The Daily Gardener

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1854 Danske ["DAN-sker"] Dandridge, poet, historian, and garden writer, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. 1937 Julia Wilmotte [will-MOT] Henshaw, Canadian botanist, geographer, writer, and political activist, died. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of Outside In by Sean A. Pritchard Buy the book on Amazon: Outside In by Sean A. Pritchard Today's Botanic Spark 2021 Author and blogger Amy Baik ["Beck"] Lee captured the bittersweet moment every gardener knows - the annual closing of the garden. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1793 Archibald Menzies, the Scottish surgeon-botanist, reluctantly departs Santa Barbara aboard the HMS Discovery during Vancouver's expedition. 1810 Asa Gray is born. He was a figure who would become America's preeminent botanist and one of the most influential scientists of the 19th century. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of New Nordic Gardens by Annika Zetterman Buy the book on Amazon: New Nordic Gardens by Annika Zetterman Today's Botanic Spark 1916 Renowned landscape architect Beatrix Farrand (FAIR-rand) creates a visionary rose garden plan for the New York Botanical Garden. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1806 William Wordsworth received a life-changing invitation from Lady Margaret Willes Beaumont to design and build a winter garden at her estate in an old gravel quarry. This unique request would lead to what Wordsworth later called "the longest letter I ever wrote in my life" - a detailed garden design that merged poetry with horticulture. 1887 Georgia O'Keeffe was born - an artist who would revolutionize how we see flowers through her bold, modernist vision. Over her remarkable career, O'Keeffe created more than 900 works of art, but it's her dramatic, large-scale flower paintings that have become her most recognizable legacy. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of Around the House and In the Garden by Dominique Browning Buy the book on Amazon: Around the House and In the Garden by Dominique Browning Today's Botanic Spark 1985 On this day, a phenomenal piece of botanical history changed hands at Sotheby's auction house: Empress Josephine's personal copy of Pierre-Joseph Redouté's (pee-AIR zho-ZEFF reh-doo-TAY) botanical watercolors for "Les Liliacées" (lay lee-lee-ah-SAY) - "The Lilies." Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1687 Eleanor "Nell" Gwynn, died at the age of 37 in her Pall Mall house in London. Known as "pretty, witty Nell" by diarist Samuel Pepys, she was one of the most celebrated figures of the Restoration period and a long-time mistress of King Charles II. 1749 John Custis IV, an American planter, politician, government official, and military officer, died. His garden legacy has recently captured headlines as archaeologists uncover what was once colonial America's most lavish ornamental garden. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of Gardens for the Soul by Sara Bird and Dan Duchars Buy the book on Amazon: Gardens for the Soul by Sara Bird and Dan Duchars Today's Botanic Spark 1805 Robert Buist, florist and nurseryman, was born near Edinburgh, Scotland. Trained at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Buist emigrated to Philadelphia in 1828 at age 23, where he would become one of America's most influential early nurserymen. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1849 A most extraordinary presentation took place at Windsor Castle. Imagine, if you will, standing in the grand halls of Windsor Castle as Joseph Paxton (PAX-ton) presented a massive leaf and exquisite blossom of the Victoria Amazonica (vik-TOR-ee-ah am-uh-ZON-ih-kuh) to the Queen. The moment was so moving that Her Majesty enthusiastically declared, "We are immensely pleased." 1909 The Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson (WIL-sun) sent what seemed like a routine notification to the plant industry office in Seattle. Little did anyone know this simple message would set in motion one of the most delicate diplomatic situations in early 20th-century American-Japanese relations. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Cacti and Succulents by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Paul Rees Buy the book on Amazon: The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Cacti and Succulents by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Paul Rees Today's Botanic Spark 1989 The Sarasota Herald-Tribune published a story that lifted the veil on the shadowy world of rare orchid trading. The article focused on Limerick Inc. and an alleged smuggling operation of endangered Chinese orchids to Florida - but the real story runs much deeper into the heart of orchid obsession. The tale of Kerry Richards and his nursery, Limerick Inc., reads like a botanical thriller. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1840 Auguste Rodin (oh-GOOST roh-DAN), the great French sculptor, was born. A man who found the divine in both marble and flowers - Auguste Rodin would ultimately earn the title of the father of modern sculpture. Today, we gardeners might better remember him as a kindred spirit who understood that true beauty grows wild and free. 1850 Princess Therese of Bavaria (teh-RAY-zuh of buh-VAIR-ee-uh), was born. This remarkable woman found her true calling not in the gilded halls of Bavaria's royal palaces but in the wild gardens of the world. T Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of Habitat Creation In Garden Design by Catherine Heatherington and Alex Johnson Buy the book on Amazon: Habitat Creation In Garden Design by Catherine Heatherington and Alex Johnson Today's Botanic Spark 1818 Clarissa Tucker Tracy, a passionate botanist and the Mother of Ripon (RIP-un) College, is born. Clarissa was a remarkable woman who found her life's purpose in both plants and people, and her story reminds us that sometimes the most beautiful gardens we cultivate are the ones we plant in others' hearts. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1783 General George Washington penned his historic Farewell Address to his troops at Rockingham, marking a pivotal moment in American history. Today, this historic site continues to tell its story not just through its architecture, but through its meticulously maintained period gardens that offer visitors a living connection to our nation's past. 1860 Warren Manning, a visionary landscape architect, is born. His birth was commemorated by his father with the planting of an elm tree - a fitting tribute for a man who would dedicate his life to transforming America's landscapes. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of The Landscape of Home by Edmund Hollander Buy the book on Amazon: The Landscape of Home by Edmund Hollander Today's Botanic Spark 1897 On this day, Ruth Pitter, a remarkable British poet whose deep connection to nature, primarily through her beloved Hainault Forest, was born. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1872 William Copeland McCalla, Canadian botanist and photographer, is born. McCalla would become one of Alberta's most influential botanists, combining his passion for photography with his love of plants to create an extraordinary legacy in Canadian botanical history. 1922 Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald, Canadian poet, died. Her poetic voice still echoes through the gardens of Maritime Canada. Her garden legacy continues to bloom in the hearts of those who tend both soil and verse. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of A New Cottage Garden by Mark Bolton Buy the book on Amazon: A New Cottage Garden by Mark Bolton Today's Botanic Spark 1900 Margaret Mitchell, the American southern writer of Gone with the Wind, is born. Through Mitchell's pen, flowers and beauty became essential to her epic tale. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1868 The botanist and garden writer Alice Lounsberry is born in New York City. 1885 The renowned British botanist and explorer Frank Kingdon-Ward was born in Manchester, England. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of Favorite Poems for the Garden by Bushel & Peck Books Buy the book on Amazon: Favorite Poems for the Garden by Bushel & Peck Books Today's Botanic Spark 1836 Martha Turnbull, mistress of Rosedown Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana, penned the first entry in what would become a remarkable 59-year chronicle of life and gardening in the antebellum South. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1801 On this day, America lost one of its pioneering botanists, Humphry Marshall, the "Father of American Dendrology." 1869 Ellen Shipman, a woman who found her voice in the whispers of flowers and her strength in the structure of garden walls, is born. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of Garden Favorites by Warren Schultz, Rebecca Atwater and Rick Darke Buy the book on Amazon: Garden Favorites by Warren Schultz, Rebecca Atwater and Rick Darke Today's Botanic Spark 1857 Ida Tarbell is born - a woman who would become known for exposing Standard Oil's monopolistic practices but who found her greatest peace tending to her beloved Connecticut farm. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1745 The English botanist John Bradby Blake [BRAD-bee BLAKE] is born. Though he lived a tragically short life - dying at just twelve days after his 28th birthday - John left behind an extraordinary legacy that bridges East and West through botanical art and discovery. 1877 William Rickatson Dykes [RICK-et-sun DYKES] is born in Bayswater, London. Though he began his career as a classics teacher at Charterhouse School, it was his passion for irises that would ultimately define his legacy. 