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
How do you start adding living mulch to your garden? One of the simplest ways, is just to look for the spots in your garden that are bare. Look for the open areas and start there. Look under your shrubs. Look along the edges of your beds. Instead of adding another layer of mulch, add plants. Think about planting these living mulches in terms of planting families. In other words, planting en masse. This is what the naturalists and ecologists do naturally; They think about plants in terms of population. New gardeners tend to think of A PLANT and not A PLANTING; so think bigger. Think community. Think about the way you see plants occurring naturally. Even the weeds tend to show up with their brothers and sisters. If one finds purchase, they send out an Evite. The next thing you know, there's a family reunion of Canadian Thistle or Creeping Charlie and you get to be the host. With this in mind, it's right about this time of year, that I remind myself how much I like the giant allium. And, how I fervently wish I would've planted that allium as a member of a very, very, very large extended family; the Everybody Loves Raymond kind of family, because one can never have enough allium. Brevities #OTD Today is St. Bernard Tolomeo's Day, the Patron Saint of Olive Growers. Saint Bernard was from Tuscany and he was born there in 1272. He was going to be a lawyer, but then he pursued the church after he recovered his eyesight after an illness. He'd made a deal with God. He chose the name Bernard after the habit of Clairvaux - we mentioned him yesterday - he is the patron saint of bees and beekeepers. Bernard became the patron Saint of Olives because t he Abbey where Tolomeo lived, St Mary of Olivet, was the site of an olive plantation. The location became known as Mount Olivet. Here are some here are a few quick fun facts about Olives: Olives are a fruit and not a vegetable. The first olive harvest occurs after 15 years of growing. The next time you're feeling impatient, remember the olive. Olive trees are some of the oldest live plants on earth. They're considered evergreens. One of the oldest all of trees is on the island of Crete is an Olive and it's estimated to be about 4,000 years old and it is still producing fruit. Finally, the color of the fruit is completely dependent on the maturity – unripe fruit is green and the ripe is dark purple to black (like tomatoes and peppers). #OTD It was on this day that the botanist George Taylor died in 1891. Taylor had immigrated from Scotland at the age of 53. He brought his family to the United States and they settled in Kalamazoo Michigan in 1855. Taylor's brothers were already there, so it was an easy decision. Once he got settled, George became known as "Celery" after he started growing celery commercially. Kalamazoo had what was called "muckland" which was "valueless for anything other than growing to celery." Once, when a botanist visited the area, he said that the land was black muckland of a peaty nature which is best for celery. In Kalamazoo, there is a little plaque dedicated to George Celery Taylor. Thanks to Taylor, Kalamazoo became known as the Celery City or Celeryville In 1880, the Detroit Free Press shared an article that talked about the celery beds that were growing. It said this: "Driving north from Kalamazoo, through the country, one passes great 100-acre farms devoted to the sweet-scented celery, reminding one of that Methodist hymn: 'Sweet fields beyond stand dressed in living green.' One would never forget a drive through the celery gardens in any direction from Kalamazoo; the long rows keeping their bright green till November, as crop follows crop; and the fields being unmarred by fences or anything except the cozy cottages of the thrifty Hollanders." And there was a fun little article that was posted in The Herald Press out of St Joseph Michigan in 1956. It talked about the early days of celery growing and it had an adorable story about George Celery Taylor: "In the fall of 1856, there was a big party that was going to be held at the Burdock House Hotel on December 19. It was going to be a big gathering with lots of people from all over and Mr. Taylor thought it would be a good opportunity to advertise celery. As the unknown vegetable, [Taylor] persuaded the owner of the hotel to put celery on his menu and the people were curious about it. They asked, "how do you eat this?" "Is it grown from seed?" It just grew in popularity from there."
In the 1870s, the celery growers would have children sell it on the street which created a demand for celery. They also met all of the trains that that came into town. They would give it to the conductors on the New York trains and asked them to take a bunch. The next thing you know, the market for celery was off to the races. #OTD It was on this day that the botanist and German poet Adelbert van Chamiso died. When he was 30, Chamiso ended up in Switzerland where he decided to devote himself to botanical research. In 1815, he was appointed the botanist for a Russian expedition. He collected on the Cape of Good Hope. He ended up in the San Francisco Bay area and he wrote about the California poppy which he named Eschscholzia californica after his friend Johanns Friedrich Von Eschscholz. In return, Eschscholz named a bunch of plants after him - a little quid pro quo. #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of Dorothy Adlington Cadberry who died on this day in 1987. As a botanist, Dorothy was an expert on pond weeds. Dorothy was also a quaker and she was devout her entire life through. In 1937, she joined the Wildflower Society and every year she would write down records; taking notes on the landscape her. Then, she'd send them to the society as soon as the first signs of life happened in her garden and in the world around her. Sometimes when spring came early, she sent the records as early as the first week of March. Dorothy was also a business person. She was the director of Cadberry; the world's second-largest candy company. #OTD On this day in 2005, we lost the botanist Mary Bowerman, who was the co-author of The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Mount Diablo California. Bowerman was responsible for the preservation of thousands of acres of Mount Diablo before she died at the age of 97. Bowerman was last person to record the Mount Diablo buckwheat until it was re-discovered, after 70 years, in 2005. She was clearly an expert on the flora of Mount Diablo; she spent over 75 years studying it. Her doctoral advisor was none other than Willis Linn Jepson - the Botany Man. Bowerman was his last surviving student when she died. She wrote once, "Little did I know, 65 years ago, that my senior project would become my life's work." Bowerman worked tirelessly toward her dream, "that the whole of Mount Diablo including its foothills should remain open space and that the visual and natural integrity will be sustained." She got her wish. Unearthed Words "August creates as she slumbers, replete and satisfied." - Joseph Wood Krutch "The brilliant poppy flaunts her head Amidst the ripening grain, And adds her voice to sell the song That August's here again." - Helen Winslow
Today's book recommendation: Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs This is such a good book. You get to learn how to make your own herbal remedies - and Gladstar make it makes it so easy. She's been training herbalists for 25 years at her Sage Mountain Retreat Center in Vermont. This is an excellent guide for figuring out some herb basics and their practical uses from one of the best herbalists in America. Today's Garden Chore Try planting Cardinal Flower, Lobelia cardinalis. If you have a wet spot in your garden, Cardinal Flower could be perfect for that spot. Cardinal Flower doesn't have to be red. The easy-care native perennial can sends up spikes of white or pink, (in addition to red), from midsummer to fall. Cardinal flower grows in zone 3 - 9. The plants grow 2-4 feet tall. Cardinal Flower is also a major pollinator plant; the birds love it, the butterflies love it, and even hummingbirds love it. And bonus: it's also deer and rabbit resistant. It grows well in sun or part shade.
Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Finally, here's a little post from a columnist named Ruth Oren, out of a newspaper in Lebanon, Pennsylvania in 1966. I read it and I thought you would enjoy it. It's a little reminder about not overdoing it in the fall: "Midsummer is the time to enjoy a "no-gardening" garden. If you find yourself up to your ears in gardening chores, something is wrong.
