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
Is your rhubarb bolting already? When your rhubarb seems to be bolting too early, ask yourself these questions...
Unlike other bolting edibles, bolting rhubarb does not affect the taste of the stems. So you can chillax about that. Now, for what to do with that rhubarb flower... well, I have a friend who cuts them and puts them in a vase and treats them like a cut flower. Brevities #OTD It's the birthday of Alexander Pope, a gardener poet who helped inspire the English landscape garden. Born to a Catholic family, Pope was an only child. He was exceptionally bright, self-taught in numerous languages and the classics. When Pope was twelve he contracted Potts disease (a form of tuberculosis); the illness impacted his spine - he was a hunchback- and he was only four and a half feet tall. He had a passion for gardens and garden design. Little details from Pope's garden plans show his regard for ancient Rome as he had incorporated both a vineyard and a kitchen garden. Pope's Palladian villa and garden were separated by a road. Pope cleverly used a tunnel to go under the road in order to create private access to the garden from his home. The tunnel became his grotto; a masterpiece of mirrors, candles, shells, minerals and fossils. He described the thrill of finishing the grotto in a letter to his friend Edward Blount in 1725: "I have put the last hand to my works... happily finishing the subterraneous Way and Grotto: I then found a spring of the clearest water, which falls in a perpetual Rill, that echoes thru' the Cavern day and night. ...When you shut the Doors of this Grotto, it becomes on the instant, from a luminous Room, a Camera Obscura, on the walls of which all the objects of the River, Hills, Woods, and Boats, are forming a moving Picture... And when you have a mind to light it up, it affords you a very different Scene: it is finished with Shells interspersed with Pieces of Looking-glass in angular Forms... at which when a Lamp ...is hung in the Middle, a thousand pointed Rays glitter and are reflected over the place." Pope's villa and grotto became a tourist destination. After he died, new owners of his property were so annoyed by the attention that they destroyed both the garden and the villa. Today, plans are underway to restore the grotto to its former glory. #OTD It's the birthday of Henri Rousseau was born on this day in 1844. Rousseau didn't start painting until he was 40 years old. He submitted his work to the Salon in 1886 and was ridiculed. Nonetheless, he returned every year for the rest of his life with new pieces. One harsh critic said that Rousseau painted with his feet. Rousseau became famous for his jungle paintings. Although he had never been to the jungle, he had been to the botanical garden at Paris. The place was his muse. Rousseau said, "When I step into the hothouses and see the plants from exotic lands, it seems to me that I am in a dream." Unearthed Words Alexander Pope on His Grotto at Twickenham Thou who shalt stop, where Thames' translucent wave Shines a broad Mirror thro' the shadowy Cave; Where ling'ring drops from min'ral Roofs distill, And pointed Crystals break the sparkling Rill, Unpolish'd Gems no ray on Pride bestow, And latent Metals innocently glow. Approach! Great Nature studiously behold; And eye the Mine without a wish for Gold. Approach; but awful! Lo! th' Egerian Grot, Where, nobly-pensive, St. John sate and thought; Where British sighs from dying Wyndham stole, And the bright flame was shot thro' Marchmont's Soul. Let such, such only tread this sacred Floor, Who dare to love their Country, and be poor. Today's book recommendation: The Land of the Blue Poppies by Frank Kingdon Ward During the first years of the twentieth century, the British plant collector and explorer Frank Kingdon Ward went on 24 impossibly daring expeditions throughout Tibet, China, and Southeast Asia, in search of rare and elusive species of plants. Ward discovered the legendary Tibetan blue poppy and thanks to Ward, the seeds were introduced into the world's gardens. Ward's accounts capture all the romance of his wildly adventurous expeditions, whether he was swinging across a bottomless gorge on a cable of twisted bamboo strands or clambering across a rocky scree in fear of an impending avalanche. Today's Garden Chore Take a cue from Alexander Pope and connect your house to your garden with a path. This is especially lovely if you have a kitchen garden or if you grow edibles. By uniting these two areas, you're conveying the significance of the garden - as part of your home. With a series of paths and steps, you can also create offshoots to garden rooms or other distinct spaces. If your garden is feeling disjoint or too much like an island, a passage way could be the perfect way to achieve connection and harmony. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart #OTD It's the birthday of Richard Walter Pohl born today in 1916. Pohl was an expert on the grasses of temperate and tropical America. He was an avid gardener, growing fruits, vegetables and ornamentals at his home garden. One of the most impactful experiences in Pohl's career was the chance to teach an agrostology course in Costa Rica. He lost his heart to the plants and people there. Pohl made over 20 field expeditions to Costa Rica, Central and South America after 1966. He botanized in the region, collecting bamboos and grasses, amassing over 15,800 plants in his lifetime. When Pohl died in 1993, one of his former graduate students observed something uncanny. All the Costa Rican bamboo Pohl had brought to the University Greenhouse was in bloom. The bamboo had grown for years without ever flowering and like Pohl, they were at the end their life cycle. Once bamboo flowers, it dies. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Have you ever used a knife as a garden tool? Serrated knives are my favorite. The word serrated has latin origins meaning "saw shaped"; think of the serrated edges of Maple leaves. If you are a thrift shopper, at Goodwill, they keep most of the donated knifes in a case at the front of the store. You can just ask to see if they have any serrated knives - they are so handy in the garden for weeding and working with difficult spaces like between pavers or even just wearing out the root systems of weeds through continuous chopping above ground. Brevities #OTD Today is National Pick Strawberries Day Last year, instead of annual hanging baskets, I installed hanging strawberry baskets over my herb garden. They turned out great and it was fun to harvest (and eat) strawberries as I worked in the garden. There is undeniably something extra special about the taste of a sun-warmed strawberry picked straight off of the vine. Between me and my student gardeners, there weren't many strawberries left to bring in the house. Still, it was a fun alternative to an annual basket and I think I'll do it again this year. Strawberries are members of the rose family and they are unique in that their seeds are on the outside of the fruit. In the late 18th century, the first strawberries were grown in France. It's sweet to read early newspaper accounts of strawberries during the 1800s. In 1843 the New York daily Herald announced that the first strawberries went to Pattinson's on the corner of Ann and Nausau, and they reported that they were as red as the last day. It also noted that strawberries were selling in Baltimore at $.03-$.06 a quart for the best; While green peas were abundant - selling for two shillings a peck. Twenty years later, the first strawberries were announced in this adorable newspaper account out of Columbus Ohio - from the Daily Ohio Statesman, on May 27, 1864. Here's what it said: "The first strawberries of the season were visible to the naked eye and Charlie Wagner's show window yesterday– a window, by the way, in which everything new in the fruit line is always first seen in Columbus." Finally, news of the first strawberries of the season were shared with excitement in the 1800s and the early part of the 1900s. In an article in The Woodstock Mercuryout of Woodstock ,Vermont on July 27, 1854, strawberries made the list of a notable firsts that bring joy to life: "First things are good or bad, as it may happen or as you take them. The first shad or the sleighing, the first strawberries or first child, the first kiss of love or first pair of whiskers, these may be ranged among the primordial delights." #OTD On this day in 1902, America lost one of its most prominent horticulturalists – Horatio Hollis Hunnewell. Hunnewell was staggeringly wealthy. He was a railroad financier. But he also had a lifelong love of nature and gardening. When Hunnewell purchased over 40 acres of land along the eastern and southern shores of Lake Waban ("Wah-bin"), he built a magnificent estate there. He had married Isabella Pratt Wells and he decided to call his impressive home Wellesley in honor of his wife's maiden name Wells. When it came time for the nearby town and college to settle on a name, they also selected the name Wellesley after conferring with Hunnewell who was the most generous benefactor of the town. The Hunnewell estate was so large, that when the Hunnewell children grew up, seven of the nine had homes built on the property - right next to their parents original home. Aside from the impressive homes, Hunnewell added many magnificent features to the estate including a pinetum with over 325 specimen to conifers. Hollis Honeywell made the following remark in 1899 In reference to his trees,"No Vanderbilt, with all his great wealth, can possess one of these for the next 50 years, for could not be grown in less time than that." And, Hunnewell also installed the very first topiary Garden in America at Wellesley. He referred to it as the Italian Garden and it was ideally situated along the shore of Lake Waban. When it came to the Topiary Garden, Hunnewell went all out. Whenever he had guests, Hunnewell would have them hop aboard a large authentic Italian Gondola boat complete with an authentically dressed gondola man. After they would glide up to the Topiary Gardens, they would stop to take a tour. Hunnewell's shores rivaled that of Lake Como in northern Italy. It's difficult to fathom how much attention this one-of-a-kind garden received from the public. Thousands of visitors from all over the country came to Wellesley just to see the topiary garden firsthand. Many more took in its beauty through photographs and engravings published in the most popular periodicals of the time. To this day — a century and a half later — the Hunnewell topiary garden is among the most spectacular sites in the region. There are a few notable tidbits related to Honeywell that bear mention. The first is that Hunnewell and his friend Nathaniel Thayer Jr. are credited with bringing the game of tennis to