprint. It sharpens your awareness of the natural world. And it's an excellent way to fight depression about global warming. 2. If you're a long-time gardener, accept that the time-honored planting dates you used ten years ago may no longer work for specific crops. If old reliables such as corn or lettuce are now failing year after year, ask yourself: Is it because the average temperature is too high for germination, pollination, or some other crucial stage of plant life? Adjust your planting schedule accordingly. 3. To cope with both flooding and droughts, add a pond or rain garden to your yard. During heavy storms, it will store rainwater. And over time, it will release it into the water table below your yard, keeping deep roots happy for months to come. 4. When doing your long-term planning, remember that Houston's summer is hard both on plants and people. Plan to do as little hard outdoor work in your garden in the hot months as possible. Water with a soaker hose and automated timer. Plant cover crops to recharge the soil and keep out weeds. 5. Plant what grows well here in the warming subtropics — even if it means trying new foods or plants. Citrus trees, blackberries, figs, and persimmons grow exceptionally well here. And even in the dead of August, you can harvest crops such as long beans, tindora perennial cucumbers, and leaf amaranth. Episode 50: Top 50 Plants - FineGardening@FineGardening Zoo-Wee Mama! I LOVE looking through favorite plant lists! Here's a great list from Danielle & Steve with 50 Top Plants in Episode 50 of the Let's Argue About Plants Podcast. Get out your notebooks... Ornamental Fall Berries Provide Year-Round Awe Here are some excellent plant picks from @uie_hort that provide many seasons of interest. Not only do these plants offer beautiful flower displays & pretty foliage, but they also have a remarkable presentation of fruits called drupes: 'Brandywine' possumhaw viburnum (Viburnum nudum), Beautyberry (Callicarpa Americana), and White fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus). Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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.So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD On this day in 1791, Australia's first thriving grapevine was planted. The Australian wine industry began with the arrival of the first fleet into Sydney Cove. In 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip of the First Fleet brought grape cuttings from South America and South Africa. Philip planted a small vineyard at Farm Cove - the site of the present Sydney Botanical Gardens. In the beginning, the settlement in New South Wales experienced great difficulty. Supplies were limited, so cultivating crops for food was the top priority. The soil in and around Sydney was poor, and the convicts lacked horticultural experience. Starvation was a real issue during those early days. Not surprisingly, Philip's vines did not bear, but they were able to be transplanted to a new location - a three-acre vineyard at Parramatta. By this time, Arthur Philip had become the first Governor of New South Wales. Philip's grapes were Crimson Grapes, which require warm, deep, and fertile soil. Fortunately, many regions in Australia are perfect for growing Crimson Grapes like areas in Victoria, New South Wales, and southeastern Queensland. Australian Crimson Grapes are harvested from November to May. #OTD Today is the birthday of the poet, Dodgers baseball fan, and founding member of the Friends of Prospect Park, Marianne Moore, who was born on this day in 1885. Moore was an eccentric intellectual who had a range of interests outside of poetry. In 1967, when she was 80 years old, Moore created a citizen group called the Friends of Prospect Park. Moore formed the group to protect endangered trees in Prospect Park - especially one tree in particular; the Camperdown Elm. Camperdown Elms have a fascinating history that dates back to 1840. That year, on the estate of the First Earl of Camperdown, the estate forester and Landscaper named David Taylor made a discovery. After planting much of the forest on the estate, one day, Taylor noticed a contorted young elm tree growing parallel to the ground. What Taylor was looking at was essentially a weeping mutation of the Scotch Elm. Like other weepers, the tree lacked the gene for negative geotropism, so the tree couldn't distinguish which way was up. Taylor dug up the young elm and brought it to the gardens of Camperdown House. Eventually, Taylor grafted cuttings of the weeping elm to Wych Elms, and the result was a tree that became known as a Camperdown Elm - a weeping cultivar of the Scotch Elm. Victorian gardeners loved Camperdown Elms - with their contortions and branches that grow out from the trunk quite parallel to the ground. In 1872, the New York florist Adolphus Goby Burgess gifted a Camperdown Elm to the Brooklyn Parks Commission. The Burgess family had immigrated from England twenty years earlier in 1852. They were highly regarded in the world of horticulture, and their specialty was dahlias. Adolphus, no doubt, acquired the tree thanks to his English connections. After receiving the tree from Burgess, it was Frederick Law Olmsted, who decided on the location for it. He decided to install it near the boathouse at Prospect Park. Since the graft was relatively low on the rootstock, Olmsted wisely planted the tree on a small hill allowing plenty of room for the weeping branches. By the time the Pulitzer-Winning Poet Marianne Moore fell in love with the Camperdown Elm at Prospect Park, it was in sad shape. Some of the limbs were hollow thanks to rats and carpenter ants. The weak areas of the tree made it vulnerable, and it began to succumb to a bacterial infection as well as general rot. Marianne used her fame and her wit to save the Camperdown Elm. She wrote a poem about the tree which was published in The New Yorker in September 1967. The public read her poem, and the Bartlett Tree Company saved the tree. It still stands today. Before I read the poem, I'll offer a few definitions. Thanatopsis is the name of a poem written by William Cullen Bryant. It's also a Greek word that means meditation on or thinking about death. Byrant's poem is a consolation to us; eventually, we will all die. Thomas Cole and Asher Durand were both landscape painters. One of Asher Durand's most famous paintings is called Kindred Spirits. The picture shows two men standing on a rock ledge and shaded by the branches of an enormous elm tree in the Catskill Mountains. The men depicted were the painter, Thomas Cole, and his dear friend, the poet William Cullen Bryant. A curio is something novel, rare, or bizarre. The Camperdown Elm I think, in connection with this weeping elm, of "Kindred Spirits" at the edge of a rock ledge overlooking a stream: Thanatopsis-invoking tree-loving Bryant conversing with Thomas Cole in Asher Durand's painting of them under the filigree of an elm overhead. No doubt they had seen other trees — lindens, maples and sycamores, oaks and the Paris street-tree, the horse-chestnut; but imagine their rapture, had they come on the Camperdown elm's massiveness and "the intricate pattern of its branches," arching high, curving low, in its mist of fine twigs. The Bartlett tree-cavity specialist saw it and thrust his arm the whole length of the hollowness of its torso, and there were six small cavities also. Props are needed and tree-food. It is still leafing; Still there. Mortal though. We must save it. It is our crowning curio. #OTD Today is the birthday of the country's most loved female painter, Georgia O'Keeffe, who was born on this day in 1887. During her incredible career as a painter, O'Keeffe created over 900 works of art. She is remembered for her iconic paintings of skulls and flowers. In 1938 when O'Keeffe's career was stalling, she was approached by an advertising agency about creating two paintings for the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (now Dole Food Company) to use in their advertising. O'Keefe was 51 years old when she took the nine weeks, all-expense-paid trip. O'Keeffe never did paint a pineapple. And gardeners will be amazed