This pause in mid-summer is necessary for humans as well as plants. What's the point of creating a lovely garden and never having the time to enjoy it? Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
"You don't have a garden just for yourself. You have it to share." - Augusta Carter, Master Gardener, Pound Ridge, Georgia Pass-along plants have the best stories, don't they? They have history. They have personal history. One of my student gardeners had a grandmother who recently passed away from breast cancer. Her mom was no green thumb. But, when her daughter started working in my garden, she let me know that her mom had some plants and her dad was looking for a place for them. Would I be willing to take one? Sure. Absolutely, I said. Next thing I knew, a few weeks later, Mom is walking up my driveway caring one of the largest Jade plants I've ever seen. The plant was in a container the size of a 5 gallon paint bucket and the plant was just as tall. I took the plant from her with a promise to take good care of it. When she turned to leave, I asked her mom's name. I like to name my pass-along plants after the people I get them from; and, that's when the tears started. When she left, I brought it over to the potting bench and let it sit for a few days. Then, my student gardeners and I set about dividing it and taking care of it. It was a good thing we did it - because the minute we started to take it out of the pot it became very apparent that this plant was severely waterlogged. It wouldn't of made it have a knot rescued it from the pot. We removed as much potting soil as we could. We split the plant in half and put them into separate clay pots which were very heavily perlited; which was just what the doctor ordered. It's the perfect environment and now it's doing fantastic. But, I'd be lying if I didn't say that it had a little more special meaning to me than just your typical jade plant -because of the look on this woman's face when she gave me this plant; passing on this little, living thing that her mom had nurtured. Brevities #OTD Today is Saint Bernard of Clairvaux's day; he was the patron saint of beekeepers. He's also the patron saint of bees and candlemakers. St. Bernard was a doctor of the church and a French Abbot. He was apparently a fabulous preacher, with excellent speaking skills. He became known as the "honey sweet" doctor for his honey sweet language; he would draw people in. When he decided to become a part of the monastery, he had to give up and get up and give a testimony. History tells us that his testimony was so compelling that thirty members of his family and his friends decided to join the monastery. That's how he became associated with bees; all that sweet talk. And it was Saint Bernard who said, "Believe me, for I know, you will find something far greater in the woods than in books. Stones and trees will teach you that which you cannot learn from the masters." #OTD Today is the birthday of Edward Lee Green; who was born on this day in 1843. Green performed yeoman's work when it came to the plants of the American West; naming or describing or even re-describing over 4,400 species. Before Green made his way west, he reached out to Asa Gray of Cambridge and George Englemann of St. Louis at the Missouri Botanic Garden. They gave him good counsel and in 1870, he started traveling to Colorado, California, Mexico, New Mexico, and Arizona. He eventually settled in Berkeley as a church rector. In the early 1880s, an interesting thing happened: he left the episcopal church and he became a Catholic. While he was becoming Catholic, Green began lecturing at the University of California, where he became the curator of the herbarium. When he and the University's President didn't agree on nomenclature for the plants, he ended up accepting a job at Catholic University in Washington DC, where he worked until 1904. At that point, he ended up going to the Smithsonian. When he was there, he transferred his herbarium and published his masterpiece called Landmarks of Botanical History Part One. Part Two was never completed. #OTD It was on this day in 1863 that a botanist preserved a specimen of milkweed about 15 days after the battle of Gettysburg. Drexel University shared this story back in 2018. A curatorial assistant at the botany department 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 a man named Thomas Meehan. 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, his 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 of 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 in an article for a gardening magazine called, Battlefield Flowers: Floral Treasures of Gettysburg. Apparently, both brothers had inherited a love of plants. #OTD It was on this day in 1912 that the Plant Quarantine Act was enacted. It gave the Health Inspection Office the authority to regulate, the importation and interstate movement of, nursery stock and other plants that may carry pests or disease. This is why if you've been stopped in the airport with a plant - it's thanks to the Plant Quarantine Act. The Act is thanks, in part, to the work of David Fairchild. When he brought that first shipment in of Cherry trees from Japan, to be placed along tidal basin in Washington DC, they were infected with disease and insects. So that in part, lead to the Plant Quarantine Act - so that something like that would not happen again. #OTD Today we wish a happy birthday to the man with a last name all gardeners covet:the lead singer of Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant, who was born on this day in 1948. Unearthed Words Today we celebrate the birthday of the poet Edgar Albert Guest. Guest was known as the People's Poet during the first half of the 20th century. His poems were happy and hopeful; which is why people like them. Here's his poem called To Plant a Garden: If your purse no longer bulges and you've lost your golden treasure, If at times you think you're lonely and have hungry grown for pleasure, Don't sit by your hearth and grumble, don't let mind and spirit harden. If it's thrills of joy you wish for get to work and plant a garden! If it's drama that you sigh for, plant a garden and you'll get it You will know the thrill of battle fighting foes that will beset it. If you long for entertainment and for pageantry most glowing, Plant a garden and this summer spend your time with green things growing. If it's comradeship you sight for, learn the fellowship of daisies. You will come to know your neighbor by the blossoms that he raises; If you'd get away from boredom and find new delights to look for, Learn the joy of budding pansies which you've kept a special nook for. If you ever think of dying and you fear to wake tomorrow, Plant a garden! It will cure you of your melancholy sorrow. Once you've learned to know peonies, petunias, and roses, You will find every morning some new happiness discloses. Today's book recommendation: Rose Recipes from Olden Times by Eleanor Sinclair Rhode This is an oldie but goodie and it was published back in 1973. The author teaches many applications for working with roses including how to crystallize the petals and preserve the buds, how to use the rose leaves to flavor wines and vinegar, and how to use roses in medicinal ways. So much rose wisdom has been lost to time. It's wonderful to have resources like this still available. This book offers 83 recipes all together thanks to the herbalist Eleanor Sinclair Rhode, who gathered her information from a number of legendary herbalists, such as Sir Hugh Platt, Gervase Markham. Today's Garden Chore Pick herbs for fresh use and also for drying. Most herbs have a more concentrated flavor if they are not allowed to bolt or flower. Frequent harvesting will also accomplish that. As a bonus, harvesting encourages fresh, vigorous growth and keeps them growing longer into the season. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Here's another excerpt from a letter that Elizabeth Lawrence wrote to her sister on August 20, 1940: "I have finished [the chapter on] Summer, and I only have [the chapter on] Fall to do—which is short. I hope I can get it done quickly, and have time to rewrite after your reading. If you get back before I do [from a trip with Bessie and sister Ann], and can find time to look into my garden, will you see if Nerine undulata is in bloom? And if it is, pick it when all of the flowers are out, and put it in your refrigerator until I get back. It bloomed last year while I was gone, and I have never seen it, and it is the most exciting bulb I have. I enclose a map of where it is, and of other things that might bloom. Don't bother about any of them—don't look for Ridgeway [color chart]. I am taking it with me in case we get to any nurseries.…" Nerine undulata is an Amaryllis. It grows 18 inches tall and has umbels of 8-12 slender, crinkled pale pink flowers and it blooms in autumn. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today is National Potato Day. Here are some fun potato facts: The average American eats approximately 126 pounds of spuds each year. And, up until the 18th century, the French believed potatoes called leprosy. To combat the belief, the agronomist Antoine Auguste Parmentier became a one-man PR person for the potato. How did Parmentier get the French people to believe that the potato is safe to eat? Good question. Parmentier cleverly posted guards around his potato fields during the day and put the word out that he didn't want people stealing them. Then, he purposefully left them unguarded at night. As he suspected, people did what he thought they would do; steal the potatoes by the sackful by the light of the moon and they started eating them. Later, Marie Antoinette wore potato blossoms in her hair. The Idaho Potato, or the Russet Burbank, was developed by none other than Luther Burbank in 1871. Brevities #OTD Today is the birth of Jane Webb who married the prolific writer of all things gardening: John Claudius Loudon. Jane was special. She was an amazing writer in her own right but she also possessed an inner determination; she was a survivor. When her father lost the family fortune and died penniless when Jane was only seventeen, it was the beginning of her career writing Science Fiction. For her times, Jane wrote Science Fiction in a unique way. She incorporated predictable changes in technology and society. For instance, the women in her books wear pants. In any case, her book The Mummy was published anonymously, in 1827, in three parts. In her book, Jane featured something she imagined would come to pass: a steam plow. That's what attracted the attention of John Claudius Loudon - her future husband. Loudon wrote a favorable review of her book but he also wanted to meet the author. Loudon didn't realize Jane had written the book using a nom de plume of Henry Colburn. Much to Loudon's delight, Henry was Jane; they fell in love and married a year later. The Loudons were considered high society and their friends included Charles Dickens. John's arms stopped working as he grew older, after an attack of rheumatic fever. As a result, Jane became his arms; handling most of his writing. When his arms got so bad that