America. The second Is that Honeywell was the first person to cultivate and popularize rhododendrons In the United States. #OTD On this day in 1913, the first Chelsea Flower Show was held in Chelsea General Hospital. Originally called the Royal Horticultural Society's Great Spring Show, it was first held in 1862, at the RHS garden in Kensington. #OTD On this day in 2003, garden designer Paul Martin won a silver medal at London's Chelsea Flower Show. His garden was called 'Lazy Salad Days'.Martin featured 25 varieties of salad plants in a five by four-and-a-half metre garden space, which also incorporated two tasteful wooden-slatted loungers. Martin beat 11 other competitors to get the silver medal and was the only Irish exhibitor at Chelsea that year. Unearthed Words : Song on May Morning by John Milton, 1608 - 1674 Now the bright morning-star, Day's harbinger, Comes dancing from the East, and leads with her The flowery May, who from her green lap throws The yellow cowslip and the pale primrose. Hail, bounteous May, that dost inspire Mirth, and youth, and warm desire! Woods and groves are of thy dressing; Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing. Thus we salute thee with our early song, And welcome thee, and wish thee long. Today's book recommendation: Wild Fruits: Thoreau's Rediscovered Last Manuscript Hardcover by Henry David Thoreau and edited by Bradley P. Dean Thoreau's Walden (1854) is regarded both as a masterpiece of American prose and as a forerunner of modern environmentalism. Its author spent much of the 1850s learning what botany could teach him about the New England woods he chronicled. Thoreau brought that knowledge to bear on this sometimes very beautiful essay about plants, fruits and nuts, left incomplete at his death in 1862 and here printed for the first time. Thoreau's Walden (1854) is regarded both as a masterpiece of American prose and as a forerunner of modern environmentalism. Its author spent much of the 1850s learning what botany could teach him about the New England woods he chronicled. Thoreau brought that knowledge to bear on this sometimes very beautiful essay about plants, fruits and nuts, left incomplete at his death in 1862 and here printed for the first time. Thoreau's brief preface to Wild Fruits begins where Walden left off: ""What are all the oranges imported into England to the hips and haws in her hedges?" This book is arranged by fruit: beginning with elm-fruit (""most mistake the fruit before it falls for leaves, and we owe to it the first deepening of the shadows in our streets""), and proceeds through several dozen entries to sassafras, skunk cabbage, strawberries, cranberries, juniper berries and, finally, "winter fruits." Today's Garden Chore If you don't know where to start, focus on the edges of your garden. Tidying up the edges is a quick way to get an instant, positive, cleaned-up look to the garden. Once the edges are addressed, you can begin to move back into the beds where your work may not be as noticeable but it is just as important. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart In the Spring of 1848, botanist Ludwig Leichhardt and a small group of explorers began what was to be a two to three year expedition across Australia. Shortly thereafter, the entire party vanished with barely a trace. Known as the 'Prince of Explorers', Leichhardt was 35 when he was lost to time. Two years before his death, on this day in 1846, Leichhardt wrote a letter to his botanist contact and friend M. Durando, of Paris. Leichhardt's letter conveys the extreme difficulties and dangers faced by the early plant explorers. He wrote, "My dear friend, You have, no doubt, noticed and regretted my long silence. There was no post to bring me your letters in the wilderness of Australia, through which I was endeavoring to penetrate in a North West direction, nor to carry those epistles which I should have enjoyed to address to you. Thank God, my efforts have met with success, and I was preserved in the hours of danger... You may easily suppose that I lost no opportunity of making botanical collections... But you must bear this in mind, my good friend, ... it was not my lot to travel all at my ease... On the contrary, I was compelled to do everything; I was alike leader of the party and bullock driver, and I had to load and unload three beasts of burthen, often several times in the day. All the cares of such a position were laid upon me ; mine were the anxieties during the hour of difficulty and peril. To arrange our camp, deal out provision, kill the bullocks, and mend the harness, to compile the log and day-book of our route, to determine the latitude and longitude, and to keep nightly watch, all these various and ever-recurring occupations devolved upon me. .... Gladly would I have made drawings of my plants, and noted fully all particulars of the different species which I saw ; and how valuable would such memoranda have been... [as] four of my pack-horses having been drowned. Botanical and geological specimens thus abandoned—how disappointing! From four to five thousand plants were thus sacrificed... I hope my next expedition will be a famous one for botany... Oh, that my friend Durando could accompany me! When I come home, I trust to be laden like a bee ; for the northwest is the district in which to look for a remarkable Flora, where the Australian types are blended with those of India... I hear that Humboldt has at length published his Cosmos, but I have not seen the book. You perceive that I use the English language for my letter ; the long period of bush-life has rendered my French very rusty; but when I return from my next trip, I trust to regain my fluency in that noble language. My journal of the journey to Port Essington is now in hand, and will be completed, I expect, in eight weeks more. Ludwig Leickhardt Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Are you feeling it yet? The urge to get going in the garden? I was reading a book from 1915 about spring, it started this way, "If you are not dead, you will feel the sap start within you..." Everyone comes to the garden in their own time. If you're not yet ready to put your pots together or take on gardening the way you did last year, that's completely fine. Sometimes the seasons of our lives, don't align with the seasons of the year. In seasons of loss or grief or depression, we can lose time. We can be out of sync. If that is happening to you this season, please know it is ok to take a break. Instead, enjoy the beauty around you in ways that feel right to you... until you feel the sap start within you again... Brevities #OTD Today in 1510, Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli died. His painting Allegory of Abundance or Autumn is one of his most elaborate and detailed drawings and it depicts an abundance of flowers and fruits. #OTD Today in 1874, the horticultural hornet, George Glenny died. He was 83 years old. Glenny was an opinionated gardener. Known for his sharp tongue and difficult personality, he was called the horticultural hornet by Will Tjaden. He was critical of John Claudius Loudon, Joseph Paxton, and Joseph Harrison. And yet, he was benevolent; assisting the efforts of numerous charities and causes during his time; including the Duke of York Column in London. Glenny started the Horticultural Journal, which was followed in 1837 with the first garden newspaper, The Gardeners' Gazette. These early accomplishments brought Glenny much satisfaction; he knew his work was taken to heart by his readers and his suggestions were being acted upon. As the editor of his paper wrote, "There will be few to deny that his vigorous pen has contributed as much as, that of any single writer to the great and ever-increasing popularity of gardening amongst the people." Through it all, Glenny was a devoted garden writer; sharing his knowledge of gardening with the people, week in and week out, through the very first gardening column and through numerous other articles and writings. His books were affordable; anyone could buy them - and they did. During the Victorian age Glenny was an active contributor to garden literature. No doubt Glenny's advice was swirling about in the heads of many new gardeners. #OTD Today in 1934, The Times Herald out of Port Huron Michigan, shared quite the article about Plant Exploration. With the onset of commencement season, The USDA Would receive an annual batch of letters asking about "agricultural exploring as a career, what the job Is, how to qualify, and what the future prospect are". The article shared that answers to those questions would be spelled out this way: "Knowles A. Ryerson, formerly in charge of the plant exploration before his promotion to Chief of the Bureau of Plant Industry, recognizes such ambition as the natural outcropping of adventurous spirits, and he sympathizes with the boy whose mind is turning that way. An agricultural explorer has to be a natural plant lover and must have studied botany and other plant subjects, and must have worked with plants in the field and garden. In addition, he must have a good general education as well as sound technical knowledge. He must have certain other Indispensable qualities - robust health and a good sense of humor. He must not only stand hard traveling in rugged countries day after day, but must be able to go to bed on an empty stomach after a trying day's work and sleep on a rough box without feeling abused. "I see no Indication that plant exploration will become unnecessary, but every indication that the requirements for plant exploration will continue to become even more exacting. I would not want to discourage any boy from the effort, but there is no denying that it would-be Plant Hunter has a man-sized job ahead of him if he is to prepare himself to qualify for one of the relatively few openings." #OTD Today is the birthday of Bernadette Cozart born in 1949. Cozart was a professional gardener and urban gardening advocate. She founded the greening of Harlem coalition in 1989. Her efforts transformed Harlem, bringing flower gardens and green spaces. It was Bernadette Cozart who said, "Instead of taking children on field trips to see farms and gardens, why not bring nature into the community? I don't think it's fair that they should have to go outside the community to have that experience of seeing things grow." #OTD Today in Lafayette Colorado, the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism starts their Rocky Mountain Field Botany Certificate Course. Designed to provide a thorough introduction to field botany, positive plant identification, wild-crafting ethics, and Sustainable harvesting and preservation techniques, this year they will have an additional focus on wild edible plants. #OTD Today in New Zealand, there is a one-day interactive workshop open to anyone interested in learning more about the