by this fact: Of all the floral paintings that O'Keefe created in Hawaii, exactly NONE were native to the island. Instead, O'Keeffe was drawn to tropicals that hailed from South America: Bougainvillea, Plumeria, Heliconia, Calliandra, and the White Bird of Paradise. It was Georgia O'Keeffe who said all of these quotes: "Nobody sees a flower—really—it is so small it takes time—we haven't time—and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time. I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty. I hate flowers — I paint them because they're cheaper than models and they don't move! The days you work are the best days." #OTD On this day in 1929, Constance Spry - who went by Connie - unveiled her first floral shop window display, and she shocked London by using hedgerow flowers. Connie was a trailblazer. In the 1920s, she began creating flower arrangements for dinner parties. Her work made her an immediate hit with the socialites of her time. Her success led her to go into business, and she opened a flower shop as well as a flower arranging school. Connie designed the flowers for the coronation of H.M The Queen in 1953. During WWII, Connie gave lectures encouraging people to grow their own food. And, I thought you'd get a kick out of this June 20, 1945 article on Connie from the Corsicana Daily Sun out of Texas: "Constance Spry, the English woman who not only arranges and sells flowers but also grows them, carried on all through the blitz. On one occasion a bomb struck her house it trembled the roof sagged, but the building held and Constance went right on working. At the corner of Berkeley Square, the most elegant district of London lives Constance Spry with her flowers. She introduced London to a new kind of flower shop. There is a bridal department, and a department for boutonnieres and corsages; a department for fresh flowers; one for trimming on hats, and on day and evening dresses. In her greenhouse, Constance cultivates some rare and exotic beauties. They are used to decorate the homes and tables of clients, and they are also sent to recreation homes for soldiers, spreading joy to many. Unearthed Words "Walked for half an hour in the garden. A fine rain was falling, and the landscape was that of autumn. The sky was hung with various shades of gray, and mists hovered about the distant mountains - a melancholy nature. The leaves were falling on all sides like the last illusions of youth under the tears of irremediable grief. A brood of chattering birds were chasing each other through the shrubberies, and playing games among the branches, like a knot of hiding schoolboys. Every landscape is, as it were, a state of the soul, and whoever penetrates into both is astonished to find how much likeness there is in each detail." - Henri Frederic Amiel, Swiss philosopher & poet Today's book recommendation: The Surprising Life of Constance Spry by Sue Shephard I love love love the cover of this book! It shows Constance arranging flowers - ever the influential floral artist (and, btw - founder of the Cordon Bleu cooking school!) Let me read from Sue's introduction: "Constance possessed a rare combination of talents: As a writer, innovator, gardener and above all of the florist and above all as a floral artist. She was a gifted lecturer and at different periods in her life headed schools for the richest and for the poorest. At a time when most women's expectations were still limited, she believed in instilling in girls from all backgrounds the confidence and freedom to create beauty. The fact that Connie served high society never meant that she wish to be part of it nor that she was impressed by the breeding and wealth of her clients. She was never a name-dropper.... Her friend the writer and gardener Beverly Nichols once described the art of flower arranging as pre-spry and post-spry. She was brilliant at improvisation and enthusiastic user of new materials such as plastics and sticky tape – And, she invented the use of scrunched up chicken wire well hidden to anchors ring stands and branches that would seem to fly out of her arrangements without the benefit of gravity. Instead of the priceless crystal, silver, porcelain or other heirlooms that she might be invited to use at her client's homes, she preferred baking tins, meat plates or junk finds to put her flowers in. Her genius for creating beauty of the cheapest and simplest materials was legendary." What a story - a riveting biography. You can get a used copy and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $3. Today's Garden Chore Repurpose old punch bowls. Right about now, you might be thinking about going through your cupboards and sideboards as you prepare for the holidays. Seldom-used items like punch bowls end up in the donation pile. But, you can repurpose your punchbowls and use them in your home conservatory - the spot where you keep your houseplants. If you have a larger pot that you're worried about ruining a table, or your hardwood floor or carpet, a punch bowl serving as a drip tray may be the perfect solution. Since most of my pots are terra cotta. I just place the terra cotta pot inside the punch bowl and viola! It certainly is an excellent way to add a little water reserve for your plant. And, if the punchbowl is clear glass, it won't add any visual disturbance to your design aesthetic. Another way to repurpose a punchbowl is to consider using it as an open-top terrarium. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart #OTD On this day in 1909, The orange blossom was designated the state flower of Florida. The poet, William Livingston Larned was so inspired he wrote a poem called Florida's State Flower. And, the last little bit goes like this: "Whenever you see the spotless bud, You know tis Florida the fair. And wafted to you comes the scent Of all the blissful regions there. The rose may have its followers, The violet its standard, too; The fleur-de-lis and lily fair In tints of red and pink and blue; But just a scent, On pleasure bent, Of orange sweet, The nostrils greet, And from our dreams, the castles rise, Of groves and meadows 'neath calm skies." Thanks for listening…
Full show notes at the publisherToday we celebrate the botanist who discovered osmosis and the botanist who helped popularize the poinsettia. We'll learn about the painter who made an indelible garden out of waste marshland and the Edwardian Landscape Architect who designed the Peace Palace gardens at the Hague. We'll celebrate the birthday of the royal gardener who turns 71 today. We'll hear the oft-quoted November poem with the lines "The last lone aster is gone; The flowers of the witch hazel wither;" We Grow That Garden Library with a book that helps gardeners create a garden worthy of painting. I'll talk about seedheads, and then we'll wrap things up with the Spanish grape that is the sixth most widely planted grape in the world. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. How to grow your own wellness garden | @HomesProperty @ChelsPhysicGdn's head of plant collections, Nell Jones, shares her tips for the best "wellbeing" plants to grow at home: Peppermint, Rosemary, Tumeric, Aloe Vera, and Chamomile. All are fantastic options for houseplants with health benefits. How to collect and sow astrantia seeds | Gardener's World | @gwmag Here's an A+ video from @gwmag featuring Carol Klein - who couldn't look sharper with her Suit & Scarf - showing us How to Collect and Sow Astrantia, Hesperis, & Hardy Annuals. She's the Real Deal - right down to the dirt under her fingernails! Ep. 237 - The Fall of the Torreya & What is Being Done to Save It — In Defense of Plants | @indfnsofplnts This IDOP podcast is a good one! Ep. 237: The Torreya taxifolia Asa Gray recalled when Hardy Bryan Croom discovered it along with a little plant that grows beneath it: the Croomia pauciflora. So, in botany, as in life, Croom grew happily in the shadow of Torrey. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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.So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the French physiologist and botanist Henri Dutrochet, who was born on this day in 1776. Dutrochet discovered and named the process of osmosis working in his home laboratory as he was investigating the movement of sap in plant tissues. Dutrochet shared his discovery with the Paris Academy of Sciences on October 30th, 1826. Like the cells in our own bodies, plants don't drink water; they absorb it by osmosis. Dutrochet also figured out the green pigment in plants is essential to how plants take up carbon dioxide. #OTD Today is the birthday of the botanist Robert Buist who was born on this day in 1805. Robert Buist came to America from Edinburgh "Edinburgh," where his dad was a professional gardener. He had trained at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and immigrated to Philadelphia when he was 23 years old. One of his first jobs was working for a wealthy Philadelphia businessman named Henry Pratt, who had a tremendous summer estate named Lemon Hill. At the time, Lemon Hill was regarded as having one of the most beautiful gardens in the United States. Eventually, Buist bought the history Bernard M'Mahon nursery - one of the oldest nurseries in the country and the nursery that supplied plants to Thomas Jefferson. Today, on the spot where the nursery used to be, is a large old Sophora tree - known as the Buist Sophora. The tree was brought to the United States from France, and its origin can be traced to China. In addition to the nursery, Buist grew his company to include a seed division and a greenhouse. In 1825, the Plant Explorer Joel Poinsett sent some specimens of a plant he discovered in Mexico home to Charleston. Buist heard about the plant bought himself one and began growing it. Buist named it Euphorbia poinsettia since the plant had a milky white sap like other Euphorbias. The red bracts of the plant were so unusual and surprising to Buist that he wrote it was "truly the most magnificent of all the tropical plants we have ever seen." Of course, what Buist had been growing is the plant we know today as the poinsettia. Buist gave his friend and fellow Scot the botanist James McNab a poinsettia when he visited in 1834. McNab brought the plant back to Scotland and gave it to the head of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Robert Graham. Graham promptly changed the botanical name of the plant to Poinsettia pulcherrima - a move that greatly disgusted Buist for the rest of his life. And, here's a fun little side note about Robert Buist. His books on gardening were very popular. When Stonewall Jackson discovered gardening in middle age, he relied heavily on Robert Buist's book "The Family Kitchen Gardener: Containing Plain and Accurate Descriptions of All the Different Species and Varieties of Culinary Vegetables, that became Jackson's gardening bible and he wrote little notes in the margins as he worked his way through the guide. Just like most gardeners still do today, he'd write, "Plant this" or "try this" in the margins next to the plants he was interested in trying the following year. #OTD Today is the birthday of Claude Monet who was born on this day in 1840 Gardeners love Stephen Gwynn's 1934 book Claude Monet and his Garden. In 1883 Monet purchased a house in 1883. Monet immediately set about creating a hidden water garden fashioned out of waste marshland. Monet made sure his lily pond was surrounded by trees and plants, incorporating poplars, willows, bamboo, and iris. And, Monet's favorite plant and painting subject were, no doubt, his water lilies. Monet said, "'I am following Nature without being able to grasp her. I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." Monet painted his garden over the span of 40 years. In 1914, Monet began his most impressive work - a series of large panels that offered a 360-degree view of the pond. Monet worked on the panels all through the first World War. It's was Monet who wrote: "When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, a field, or whatever. Merely think here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape." And it was Monet who said this, "My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece." and "I must have flowers, always, and always." #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the most prolific Edwardian Landscape Architect and town planner Thomas Hayton Mawson who died on this day in 1933. When Mawson was a teenager, his dad started a nursery and fruit farm in Yorkshire. Mawson loved the orchard, but his happiness came to an abrupt end when his father died, and his mother was forced to sell the property. But the nursery experience had left an impression on Mawson and his siblings, and at one point, they all pursued work in horticulture. In 1900, Mawson wrote his classic work, The Art and Craft of Garden Making, which was strongly influenced by the arts and crafts era. The book brought Mawson's influence and authority. In short order, his firm Thomas H. Mawson & Sons, became THE firm for Landscape Architecture. Mawson's most famous client was William Hesketh Lever, and Mawson eventually designed many of his properties: Thornton Manor, Lever's Cheshire home, Rivington Pike, and Lever's London home, The Hill, Hampstead. Mawson's most notable public work was commissioned by Andrew Carnegie: the gardens of the Peace Palace in The Hague in 1908. #OTD Today is the birthday of Prince Charles, who was born on this day in 1948. Recently, Prince Charles was asked how he came to love gardening. It turns out, as a little boy, he was given a small hidden plot at Buckingham Palace where he could grow vegetables. Prince Charles and his sister, Princess Anne, had to cultivate their own plan for the garden. Gardening was a passion that Prince Charles shared with his grandmother, who had a beautiful garden at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park. Prince Charles recently recalled, "It was a wonderful woodland garden with masses of azaleas and rhododendrons. The smell and everything had a profound effect on me." To this day, the Prince is a big believer in the therapeutic benefits of gardening. As an adult, Prince Charles was an early practitioner of the organic gardening movement. His Highgrove farm was one of the first farms in England to be certified as fully organic. Today, nearly 40,000 people visit @HighgroveGarden every single year. Garden guides explain how Prince Charles transformed the land adjoining the house into a series of outdoor rooms that embody his gardening ideals and organic principles. In May of this year, Google Arts and Culture made it possible for people to take a virtual tour of the gardens at Highgrove.One of the most notable aspects of the garden is the Stumpery - a treehouse built for William and Harry in a Holly Tree. The virtual tour also included a glimpse of the Cottage Garden, the Sundial Garden, the Thyme Walk, the Sunflower Meadow, the Rose Pergola that commemorated Prince Charles' 50th birthday, as well as a memorial to his beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Tigga. Unearthed Words Out through the fields and the woods And over the walls I have wended; I have climbed the hills of view And looked at the world, and descended; I have come by the highway home, And lo, it is ended. The leaves are all dead on the ground, Save those that the oak is keeping To ravel them one by one And let them go scraping and creeping Out over the crusted snow, When others are sleeping. And the dead leaves lie huddled and still, No longer blown hither and thither; The last lone aster is gone; The flowers of the witch hazel wither; The heart is still aching to seek, But the feet question 'Whither?' Ah, when to the heart of man Was it ever less than a treason To go with the drift of things, To yield with a grace to reason, And bow and accept the end Of a love or a season? –Robert Frost, Reluctance It's time to Grow That Garden Library with Today's Book Recommendation: Monet's Passion by Elizabeth Murray Today's book is such a good one. I need to make sure to tell you that this is the 20th Anniversary revised edition. When Elizabeth's book first came out, it was an instant bestseller and deservedly so! Elizabeth Murray was uniquely qualified to write this book because she is both a professional