surgeons needed to amputate his right arm, they found him in his garden which he said he intended to return to immediately after the operation. Two weeks before Christmas 1843, John was dictating his last book called, A Self Instruction to Young Gardeners. Around midnight, he suddenly collapsed into Jane's arms and died. Jane completed the book on her own. #OTD It was on this day in 1843, that the Massachusetts Horticultural Society held their exhibition of flowers. They kicked things off by writing about their phlox. Here's what they said: "The Phloxes were very splendid, and it gives us great pleasure to see that our friends are engaged in raising seedlings of this beautiful class of plants. Instead of importing Phloxes from England, as we have heretofore done, we hazard but little when we state that it will not be many years (if our friends persevere in raising seedlings) before we shall be able to send our English friends varieties, that will surprise them for their beautiful form and richness of color." #OTD Today is the birthday of Ellen Ann Willmott who was an English horticulturalist who was born in 1858. Ellen was the oldest in her family of three daughters. In 1875, her parents moved to Warley Place, which was set on 33 acres of land in Essex. Ellen lived there for the rest of her life. All of the Willmott's were gardeners and they often gardened as a family. They created an alpine garden complete with a gorge and rockery. This was something that Ellen's father allowed her to do to commemorate her 21st birthday. When her godmother died she received some pretty significant money. When her father died, Warley Place went to her. Ellen planted to her hearts content; and given the size of the property, it's no wonder that she hired over 100 gardeners to help her tend it. Ellen was no shrinking violet. She had a reputation for firing any gardener who allowed a weed to grow in her beds. And, she only hired men. There's a famous quote from her that is often cited, "Women would be a disaster in the border." It was a good thing that Ellen had so much money, because she sure liked to spend it. She had three homes: one in France, Warley Place, and another in Italy. Ellen also paid for plant hunting expeditions. Since she paid for them, the plants that were discovered on those expeditions were often named in her honor. And, Ellen hired some pretty impressive people to do her plant collecting. For example, Ellen even sponsored Ernest Henry Wilson. When Ellen receive the Victoria Medal of Honor in 1897, she was honored alongside Gertrude Jekyll. In the end, Ellen died penniless and heartbroken. Warley Place became a nature preserve. #OTD Today is the birthday of The Botany Man - Willis Linn Jepson - who was born on this day in 1867. Carved on his tombstone are the following words: "Profound Scholar, Inspiring Teacher, Indefatigable Botanical Explorer, ... In the ordered beauty of nature he found enduring communion." Jepson attended college at Berkeley. During his junior year, he decided to start a diary. He collected everything, too - not just dates, but as much as he could. It was a practice Jepson never abandoned and resulted in over fifty Jepson field books. In 1894, Jepson begin to think seriously about creating a Flora of California. As long as he was working on the flora, Jepson thought he might as well create a herbarium, which he considered to be his legacy. Although Jepson often said he disliked common names, he came up with many on his own. He once named a plant Mountain Misery after suffering the after effects of walking through it. By the early 1900s, automobiles were becoming mainstream but Jepson warned, "You must still go afoot if a real botanist. No field botanist should become soft and travel only in an auto." Jepson had started numbering plants for his flora in 1899. His last specimen was No. 27,571 - the Salsola kali - a little plant commonly known as Prickly Russian Thistle. Jepson collected it on October 28,1945. Earlier that year, Jepson suffered a heart attack when he attempted to cut down a dead Almond tree on his ranch. He never fully recovered from it. Jepson passed away her November 7, 1946. #OTD Today is the birthday of Henderina Victoria Scott who shared her images of time lapse photography of plants in 1904. Scott exhibited her pictures at the British Association for the Advancement of Science. She described her set up and her method for taking the pictures. Then, she proceeded to show animated photographs of flowers opening and closing their buds, and expanding and developing into flowers. She also showed the movements of climbing plants and of insects visiting flowers. None of her films or plates are known to exist. Scott's work allowed botanists and horticulturalists to see the changes that happen slowly over time in the plant world. Unearthed Words Today is the birthday of Ogden Nash, the American poet, who said, "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker." He also wrote a number of poems about gardening and flowers. MY VICTORY GARDEN by Ogden Nash Today, my friends, I beg your pardon, But I'd like to speak of my Victory Garden. With a hoe for a sword, and citronella for armor, I ventured forth to become a farmer. On bended knee, and perspiring clammily, I pecked at the soil to feed my family, A figure than which there was none more dramatic-er. Alone with the bug, and my faithful sciatica, I toiled with the patience of Job or Buddha, But nothing turned out the way it shudda. Would you like a description of my parsley? I can give it to you in one word--gharsley! They're making playshoes out of my celery, It's reclaimed rubber, and purplish yellery, Something crawly got into my chives, My lettuce has hookworm, my cabbage has hives, And I mixed the labels when sowing my carrots; I planted birdseed--it came up parrots. Do you wonder then, that my arteries harden Whenever I think of my Victory Garden? My farming will never make me famous, I'm an agricultural ignoramus, So don't ask me to tell a string bean from a soy bean. I can't even tell a girl bean from a boy bean. Today's book recommendation: Healing Herbs by Michael Castleman The Healing Herbs provides an easy-to-use A-to-Z herb encyclopedia. It explains where to find the herbs, how to use them, store them, work with them, and how to grow them. Today's Garden Chore It's never too late to plan a fall herb garden. Here are some herbs that don't mind the cold and they're easily grown from seed; I'm talking about dill, parsley, spinach, lettuce, and cilantro. I always include lettuces among my herbs - wherever I've got a spot. Now, when I make my salads, I love to include little snippets of dill. I get a little perturbed when I forget to clip some - it's ruined me. I can hardly make a salad at home without including dill. Since my son John loves Chipotle, I can't make rice anymore without incorporating cilantro. Parsley is included in so many things I cook, I always like to have Parsley around and it's wonderful that it can hang out in the garden until the bitter end. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today, in 1934, Elizabeth Lawrence and wrote a letter to her sister Ann: "I am so happy to get back to my rickety Corona; Ellen's elegant new typewriter made anything I had to say unworthy of its attention. The Zinnias you raised for us are magnificent. There are lots of those very pale salmon ones that are the loveliest of all, and some very pale yellow ones that Bessie puts in my room. The red ones are in front of boltonia and astilbe (white). I knew how awful the garden would be. I have come back to it before, and I knew Bessie wasn't going to do anything by herself. But that doesn't mitigate the despair that you feel when you see it. I worked two days and almost got the weeds out of the beds around the summer house. There isn't much left. There has been so much rain that the growth of the weeds was tropical." (Bessie was Elizabeth's widowed mother who shared her love of the garden.) Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Are you swimming in zucchini yet? Emily Seftel, of The Tennessean, wrote an article in 2006 that was titled Gad zuks!- which I think is hilarious; we don't use that term enough, do we? Anyway, the article started out this way: "Zucchini, the summer squash, is the Rodney Dangerfield of the produce world it gets no respect." Then, the article goes on to share some recipes, which were offered by Chef Laura Slama who said, "When you're cooking with zucchini, all you need to do is add a little olive oil and kosher salt to bring out it's flavor." The three recipes she shared, were for Mexican Zucchini Corn and Black Tostadas - that looked amazing. Then, Sautéed Zucchini Strings; which is basically zucchini that's been turned into spaghetti. And, finally, she shared an Orzo Pasta with Roasted Zucchini. One of my favorite recipes for zucchini is from The New Zucchini Cookbookand Other Squashby Nancy Ralston and Mary Jordan. It's for a zucchini basil tart:
I'll put the link to the recipes in today show notes as well as a link to the cookbook. Brevities #OTDToday is the birthday of Magness Holman who was born in 1745. Holman was the painter who completed a portrait of Carla Ness that most people recognize. The portrait was painted around 1780. #OTD Today is the birthday of François-Andre Michaux. He was the son of the botanist Andrea Michaux. His father named an oak in his honor. Michaux's mother died a few weeks after he was born. His father was so despondent, he turned to botany to deal with his grief. His mentors just happened to be some of the top gardeners in the Royal Gardens. When François-Andre was 15 years old, he accompanied his dad to North America. His father established a botanical garden in 1786 on property that's now occupied by the Charleston Area National Airport. As you leave the airport, you'll notice a stunning mural that pays tribute the Michaux's - from the rice fields along the Ashley River to the Charleston Harbor where he introduced one of the first camellia plants. Andre-François and his father are depicted in the potager or kitchen garden. The mural was installed in 2016. François-Andre stayed in America where he established a nursery in Hackensack, New Jersey and also in Charleston, South Carolina. France was still eager to obtain trees from North America to replenish their forests and François-Andre grew them in his nursery. He returned to France briefly in 1790 and participated in the French revolution. By 1801, he returned to the United States because the French government wanted him to get rid of the nurseries in Hackensack and Charleston. François-Andre did as instructed and also explored the United States as far north as Maine, as far south as Georgia, and as far west as the Great Lakes. After his explorations, he returned to France, he had enough material and experience to prepare his masterpiece, North American Silva or North American Forests. #OTD Today in 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition was near the Narrows of the Columbia river when the serviceberry was discovered. Serviceberry are available in a number of different species. There's a wonderful