1884 Harry Ferguson is born near Dromara [droh-MAR-ah] in County Down, Ireland. While we often think of gardening in terms of hand tools and intimate connections with the soil, Ferguson revolutionized how we cultivate the earth on a grand scale. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of My Favorite Plant by Jamaica Kincaid Buy the book on Amazon: My Favorite Plant by Jamaica Kincaid Today's Botanic Spark 1994 Garden writer Barbara Pleasant just finished writing her article about extending summer's joy through winter by bringing our beloved bedding plants indoors. The article appeared in the Montgomery Advertiser in Montgomery, Alabama, the following day on November 5th. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1857 John Joly (pronounced "JOLLY") was born on this day in Hollywood House near the village of Bracknagh (pronounced "BRACK-nuh") in County Offaly, Ireland. Joly was an Irish polymath whose profound connection to nature led him not only to groundbreaking scientific discoveries but also to poetry about fossils and gardens. 1636 Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (pronounced "nee-koh-LAH bwah-LOH day-pray-OH") was born on this day in Paris. Boileau was a French poet and critic whose garden became a sanctuary for some of the greatest literary minds of the 17th century. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of Adventures in Eden by Carolyn Mullet Buy the book on Amazon: Adventures in Eden by Carolyn Mullet Today's Botanic Spark 1826 Maude Jeannie Fuller Young was born on this day in 1826. Though she would become known for many accomplishments, it's her groundbreaking contribution to botanical education that particularly interests us as gardeners. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1795 John Keats is born into a world he would later capture through some of the most vivid botanical imagery in English poetry. 1895 Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, the popular American writer, is born in Randolph, Massachusetts. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of Seedtime and Harvest by Christie Purifoy Buy the book on Amazon: Seedtime and Harvest by Christie Purifoy Today's Botanic Spark 1804 Gardener Edward Ward laid down his trowel for the last time. He was 92. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1763 Heinrich Cotta [HINE-rick COT-ah] is born beneath the open sky of Kleine Zillbach [KLINE-eh TSIL-bock], Germany. 1897 Evelyn Mary Booth is born in Annamoe [AN-ah-moh], County Wicklow, Ireland. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of The Cottage Garden by Claus Dalby Buy the book on Amazon: The Cottage Garden by Claus Dalby Today's Botanic Spark 1839 Impressionist painter Alfred Sisley, is born in Paris. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1811 Texas botanist Charles Wright is born on this day in Wethersfield, Connecticut. 1972 The Berkshire Eagle published a revealing article about Henry David Thoreau [pronounced: THOR-oh] titled "Thoreau: The Amateur Botanist." Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of A Home in Bloom by Christie Purifoy Buy the book on Amazon: A Home in Bloom by Christie Purifoy Today's Botanic Spark 1830 Plant science pioneer Effie Almira Southworth Spaulding is born in North Collins, New York. Her story illuminates both the challenges and triumphs of women in early American botanical science. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1798 Count Hippolyte François Jaubert, a fascinating figure who bridged the worlds of politics and botany in 19th century France, is born. 1871 South African plantsman Harold Basil Christian [KRIS-tee-un] is born. His journey into botany began with an "unsightly rock" and turned into one of the world's most important aloe collections. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of Growing Your Own Tea Garden by Jodi Helmer Buy the book on Amazon: Growing Your Own Tea Garden by Jodi Helmer Today's Botanic Spark 1744 Sarah Sophia "Sophie" Banks is born. Sophie, as her family and friends referred to her, reminds us that behind every great gardener often stands an equally remarkable helper, supporter, and collaborator. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1776 Patrick Neill, British printer and horticulturalist, is born. 1840 Joseph Hetherington McDaniels, Classical Scholar, is born. 1909 Tyge Wittrock Böcher [TEE-guh VIT-rock BER-ker], Danish botanist, evolutionary biologist, plant ecologist and phytogeographer, is born. Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of The Healing Garden by Juliet Blankespoor Buy the book on Amazon: The Healing Garden by Juliet Blankespoor Today's Botanic Spark 1973 An AP Newspaper Article shared the latest rare plant sensation from the two postal workers who founded the Siskiyou Rare Plant Nursery Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1830 Marianne North, the Victorian Artist Who Painted the World's Flora, is born. 1843 Learning from History: Vermont's Snowy October Surprise 1875 Cora Older, the Horticulturist and author known as the Pink Lady, is born. 2014 Remembering Margaret Owen, the Snowdrop Queen Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of A Life in the Garden by Barbara Damrosch Buy the book on Amazon: A Life in the Garden by Barbara Damrosch Today's Botanic Spark 1874 Henry Arthur Bright shares musings on his October garden. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1796 William Casson, English botanist, seed merchant, and local historian, was born. 1854 Annie Lorrain Smith, British lichenologist and textbook author, was born. 1865 Neltje Blanchan, American scientific historian and nature writer, was born. 1905 Katharine Stewart wrote in her garden journal featured in A Garden in the Hills Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of A Life in the Garden By Bunny Williams Buy the book on Amazon: A Life in the Garden By Bunny Williams Today's Botanic Spark 1813 Ludwig Leichhardt, German explorer and naturalist, was born. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Historical Events 1801 William Henry Seward "Sue-erd", an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, is born. He was also featured in the book by Doris Kearns Goodwin called Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, in which she wrote about William as a naturalist. He loved his garden. This little passage offers so many insights into William as a nature lover. As a gardener and just to set this up, this is taking place during the civil war when there's a little break in the action for Seward, and he accompanies his wife Frances and their daughter, back to Auburn, New York, where they were planning to spend the summer. Seward accompanied Frances and Fanny back to Auburn, where they planned to spend the summer. For a few precious days, he entertained old friends, caught up on his reading, and tended his garden. The sole trying event was the decision to fell a favorite old poplar tree that had grown unsound. Frances could not bear to be present as it was cut, certain that she "should feel every stroke of the axe." Once it was over, however, she could relax in the beautiful garden she had sorely missed during her prolonged stay in Washington. Nearly sixty years old, with the vitality and appearance of a man half his age, Seward typically rose at 6 a.m. when first light slanted into the bedroom window of his twenty-room country home. Rising early allowed him time to complete his morning constitutional through his beloved garden before the breakfast bell was rung. Situated on better than five acres of land, the Seward mansion was surrounded by manicured lawns, elaborate gardens, and walking paths that wound beneath elms, mountain ash, evergreens, and fruit trees. Decades earlier, Seward had supervised the planting of every one of these trees, which now numbered in the hundreds. He had spent thousands of hours fertilizing and cultivating his flowering shrubs. With what he called 'a lover's interest," he inspected them daily. Then I love what Doris writes next because she's contrasting Seward with Abraham Lincoln in terms of their love of working outside. [Seward's] horticultural passion was in sharp contrast to Lincoln's lack of interest in planting trees or growing flowers at his Springfield home. Having spent his childhood laboring long hours on his father's struggling farm, Lincoln found little that was romantic or recreational about tilling the soil. When Seward "came into the table," his son Frederick recalled, "he would announce that the hyacinths were in bloom, or that the bluebirds had come, or whatever other change the morning had brought." 1809 Martha Ballard recorded her work as an herbalist and midwife. For 27 years, Martha kept a journal of her work as the town healer and midwife for Hallowell, Maine. Today Martha's marvelous journal gives us a glimpse into the plants that she regularly used and how she applied them medicinally. And as for how Martha sourced her plants, she raised them in her garden or foraged for them in the wild. As the village apothecary, Martha found her own ingredients and personally made all of her herbal remedies. Here's what the writer, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Wrote about Martha's work back in May of 1809. Martha's far more expansive record focused on the mundane work of gardening, the daily, incremental tasks that each season exacted. In May of 1809, she "sowed," "sett," "planted,' and "transplanted" in at least half dozen places, digging ground "west of the hous" on May 15 and starting squash, cucumbers, muskmelons and watermelons on "East side house" the same day. She planted "by the hogg pen" on May 16 and 18 on May 23 sowed string peas "in the end of my gardin," and on May 26, planted "south of the hous." The plots she defined by the...