gardener and an artist. But even better than her qualifications is her heart. When Murray saw Monet's garden Giverny in 1984 - her heart fell in love. Elizabeth worked to restore the garden, and she enjoyed privileges to Monet's garden that allowed her real intimacy with the space and with Monet's spirit. Thanks to Murray, all of us can not only enjoy Monet's gardens on a deeper level, but we can breakdown what he was doing with color and balance and light. There is a fabulous 10-minute TED Talk by Murray that is available on YouTube. I shared it in The Daily Gardener Community on Facebook. You are going to love meeting and learning from Elizabeth in this video. If you want to access it quickly - just search for Murray, and her Ted Talk will pop right up. One thing I learned about Monet from reading Elizabeth's book, is that Monet was nearly blind during the later years. So, he painted his beautiful garden from memory in his studio. Elizabeth says, "I find it deeply moving that we can create what we can imagine and that what we create can renew and transform others." I love that sentiment. As a gardener, you are a creator. Your imagination takes your garden in all sorts of directions - thus, the quote that "Gardeners dream bigger dreams than emperors." So I ask you - what better use of your offseason is there than dreaming and planning and imagining all that you can create in your garden. You can get a used copy and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $8 - which is 75% off the regular price of the book. Today's Garden Chore You've heard it said a million times by now - "Leave the seedheads!" But, I had a gardener ask me recently - which seedheads should I let alone, I have so many. I say leave the seedheads of your herbaceous plants. Here's a list of some that I like to leave standing: Fennel, Echinacea, Verbena, Teasel, Ligularia, Eryngium, Grasses, and Echinacea, And bonus: Sparrows and goldfinches especially enjoy seedheads. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today is International Tempranillo Day. Tempranillo is made with a black grape variety grown to make full-bodied red wines in Spain. It's now the 3rd most widely planted wine grape variety worldwide. Tempranillo is derived from Temprano ("early"), in reference to the fact that the grape ripens several weeks earlier than most Spanish red grapes. Fans of Tempranillo are often surprised to learn there is a white mutant version of the grape - although it is rare. the white tempranillo grape is an approved wine grape and has a citrus flavor. Tempranillo wines tend to have spicey notes, so they are best paired with meat - like chicken, lamb, or pork. Tempranillo's notes include strawberries, black currants, cherries, prunes, chocolate, and tobacco. Tempranillo has found a home in Texas, and it has grown to be the state's signature grape. And, Tempranillo is arguably the signature red wine of Texas. So, cheers to International Tempranillo Day! Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate the writer who dedicated his book called A Child's Garden of Verses to his childhood nurse and the German botanist who lost all of his work in the Columbia River. We'll learn about the big chrysanthemum show of 1916 in our Nation's capital and the botanist who was one with Agaves. We'll hear some November poetry. We Grow That Garden Library with a book now in its 3rd edition from the man who loved to say "Happy Gardening, friends." I'll talk about setting up a regular spa day for your Houseplants, and then we'll wrap things up with a little something Jane Powers wrote back in 2010 that I think was just so incredibly cool and memorable. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Coleus Cuttings | @WDCGardener I can't think of anyone I'd rather learn to take Coleus Cuttings from than @WDCGardener and her cat Santino - who is THE master when it comes to supervising cuttings. btw Santino means "little saint" Aw.... Recommended Air Plants | HEIRLOOM GARDENER Know Thy Air Plants - Here's a nice little post from Heirloom Gardener to help you Tell Your Air Plants Apart. My favorite? Tillandsia xerographica - "Queen of Tillandsias." I recently saw one in a wedding bouquet. Long Live the Queen! Make a Christmas seedhead wreath| @GardensIllustrated I. Cannot. Stand. How. Adorable. This. IS! Just when I thought I was out of the garden... you pull me back in! @GardensIllustrated came up with this adorable project - Make a Christmas seedhead wreath. I love this idea for the She Shed at the cabin. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of Scottish-born writer and poet Robert Louis Stevenson, who was born on this day in 1850. Stevenson sickly little boy with no brothers or sisters. When he was just a toddler, a woman named Alison Cunningham was brought into the Stevenson home to help care for Robert. When Stevenson wrote a collection of poems called "A Child's Garden of Verses," he dedicated the book to Alison. Gardeners will be surprised to learn that Herbert Jekyll and Robert Louis Stevenson were friends. Herbert was the brother of the British horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll. Jekyll's last name was used in Stevenson's most famous work Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but of course, the popular pronunciation of the Jekyll name became Jekyll thanks to the book. It was Robert Louis Stevenson who said, "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant" And, here's an excerpt from Stevenson's The Gardener 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. Silly gardener! summer goes, And winter comes with pinching toes, When in the garden bare and brown You must lay your barrow down. #OTD Today is the 76th anniversary of the day that the German botanist, Frederick Lueders, lost all of his botanical work. On November 13, 1843, Lueders was botanizing along the Columbia River in Oregon. He'd been collecting specimens for three years. He had just encountered the explorer John Freemont, when all of his work, which was secured in a canoe nearby, was drawn into the rapids. Lueders plunged into the river and managed to retrieve only a copy of the Flora by Torrey and Gray. The devastating loss was recorded in Freemont's journal who wrote: "In the natural concern I felt for his misfortune, I gave to the little cove the name of Lueders' Bay." For Lueder's part, the loss of his specimens was devastating. However, the loss of his instruments and his correspondence with Asa Gray and Dr. Englemann was almost too great. Lueders determined his best course of action was to return home. He traveled south around the tip of Chile and then onto England. It took him a year to return to Hamburg a year after his mishap on the Columbia. Lueders didn't stay in Germany long. In fact, he returned to America within the next year. By 1851, he had made his way to Wisconsin; he spent the rest of his life in Sauk City, and he dabbled in astronomy. A biographical sketch said that in his old age, Lueders was mainly devoted to his flowers. #OTD On this day in 1916, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette shared a sweet little article about the 16th annual chrysanthemum flower show that had just been held in Washington DC. It began this way: "If you ever get the idea that people aren't interested in flowers, just give a flower show." said one of the guards at the government chrysanthemum show last week. All morning he had been repeating "Keep to the right!" to the mass of visitors streaming into the greenhouse. There had been a couple of disastrous jams that injured some valuable specimens, and he was quite bitter about it. "Sometimes people take entirely too much interest in flowers. If you don't watch them they break them off and take them home as souvenirs," he said. One of the most noticeable features of this annual chrysanthemum show of the Department of Agriculture and of similar shows held in large cities throughout the country is the growing interest in chrysanthemum culture. "Where can I buy seeds of such varieties as this?" is the question everybody asks, pointing to a big white "Queen Mary" or to a small lavender pompon. At the show this