graphic showing the different types of serviceberry featured on the spruce.com. I'll share a link to that in today's show notes. Serviceberries are a member of the Rose family. Now that you know that, you'll be able to recognize the family resemblance the next time you see one. Serviceberry are primarily prized for their four-season interest: you get beautiful blossoms in the spring, fruits in the summer, fantastic autumn color, and wonderful bark coloration in the winter time. The Maryland Department of Resources says that the etymology of the name serviceberry comes from church services which resumed around Easter time. People used to say that when the serviceberries were in flower, the ground had thawed enough to dig a grave. #OTD Today is the birthday of the third son of Charles Darwin, Francis Darwin - known to his family as Frank. Francis published the results of his work with his dad in a book called The Movement of Plants. The book details their experiments which showed that young grass seedlings grow toward the light. OTD It's the anniversary of the death of Kenneth Woodbridge, who died on this day in 1988. Woodbridge was known for his work on the history of garden design in England and France. Woodbridge wrote a book called The Stourhead Landscape, a book about one of England's greatest gardens. Stourhead was the work of an English banker named Henry Hoare who lived during much of the 1700s. Woodbridge's last book was called Princely Gardens it was published in 1986. Princely Gardens analyzes the French formal style of landscape architecture. Despite not having the academic background of many garden historians, Woodbridge was a relentless researcher and writer. His obituary stated that his wife Joanne always balanced his intensity. Unearthed Words "August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time." ― Sylvia Plath "This morning, the sun endures past dawn. I realize that it is August: the summer's last stand." ― Sara Baume, A Line Made by Walking "The month of August had turned into a griddle where the days just lay there and sizzled." ― Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees Today's book recommendation: Plant Parenting by Leslie Halleck This is a new book that just came out in June of this year from Timberpress. The images are gorgeous and this book feels quite modern and very on trend. This is a very beginner friendly introduction to plants, flowers, and seeds. Today's Garden Chore Add more color to your garden with bee balm or monarda. It is also an herb. Plant it in full sun. Pollinators love it, as do hummingbirds. I remember the first time I planted bee balm, I was blown away by the incredible enticing fragrance - a wonderful combination of mint, oregano, and thyme. Once you smell it, you'll never forget it. Bee Balm starts flowering now and will last throughout the summer. When John Bartram was exploring North America, he made contact with the Native Americans who shared with him that they brewed a tea with bee balm to treat chills and fever. He called it Oswego. But, it was made with Monarda. After the Boston tea party, the colonists needed something to drink and Oswego tea tasted pretty good and it also helped with sore throat's and headaches. Manarda is considered both a flower and an herb. And in the fall, you can harvest the leaves and dry them and store them for later - when you want to make your own Oswego tea. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart When I was researching Kenneth Woodbridge, I ran across an article about his son, Tim Woodbridge. The article came out last year in February in the London Economic and it was called, "The incredible story of how a grieving landowner created one of Europe's most celebrated gardens." Tim was piggybacking on the subject his dad wrote about which was Stourhead Garden in Wiltshire. Tim says his dad discovered 95% of everything that is known about the garden today. The garden is breathtaking because it is surrounding this gloriously breathtaking man-made lake. All along people have assumed that the lake was part of the plan by Henry Hoare, the banker, who established the garden as his lasting legacy. But Tim believes he's uncovered a secret about the garden that had been lost to time. In 2005, the National Trust commissioned an underwater survey of the lake. Tim's book, called The Choice, explains that the lake is hiding a first garden – the garden that was built to honor Hoare's dead wife, Susan. The garden was nearly completed when suddenly Hoare's son and only heir, Henry, died of smallpox in Naples. He was just 22 years old. Tim believes that the garden became too painful and that Hoare's shocking next move was to do something about it. Tim believes that Hoare built a dam and then flooded the garden; creating the magnificent great lake that people drive to see from all over the world. Instead of a planned part of the design; The lake was an outward sign of grief of a husband and father whose tears hid the garden he had built for posterity. And I think, if a garden could cry... this is what it would look like. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Last week was one of turmoil in my garden. We decided to put new windows and siding on the house. Then we decided to enjoy the ravages of a hail storm which dumped ping pong ball sized hail on the garden for about five minutes - the entire storm lasted 30 minutes. I always remind new gardeners that we never garden alone. We're always gardening and partnership with Mother Nature and in this partnership, Mother Nature always has her way. Sometimes we may feel like we win, but I kind of think it's like the first time you play Go Fish or some other game with your child, they just THINK they won. In any case, I am using this as an opportunity to address some crowding in my garden beds. In some places everything is just gone and I suppose I could see it as an early start on fall cleanup. The one thing I'm grateful for is the replacement of this large 14 x 20' Arbor on the side of our house. I had started growing a number of lines on it over the years and then settled on golden hops when I was going through my hops phase. Over the past few years I've decided I'm not a fan of hops. The vines are aggressive and sticky and the sap can be irritating to the skin. And I wasn't a huge fan of the color. My student gardeners will help me cover the area with some landscape fabric to make sure it does not come back and then I'm thinking climbing hydrangea would be lovely. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of Karl Franz Anton Ritter von Schreibers. Schreibers was an Austrian naturalist and a botanist. In 1806, Schreibers became the director of the Vienna Natural History Museum. He was a good botanist and ecologist, but his heart belong to minerals and meteorites. Schreibers made Leopold Trattinick curator of the museum herbarium which was founded in 1807. The Austrian Empire had a thing for plants and horticulture. So expeditions were sent to collect new materials including minerals for the museum. Many famous botanists were involved with these expeditions including Carl Phillip Von Martinus. In 1848, during the revolution, the museum caught on fire. The protesters not only destroyed the library Schreibers had carefully built up, they destroyed Schreibers home - his living quarters or right inside the museum. It broke Schreibers heart. He retired and died four years later. #OTD Happy birthday to Elias Magnus Friesz who is born on this day in 1794 in Sweden. The area where Friesz grew up, was rich in fungi and his father was a self-taught botanist. Put the two together, and it's no wonder Friesz developed a lifelong interest in mycology. In fact, Friesz developed the first system that was used to classify fungi; so we remember him for that. There's a wonderful picture of Elias as an octogenarian. He looks like he could've been Dumbledore's best friend. He was a happy botanist and he worked tirelessly until the day he died in February 1878. #OTD Happy birthday to John Torrey who is born on this day in 1796. Torreywas the first American botanist to study the flora of New York State. The area Torrey botanized included what is now Greenwich Village, the area of the Elgin botanic garden which is now Rockefeller Center, and Bloomingdale which is now the upper side west side of Manhattan, as well as Hoboken New Jersey. Torrey's Calendarian was a phenological record where he documented the plants he observed - recording the species, location, and date of first bloom. Farmers often kept similar records to track planting seasons and growing cycles. Thomas Jefferson did the same thing in a book he called The Calendar. The New York botanic garden has digitized this manuscript so you can check it out when you get a chance. And, if you live in Colorado, it might interest you to know that Torrey's peak in Colorado is named for John Torrey. #OTD It's the birthday of the illustrator Walter Crane, born in Liverpool #OnThisDay in 1845. Gardeners appreciate Crane thanks to one of his most stunning works - a book called "A Floral Fantasy in an Old English Garden" which was published in 1899. Crane's book was intended to be a children's book - but for gardeners it is really something of a graphic novel telling the storyof the hidden life and society of flowers. The flowers are personified. For example, the Dandelion is portrayed as a bold knight - his shield is made of a large dandelion blossom. And, the Foxgloves are a happy group; comprised of cousins and brothers and sisters. The book continues to appeal thanks to Crane's beautiful artwork and the allure of the enchanted realm he created; complete with Fairies, the Four Seasons, Old Man Time, knights, and other creatures. There are 46 illustrations in this little book. Original copies of this rare book sell for over $1,000. You can view the entire book for FREE using this link in today's show notes. #OTD Today, we remember Geoff Hamilton who was born on this day in 1936. Hamilton was a presenter of the BBC's Gardener's Worldin the 1980s and 1990s he was also a gardener himself. Hamilton had a twin brother and as a young kid he became interested in horticulture by working in his family's garden. One of his first jobs was helping out at a local nursery down the road from his house. He became the editor forPractical Gardening Magazineand then he moved into television. He was the longest serving presenter on a Gardener's World. In his Wikipedia entry, it says that many in the garden world were puzzled by the fact that Hamilton never received any recognition from the Royal Horticultural Society for his work. Hamilton's personal garden at Barnsdale consists of 38 themed gardens over 8 acres and it remains open to the public. It is run by his son who also gardens and is a writer. Unearthed Words As I listened from a beach-chair in the shade To all the noises that my garden made, It seemed to me only proper that words Should be withheld from vegetables and birds. A robin with no Christian name ran through The Robin-Anthem which was all it knew, And rustling flowers for some third party waited To say which pairs, if any, should get mated. Not one of them was capable of lying, There was not one which knew that it was dying Or could have with a rhythm or a rhyme Assumed responsibility for time. Let them leave language to their lonely betters Who count some days and long for certain letters; We, too, make noises when we laugh or weep: Words are for those with promises to keep. by W.H. Auden - Their Lonely Betters Today's book recommendation: The Gardens of Emily Dickinson by Judith Farr Farr's book helps us understand the poets relationship with specific flowers. It also helps us understand some of the floral symbolism that Dickinson uses in her poems which Dickinson herself called "Blossoms of the Brain". Without this information, they can be difficult to understand. Gardening was a huge part of Dickinson's life. Jasmine was on her list of favorite flowers. It was third, next to dearest Daphne, and except for wildflowers, which Dickinson considered dearest of all. Today's Garden Chore Plant Pickerel Weed. If you have a pond, or need a water plant for a trough or such on your property, consider planting Pickerel Weed. The foliage looks great and it blossoms for six months depending on where you live. In winter, it dies back completely. Think of Pickerel Weed like a mint; if you don't want it to spread, grow it in containers and place the pots at the water's edge. Pickerelweed is a hit with butterflies and other pollinators because of it lovely purple blossom. It grows well in Zones 3-10. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today is the day that the botanist Sylvia Edlund was born in Pittsburgh. She earned a PhD in botany from the University of Chicago Edlund was sickly as a child. She was often confined to her bed. She said that she took up botany because she thought she shouldn't study study anything she'd have to chase She worked for the United Nations assembling an inventory of plants and animals in the far north. She worked for the geological survey of Canada for 20 years but was forced to retire in 1994 after an inflamed appendix went undiagnosed and ended up affecting her short term memory. Edlund died in British Columbia in 2014 at the age of 69. Her colleague, Fenja Brodo, wrote a tribute to her in The Ottawa Citizenthat was especially touching. She wrote, "It was not easy for her being the lone botanist, and a female at that, working in a predominantly male environment. Sylvia met the challenge and became an internationally recognized leader in plant distribution patterns in the Arctic. She showed that ground ice melt was the water source for the unexpectedly lush green valleys in parts of the High Arctic and demonstrated how climate, substrate, and geomorphic processes influence what can grow where. Sylvia was always an artist, with pen, paints and fabrics. She wrote and illustrated (water colours) a booklet on Common Arctic Wildflowers of the Northwest Territories for schoolchildren of the north. Each Christmas, she made another set of delightful felt animal ornaments, which she presented to friends. (For two years, her creations adorned the tree at the Canadian Museum of Nature.)" Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Today, August 14, is Saint Werenfrid's Day. Werenfrid is the patron saint of vegetable gardens. He is often portrayed as a priest holding up a ship with a coffin in it or displayed as a priest laid to rest in his ship. Werenfrid is also invoked for gout and stiff joints; which, if you're a vegetable gardener, those three sometimes go together. Brevities #OTD Today, in 1765, a crowd gathered under a large elm tree in Boston. The group was there to protest the Stamp Act that was passed by British Parliament. The act imposed a tax on paper in the American colonies which meant that all the paper had to have a stamp on it. So, if you were publishing a newspaper, or needed a mortgage deed, or court papers, it all had to be printed on paper with a tax stamp on it. There was an elm tree that became a rallying point for resistance against the British and that tree became known as the Liberty Tree. The tree had been planted in 1646 - just sixteen years after Boston became a city. As the colonists began rejecting orders from Britain, the tree became a bulletin board of sorts. As it's symbolism grew, protesters would share calls to action on the trunk. When the stamp act was repealed, the tree was THE place people went to celebrate; hanging flags and streamers, as well as lanterns from its branches. After the war began, Thomas Paine wrote an ode to the Liberty Tree in the Pennsylvania Gazette. It said: "Unmindful of names or distinctions they came For freemen like brothers agree, With one spirit endued, they one friendship pursued, And their temple was Liberty Tree…" Four months later, in August, British troops and Loyalists descended on the tree. A man named Nathaniel Coffin Jr. cut it down. #OTD On this day in 1873, the magazine Forest and Stream debuted. Forest and Streamfeatured outdoor activities like hunting and fishing. It was dedicated to wildlife conservation and it helped launch the National Audubon Society. In 1930, the magazine merged with Field & Stream. #OTD Today in 1880 for the botanist Ada Hayden was born. Hayden was the curator of the Iowa State University herbarium. As a young girl, growing up in Ames, Iowa, she fell in love with the flora surrounding her family's home. Hayden was a talented photographer, artist, and a writer, and she put all of those skills to good use documenting Iowa's prairies. Hayden became the first woman to earn a PhD from Iowa State. She inherited her grandparents farm and she often brought her botany students there to walk through the Prairie and to take notes on their observations. Hayden's life work was to save the vanishing prairie ecosystem. Hayden loved the Prairie. She wrote, "Throughout the season, from April to October, the colorful flowers of the grassland flora present a rainbow-hued sequence of bloom. It is identified with the open sky. It is the unprotected battleground of wind and weather. When Dr. Hayden died, the University named a 240-acre-tract of virgin Prairie, Hayden Prairie, in her honor. #OTD On this day, in 1960, FTD had their 50th anniversary convention at Cobo Hall in Detroit. And there's a lovely video of the convention that's available to see on YouTube. I shared it in the The Daily Gardener Community Facebook Groupor you can see a link to it in today show notes. The video was prepared for those members who could not attend. It is utterly charming. You get to see 50's fashions. You get to see a revolving floral stage. It was a three-day long extravaganza in Detroit - it it just so fun to watch. #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Edgar Walter Denison, who was an expert on Missouri's wildflowers. Denison died in Missouri on this day in 1993. Tennyson had emigrated to the country from Stuttgart, Germany In 1927. He left behind much of his extended family; including a famously brilliant cousin named Albert Einstein. Denison's book, Missouri Wildflowershas sold nearly 100,000 copies since its first printing in 1962. Denison illustrated the book as well. One of the reasons the book was so popular is because the way the book is organized. It especially appeals to gardeners; It's organized by color and within colors by month of blossom. As a result, gardeners can find a species quickly and with ease. Denison had an amazing personal garden. He had over 1,000 varieties of plants which he grew from seed; he hated the thought of removing a plant from its native habitat. Denison had a special relationship with the Missouri Botanical Garden. The gardens director, Peter Raven, said, "An old-fashioned European gentleman in many ways, Edgar Denison exceeded most of our citizens in his deep love for the plants that enrich and beautify Missouri ." Denison's former next-door neighbor, horticulturist Patrick Brockmeyer, said Denison told him everything he knew about plants including pruning, fertilizing, weed control naturally; he was a naturalist. Brockmeyer felt Denison's presence when he visited the garden. He said, "He was there. I don't care what anyone says, that man was in that garden. I could tell by the way the birds were singing." Unearthed Words "How sociable the garden was. We ate and talked in given light. The children put their toys to grass All the warm wakeful August night." - Thomas Gunn, Last Days at Teddington Today's book recommendation: Tulipomania: The Story of the World's Most Coveted Flower and the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused by Mike Dash It's hard to believe, but in the 1630s, the tulip trade was a big deal. Tulip bulbs changed hands for incredible amounts of money. At one point, flowers were being sold for more than the cost of a home. This was truly Tulipomania and as the book shares, it was the first futures market in history. The book documents the ancestry of the tulip. From their origins in Asia, migrating west to Turkey, and then to Antwerp where a man working on the docks, sees a stray bulb on the ground, picks it up, takes it home, and ate it - thinking it was an onion. Dash is an excellent writer. The book is a delightful read. Today's Garden Chore Line the bottom of your pots with burlap or a coffee filter. This way water will drain, but you don't have to worry about soil leaking out. If you use burlap, you could cut a piece that's big enough to extend from the lip of the pot down to the bottom of the hole and then back up again. I love to see little hints of burlap lining the inside of my pots. It adds an extra layer of texture and dimension - and I think it's quite charming, especially if you're giving the plant as a gift. So, one of the chores my student gardeners help me with, is cutting a swath of burlap and then lining the terra-cotta pots in the garden. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today in 1975, The Hearne Democrat, out of Hearne, Texas announced there was a canning lid shortage. Here's what it said: "The problem has reached crisis proportions in parts of the country where home gardeners have planted crops in hopes of saving on grocery bills. As harvest begins, these home gardeners are discovering the canning lid shortage means there is no way of preserving their ripe fruits and vegetables for fall and winter use... Part of the cause is the tremendous increase in number of home gardeners. The federal office of Consumer Affairs estimates that 12 million new gardeners have joined the market for home canning equipment in the past two years... Another part of the problem is that, in addition to the greatly increased number of gardeners who need lids, some home canners have been buying far more lids than they will need. Because of this hoarding for future use the shortage has been aggravated." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Boy, nasturtiums are such wonderful plants aren't they? August is a time when your nasturtiums look fabulous; even after a summer of blooming their hearts out. Right about now, you're nasturtiums will bloom better if you remove a few of the center leaves. Opening up the plant a little bit will promote airflow - and allow the sun to shine on the base of the plant. Nasturtiums are 100% edible. You can add the petals to any salad - just as you would watercress. In fact, you can make a beautiful sandwich with nasturtium flowers and a little salad dressing. Jane Eddington shared this idea in the Daily Newsout of New York, in 1928. She wrote, "If you have never tried a nasturtium leaf spread with a thin mayonnaise between two thin slices of bread and butter, you do not know how pleasant a little bite – in two senses – you can get from this "Indian cress" filling. And before I forget, I found this wonderful article on nasturtiums that was featured in the Hartford current out of Hartford Connecticut in August of 1914. It had all of these wonderful recipes for nasturtiums It not only gave some good advice about nasturtium capers and nasturtium sandwiches, but also, a nasturtium sauce for fish, meat, and vegetables, a nasturtium vinegar, and a nasturtium potato salad. I'll have all of that in today show notes -if you're geeking out on nasturtiums. And, here is a little insight on how nasturtiums like to coexist with us: the more we cut nasturtiums - to bring in as cut flowers, or to eat them raw, or as capers - the more they are they will bloom. Regular cuttings seem to encourage more lateral development and therefore you get more flowers. Win win. If you protect your plants with burlap or sheets on cold fall evenings, your nasturtiums just might surprise you and bloom well into November. Brevities #OTD Today, in 1750, the botanist Peter Kalm visited Niagara Falls. Niagara was a natural attraction for Bartness like Kalm who studied under Karla Nas Niagara was a natural attraction for botanist like Kalm who studied under Carl Linnaeus. (It was actually Linnaeus who came up with the idea to send trained botanists to Niagara.) There are no records of the plants that Kalm collected that day. However, botanists suspect that Kalm's Labelia and Kalm's Saint John's Wort were collected there; both would have been named for him by Carl Linnaeus. #OTD Today, in 1805, Meriwether Lewis discovered the Snowberry or Symphoricarpos albus. I love the story of how Lewis came across the Snowberry. He was really looking for the Shoshone Indians; but he found the Snowberry instead. Lewis wrote in his journal that he discovered something like a small honeysuckle; except that it was bearing a berry as, "large as a garden pea and as white as wax." The plant was a true new discovery to the scientific community. And, Lewis showed his botany chops when he said he thought it resembled the honeysuckle because it actually IS a member of the honeysuckle family. The Latin name is from the Greek meaning "fruits joined together", because the berries are clustered in pairs. The berries aren't good for eating; they're pretty tasteless. But, the birds, and especially grouse, love it. Lewis probably took a specimen of the Snowberry because some of the seeds made their way to Philadelphia. They were given to Thomas Jefferson's favorite nurseryman: Bernard McMahan. Then, McMahan did what he always did; he grew them and sent cuttings to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson wrote him in October of 1812 saying that the Snowberries were thriving in his garden. He gushed that they were, "some of the most beautiful berries I have ever seen." #OTD Today is the birthday of the Russian botanist Edward August Von Regal who was born on this day in 1815. Regal was born in Switzerland - but he lived most of his life in Russia. Regal worked in a number of botanical gardens, including gardens in Germany and Switzerland. In 1852, he founded the magazine Garten Florawhere he described all the new species he had encountered. By 1855, Regal made his final move to Saint Petersburg where he made his home. He oversaw the imperial botanical garden and he even started a Russian gardening society, as well as a number of journals. Regal was a very hands-on botanist. When he went to St. Petersburg he immediately addressed the setup and the level of excellence. He changed how all the plants were arranged and rebuilt the green houses (most of which were heated by hot water). Regal loved to arrange plants in groups based on geography. For instance, he would have an area for plants of St. Petersburg, and an area for the plants of Siberia, and an area for the plants of North America, and so on. And if you're a fan of Curtis's botanical magazine which was started by William Curtis (who was employed at Kew), you'll appreciate knowing that volume 111 is dedicated to Edward August van Regal. #OTD Today is the birthday of Benedict Roezl who was born on this day in 1823 in Czechoslovakia. Roezl was probably the most famous collector of orchids during his lifetime. Roezl had an interesting life. As a gardener, he traveled all over Europe. He was also the founder of a Czech botanical magazine called Flora. Eventually, Roezl made his way to the United States. He was making his way south to Mexico, so after first landing in New York, he went to Denver. There, he collected the Yucca angustifolia. Roezl indeed ended up in Mexico. For a time, he owned a restaurant. But he was also trying to make a business out of growing a nettle that is called the Boehmeria niveawhich produces a fiber that can be harvested. Roezl was a tinkerer. He had built a machine to extract the fiber from the Boehmeria and he had brought it to an exhibition. Someone asked if his machine would be able to extract fiber from an agave. When Roezl attempted to try it, his hand got entangled in the machine and was crushed. The accident changed his life and he begin collecting plants full-time. Roezl used an iron hook in place of his amputated hand; it made him popular among the locals who brought him plants. Roezl started collecting for Frederick Sander who was known as the king of orchids. But it was really Roezl that made it all happen. Although, as a collector, he was a bit of a mess. Still, Roezl collected over 800 orchids from Mexico and South America, along with thousands of other plants like agaves and cacti. In Columbia, he discovered the Zambia Roezlii; the tallest and oldest orchid of all. Even though Roezl was 6'2" tall, and had that imposing iron hook for a hand, during his collecting days, Roezl was robbed 17 times and, once, even attacked by a jaguar. Roezl collected for Sander for 40 years. At the end of his life, Roezl returned to Czechoslovakia. His country welcomed him home with open arms and he was honored by the Russian czar. When he died at home in his bed, his funeral was attended by the Austrian emperor. Today, there is a statue of Roezl in Prague. It's located on the southern end of Charles Square - if you happen to go. #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the nurseryman and botanist John Gould Veitch who died on this day in 1870. The Veitch Nursery dynasty was a force in the British nursery trade. Their dominance was born out of the idea to hire their own plant hunters to collect exclusively for them. John Gould Veitch became a plant hunter himself. He's remembered for collecting in Japan and in Australia where he once complained that the seeds of many plants, "were so tiny he did not know if he was collecting seed or dust." John Gould Veitch's life was cut short by tuberculosis. He died when he was just 31 years old. Unearthed Words "Every year, the bright Scandinavian summer nights fade without anyone's noticing. One evening in August you have an errand outdoors, and all of a sudden it's pitch-black. It is still summer, but the summer is no longer alive." ― Tove Jansson, The Summer Book Today's book recommendation: The Orchid Hunter by Leif Bersweden The subtitle of the book is "A young botanist's search for happiness. Bersweden was 19 years old, when he set off on a project to see all 52 species of wild orchid in Britain and Ireland. Over one summer, as he passed his gap year, before going to Oxford University. Bersweden was 12 years old when he asked his mom about plants. He's continued to learn about them ever since. Bersweden attempted to see and photograph the wild orchids of the UK in a single season. He's a talented writer and a passionate plantsman. I won't spoil it for you - you'll have to read for yourself whether he completes his quest. The book is funny, enthusiastic, and brilliant Today's Garden Chore Add more ground cover I feel like you could add this to do to your garden chores throughout the growing season. Carpeting the ground with ground covers is one of the best ways to combat weeds. It's also one of the best ways to help your garden feel lived in. The best part about ground covers is they will often do quite well in areas where grass may struggle. Shade loving ground covers, like Lily of the Valley or Bugle Weed are wonderful options. And, wouldn't you rather have a Johnny Jump Up or a Sweet Violet, than some unwanted weed in the garden? Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today, in 1892, the botanist Albert Ruth collected a plant in Sevier County that he thought was Partridge Berry. Over 40 years later, this specimen ended up at the University of Tennessee. The year was 1934, and the University of Tennessee's herbarium had been destroyed in a fire which was especially sad since the herbarium was par excellence and contained over 30,000 specimens. But, the botanist and university professor, AJ Sharp, rose to the challenge. He put out the call for new specimens from botanists all over the globe and they sent them. Albert Ruth's Partridge Berry made its way to Dr. Sharp. When he saw it, Dr. Sharp immediately recognized that the Partridge Berry was not the plant that he had been sent. It was an obvious mislabel. Instead, what Sharp was looking at, was the twin flower; the flower named for Carl Linnaeus, the Linnea Borealis – a plant that is extremely delicate. Although it can be found in Greenland and Alaska and Scandinavia, it has not been known to be found in the Smoky Mountains. And, no one has ever been able to find the spot where Ruth found this twin flower. There of been two attempts to locate it led by Dr. Peter White out of the University of North Carolina. White cautions for anyone attempting to search for it in the great Smoky Mountains to take heed. He said the two things you need to botanize in the great Smoky Mountains are excellent rock climbing experience and a great life insurance policy. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