concept of market gardening, creating one for personal food production, or setting one up as a business. The workshop is sponsored by the Green Cauldron Farm and presented by a range of industry experts including internationally renowned bio-intensive gardening educator and restoration grazing consultant Jodi Roebuck from Roebuck Farm. This is a unique opportunity to hear and learn from industry leaders about how to start and operate a successful market garden, with the workshop conducted on the 105-acre Green Cauldron Farm, set in the beautiful Tyalgum ("Tal-gum") hills just one hour from the Gold Coast and nestled in the shadow of Mt Warning. The brainchild of Katie and James Geralds, the farm was established as a research and development hub to realise their goal of innovative and sustainable use of harvests from around the region. It already produces a range of fresh produce supplied to some of the best-known restaurants in South East Queensland and a range of pantry preserves highlighting Australian native ingredients. Unearthed Words: May and the Poets by James Henry Leigh Hunt A poem naming a handful of the poets to have written about Maytime There is May in books forever; May will part from Spenser never; May's in Milton, May's in Prior, May's in Chaucer, Thomson, Dyer; May's in all the Italian books:— She has old and modern nooks, Where she sleeps with nymphs and elves, In happy places they call shelves, And will rise and dress your rooms With a drapery thick with blooms. Come, ye rains, then if ye will, May's at home, and with me still; But come rather, thou, good weather, And find us in the fields together. Today's book recommendation: "The Golden Circle" (1977) by Hal Borland This is a book of writings for children, arranged by months of the year. I love these month-by-month books. The drawings in this book are outstanding. Mr. Borland won the John Burroughs Medal, considered the country's highest award for nature writing, in 1968. Two of his books, "Sundial of the Seasons" (1964) and "An American Year" (1973), are collections of his editorials. His other books include "A Place to Begin: The New England Experience" (1976). Today's Garden Chore It's another Photo Friday in the Garden. Today take pictures of all the trees in your garden. Trees provide your garden with tremendous structure and a ceiling - making your space seem more intimate. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart After researching George Glenny, I came across his obituary which appeared in Lloyd's weekly newspaper ten days after his passing. It talked about how for 25 years, Mr. Glenny's Garden article had faithfully appeared in the paper. In fact, he had sent his last column to the editor only a day or two before his death. Glenny had titled his article "A Few Words For Myself". But, then, he must've had a change of heart because he had crossed that out. Whatever new title he thought would be better never made it onto the page. His readers no doubt were moved by his recollections - especially since they them with the knowledge that Glenny was gone. Here's what he wrote about his life: "Sixty-seven years ago I had a very fine collection of auriculas and of twenty rows of tulips, and visited several good amateur cultivators, from whom I received great encouragement and occasionally presents of flowers and plants. I cultivated my stock at Hackney. I was soon old enough to attend floral meetings, and there were plenty of them at Bethnal-green, Hoxton, Islington, Hackney, and other suburban localities. And from observation of the doings of the most successful amateurs I had become a very successful grower of the auricula, the tulip, ranunculus, polyanthus, and other florists' flowers. I had learned something from everybody and took many prizes. I then, at the earnest request of some real friends of floriculture, wrote treatises upon all the flowers I had cultivated, and they were all founded on my own practice." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Do you know what to look for on a plant tag? The first major thing I look at is growing zone. Often the plant tag will give a range for the growing zone like 5-9 or 3-7. This is why knowing your growing zone is key. If you don't know, you just need to ask someone at the garden center -they should know what growing zone you are in. Now, as an experienced gardener, let me tell you what happens to me a few times every summer. I see a plant at my garden center. I fall in love with it. I look at the tag and whaddya know - it's not for my zone. So, I put it back. If it's not for my zone, it will not be able to handle the winter temperatures here. I really don't like it when garden centers pass these plants off to unsuspecting gardeners. We've all done this - bought a plant that won't survive over winter because we forgot to check the tag. Sometimes, when I do catch a plant that is being sold that is not for my zone, I channel my inner gingerbread man - "ha ha ha- you can't catch me!" So know your zone... and check those plant tags for growing zones. Brevities #OTD It's the birthday of Luigi Fenaroli born today in 1899. Fenaroli Is known for his book Flora of the Alps and Other Mountains, as well as his work on chestnut varieties. #OTD On this day in 1901 The botanist Charles Theodore Mohr wrote a letter expressing his relief at completing his major work – a book called Plant Life of Alabama. "With the completion of this life work, a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I feel free to take on other tasks. As long as there is work, I will go to Tuscaloosa to the Herbarium which I helped start 20 years ago. Completing my work on the herbarium is my botanical goal for the remainder of my life." Mohr wrote those words two months before his death. At the time his book was published he was seventy seven years old. Mohr spent decades gathering the information and plant specimens for his work. He was a trained pharmacist and one of Alabama's first botanists. Born in Germany and educated in Stuttgart, Mohr traveled the world before settling in Alabama. He collected in Surinam, emigrated to the United States in 1848, took part in the California gold rush, lived briefly Mexico, Indiana, and Kentucky. In 1857 he started Chas. Mohr & Son Pharmacists and Chemists in Mobile, Alabama. His personal herbarium specimens were donated to the University of Alabama Herbarium (15,000 specimens) and the United States National Herbarium (18,000 specimens). The following plants are named for Charles Theodore Mohr: Andropogon mohrii (Hack.) Hack ex Vasey Mohr's bluestem Grass family Aristida mohrii Nash Mohr's threeawn Grass family Eupatorium mohrii Greene Mohr's thoroughwort Aster family Marshallia mohrii Beadle & F.E. Boynt. Mohr's Barbara's buttons Aster family Rudbeckia mohrii Gray Mohr's coneflower Aster family Silphium mohrii Small Mohr's rosinweed Aster family Tephrosia mohrii (Rydb.) Godfrey pineland hoarypea Pea family Quercus mohriana Buckl. Ex Rydb. Mohr oak Oak family #OTD If you're in Winnipeg today between 11:30 and 12:30 you should head down to the University of Winnipeg and grab yourself some free seedlings as part of the 4th annual biology department plant giveaway. The fruiting and flowering plants have been cared for and grown by students in the biology department. Some of the plants you can expect to find at the giveaway: -tomatoes -cucumbers -nasturtiums -sunflowers Unearthed Words Here's a poem called May from the lyrical poet, Sara Teasdale "The wind is tossing the lilacs, The new leaves laugh in the sun, And the petals fall on the orchard wall, But for me the spring is done. Beneath the apple blossoms I go a wintry way, For love that smiled in April Is false to me in May." Today's book recommendation: Wild at Home: How to style and care for beautiful plants by Hilton Carter Make your home a healthier and more beautiful place to be with Hilton Carter's inspirational ideas. "Hilton Carter's love for plants is infectious... His lush and exuberant displays are inspiring reminders that plants can be so much more than neat little containers on a window sill." Carter is a plant stylist. Take a tour through Hilton's own apartment and other lush spaces, filled with a huge array of thriving plants, and learn all you need to know to create your own urban jungle. As the owner of over 200 plants, Hilton feels strongly about the role of plants in one's home—not just for the beauty they add, but for health benefits as well: 'having plants in your home not only adds life, but changes the airflow throughout. It's also a key design element when styling your place. "For me, it wasn't about just having greenery, but having the right variety of greenery. I like to see the different textures of foliage all grouped together. You take a fiddle leaf fig and sandwich it between a birds of paradise and a monstera and…. yes!' You will be armed with the know-how you need to care for your plants, where to place them, how to propagate, how to find the right pot, and much more, and most importantly, how to arrange them so that they look their best. Combine sizes and leaf shapes to stunning effect, grow your own succulents from leaf cuttings, create your own air plant display, and more. Currently Hilton has over 300 plants in his home and studio, creating what many would call an urban jungle. Today's Garden Chore: Plant some fall bloomers in the back of your border. Think Asters, sedums, sunflowers, zinnias and so forth. Fall bloomers can be tall and leggy. They often benefit from growing up through a cage or being staked. If you place them at the back of the garden, the shorter plants in the front can help support it and hide the late-bloomer and it's supports until it is ready to shine. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart #OTD It's the anniversary of The Floral Emblem selection for the state of Kentucky; they selected the Goldenrod in 1926. It had been the Bluegrass but Kentucky gardening clubs felt it wasn't representative of the whole state. Alabama and Nebraska also picked the native goldenrod to be the State Flower. Goldenrod has a lot of haters; many people confuse it for ragweed. I hate to even say that - because I think that makes people think they must look similar. That's just not true. Yet, once you see them individually - you could never confuse them. Ragweed's flowers are green and not eye-catching while goldenrod's are golden and very pretty. I saw an infographic a few years ago that said, "Goldenrod Warning: if I'm here, so is ragweed. Stay indoors! Achoo!" This would be the same as saying, The black eyed-susans are blooming. So is ragweed. The Joe Pye Weed is blooming. So is ragweed. So are all the late summer bloomers - echinacea, Helenium, oriental lily, asters, balloon flowers, sedums, tickseed, autumn crocus, japanese anemones, blue mist shrub, hydrangeas, the list goes on and on. The genus name Solidago is taken from the Latin "in solidum ago vulnera" and meaning to "I make wounds whole." Native Americans and Herbalists recognize the curative power of goldenrod. It's an early autumn bloomer goldenrod is an important food source for honey bees and it is a fantastic cut flower. Botanical painter Anne Ophelia Todd Dowden who painted the goldenrod with minute detail said, "Abundant it may be, but repugnant it is not." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Plant height is one of the factors often indicated on plant tags. But mature height often takes ten years - especially if you're talking about trees and shrubs. Most plants benefit from some amount of pruning - in which case their height can be controlled. BTW, Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on the planet. It can grow 3 feet in just 24 hours. Brevities #OTD President Abraham Lincoln created the U.S. Department of Agriculture today in 1862. When Lincoln signed the bill, he was bombarded with advice about who should be the first Commissioner of Agriculture. Perhaps he should choose the editor of a Farm magazine? Perhaps a scientist would be best? Maybe a simple pragmatist? A man named Isaac Newton - a direct descendant of Sir Isaac Newton - got the job. Newton was born in Burlington County, New Jersey on March 31, 1800. He had set up an impeccable farm in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. Newton's farm was a model for others; efficient, orderly; and productive. After advocating for farmers for over two decades, Newton was picked to be the chief of the agricultural section of the Patent Office. A master relationship builder; every week Newton sent butter from his dairy farm to the White House. It wasn't long before Newton, and his entire family became friends with the Lincolns. That's why when it came time for Lincoln to make the appointment for commissioner of the USDA, Newton had a firm lock on the job in Lincoln's mind. When he was appointed, Isaac Newton, quoted Jonathan Swift saying, "It should be the aim of every young farmer to do not only as well as his father, but to do his best: to make two blades of grass grow where but only one grew before." Newton brought the same high standards and efficiency he had cultivated for his farm to the USDA. Three years after his appointment, on the evening of April 15, 1865, around 10:30 PM, it was Isaac Newton who had rushed over to the White House, and informed the doorkeeper, Thomas Pendall, that President Lincoln had been shot. In his account of the incident, the doorkeeper said Newton was a bosom friend the president. Sadly, Newton experienced a severe case of sunstroke while surveying the experimental farm in Washington, D.C. The incident debilitated him for a year before he passed a way. He died in office at the age of 67 in 1867 after serving for four years. #OTD On this day, Governor David B. Hill signed a law creating the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve; ensuring the land "be forever kept as wild forest lands." The previous year, Charles Sprague Sargent had been appointed to lead a three-member committee to investigate the Adirondack wilderness. Thanks to the Sargent commission, the area was preserved and Sargent's team created two historically important maps of the Adirondacks. On the 1890 map, Forest areas were outlined in red and the park was outlined in blue. Today, the "blue line" is a term used to mean boundaries of the Adirondack and Catskill Parks. And, if you get a chance to check out the original map, you'll see that the blue ink has turned almost black -after a century of aging. The park land around the Adirondack and Catskill has expanded over the years. Today, the two parks combined comprise more than 6,000,000 acres; larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier, Grand Canyon, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks combined. #OTD An article called "The Prettiest Wild Flowers." by Ettie C. Alexander was featured in the San Francisco Call, May 15, 1898. In the article, Ettie shared her magnificent experiences collecting wildflowers around San Francisco before the turn-of-the-century. In the span of a decade, Ettie had noticed a remarkable decline in the quantity and quality wildflowers in the area. Here's her comment about the California Cream Cups - an Annual herb in the poppy family found mainly in California. She said, "Nine years ago, cream cups grew in great profusion all around San Francisco. The most beautiful ones that I have ever seen were near Holy Cross Cemetery. I have picked dozens of them in former years as large as a dollar. But now you can scarcely find a plant, and the blossoms are small and of an inferior quality. A great many other varieties of flowers that once were plentiful have disappeared entirely." In the article, it said that Alexander's wildflower collection was the best in the state of California. And Alexander, had teamed up with a chemist; and had worked to refine a process – a preservative – that would help the wild flowers retain their fresh-picked, original color. Alexander's process worked remarkably well. Yet, sadly she never disclosed her formula to the public. Two side comments about Alexander are worth sharing;: First, Alexander was never able to find a process to preserve the brilliant color of the poppy for more than two years. Second, in all of her works she's known simply as E C Alexander. I had to do a great deal of sleuthing just to discover that her first name was Ettie. Unfortunately, there's next to nothing written about her. It seems, for now, the rest of her story is lost to the ages. #OTD Today, the New Orleans Museum of Art will unveil its 6.5-acre Sculpture Gardenexpansion. The beloved Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden has earned awards from both the American Society of Landscape Architects, as well as the American Institute of Architects. It's home to dozens of primarily 19th and 20th century sculptures from around the world, valued at more than $25 Million. The new expansion includes an installation of 26 new pieces of art, 65 new trees, 475 shrubs, 1.7 acres of groundcovers, 1.13 acres of open lawn, and 9.35 acres of aquatic planting; as well as the creation of an indoor sculpture pavilion and an outdoor amphitheater with beautiful, grass-stepped seating. Sounds amazing! Unearthed Words The world lost the poet Emily Dickinson on this day in 1886. Every year, the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst hosts A poetry walk to mark the anniversary of the poets death. This year the walk takes place on Saturday, May 18 From 10:30 AM to 12 PM. The walk begins on the homestead lawn and proceeds through Amherst - stopping at Important historical sites that were significant to Dickinson. The walk ends at her grave in West Cemetery. At the cemetery, you can join in the traditional light hearted lemonade toast to the poet and also read a favorite Dickinson poem or memory of Emily Dickinson. Here's one of Emily's poems - we'll take a second to toast her... Perhaps you'd like to buy a flower? But I could never sell. If you would like to borrow Until the daffodil Unties her yellow bonnet Beneath the village door, Until the bees, from clover rows Their hock and sherry draw, Why, I will lend until just then, But not an hour more! Emily grew up gardening. She would help her mother with their large edible and ornamental garden. The flower garden became Emilys responsibility when she got older. She planted in a carefree cottage garden style. After Emily died, her sister Lavinia took over the garden. Emily's niece and editor Martha Dickinson Bianchi recalls: "All [Lavinia's] flowers did as they liked: tyrannized over her, hopped out of their own beds and into each other's beds, were never reproved or removed as long as they bloomed; for a live flower to Aunt Lavinia was more than any dead horticultural principle." Today's book recommendation: Ina Coolbrith: The Bittersweet Song of California's First Poet Laureate by Aleta George I discovered Ina Coolbrith when I was researching Ettie Alexander. Ettie's book on wildflowers included some poems by Coolbrith. Coolbrith was the niece of THE Joseph Smith of the Mormon Church. She became California's poet laureate. In post-Gold Rush San Francisco, she was known as the pearl of her tribe, a tribe that included Bret Harte, Mark Twain, and John Muir. Jack London and Isadora Duncan considered her their literary godmother, and John Greenleaf Whittier knew more of her poems by heart than she did his. Today's Garden Chore : Top-dress your raised beds with a couple inches of organic compost. After a season of rest, I start planting season off by adding nutrients back into my beds where I grow my edibles. When I harvest my spring crops, I'll add even more compost to keep the soil nutrient rich throughout the summer. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart #OTD Today in 1869 Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in New York. As part of her rhetoric to fight for the right to vote, Elizabeth Cady Staton used the metaphor of the original garden when she said, "Eve tasted the apple in the Garden of Eden in order to slake that intense thirst for knowledge that the simple pleasure of picking flowers and talking to Adam could not satisfy." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Most gardeners share a common secret: they never feel like they know enough about gardening to call themselves an expert. If you feel this way after years of gardening, you're not alone. Over two centuries ago, Thomas Jefferson sent a letter to his friend, the painter Charles Wilson Peale. He's lamenting the limitations of his garden at Monticello. He concludes with one of my favorite garden quotes of all time: "But tho, an old man, I am but a young gardener." Brevities #OTD It's the birthday of Mary Delany Born today in 1700. Mary Delany led an extraordinary life. The family had forced her to marry a very old man when she was 17. He was an alcoholic. To make matters worse, when he died, he forgot to include her in his will. Despite her lack of inheritance, Mary realized that, as a widow, she had much more freedom than she had as a single young lady. In society, she could do as she pleased. Love came knocking on her door in June 1743 when she married a doctor named Patrick Delany - an Irish clergyman. Her family wasn't thrilled with the idea of her getting married again. But, Delaney did it anyway. She and Patrick moved to Dublin where Delaney had a home. They both shared a love for gardening. When Patrick died, Mary was widowed again; this time at the age of 68. But Mary's life was not over. She hit it off with Margaret Bentinck. Bentinck was the Duchess of Portland, and together they pursued botanical activities. They loved to go out into the fields and collect specimens. It was thanks to the Duchess that Mary got to know Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. When Mary was in her early 70s, she took up decoupage - which was all the rage at the time - and she created marvelous depictions of flowers. Today, historians believe Mary probably dissected plants in order to create her art. Botanists from all over Europe would send her specimens. King George the Third and Queen Charlotte were her patrons. They ordered any curious or beautiful plant to be sent to Delaney when in blossom so she could use them to create her art. Her paper mosaics, as she called them, were made out of tissue paper. She created almost 1000 pieces of art between the ages of 71 and 88. If you ever see any of her most spectacular decoupage pieces, you'll be blown away at the thought of them being made from tiny pieces of tissue paper by Mary Delany in the twilight of her life in the late 1700s. #OTD Today in 1796 Edward Jenner injected his gardener's son with cowpox. The boy's name was James Phipps. James was eight years old. Jenner injected him with fluid from a cowpox blister from a milkmaid named Sarah Nelmes and she had contracted cowpox from a cow named Blossom. In the late 1700s, people thought the folks who took care of cows and had been infected with cowpox, would then not be able to catch smallpox. What Edward Jenner essentially did was to vaccinate James against smallpox. The word vaccinate is from the Latin word for cow. #OTD It's the birthday of John Alexander Montgomery Cushnie, born today in 1943. Cushnie was a landscape designer, writer, and broadcaster. He was a tall, good-looking Irishman. Listeners were often surprised to see how handsome he was after just listening to his voice on the radio for so many years. Cushnie became a household name in England once he became a regular panelist on the show gardeners question time for 15 years. Cushnie was 66 years old when he appeared on the show for his final broadcast right before Christmas. He was enjoying his first week of retirement when it was cut short by his sudden death from a heart attack on New Year's Eve In 2009. On the show, Cushnie cultivated a wicked sense of humor. He was not a fan of poinsettias. He reacted to a discussion about dogs peeing in the garden by saying, "The dog is simply marking his territory... the only thing [the urine of] a male dog will not kill is a lamppost." When asked about lawn damage by playing children, John said let the children play, they aren't young for long. Many times, his ultimate response to a problem posed by a gardener would simply be - "just dig it up". Unearthed Words It's the birthday of Harold Glenn Borland Born today In 1900. Borland was known as the chronicler of the seasons. He went by Hal, and he was a naturalist as well as the writer. Borland wrote an editorial column in the New York Times for 35 years. His last column appeared the day before he died in 1978. He never signed his work, but everyone knew it was written by Borland. Like John Burroughs, Borland had sympathy for and simple communion with the natural world. His writings reflected his essence. Here's a sample of springtime according to Borland: "The violets will come, in their own time. That is all that was written in the sky by Friday's equinox. The sun's summons will not be answered overnight, but the answer is inevitable. The first hungry bee at the first crocus hums of June, and the first green leaf forecast cool summer shade. All is in order. Spring is the earth's commitment to the year." And here are some of Borland's most famous sayings: "No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." "April is a promise that May is bound to keep" "If you would know strength and patience, welcome the company of trees." "Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence." "You fight dandelions all weekend, and late Monday afternoon there they are, pert as all get out, in full and gorgeous bloom, pretty as can be, thriving as only dandelions can in the face of adversity." Today's book recommendation: Mrs. Delany: Her Life and Her Flowers by Ruth Hayden In 1980, a descendant of Mary Delany's sister Anne, Ruth Hayden, published a book on Delany's work: Mrs. Delany and Her Flower Collages, which was reissued in 2000 as Mrs. Delany: Her Life and Her Flowers (British Museum Press). Today's Garden Chore - Yesterday, we talked about herbs that grow in shade, but shade can also be used to slow down growth of some herbs and plants that grow quickly - the ones that can get away from you. Think about basil or swiss chard. I always plant these in my southern kitchen garden - but I plant a few backup containers on the east and west sides of my house. It will grow slower there; that means I can be more leisurely about harvesting there. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart When I was researching Borland, I came across this little passage he wrote about Podophyllum peltatum the Mayapple. "In a painful time of my life I went often to a wooded hillside where May apples grew by the hundreds, and I thought the sourness of their fruit had symbolism for me. Instead, I was to find both love and happiness soon thereafter. So to me, [the May apple] is the mandrake, the love symbol, of the old dealers in plant restoratives." Mayapple is in the barberry family. These plants contain a toxin used to treat the plantar wart. The May apple also goes by other common names like American mandrake, wild mandrake, and ground lemon. Today, this native perennial is grown as ornamental plants for its attractive foliage and flowers which bloom in May. It bears an egg-shaped fruit whose common name is "Mayapple", "love apples" or "American mandrake." Folklore says the mandrake root is an aphrodisiac. According to Emma Darwin's diary, Charles Darwin started taking 'pod.', an extract or resin from the root of Podophyllum peltatum or Mayapple, on 24 March 1864 - probably using it for his stomach troubles since it was a purgative. But take heed—mandrake is poisonous. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Have you ever taken a class on gardening? If you're in the Calgary area, there's an excellent class taking place tonight from 7 to 9 PM It's part of the "Garden On" Lecture series. Tonight's focus is on herbs. If you're new to gardening, herbs make for wonderful starter plants. They are easy to grow, generally trouble-free, and versatile. They can be incorporated into almost any garden situation. Tonight's class will cover
The class will be at the Acadia Recreation Complex in Calgary tonight at 7 PM. Brevities #OTD It's the birthday of Enid Annenberg Haupt, born today in 1906. The very woman the president of the New York Botanical Garden called, "The greatest patron American horticulture has ever known." Enid was one of eight children; her parents Sadie and Moses had one son and seven daughters. Her father was the founder of a large publishing empire. Enid followed in his footsteps was an heiress to the large family fortune. Enid's first marriage ended in divorce. Her second marriage to Ira Haupt launched her philanthropic activities and introduced her to the world of gardening. When they were engaged, Ira gave Enid a cymbidium orchid. At the time, cymbidium orchids were rare in the United States. Enid was immediately enthralled by it. She told Ira that for her wedding present from him, she would be very happy with a gift of 13 cymbidium orchids. She was set on learning how to grow them herself and propagate them on her own. In fact, the cultivar Cymbidium Enid Haupt was named in her honor. Enid found this ironic, since that particular orchid is known for its fertility. Enid could not have children of her own. However, she and Ira eventually adopted a little girl they named Pamela. Enid's brother, Walter, gave her a chance to be a publisher. Initially,Enid was terrified. Yet, Enid had proved she had many talents. She was a good writer. She loved to grow orchids. She had an impeccable sense of style. When it came to running a magazine, Enid felt she was over the tips of her skis. Walter insisted she give it a go. In 1953, Enid was put in charge of the magazine Seventeen. She ran the magazine until 1970. During her tenure, Seventeenmagazine was more popular than Glamour, and twice as popular as Mademoiselle. At one point, more than half of the teenage girls in the United States were reading Seventeenmagazine. When Enid died in 2005, she had donated more than $140 million to charities. Her favorite charities involved gardening. This is how Enid became known as "the fairy godmother of American horticulture" and "the patron saint of public gardens." One of Enid's largest gifts was to the New York Botanical Garden. Over her lifetime, Enid gave them over $34 million – $5 million of which was dedicated to the restoration of the stunning Victorian glass greenhouse now called the Enid Haupt Conservancy. Without Enid, the greenhouse would have been demolished. In 1993, Enid told the Times, "I must have a project.That should be my middle name; Project. I'm really and truly not happy without one." And it was in Enid Haupt, who said, "Nature is my religion. There is no life in cements and paint. " #OTD Today in 1995 Allison Hargraeves became the first woman to reach the top of Mount Everest unaided. When she got to the peak, Hargraeves planted a silk flower. #OTD On this day in 2013, Ohio State University's greenhouse smells like a mix of sauerkraut and dead fish. This scent was from the bloom of the corpse flower, the rare titan arum. The corpse flower is from Sumatra. Discovered in the late 1800s by an Italian botanist, there have been less than 200 blooms in the world since its discovery. In 1889, newspapers around the world were offering an account of the first recorded bloom at the Royal Gardens at Kew. Reports mentioned that it was hard to describe the appearance of the flower. That said, it reminded readers that many arums have a similar appearance; Calling to mind the jack-in-the-pulpit, the wild turnip, skunk cabbage, and the calla lily – all types of arums. In addition, many arums emit a repulsive odor. Finally, this week marks the beginning of National Public Gardens Week, which runs from today, May 13, through May 19. The kick off to this week begins today with National Public Gardens Day. This celebration started in 2009 as part of the effort to bring attention to the country's public gardens. You can be part of the celebration, by visiting a public garden in your area this week. Unearthed Words In 1982, on this day, Vassar College acquired the journals of John Burroughs. One of the countries leading naturalist Burroughs had kept a journal over the last 45 years of his life. The first entry in the first notebook happened on this day May 13, 1876. Burroughs writes about the Redstart; a medium sized bird known as a May warbler. Males