year over 250 varieties of chrysanthemums were exhibited... The whole greenhouse was a riot of color, with yellow and lavender predominating. Interest in chrysanthemums is increasing every year. National shows have been held every season for the last 16 years, but there has never been such large attendance before." #OTD On this day in 1982, the newspaper shared a great story about the author of "Agaves of Continental North America," Howard Scott Gentry. "This elder statesman of the botanical world [is] a first-class charmer when you get .... to his subject;... his love for the wilds of Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico; [and] about the years he spent overseas as an agricultural explorer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and about how he gradually came to know more about agaves "than any other human being." "I don't like to start things and not finish them," Gentry said concerning the hectic pace of his agave research after his retirement from the USDA in 1971. Several times a year he would plunge into the rugged interior of Mexico perched atop a mule, just as he'd been during his first collecting trips nearly half a century earlier. [Gentry graduated college with a degree in] vertebrate biology from the University of California at Berkeley [and he] concocted the notion of becoming a freelance biologist. To pay for his first field trip into Mexico, he sent 300 letters around the country to scientific institutions, to naturalists, to anybody he could think of, soliciting collection orders. "I came up with $3,000 worth of orders. For anything and everything, for an embryo of a white-tailed deer, which I did collect, for birds' eggs, for ticks, for plant specimens. I really got fascinated with that southern Sonoran and Chihuahuan country. Gentry tackled it... producing the book "Rio Mayo Plants." "After that book came out, I became somewhat known as a botanist, which I wasn't. I was a zoologist doing exceptionally well writing as a botanist." Gentry completed a doctorate in botany at the University of Michigan, where the well-known botanist Harvey Harris Bartlet taught. In 1950, Gentry became an agricultural explorer for the USDA. Based in Maryland, he traveled the world locating, researching and collecting plants for the government. [Gentry was involved in a] spurt of postwar agave work when it was discovered that plants in the agave family and plants in the wild yam family contained compounds that seemed effective in treating arthritis. Because of his far-flung collecting (he traveled in 24 foreign countries), Gentry was constantly introducing new plants to the United States and writing about their possible uses. It was high-profile work in the botanical community. "I refused several times to become a desk man for USDA," Gentry said. "It was a chance to cut out all the travel, but I told them, 'No, not me. I want to work with plants, not people. People are problems." Unearthed Words "When the bold branches Bid farewell to rainbow leaves - Welcome wool sweaters." - B. Cybrill "The wild November come at last Beneath a veil of rain; The night wind blows its folds aside - Her face is full of pain. The latest of her race, she takes The Autumn's vacant throne: She has but one short moon to live, And she must live alone. A barren realm of withered fields, Bleak woods, and falling leaves, The palest morns that ever dawned; The dreariest of eves. It is no wonder that she comes, Poor month! With tears of pain; For what can one so hopeless do But weep, and weep again? - Richard Henry Stoddard, poet, November Today's book recommendation: Square Foot Gardening Third Edition by Mel Bartholomew In All-New Square Food Gardening, 3rd Edition, the best-selling gardening book in North America is re-launched and updated for the next generation of gardeners and beyond. Since Square Foot Gardening was first introduced in 1981, the revolutionary new way to garden developed by Mel Bartholomew has helped millions of home gardeners grow more fresh produce in less space and with less work. Now, based mostly on the input and experience of these millions, the system has been even further refined and improved to fully meet today's changing resources, needs, and challenges. With over 150 new photos and illustrations, this new edition makes it easier than ever to achieve nearly-foolproof results in virtually any situation: 100% of the produce; 20% of the water; 5% of the work. Perfect for experienced Square-Foot-Gardeners or beginners, the original method created by Mel has not changed in any significant way with this new 3rd edition of All New Square Foot Gardening. It remains: build a box; fill it with Mel's Mix; add a grid. But along with the classic steps, you will find some exciting and compelling new information, such as:
Today's Garden Chore Set up a Houseplant Spa Day on your calendar every two weeks. During the winter, you can reduce the time between waterings as the days get shorter. A few weeks ago, I mentioned using a bar cart for staging your houseplants, and that sure comes in handy when it's time to wheel them all to the kitchen sink. Even a large tray can be of service if you prefer to shlep your plants over to the sink for a spray down instead of merely watering them with a watering can. Double potting, placing a smaller pot inside a larger pot, and insulating the plant with a double blanket of soil can help provide extra support to your plants in between waterings. Additionally, there is not much need to fertilize indoor houseplants until spring. So put the fertilizer down and concentrate on regular maintenance at the kitchen sink. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart It was on this day in 2010 that Jane Powers wrote an excellent article for the Irish Times. What I especially loved about this article was Jane's correlation between the number of bedding plants a person ordered during the middle of the 19th century and their corresponding personal wealth. Here's what she wrote: In the heyday of bedding, the amount of plants that a person displayed was a gauge of their wealth and status. According to the head gardener at the Rothschild estate at Halton in Buckinghamshire, it was 10,000 plants for a squire, 20,000 for a baronet, 30,000 for an earl, and 40,000 for a duke. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate the French admiral and explorer who had a female botanist posing as a male valet on his voyage. We'll learn about the botanist who is remembered by the State Flower of California and the Landscape Architect who restored the entire Landscape of Colonial Williamsburg. We'll learn about the Spanish rose breeder who is remembered for cultivating the white Nevada rose, We'll hear some prose about November from three of the country's top naturalists. We Grow That Garden Library with a fabulous old book about growing your own herbal tea garden, I'll talk about potting up some Paperwhites and Amaryllis and then we'll wrap things up with the codebreaker who also cracked the code on preserving England's garden history. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Cancer, Libra, Virgo: THESE Zodiac Signs love nature and find gardening therapeutic | @Pinkvilla Finally, a horoscope I find myself wholeheartedly agree with - Cancer, Libra, Virgo: THESE Zodiac Signs love nature and find gardening therapeutic. That said, to borrow a phrase from Ratatouille, "Everyone can garden." Someone keeps stealing my compost, and I have no idea why they want my rotting food | @billy_penn @amandahoovernj Good Lord. As Compost Services are introduced in new areas of the country, thieves need to understand the contents are only golden if you're a plant. This is Australia's most popular indoor plant. | @bhgaus @Bhg A delicious choice, mate! The Monstera deliciosa appears in most Australian homes. The mesmerizing sculptures you can see at The Savill Garden | @SurreySculptors @surreylive Yes, to all of them! The Savill Garden is hosting the @SurreySculptors 25th Anniversary Exhibition. Take a load off and scroll through the 60 pieces of Art in the Garden! Thank you to all the Artists, Excellent Post @surreylive Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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. So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the French admiral and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville, who died on this day in 1729. On Bougainville's expedition, a woman named Jeanne Baret joined the crew after posing as a valet to the expedition's naturalist: Philibert Commerçon. Commerçon had terrible health, and he likely needed Baret to help him. Baret herself was actually a botanist in her own right. When the ship stopped in Rio de Janeiro, it was Baret who ventured out into the tropics and returned with the lovely tropical vine that would be named to honor the expedition's commander: Bougainvillea. #OTD Today is the birthday of Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, who was born on this day in 1793. When the German poet Adelbert van Chamiso ended up in the San Francisco Bay area, and he wrote about the California poppy, which he named Eschscholzia California after his friend Johann Friedrich Von Eschscholz. In return, Eschscholz named a bunch of plants after Chamisso - a little quid pro quo. In 1903, the botanist Sarah Plummer Lemmon put forth a successful piece of legislation that nominated the golden poppy (Eschscholzia californica) as the state flower of California. #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Landscape Architect Arthur Shurcliff who died on this day in 1957. Shurcliff's path to Landscape Architecture was not clear cut. His dad had been a successful businessman, and Arthur was supposed to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a Mechanical Engineer. But after receiving his degree from MIT, the field of Landscape Architecture was making waves thanks to the Olmsteds, Charles Eliot, and the Chicago World's Fair. Since no formal degree programs existed at the time, Shurcliff cobbled together his own curriculum at the Lawrence School of Science at Harvard. All his life, Shurcliff loved being outside. He enjoyed camping and canoeing. He loved scenery and sketching the landscape. Looking back on his decision to pursue Landscape Architecture, Shurcliff remembered, "All led me away from mechanics toward scenery, toward planning and construction for the scenes of daily life..." In 1904, Shurcliff opened his own firm. Shurcliff designed recreational spaces in and around Boston like the Rose Garden, the Washington Garden at old North, and the park Back Bay Fens. But, Shurcliff will forever be remembered for the work he did at Colonial Williamsburg. It was the first time an entire American community was to be restored. John D. Rockefeller financed the project. Shurcliff had over 30 years of experience behind him when he officially started the project on St. Patrick's Day of that year. He didn't just bring his Landscape Architecture skills; he brought everything he had; his training in engineering, his meticulousness, and his ability to get things done through his personal clarity, energy, and charm. The project would use every bit of knowledge, skills, and expertise that Shurcliff had acquired. It wasn't just the buildings that needed restoration; it was the land, the paths and streets, the gardens, and green spaces. It required tremendous research to restore it all. Shurcliff insisted that wherever possible, original items and authenticity was paramount. For example, Shurcliff's team actually went looking for "fence-post holes to ascertain the outlines of a "typical" backyard" - this was a true restoration in every sense of the word.
It took Arthur Shurcliff 13 years to finish the project. But, once it was done, Shurcliff had redefined Williamsburg; helping it to lay claim to it's past and ensuring that Colonial Revival garden design found legitimacy in 20th Century Landscape Architecture. #OTD On this day in 1972 that The Greenville News shared an article called Orchidist Finds Hobby Versatile. The orchidologist was Gilbert L. Campbell. At the time the article was published, Campbell had been collecting orchids for six years, and he had amassed a collection of more than 300 plants in addition to a library of orchid reference materials. Campbell recalled, "My first orchid was a gift,' and it led him to visit a commercial orchidologist in Newberry for more information. Orchid lovers grow orchids all year long, and his passion led him to add greenhouses to help with his hobby. Campbell said, "Some orchidologists do grow their flowers in their homes... but he advises against it. 'Growing an orchid is like being a fisherman,' he says. 'Some fishermen may be content to sit on the bank and fish, but most want to get out in a boat on the lake. It's a lot easier to grow orchids in a greenhouse.' He cites temperature and humidity control as one major benefit of growing the tropic blooms "under glass." As for why Campbell had two greenhouses, his answer was simple. "He has the two, he says, because he needs a "cool" house for his cymbidium orchids and a "medium" house for his cattleyas. In "orchidese" this means a temperature difference of 5- 10 degrees. A "medium" house, he says, has a minimum temperature of 55 to 60 degrees, and a "cool" house, a minimum of 45-50 degrees. Campbell also advocates fresh air for the plants, which he moves outside in summer and on balmy days throughout the winter. "Orchids, like people, do best in a spring-like fresh-feeling atmosphere," The two things which cause growers the most difficulty, he believes, are proper watering of plants and placement for best performance." When a plant ceases to function properly, it is vulnerable to insects and disease," he notes, adding that his constant problem, snails, crops up periodically. To help combat problems, he makes these recommendations: For the beginner, start with a few mature plants. Orchids like dry roots, so they should be watered thoroughly, then allowed to dry out." #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Spanish rose breeder Pedro Dot who died on this day in 1976. As a young boy, Pedro learned about plants from his father, who was a highly regarded gardener and plant breeder. The estate where his father worked, grew roses and the Marquise of the estate funded Pedro's early work in hybridizing. Dot is remembered for his white rose, which came out in 1927. It was called Nevada and is named for its color. Nevada is the Spanish word for "snowy." The British rosarian, Peter Beales, called 'Nevada' one of the best-known semi-double shrub roses. The American horticulturist and professor, Dr. Griffith Buck, taught horticulture at Iowa State University, and he created over 80 cultivars of rose. When Buck wanted to name one of his roses after Pedro Dot, he reached out to his son. He wrote: "I wanted to name a rose after Pedro Dot, a famous Spanish rose breeder who supported me in my breeding. I wrote to Pedro's son, telling him that I would like to name this rose for his father. I told him I knew his father was very proud of being a Spaniard who was also proud of being a Catalonian. His son replied, "If you are going to name it for my father, why don't you name it in Catalonian and call it 'El Catala.'" " which I did." #OTD On this day in 1972, the Greenville News shared that the American Rose Society had chosen Pat Nixon to be their patroness. "Mrs. Richard M. Nixon recently accepted an invitation to become the first patroness of the American Rose Society on the invitation of Dr. Eldon W. Lyle, president of the group. She was presented with a brass gilded vase of 24 porcelain roses to commemorate the occasion. The Garden Party roses were created by Mrs. Oscar Tilleaux." Unearthed Words "Two sounds of autumn are unmistakable, the hurrying rustle of crisp leaves blown along the street or road by a gusty wind, and the gabble of a flock of migrating geese. Both are warnings of chill days ahead, fireside, and topcoat weather." - Hal Borland, Naturalist "The wind that makes music in November corn is in a hurry. The stalks hum, the loose husks whisk skyward in half-playing swirls, and the wind hurries on... A tree tries to argue, bare limbs waving, but there is no detaining the wind." - Aldo Leopold, Ecologist "It is autumn; not without But within me is the cold. Youth and spring are all about; It is I that have grown old." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Autumn Within It's time to Grow That Garden Library with today's book: Herbal Tea Gardens by Marietta Marshall Marcin Create your own herbal tea garden! This inspiring guide covers everything you need to know to grow herbs and use them in homemade tea blends successfully. Providing plans for 22 themed tea gardens, Marietta Marshall Marcin offers expert tips for growing and harvesting a variety of common herbs. Clear directions for more than 100 recipes include Flu Brew, Double Green Digestive, and Women's Energizing Tonic. Before you know it, you'll be creating enticing herbal teas to suit every occasion. At the beginning of the book, Marcin shares the Chinese legend of the tea plant. The White Buddha known as Ta' Mo would sit in his garden near the place and meditate through all the seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The White Buddha would meditate unblinking and unsleeping. Finally, after many years, His attention wavered, his chin dropped, and his eyes closed in sleep. When the White Buddha awakened - Perhaps a day or year later - he was so angry with himself for neglecting his meditation that he took out a knife's life, sliced off both his eyelids and threw them on the ground. The Saint's eyelids took root in the fertile soil and grew into a tea bush, the symbol for wakefulness. I love to find books like this for you - oldie but goodies that are so affordable on the used book market. You can get a used copy and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $2. Today's Garden Chore Now is the perfect time to pot up some Paperwhite or Amaryllis bulbs for forcing this winter. Paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus) and Amaryllis (Hippeastrumspp.), make great gifts and to your holiday décor. One of my favorite Christmas mantles over the fireplace featured a row of these large silver goblets that I used to pot up Paperwhites. Along the feet of the goblets, I strung Christmas lights, and on top of the mantle, I had laid a sheet of moss. It was such a gardener's holiday mantle. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of Mavis Batey, who died at the age of 92 on this day in 2013. Mavis Batey is remembered for her work with the Enigma research team. Mavis broke the German Enigma code, which allowed the Allied forces to stage their D-Day invasion. In 1955, Mavis and her husband settled on a farm in Surrey. It was here that Mavis began learning about Landscape history. After Surrey, the Bateys moved to Oxford and lived on a park designed by Capability Brown. The park was also home to a garden designed by William Mason in 1775. Mavis recalled: "We lived in the agent's house, right in the middle of a Capability Brown park, but it was William Mason's garden that really got me. We had to cut our way into it. It was all overgrown and garden ornaments were buried in the grass, but I knew at once it wasn't just an ordinary derelict garden: someone had tried to say something there, I knew at once it wasn't just an ordinary derelict garden: someone had tried to say something there." It wouldn't be the last garden Mavis Batey saved. In 1986 Mavis was honored with the Veitch Memorial Medal for her work, preserving gardens that would otherwise have been lost to time. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today we celebrate the botanist who bred more than 40 types of pears - including our most popular varieties. We'll learn about the cultural meanings associated with the chrysanthemum and the Swedish botanist who posed as a Dutchman to botanize in Japan. We'll hear some thoughts on November from one of my favorite garden writers And, we Grow That Garden Library with one of the best books on Gardening for Butterflies I'll talk about straightening your ornamental trees, and then we'll wrap things up with the story of the woman who loved blueberries so much she shared them with the world. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Gardens, Paradise, & Kashmir| Searchkashmir.org | @SearchKashmir It's no surprise that the word 'paradise' was first used to describe a garden. This Farsi poem about Kashmir by Amir Khusrau does the same: If ever there is Paradise on Earth, It is here! It is here! It is here! How to grow orchids by Alys Fowler| @guardian @guardianweekend This is an excellent post about orchids, and I always love to hear how people approach caring for their orchids. Alys says: "An east-facing window... plus consistent watering (every week in the growing season, every other during winter) & Lou's Poo, dried alpaca poo." Every gardener reading this now will search online for Lou's Poo... but just a heads up - they don't deliver to the US. Vermont Garden Journal: Some New Ideas For Perennial Garden Care| @charlienardozzi @vprnet I couldn't agree more! Love this post from @charlienardozzi @vprnet The first thing I tell my student gardeners is that plant material doesn't leave the property. The second thing I teach them is Chop & Drop. https://buff.ly/32aL8TI Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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.So there's no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of Jean-Baptiste Van Mons, who was born on this day in 1765. The name of the game for Van Mons was selective breeding for pears. Selective breeding happens when humans breed plants to develop particular characteristics by choosing the parent plants to make the offspring. Check out the patience and endurance that was required as Van Mon's described his work: "I have found this art to consist in regenerating in a direct line of descent, and as rapidly as possible an improving variety, taking care that there be no interval between the generations. To sow, to re-sow, to sow again, to sow perpetually, in short, to do nothing but sow, is the practice to be pursued, and which cannot be departed from; and in short, this is the whole secret of the art I have employed." Jean-Baptiste Van Mons produced a tremendous amount of new pear cultivars in his breeding program - something north of forty incredible species throughout his lifetime. The Bosc and D'Anjou pears, we know today, are his legacy. #OTD On this day in 1790, Chrysanthemums are introduced to England from China. Chrysanthemums are the November birth flower and the 13th wedding anniversary flower. The greens and blossoms of the chrysanthemum are edible, and they are particularly popular in Japan, China, and Vietnam. Generally, chrysanthemums symbolize optimism and joy - but they have some unique cultural meanings around the world. Back in the Victorian language of flowers, the red chrysanthemum meant "I Love," and the yellow chrysanthemum symbolized slighted love. In China, the chrysanthemum is a symbol of autumn and the flower of the ninth moon. During the Han dynasty, the Chinese drank chrysanthemum wine - they believed it made their lives longer and made them healthier. As a result, the chrysanthemum was often worn to funerals. On Mother's Day down under, Australians traditionally wear a white chrysanthemum to honor their moms, and Chrysanthemums are common Mother's Day presents. In Poland, chrysanthemums are the flower of choice to be placed on graves for All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Finally, in 1966, Mayor Richard Daley declared the chrysanthemum as the official flower of the city of Chicago. #OTD On this day in 1799, the Leonids meteor shower was seen from Europe and South America. The famous German explorer and botanist Alexander Humboldt had just arrived in South America to begin his great five-year exploration, and he wrote this in his journal from Chile as he saw the Leonids: The night between November 11 and 12 was calm and beautiful... During 4 hours, we observed thousands of huge fireballs, often with a brightness like Jupiter. Long smoke trails were left behind, lasting 7-8 seconds, often the meteors exploded, leaving trails too. It wasn't just Humboldt who witnessed this event. Andrew Ellicott Douglass, an early American astronomer