If you're looking to grow an onion that won't make you cry and give you that bad breath, Sweet Onions are your thing. If you buy them in the store, they're usually more expensive than the regular onions. Sweet Onions are sweet because the sugar and water content are higher. That's the upside. The downside to the higher sugar and water content, is that they won't store as long as regular onions. Sweet Onions have a lower level of sulfur compounds which means they're also easier to digest - and it also means they won't cause your eyes to tear up during prep work. Vidalia onions were the first sweet onions to be sold across the United States. They were growing primarily in Georgia - Vidalia, Georgia to be exact. Today, we have other options including Walla Walla Sweet Onions from Washington, Maui Sweet Onions from Hawaii and Spring Sweets from Texas. Sweet Onions can be traced back to seeds brought over from the Canary Islands in 1898. Brevities #OTD It's the birthday of Thomas Andrew Knight who was born in England on this day in 1759. Knight served as the second president of the Royal Horticultural Society. He assumed the position at the urging of his friend Joseph A Banks. Knight's inclination was always to turn inward. Banks helped him overcome that. He also encouraged Knight to begin reading scientific papers published by authors. Otherwise, Knight was purposefully shutting himself off from outside influences. During his life, Knight had inherited 10,000 acres of land and he used the land to conduct all kinds of experiments on plants like strawberries, cabbages, and peas. Knight was a born pragmatist. His breeding efforts were always designed to help make better plants in order to feed the masses. #OTD It's the anniversary of the death of Sir William Jackson Hooker who died on this day in 1865 Hooker was both a botanist and a botanical illustrator. Like Thomas Andrew Knight, Hooker enjoyed the friendship of Joseph Banks. Hooker was wealthy; he didn't need a patron to fund his expeditions. His first expedition was to Iceland in the summer of 1809. This was another one of Bank's ideas - and Hooker went to there to collect, as well as to make trials of everything he discovered. Unfortunately, on his way home, there was a terrible fire. Most people don't realize it, but Hooker nearly died. All of his work was destroyed in the fire. Yet, Hooker was able to reconstruct his discoveries and publish an account called Tour in Iceland. Turns out, his mind was a steel trap. Hooker was known worldwide for an unsurpassed herbarium. By 1841, he was appointed the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Hooker brought Kew to greatness; expanding the gardens from 10 to 75 acres, adding a 270 acre Arboretum, and establishing a museum for botany. In 1865, there was a throat infection going around at Kew. Hooker contracted it and died. His son Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, and outstanding botanist in his own right, succeeded him at Kew. #OTD Today in 1930, a United States patent was issued to Clarence Birdseye for his method of packaging frozen foods. One of Birdseye's first jobs, was as a field naturalist for the USDA. The job lead him to Labrador in Canada on a for trading expedition. During his time there, Birdseye observed that the Eskimos froze their food; finding fresh food during the winter was next to impossible. Birdseye became fascinated by their quick freezing process which cleverly used the elements of wind, ice, and super cold temperatures. Birdseye noticed when the fish was frozen quickly, it tasted amazing when it was thawed. Birdseye's immediately wondered if the same process could be used with fresh vegetables and other foods. Five years later, when he returned to the United States, he invented the quick freeze machine and he started his own frozen food company. Five years after that, he sold his business to Frosted Foods for $22 million. The year was 1929. Unearthed Words "One day you discover you are alive. Explosion! Concussion! Illumination! Delight! You laugh, you dance around, you shout. But, not long after, the sun goes out. Snow falls, but no one sees it, on an August noon." ― Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine Today's book recommendation: The New Healing Herbs by Michael Castleman This book features 135 of the most widely used medicinal herbs. There is a very helpful cure finder chart that shares treatments for more than 100 common conditions; for example: cinnamon to treat cuts and scrapes, Saint Johns Wort to speed healing, etc. For each Herb, there are drawings, the history of the herb, plus instructions for growing it in your herb garden. Today's Garden Chore Start seeds for fall crops. Your fall crops can include another round of quick-maturing edibles for the fall harvest. Try to get your seeds in before the 15th. Then, if you're wondering what to plant think about leafy greens. Plants like spinach, lettuce, or beets are great and they can also be grown for their green leaves. Plants like lettuce and spinach, kohlrabi, radishes, and green onions are also an option - as well as turnips. Peas and lettuce can handle the cool temperatures and even light frost. These crops are also excellent options for growing in cold frames. Don't forget that bush beans, beats, and sprouts also appreciate to the cool temps of fall - it's my favorite time to grow - which is why fall is often called a second spring. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart On this day in 1806, Thomas Jefferson's 24 double tuberoses, Polianthes tuberosa,were blooming. Jefferson had obtained them from Bernard McMahan's nursery and he wrote McMahan the following January to request for more tuberoses. McMahan has also created a gardeners calendar which included a list of seeds; including month by month instructions. The calendar was so foundational to Thomas Jefferson's gardening practice, that McMahan became his garden mentor. The two exchanged regular letters about gardening. And, it was Jefferson who selected McMahan to cultivate the specimens collected by Lewis and Clark - which he did. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Every now and then, plants can surprise you. In this case I'm talking about more than just a beautiful bloom or general survival. I'm talking about variations that could lead to exciting new varieties. This topic was covered in the newspaper out of Richmond Indiana on this day in 1938. Here's what it said: "Black Hull Wheat - the wheat that increased production by millions of bushels in the Southwest - came from just one plant discovered in his wheat field by Earl Clark in Sedgwick county, Kans. The Wayzata ever-bearing strawberry came from just one plant discovered in a patch of June-bearing strawberries in Hennepin county, Minn. And, John Brown discovered an entirely new kind of watermelon - and a dandy - in his melon patch in White county, Illinois. Keep your eyes open." Brevities #OTD It was on this day that the German botanist and internationally-regarded landscape architect Ludwig Winter was born. Winter taught Karl Forrester - of Karl Forrester grass fame - when he came to visit him in Italy. Early on, Winter was drawn to exotic plants. When he began gardening in Italy he experimented with them. Instead of letting them go crazy or turn into a jungle, Winter's tropical gardens were very controlled and created a scene. Winter's reputation is inextricably bound to palm trees and Palm Gardens became symbolic of the seaside resorts along the Italian Riviera. Ultimately, Winter's contribution was making exotic plants accessible to all gardeners, not just to the wealthy. Winter also created new concepts in the marketing of nurseries. Winter came up with the idea of using nurseries to permanently exhibit plants. This would help his clients imagine the end result of garden designs and to promote various schemes that could be replicated in the clients garden. Winter's best gardens were created along the Italian Riviera - some exist still today. When Monet saw the area, he wrote: "Water, flowers, and poetry merge into a musical harmony of colors that my eyes have never met…. In addition, to paint certain landscapes you should have a palette of gems and diamonds. It is wonderful." #OTD It was on this day in 1854 that two years of simple living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts was shared with the world in the form of a book; Henry David Thoreau's Walden was published. It was Henry David Thoreau who said: "The question is not what you look at, but what you see." "Gardening is civil and social, but it wants the vigor and freedom of the forest and the outlaw." #OTD Today, in 1869, the explorer John Wesley Powell named an area of the Grand Canyon after his botanist George Vasey. Known as Vasey's Paradise,water spills out from the north rim of the Grand Canyon into the Colorado river. It's a spectacularly beautiful waterfall. A year earlier, in 1868, during Powell's preliminary expedition, Vasey had accompanied him and collected a large number of plants. Vasey returned to Illinois where he became the curator of the Illinois State University Natural History Museum and ultimately the chief botanist of the USDA. Here's what Powell wrote in his about Vasey's Paradise, on August 9, 1869: "The river turns sharply to the east, and seems enclosed by a wall, set; with a million brilliant gems. What can it mean? Every eye is engaged, everyone wonders. On coming nearer, we find fountains bursting from the rock, high overhead, and the spray in the sunshine forms the gems which bedeck the wall. The rocks below the fountain are covered with mosses, and ferns, and many beautiful flowering plants. We name it Vasey's Paradise, in honor of the botanist who traveled with us last year." #OTD Today is the birthday of the Belgium botanical illustrator, Helen Durand, who was born on this day in 1883. After taking classes in art and botany, Durand worked full-time in the garden of the royal Belgian Institute. Durand was meticulous and her work as an artist. Once she spent more than 105 hours drawing the cone of the Abies nobilis - commonly called the red fir, noble fir or Christmas Tree. #OTD Today is the birthday of Rachel Lowe Lambert Lloyd Mellon also known as Bunny Mellon. She got her nickname from a family nurse. Bunny's earliest memory was shared in the preface in one of her books. Bunny wrote that she remembered, "... being very small near a bed of tall, white, phlox in my godmothers garden. This towering forest of scent and white flowers was the beginning of ceaseless and trust, passion, and pleasure in gardens and books." Bunny's greatest passion was garden design. She became well known after designing the White House Rose garden. Bunny was a close friend of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. One of Bunny's first gardens was designed for Hattie Carnegie, who was a clothing designer. At the age of 23, Bunny designed her garden and even planted it. In exchange, Carnegie gave her a coat and a dress from her salon. A woman after my own heart, Bunny loved books and she had a wonderful collection of rear garden books, manuscripts and botanical prints. In fact, Bunny credited her books for inspiring her designs. She said, "my beginning, started with rare books on plants and garden plants, mostly French or Italian. They were like my Bibles." Unearthed Words Fairest of months ! ripe Summer's Queen ! The hey-day of the year, With robes that gleam with sunny sheen Sweet August doth appear. With rosy fruit her skirts are drest, Flowers her glory swell, And birthday wishes are most blest, Breathed 'neath her potent spell. - Richard Combe Miller Today's book recommendation: Complete Illustrated Guide to the Holistic Herbal by David Hoffmann This book offers advice on how to gather herbs and prepare remedies. Also includes a lovely reference in an A to Z format. For each herb, it tells how to grow, harvest, dry store and use each plant. Beginners using herbs will appreciate the step-by-step instructions for making tinctures, decoctions, infusions, and other types of homemade medicines. Today's Garden Chore If you're looking to add more shrubs to your garden, consider adding Black Lace Black Elder. Black lace is a very versatile plant. It handles tough conditions with ease. When it flowers it really goes overboard and tt looks extra-fantastic against the finally cut foliage. Each of the flowers has five stamens; the fragrance is lovely and it's extremely popular with pollinators. Black Lace is perfect for growing in a hedge and if you chop it back in spring to keep it more compact, you'll get even darker leaves - Bonus! Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today in 1945, the Japanese arborist, Masayuki, propagated a new generation of flame trees from the mother tree. The mother tree had survived the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. One of the trees is now located at the Glasgow botanic garden. It is planted at the entrance of the herb garden. And also here's some bonus sugar for you today: Today in 1967, the song San Francisco, performed by Scott McKenzie, started a four-week run at the number one spot on the UK singles chart. It's also referred to as the unofficial anthem of the counter culture movement of the 60s. The song starts out with these lyrics: "If you're going to San Francisco be sure to wear some flowers in your hair. If you're going to San Francisco you're going to meet some gentle people there." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