are mostly black with bright orange patches on the sides, wings, and tail. Here's what it said: "Standing in the road over in the woods, I saw a lively little shadow cast by some object above and behind me, on the ground in front of me. Turning, I saw the source of it– The Red Start Performing its astonishing gymnastics in a leafless oak tree… It is the quickest And prettiest Of the flycatchers." A fan of Emerson's, Burroughs often told people that he felt Emerson was his spiritual father. Burroughs followed Emerson's rules for enlightenment: Sit alone and keep a journal In his very last notebook, Burroughs wrote: Men who write journals, Are usually men of certain marked traits– They are idealists; They love solitude rather than society; They are self-conscious, and they love to write… Their journals largely take the place of social converse. Two such a man, his journal becomes his duplicate self, And he chose to it what he could not say to his nearest friend. It becomes both an altar and a confessional. As I was reading about John Burroughs and his journals, I stumbled on something Burroughs had written at the thought of others reading the entries in his diaries (as he called them). "I do not expect you to read them all — only here and there where you get some real glimpse of me. I looked into some of them last night. They seem too sad. I seem to have put all my sunshine into the books, and all my gloom into the Diaries. Remember they were written for my eyes alone — a sort of cemetery where I could turn and mourn over my vanished days and vanished thoughts." Today's book recommendation: Beth Chatto's Garden Notebook The Garden Notebook was Chatto's monthly diary and it is super readable and engaging. As a nursery owner and operator, Chatto offers up her hints and tips about unusual herbaceous, alpine and other plants. It's so hard to believe, but on this day last year we lost Beth – one of the most influential plants people of the last half-century. Chatto's naturalistic gardens taught gardeners to incorporate new and different varieties of plants. She also stressed the importance of focusing on foliage; embracing the fleeting nature of blossoms. Chatto started a small nursery outside London in 1967. She called it Unusual Plants. Leveraging this special interest, Chatto created ten years worth of metal winning displays at the Chelsea Flower Show and of course, her displays featured unusual plants that were often initially dismissed as weeds. Today's Garden Chore: Incorporate herbs into shaded areas in your garden. If you think all herbs need full sun, you'll be pleased to know that you can grow a fair selection of herbs in shade. Save your shaded areas for growing lemon balm, parlsey, anise hyssop, wild ginger, and spicebush. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart As I was researching Enid Haupt, I came across a wonderful articleIn the Austin American-Statesman from June 18, 1971. It sheds light on Enid's life after retirement from Seventeenmagazine. The article shared fantastical scenes from inside Enid's Park Ave. Apartment: Instead of curtains,Enid had Potted Camillia plants on either side of the windows. In order to survive indoors in New York, they needed to be misted three times a day. And there was a rug in her drawing room that Enid claimed she had waited 23 years to acquire. It was from the Palace of Versailles and it featured antique hollyhocks and tulips on a rose background. Enid said, "Plants are my life. I feel responsible for them." And Enid cautioned against babying plants, she said "I have a protective attitude without pampering. If you pamper a plant, It's like a person. It grows too soft." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Have you ever intuited the name of a plant? A few years ago, I traveled to San Diego. I was sitting on a bench outside the hotel and I spied the most amazing blossom - three bright orange petals and three blue petals - it looked like the head of a bird. My mind latched onto "bird of paradise," I looked it up on my phone and sure enough, it was just that. Brevities #OTD English author, translator, and Clerk to the Kitchen of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Leonard Mascall (died 1589) was buried at Buckinghamshire, in 1589. Mascall published a number of books; all were aimed at household management. In 1572 Mascall published, "A book of the Arte and Maner Howe to Plante and Graffe All Sortes of Trees."Along with cultivating fruit trees, this book was the first to refer to the secateurs or pruning knife. The word secatuers is taken from the Latin secare'to cut'. Mascall's last book was published a year after he died. Called "The Booke of Engines and Traps." In it, Mascall shared 34 traps and 9 Recipes for poison bates; most of which were dedicated to trapping mice. Mascall wrote about how to control slugs and snails - he described picking them off by hand early in the morning. #OTD It's the birthday of John Hope who lived during the Scottish enlightenment; he was a botanist , a famous professor, and founder of one of the leading botanical gardens in Europe, born on this day in 1725. Hope produced considerable work on plant classification and physiology. He was appointed to positions of the King's botanist for Scotland and superintendent of the Royal Garden in Edinburgh. At the time, Edinburgh was THE place to study medicine and all medical students had to take botany courses. Hope created a school for botanists after spinning off the materia medica (pharmacy) department of the school which allowed him to specialize exclusively on botany. Hope was a captivating instructor. He was one of the first two people to teach the Linnean system, he also taught the natural system. He was one of the first instructors to use big teaching diagrams or visual aids to teach his lectures. His students traveled from all over the world Europe, America, and India. Hope taught over 1,700 students during his tenure and they included the likes of James Edward Smith, founder and first President of the Linnaean Society, Charles Drayton and Benjamin Rush. A field botanist, Hope encouraged his students to go out an investigate the Flora of Scotland and he awarded a medal every year to the student who collected the best herbarium. With Hope's impressive resume came impressive wealth. By the time Hope died, he had amassed more than £12,000 which he left to his wife. #OTD It's the birthday of Alan Robertson Gemmell; a Professor of Biology at Keele University and a regular member of the panel on the BBC Radio program Gardeners' Question Time beginning in 1950 and co-hosting for some 30 years, Gemmel was born in 1913. When Gemmell was invited to appear on the Gardeners Question Time, Keele Univeristy allowed it provided the school would be mentioned in the credits and as long as Gemmell appeared during University time. Gemmell spoke with a calm, Scottish voice. In his obituary, it was said he could, persuade followers of Gardeners Question Time to plant, "the most vicious weed." An academic, Gemmel often disagreed with fellow panelists like Fred Loads or Bill Sowerbutts who offered more off-the-cuff or hearsay advice. It was Alan Gemmell who wrote in one of his columns, "One of the major loves of my life is the potato. In fact my colleagues on Gardener's Question Time sometimes referred to me as spud Gemmel, since not only do I enjoy devouring that delectable vegetable, I also enjoy devouring anything which has been written about it. #OTD This entire week, May 5 - May 11 is International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW). (ICAW) is the largest and most comprehensive education initiative of the compost industry. It is celebrated nationwide in Canada and in other countries each year during the first full week of May. Started in Canada in 1995, ICAW has continued to grow as the importance of composting and the long-term benefits from organics recycling. Each year, a theme is chosen. The theme for this year is Cool the Climate - Compost! #OTD This weekend is the 30th Anniversary of the Friend's School Plant Sale in Minneapolis/St. Paul. With more than 2,450 plant varieties — may be the largest plant sale in the U.S. It's a fund-raising event sponsored by theFriends School of Minnesota, a small Quaker K – 8 school in the Hamline-Midway area in Saint Paul. New Plants for 2019 include: Peony, Sweet Marjory: Neat and sweet pink cactus-style flowers with streaks of cream, green, and deep rose pink. Yellow fluff of stamens in the center. Slightly fragrant. Early to mid-season. French Hollyhock, Bibor Felho: Fuchsia with dark purple veins and halo surrounding a white center star. Blooms June–September. "Bibor Felho" is Hungarian for 'Purple Cloud.' Considered a biennial to short-lived perennial, but can be treated as a self-seeding annual. Drought-tolerant. Unearthed Words It's the birthday of scientist Cecelia Page who discovered while still in graduate school that stars are made largely of the two lightest chemical elements – hydrogen and helium; she was born in 1900. When Celia was eight, she decided to become a scientist. She had been walking in an orchard when she suddenly recognized a plant she had heard her mother describe – the plant that looks like a bumble: the bee orchid. Later she recalled her excitement at seeing the plant the first time: "For the first time I knew the leaping of the heart, the sudden enlightenment, that were to become my passion… These moments are rare, and they come without warning, on 'days to be marked with a white stone'." And it is Ceclia Page who said these wonderful quotes: "An admission of ignorance may well be a step to a new discovery." and then this one (which harkened back to Page's discovery of the bee orchid). "The reward of the young scientist is the emotional thrill of being the first person in the history of the world to see something or understand something." Today's book recommendation: Botanical Sketchbooks by Helen and William Bynum Botanical Sketchbooks is a compendium of the diverse ways plants have been observed, studied, and immortalized in centuries of art. Botanical Sketchbooks features 275 illustrations of flora from around the world, dating from the 15th to 20th century. In addition, the book highlights some rare works and lesser-known botanical artists. Today's Garden Chore It's another Photo Friday in the Garden. Today go to a spot in your garden and take as multiple shots of one thing from a number of different vantage points. One of the ways we get better at taking pictures of our garden, is by experimenting with perspective. The wonderful thing about digital, is that you can take as many pictures as you want. Challenge yourself with a number: 20 shots, 50 shots, or more of the same thing. Then, see how many capture what you wanted exactly right. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart While I was researching Leonard Mascall, I came across a bit of his advice regarding the placement of tender trees and shrubs. What I especially loved about this is the notion that even in the 1600's, gardeners would push zones a bit. This is from The Guardian (www.theguardian.com), Dec 9, 1891: "Mascall said, "Commonly, the most part of trees do love the sun at noon, and yet the south wind is very contrary against their nature, and specially the almond tree, the apricot, the mulberry, the fig tree, the pomegranate tree." A gardener remarked: I am sure there is much in this. It is quite certain that all Japanese trees like shade and a north aspect; and the finest most fruitful old mulberry tree that I have ever seen is at Rochester, growing in a corner where it looks to the north and east, and is thoroughly protected from the south and west." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