who was born in Vermont, observed the Leonids from a ship off the Florida Keys. Douglass, who later became an assistant to the famous astronomer Percival Lowell, wrote the first- known record of a meteor shower in North America in his journal, saying that the, "whole heaven appeared as if illuminated with skyrockets, flying in an infinity of directions, and I was in constant expectation of some of them falling on the vessel. They continued until put out by the light of the sun after daybreak." #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the father of South African botany, the botanist Carl Peter Thunberg, who died on this day in 1828. As fellow Swedes, Carl Linnaeus had taught Thunberg, and Linnaeus encouraged him to continue his work by visiting other parts of Europe. Eventually, Thunberg joined the Dutch East India Company, and he botanized in South Africa for three years. After South Africa, he set his sights on Japan. But, before he went, Thunberg needed to become Dutch. Averse to the influence of Christianity, the Japanese had closed their country off to all European nations except for Holland - because they valued the medicinal plant knowledge of the Dutch botanists. So, when Thunberg went to Japan, he hid his Swedish heritage and posed as a Dutchman. In fact, during the 18th century, Thunberg was Japan's only European visitor, and his Flora Japonica published in 1784 was a revelation to botanists around the world. During his time in Japan, Thunberg discovered the Easter Lily growing near the city of Nagasaki. He also found Forsythia in Japan, and he named it to honor William Forsyth. And, during his entire time in Japan, Thunberg was confined to a small artificial island in Nagasaki harbor. So how did he manage to learn so much about the country's flora? Ever the clever end-rounder, Thunberg came up with a unique strategy to obtain botanical samples. Thunberg knew that goats are picky plant-eaters. So, while staying on the island, Thunberg asked to have some goats. Then, he asked his Japanese assistants to collect plants to feed the goats. It was through the guise of feeding the goats that Thunberg was able to collect all kinds of plant specimens. The most impressive examples were a total of five different species of hydrangea that were previously unknown to the West. These hydrangeas included the lace caps – they're the ones that produce the beautiful UFO ring of blooms around the flowerhead of small florets - Japan was very private about them. Can you imagine his excitement? The entire time Thunberg was away, which amounted to an incredible nine-year journey - from his native Sweden to South Africa and then Japan - Thunberg sent plants and letters to his old teacher and friend, Linnaeus, who wrote that he had never received, "more delight and comfort from any other botanist [than Thunberg]." Unearthed Words "Most people, early in November, take last looks at their gardens, are then prepared to ignore them until the spring. I am quite sure that a garden doesn't like to be ignored like this. It doesn't like to be covered in dust sheets, as though it were an old room which you had shut up during the winter. Especially since a garden knows how gay and delightful it can be, even in the very frozen heart of the winter, if you only give it a chance." - Beverley Nichols, garden author It's time to Grow That Garden Library with today's book recommendation: Gardening for Butterflies by The Xerces Society The subtitle for this book is How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects. In this 2016 book, gardeners get practical and expert advice from the Xerxes Society on all things butterflies. You will learn why butterflies matter, why they are in danger, and what simple steps we can take to make a difference. Gardeners will appreciate learning about the best blooms for attracting the garden's prettiest winged visitors, like Penstemon, Pearly Everlasting, and Golden Alexanders. There are sections on designing a butterfly garden, creating shelter, observing and conserving, even tagging butterflies to help track migration. Gardening for Butterflies provides home gardeners with everything they need to create a beautiful, beneficial, butterfly-loving gardens. Today's Garden Chore It's the perfect time to stake your ornamental trees. While you are outside wrapping your boxwoods, arborvitaes, and shrubs in burlap, take the time to stake your trees - especially your smaller ornamentals like lilacs and hydrangea. It's something you can do now that can actually mean one less thing to do in the spring. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today is the anniversary of the death of the Queen of Blueberries, Elizabeth Coleman White, who died on this day in 1954. When Elizabeth was a little girl, growing up on her dad's Cranberry Farm in the Pine Barrens of Burlington County, New Jersey, she would take walks and gather blueberries - wild blueberries. There wasn't any other way to procure them. Over time, Elizabeth began to wonder about creating a blueberry crop - something that would fit in nicely with the cranberry harvest, which happened at the end of the season. Cranberries grow in highly acidic soil, which is also perfect for growing blueberries. Elizabeth began by having the local blueberry pickers keep their eyes out for the plants with the biggest berries, and then she would have them transplanted to her father's field. She wrote: "I used to call them swamp huckleberries and thought an occasional one - half an inch in diameter - huge. They always grew luxuriantly about the margins of our cranberry bogs, and as a girl, I used to hunt the largest and best-flavored berries and dream of a field full of bushes as good. I knew it was a wild dream." As fate would have it, in 1910, the chief botanist at the USDA, Frederick Colville, was also working on blueberries at his summer home in New Hampshire. When Elizabeth read about his efforts, she reached out, and the two worked out a deal where Elizabeth would use her land and labor. Colville would supply his technical expertise, especially when it came to propagation. Together, they crossbred the largest New Jersey blueberries with the largest New Hampshire blueberries, and the rest, as they say, is history. "Enough of the puzzle has been fitted together to show that my old dream was but a faint shadowing of the possibilities. Now I dream of cultivated blueberries shipped by the trainload, - blueberry specials - to every part of the country. She continued: The little berries of today's dreams are half an inch in diameter. And the big ones? - Well, it is hard to measure a dream accurately, but they are at least an inch across. And raising all these blueberries will give healthful remuneration and employment to lots of people. But you can dream for yourself - [but] only if you are to share my confidence that this dream is not wild. Some day it will come true." It took Elizabeth five years to develop the first blueberry crop. The wastelands around the pines districts in New Jersey where Elizabeth grew her blueberries increased in value from 50 cents an acre to $500 an acre after the blueberry was cultivated. That first harvest yielded 21 bushels of berries, and it sold for $114. By 1947, more than 8,000 bushels were harvested. In 2016, a total of 690 million pounds of cultivated wild blueberries were harvested in the United States, and annual revenue was s around $80 million. In addition to cultivating the first blueberry in 1916, Elizabeth was the first person to use cellophane to protect and market blueberries. The Whitman chocolate company inspired her because that was how they packaged their chocolates. Whitman's also partnered with Elizabeth; they helped her source the cellophane from France so that people all around the country could see her blueberries - right through the packaging. And there's one more footnote to the Elizabeth Coleman White story. She was a champion of native plants. She fought to save the American holly, and in 1947, Elizabeth helped found the Holly Society of America. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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