John Tabb wrote: "A flash of harmless lightning, A mist of rainbow dyes, The burnished sunbeams brightening From flower to flower he flies." He's talking of course about the hummingbird. Gardeners are enthralled by hummingbirds and will do next to anything to attract them to their garden. One of my happiest memories is being in my garden, working away, when I suddenly felt a little displacement of air on my cheek and I turned and found myself staring right at a hummingbird. Pure magic. Hummingbirds find food entirely by sight. If they see red, they zoom in for a closer look. This is why all the hummingbird feeder's have that "McDonald's cherry red" as a prominent feature of the feeder. On the other hand, the liquid it does not need to be red. Remember that. You can make your own simple nectar by combining one part sugar to four parts water in a sauce pan and then make a simple syrup by boiling it for two minutes. Allow the mixture to cool before before you fill your feeders and replace it every couple of days. And whatever you do, don't add anything else to your syrup. Do not add red dye and do not add honey; both are harmful two hummingbirds. And yes, you may not see them. Hummingbirds are notoriously sneaky. They can feed every 15 minutes without you even knowing, unless you're sitting right there or you happen to have your nest cam trained on your feeder. Finally, hummingbirds love some plants more than others. They are especially fond of honeysuckle. Their favorite flowers have to meet to their color criteria – red, red orange or pink blossoms. John Audubon called them "glittering fragments of the rainbow". Brevities #OTD Today is the day that the botanist Carl Peter Thunberg died in 1828. Thunberg has been called by many names – the father of South African botany Thunberg had actually been taught by Carl Linnaeus and Linnaeus encouraged him to continue his work in Paris and Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, Thunberg met the Burmans, a father and a son, and both botanical experts. From there, Thunberg joined the Dutch East India Company and he botanized in South Africa for three years. After South Africa, he traveled to Japan where he stayed for a little over a year. Before he went to Japan, Thunberg needed to learn Dutch. The Japanese were not about to convert to Christianity and so they had closed the country off to all European nations except for Holland in order to learn more about medicinal plants. When Thunberg went to Japan he was posing as a Dutchman instead of a Swede. 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 discovered Forsythia in Japan and he named it to honor William Forsyth. #OTD Today is the birthday of the Canadian botanist Julia Wilmotte Henshaw who was born on this day in 1869. Remembered as one of British Columbia's leading botanists, Henshaw studied for a bit with the botanist Charles Schaefer and his wife Mary Schaefer Warren. The two were surprised when Henshaw published Mountain Flowers of America in 1906. Rumor had it that the Schaefers may have felt Henshaw had co-opted their work, but another perspective would be that Henshaw was simply more driven and she was definitely an experienced author. In either case, the work needed to be published and by that time Henshaw had already written a few books so she was not slow to publish. In any case, she went on to publish two additional volumes on Canadian wildflowers. Henshaw was a founding member of the Canadian Alpine Club. Henshaw had a regular column called The Note Book that was featured in the Vancouver Sun newspaper where she was known as gentle Julia by her fellow journalists. Her weekly column is a delight to read even today. In April of 1937, she wrote: "If one were to tabulate all the proposals put forward as to what is to be done with that monstrosity called a fountain, in the centre of Lost Lagoon, I think it would occupy a whole column in the newspaper! Some want it to continue to work as a fountain, illuminated or not; others propose to turn it into a rockery." The last one she wrote talked about was a continuation of the previous weeks discussion of the destruction of forest areas. Henshaw always wrote with conviction and in that last column she aimed to rouse awareness: "I refer to the practice which has increased with each passing year of shipping enormous quantities of young Douglas firs by the carload to the United States for use as Christmas Trees. Surely this is a matter which should be promptly and peremptorily stopped." And here's a lovely excerpt from her post for this day August 8, 1935 "When one stops for an instant in the whirligig of daily life to think of "All things bright and beautiful," three words spring into prominence, namely music, children and gardens, each bringing a separate form of loveliness before our eyes, yet all three correlated in color, fragrance, and form." #OTD It's the anniversary of the death of the landscape painter John Henry Twachtman who died on this day in 1902. Twachtman was an impressionist painter known as one of "The Ten" a group of American Impressionists. It was said, they were gardening with a paintbrush. By the middle of the 1880s, American impressionists were returning home from France where they had learned to paint out-of-doors. At home in America, the gardening movement was well underway. So, when they were looking for things to paint, outside gardens became one of the foremost subjects. Following in the footsteps of Monet, the painters would gather their things and go out in search of flowers. This is a period of time, clearly drew the two great arts of painting and horticulture together. During this period, the painters or their spouses or their families often started gardens of their own. In the case of Twachtman, he lived in Greenwich, Connecticut and he turned his suburban yard into a place of beauty. In fact, Twachtman is known for featuring flowers from his own garden as well as painting his family casually living their life and enjoying the outdoors. Twachtman's painting called, In the Greenhouse, was exhibited by the National Gallery in 1902. And here's a funny story about John Twachtman that was shared in the El Paso Herald in 1902: A man who had once bought one of his landscape paintings, wanted Twachtman to weigh in on the hanging of the picture. Twachtman expressed his approval of the background, the height at which the canvas was hung, and the light. He said, "Indeed, there is only one change to make." "What is that?" inquired his host solicitously. Twachtman replied "You should hang it the other side up. I always have."
Unearthed Words
"A break in the heat away from the front no thunder, no lightning, just rain, warm rain falling near dusk falling on eager ground steaming blacktop hungry plants thirsty turning toward the clouds cooling, soothing rain splashing in sudden puddles catching in open screens that certain smell of summer rain."
- Raymond A. Foss, Summer Rain
Today's book recommendation: Herbs: Delicious Recipes and Growing Tips to Transform Your Food by Judith Hann Today's book is one of my favorites - Judith Hahn offers delicious recipes and growing tips to transform your food. And, I love the way Judith starts out talking about herbs in the forward of her book she writes, "Herbs have taken over my life. They have been catalysts in the kitchen, liberating my cooking by encouraging me to be more creative. And they have also helped me to become a more serious plantswoman, using the different shades of green, the texture and shape of the leaves, their intoxicating aroma and their glorious flowers to transform the look of my garden." And did I mention that this book is absolutely beautiful? Because it is- and the photography inspires creativity like crazy. My favorite part of the book is all the anecdotes along with Hahn's advice on how to make the most of the herbs in your garden.
Today's Garden Chore Today is the day to put the word peonies on your calendar. And you should put peonies on your calendar every day between now and the end of September to remind you that now is the time to transplant or divide your peonies if they need it. Peonies are best propagated through division. And when you plant a peony it's important not to bury their eyes. Experienced gardeners will tell you to plant your Peony high; with the crown no more than an inch or so beneath the soil surface. And remember: peonies no longer have to look like your grandma's did back in the 1920s. Now, peonies have an entirely new range of looks.
Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Here's a charming story I ran across about Thunberg's time in Japan. During his visit, Thunberg was confined to a small artificial island in Nagasaki harbor. Ever the clever end-rounder, Thunberg came up with a strategy to obtain botanical samples. Thunberg bought a goat. Then, he asked his Japanese assistants to collect plants to feed the goats. Thunberg knew that goats are picky eaters and it was through the plant material collected for the goats that Thunberg ended up receiving five different species of hydrangea previously unknown to the West. These hydrangeas would have been the lace caps – the ones that produce the beautiful UFO ring of blooms around the flowerhead of small florets and 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, Thunberg sent plants and letters to Linnaeus who in turn said that he had never had, "more delight and comfort from any other botanist". #FavoriteStudent #TeachersPet Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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