Take two gardeners. They grow up learning to garden from the same person. They read the same books on gardening. They go to the same gardening workshops. They tour the same public gardens. Yet, their gardens will look different from each other. Unique. Gardens are art. They are personal. Remember that the next time you are trying to copy the look of another garden. The difference isn't just topographical... When it comes to your garden: yes, consider microclimates, plant varieties, soil, sun, and so forth. But also, make sure to add yourself to the list of variables. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of botanist Count Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini born on this day in 1781. His second great grandfather was the famous Italian astronomer, Giovanni Domenico Cassini; he discovered Jupiter's Great Red Spot and the Cassini division in Saturn's rings. By the time Alexander was born, his family had married into French nobility (that's why he was born in Paris). Unfortunately, it was a bad time to go to France. Their Italian heritage and scientific work would not insulate the Cassini's from public resentment as the stage was set for the French Revolution. Cassini took a decidedly different path than his ancestors. He was the fifth generation in a family of star scholars, so Alexandre is often distinguished from the rest of his family as Cassini V. Cassini pursued the bar instead of the stars; as in the legal profession. As a lawyer, Cassini worked his way to the highest legal position in France in his time; "President of the Chamber." Like many folks, botany was his hobby; not his day job. It is quite notable that Cassini's botanical accomplishments took place in his off time. Cassini's heart belonged to the sunflower family (Asteraceae) and he focused pretty much exclusively on the Compositae. It was fitting then, that the genus Cassinia(the sunflower genus) was named in his honor by the botanist Robert Brown. Over two hundred years later, many of Cassini's detailed descriptions are still valid. Cassini married his cousin. At the age of fifty, Cassini died of cholera. His father outlived him by thirteen years. Alexandre Cassini was the last of his name; a punctuation mark on the wonderful Cassini legacy. #OTD On this day in 1807, Lewis and Clark returned a book that they had borrowed from Benjamin Smith and Barton to help them on their expedition. Before they had started their track, Meriwether Lewishad visited Bartonat his home. Upon leaving, he left with a copy of The History of Louisianaby Antoine le Page. Lewis memorialized the gesture in the flyleaf of the book. Here's what he wrote: "Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton was so obliging as to lend me this copy of Mons. le Page's History of Louisiana in June 1803. It has been since conveyed by me to the Pacific ocean through the interior of North America on my late tour thither and is now returned to its proprietor by his friends and obedient servant, Meriwether Lewis. Philadelphia, May 9, 1807." #OTD On this day in 1888 in Delaware, the Peach Blossom was voted in as the State Flower. Peach blossoms are a beautiful, deep pink color. The blooms appear very early in the year. Frost is always a concern. The fruit is botanically known as a drupe; It has a fleshy outer layer that covers a hard shell which contains a single seed. The decision to go with the peach blossom, was prompted by Delaware's reputation as the peach state. At the time, Delaware was known as the peach state and she boasted orchards containing more than 800,000 peach trees (Prunus persico, a native of China). Delaware's peach trees were introduced by the Spanish. By the 1600s, peaches were so plentiful, it was said that Delaware farmers fed them to their pigs. By 1875, Delaware was the country's top peach producer... until the yellows. The yellows was a blight that destroyed Delaware's orchards. In the late 1800s, Delaware was knocked from the top spot as a peach producer. Today, Delaware produces roughly 2,000,000 pounds of peaches every year. America's leading peach grower is the state of California, producing 950,000 tons annually. Unearthed Words #OTD It's the birthday of botanist Hewett Cottrell Watson, the father of British plant geography born today in 1804. Watson investigated the variability of British plant species across their ranges & compared the flora of Britain to the Azores. In recognition of his great contributions, the botanical society of the British Isles named their journal Watsonia. Beginning in 1834, Watson was one of the first botanists to research plant evolution. Watsons work also paved the way for a new science now known as ecology. When Darwin created his theory of evolution, he was standing on the shoulders of curious early evolutionists like Watson. Darwin's popularity and success overshadowed the folks like Watson who came before him. Yet, it's obvious that when Watson read Darwin's Origin, his reaction was one of wonder... and also self reflection. He spent his adult life trying to reach Darwin's conclusion. Now as an old man, he could see the match he had lit being passed to a true torch-bringer. After reading origin, Watson wrote to Darwin. His letter is part proud dad, part awed fan, and yet, he still takes time to advise Darwin on areas to improve or take heed. In two different passages, Watson points out that Darwin had succeeded where he had stopped short; saying Darwin had figured out the quo modo or the method to knit the strings of the theory of evolution together. Watsons letter to Darwin is quite something to read – even after all this time: 21 Nov 1859 My dear Sir Once commenced to read the 'Origin'I could not rest till I had galloped through the whole.I shall now begin to re-read it more deliberately. Meantime I am tempted to write you the first impressions, not doubting that they will in the main be the permanent impressions. 1st. Your leading idea will assuredly become recognized as an established truth in science, i.e. "natural selection". (It has the characteristics of all great natural truths, clarifying what was obscure, simplifying what was intricate, adding greatly to previous knowledge). You arethe greatest Revolutionist in natural history of this century, if not of all centuries. 2d. You will perhaps need in some degree to limit or modify, ... the principle of 'natural selection'. 3d. Now these novel views are brought fairly before the scientific public, it seems truly remarkable how so many of them could have failed to see their right road sooner... A quarter century ago, you & I must have been in something like the same state of mind,on the main question. But you were able to see & work out the quo modoof the succession, the all-important thing,while I failed to grasp it. ... How greatly this,with your chronology of animal life,will shock the ideas of many men! very sincerely | Hewett C. Watson C. Darwin | Esqe Darwin Correspondence Project, "Letter no. 2540," accessed on 26 April 2019, http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/DCP-LETT-2540 Today's book recommendation: A Nation in Bloom: Celebrating the People, Plants & Places of the Royal Horticultural Society by Matthew Biggs The foreword is written by Alan Titchmarsh. This is a book about the RHS; the world's largest gardening charity but what it does and why is little understood and rarely celebrated. From defining new gardening trends at the Chelsea Flower Show, to ranking the best dahlias to grow at the Wisley trial grounds, to inspiring communities with Britain in Bloom, educating children to grow and eat their veg through the Campaign for School Gardening, the RHS works tirelessly to improve the gardener's lot. With the use of evocative archive images and contemporary photos by award-winning Jason Ingram, this beautiful book explores the past, present and future of this most influential organization by listening to the voices of those working today. From the thousands of volunteers in the society's five unique gardens (Wisley in Surrey, Rosemoor in Devon, Hyde Hall in Essex, Harlow Carr in Yorkshire and new addition Bridgewater in Salford), to the one million visitors to its inspirational flower shows (including Chelsea, Hampton Court, Tatton Park, Cardiff, Wisley and Chatsworth); the society gives meaning to more than 475,000 members, millions of television viewers and visitors from around the world. The RHS is the best of gardening, and this book presents the best of the RHS. Behind the scenes, access all areas, this book will give lasting pleasure to anyone who enjoys their garden. Today's Garden Chore Repeat after me: Prune time follows bloom time. Not sure when to prune spring-flowering shrubs like lilacs, and climbing roses? Prune time follows bloom time. Just after the blooms fade, it's time to prune. Spring flowering shrubs set their buds in the fall on last year's growth. If you prune them in fall or winter, you remove next spring's flower buds. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart While I was researching the adoption of the Peach Blossom as the Delaware State Flower, I ran across a botanist named Erwin Frink Smith. Smith had attempted to solve the problem of the peach yellows. Had Smith solved the problem, he will would have become world-famous. But, he didn't. Years later, it was actually the botanist Louis Otto Kunkel who discovered that a type of leafhopper was carrying the disease. In researching Smith, I discovered a rare combination of kindness and intellect. Smith married the pretty Charlotte Mae buffet on April 13, 1893.They were quite happy together. They shared a love for reading and poetry. Tragically, Charlotte was diagnosed with endocarditis and she died eight months later on December 28, 1906. Smith dealt with his grief by putting together a book made up of poetry, stories, and a biography of Charlotte. The book is called for her friends and mine: A book of aspirations, dreams and memories. Of it, Smith says, "This book is a cycle of my life— seven lonely years are in it. The long ode(on page 62) is a cry of pain." There are many touching passages – too many to share here now. (There's a link to it in the show notes that you can use to access it.) But there's one passage from Smith describing her amazing ability to see the world with profound clarity and I thought you'd like it: Her visual powers were remarkable. They far exceeded my own. Out of doors her keen eyes were always prying into the habits of all sorts of living things: ants, spiders, bees, wasps, fish, birds, cats, dogs. Had she cared for classification, which she did not, and been willing to make careful records, she might have become an expert naturalist. Form in nature seemed to interest her little, or at least comparative studies of form. What did interest her tremendously was the grade of intelligence manifested in the lower forms of life. She would spend hours watching the habits of birds and insects, and never without discovering new and interesting things. Whether she looked into the tops of the tallest trees, or the bottom of a stream, or the grass at her feet, she was always finding marvels of adaptation to wonder at, and links binding the world of life into a golden whole. She made lists of all the birds that visited her neighborhood. She knew most of them by their songs, and some times distinguished individuals of the same species by little differences in their notes, as once a song-sparrow at Woods Hole, which had two added notes. She knew when they nested and where, how they made their nests, and what food they brought to their young. In studying birds she used an opera glass, not a shotgun. She was, however, a very good shot with the revolver. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
You know the saying bad things come in threes? The dishwasher stops working. You get in a car accident. Your credit card gets stolen. Well, when it comes to our plants; like us, they can be experiencing a constellation of problems as well. Yet, we often see plants as far less complex; minimizing their needs to a singular solution. "It just needs more sun." "Better drainage will do the trick." Instead of just trying one solution, consider that maybe multiple changes are needed. Brevities #OTD On this day in 1820, President James Monroe signed a bill granting "a tract of public land in the City of Washington, not exceeding five acres" for the America's botanic garden. Monroe genuinely liked the idea and he agreed to let them place the botanic garden on property adjacent to the Capitol on the west. Work was started to clear and drain the soggy land, and trees were planted. By 1827, Secretary of the Treasury Richard Rush circulated a letter to foreign dignitaries calling for, "all such trees and plants from other countries not heretofore known in the United States, as may give promise, under proper cultivation, of flourishing and becoming useful... ." The letter included detailed instructions for preparing seeds and plants for travel so that they couldbe propagated in the Botanic Garden. In 1856, Congress officially named the United States Botanic Garden and established regular funding to nurture its growth. #OTD It's the birthday of botanistEmil Christian Hansen, born today in 1842. Prior to Hansen, brewing was a volatileexperiment and batches could easily get infected with disease. Hansen forever changed the brewingindustry with his discovery of way to separate pure yeast cells from wild yeast cells. Hansen's method was created while he was working for the Carlsberg Laboratory. Carlsberg Labs did not patent the process. instead, they decided to publish it. They shared a detailed explanation so that brewers anywhere could build propagation equipment and use the method. Hansen named the yeast after the lab– Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis – and samples of Carlsberg No. 1 (as it was called) were sent to breweries around the world by request and free of charge. Within 5 years, most European breweries were using Carlsberg No. 1. By 1892, American breweries, Pabst, Schlitz and Anheuser-Busch, were manufacturing their beers with pure yeast strains. Hansen was a renaissance man. At various points in his life, he attempted careers an actor, a portrait artist, a teacher, an author, (he wrote under a pseudonym). And it was Emil Hansen who made the first Danish translation of Charles Darwin's Voyage of The Beagle. #OTD On this day in 1904 botanist Paul J. Kremer was born. Kremer spent his childhood on a farm in Ohio and he got his advanced degrees atOhio State getting his M.S. (1929) and Ph.D. (1931) degrees in plant physiology. At Ohio State he learned ofthe importance of the relationship between plants and water relations. After graduating, Dr. Kramer joined the faculty of Duke University. He taught at Duke his entire career until his retirement in 1974. Kremer served as the James B. Duke Professor of Botany. Kramer influenced the careers of more than 40 graduate students and authored more than 200 publications. Building on his studies at Ohio State, Kramer developed a leading research center on plant water relations and tree physiology. Kramer recognized the difficulty of studying environmental stresses on plants because the variables are so interconnected Light, temperature, and humidity being so interdependent that a change in one affects the others. This lead Kramer to establish a controlled-environment laboratory to study and quantify plant responses. He set up labs for this purpose atthe University of Wisconsin and at Duke and North Carolina State University. Kramer's efforts were part of a growing trend in curiosityabout theeffects of environmental stresses on plants - an ongoing concern as scientists study climate change. #OTD On this day in 2014, the Veggie Plant Growth System was activated on the International Space Station. "Veggie" was the first fresh food production system and it was developed by Orbital Technologies Corp. (ORBITEC) in Madison, Wisconsin, and tested at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The purpose of Veggie is to provide a self-sufficient and sustainable food source for astronauts as well as a means of recreation and relaxation through therapeutic gardening. In 2018 one of the goals of the Veggie-3 experiment was to grow food for crew consumption. Crops tested included cabbage, lettuce, and mizuna. "I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it was still unexplored." "There are some four million different kinds of animals and plants in the world. Four million different solutions to the problems of staying alive." "I can't pretend that I got involved with filming the natural world fifty years ago because I had some great banner to carry about conservation - not at all, I always had a huge pleasure in just watching the natural world and seeing what happens." "I don't run a car, have never run a car. I could say that this is because I have this extremely tender environmentalist conscience, but the fact is I hate driving." "About 70 or 80 men jumped onto the track, brandishing knives and spears. To say I was alarmed is to put it mildly… I walked towards this screaming horde of men, I stuck out my hand, and I heard myself say 'good afternoon.' " Today's Book Recommendation:Gardenlust: A Botanical Tour of the World's Best New Gardens by Christopher Woods Tonight the Northwest Horticultural Society in Seattle Washington will host Christopher Woods as part of their Wednesday Evening Lecture Series starting at 6:45pm at the Center for Urban Horticulture. Members: $5.00 Non-Members: $10.00 Gardenlust: A Botanical Tour of the World's Best New Gardens by Christopher Woods is a fascinating read. The cover shows a garden that's at the Golden Rock Inn in Nevis. The gardens were designed by Miami-based designer Raymond Jungles under the stewardship of New York artists Helen and Brice Marden, the owners of Golden Rock. After a long career in public horticulture, Chris Woods spent three years traveling the world seeking out contemporary gardens and he found fifty of the best. His book is a botanical tour of the world's best new gardens - public, private, and corporate. Chris focuses on the gardens around the world that had been created or significantly altered -this century the 21st century. Chris views the gardens through a variety of themes including beauty, conservation, architecture - plant and landscape, as well as urban spaces. Chris's book was published in late September, and it's such a great reminder for us to get out of our own gardens and go see and learn from other gardens - especially public gardens. Gardens Illustrated called it An extraordinary collection of 21st-century gardens that will arouse wanderlust… Whether you are a garden globetrotter or an armchair explorer, this book is definitely one to add to your collection. With wit and humor, he describes the most arresting features in public parks in exotic locations like New Delhi and Dubai, mission-redefining botanic gardens in Chile and Australia, and the most enviable details of lavish private estates and gemlike city yards. Throughout, he reveals the fascinating people, plants, and stories that make these gardens so lust-worthy. If you're in Seattle tonight, don't miss the opportunity to learn about the most intriguing, beautiful gardens around the world. Doors open at 6PM for plant sales and socializing with the presentation beginning at 6:45 PM. Today's Garden Chore Plant Angelica archangelica. Also known as Angelica root (Angelica archangelica) is the herb used to flavor Dubonnet, Bénédictine, and Vermouth. Quite honestly, if we were bees, we'd need a license to sell it; bees and pollinators go positively mad for it. It has so much natural sugar, that Martha Washington once shared a recipe for how to candy it. One explanation for the archangelica part of it's name is that according to folklore it blooms on this day - the day of Michael the Archangel and it was believed to be a preservative against evil spirits and witchcraft. All parts of the plant were believed efficacious against spells and enchantment. It was held in such esteem that it was called 'The Root of the Holy Ghost.' Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart It's rhubarb time! Here's a delightful rhubarb pudding recipe from The Boston Globe from June 3, 1912. Rhubarb Pudding Arrange in layers and a buttered baking dish: 2 cups of breadcrumbs which have been soaked in water 2 cups of rhubarb The grated rind of 1 lemon Half cup of scalded raisins 1 cup of sugar 2 tablespoons of butter cut into tiny bits Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the top Sprinkle with buttered crumbs Cover and bake 1 hour in a moderate oven Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."
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