The Daily Gardener

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Dutch botanical illustrator, a writer from New Orleans, and a hymn writer - who wrote over 400 hymns. We'll hear an excerpt from Terri Irwin - just fabulous - wife of the late great Steve Irwin. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about Living on the Land. A hot topic since 2020. And then we'll wrap things up with a touching story about Beatrix Potter. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring:

• A personal update from me
• Garden-related items for your calendar
• The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week
• Gardener gift ideas
• Garden-inspired recipes
• Exclusive updates regarding the show

Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News TOP TREES FOR FALL COLOR | Garden Design | Mike MacCaskey Fall Foliage Prediction Map Important Events October 12, 1817 Birth of Berthe Hoola van Nooten ("Bair-tah Hole-lah van NO-ten") Dutch botanical artist. Berthe's life story is incredibly moving. She was born in Utrecht in the Netherlands. She married a judge named Dirk Hoola van Nooten who secured a position in the Dutch colony of Suriname SurahNAM in South America. The couple frequently traveled between Jakarta and Suriname. Along the way, Berthe collected and drew plant specimens which she would send back home to the botanical gardens in the Netherlands. By the mid-1840's the couple moved to New Orleans to establish a Protestant school for girls on behalf of the Episcopal Church. But in the summer of 1847, New Orleans was ravaged by an epidemic of yellow fever that wiped out ten percent of the population. After the yellow fever claimed Dirk's life, Berthe was left to fend for herself and her five children at the age of thirty. She attempted to open another school in Galveston but was unable to pay her creditors. Eventually, Berthe joined her brother on a trip to Java. There she opened another school, but she also had a patron in Sophie Mathilde, the wife of William II (Netherlands). The result was her masterpiece - a collection of forty plates of her botanical art - called Fleurs, Fruits et Feuillages Choisis de l'Ile de Java or Selected Flowers, Fruits and Foliage from the Island of Java (1863-64). Berthe's work was dramatic, featuring rich colors and bold illustrations. Most Europeans had never seen such magnificent plants. In the introduction, aware of her station as a woman and penniless widow during the Victorian age, Berthe apologized for her daring attempt at creating such work, writing, You may not, like myself, have tasted the bitterness of exile… you may not, like myself, have experienced, even in the springtime of life, the sorrowful separation from home and country – the absence of the friendly greeting, on a foreign shore… Death may not have snatched away from you, the arm which was your sole support… bereavement may not have entered your dwelling, like mine, as with one sudden stroke to tear away the veil of sweet illusions, which, as yet, had hidden from your eyes the stern realities of life – to place you, with a lacerated heart, a shrinking spirit, and a feeble and suffering body, before an unpitying necessity, which presents no other alternative than labour. In 1892, Berthe died impoverished on the island of Jakarta. She was 77. October 12, 1844 Birth of George Washington Cable, American writer, and critic. A son of New Orleans, he has been called the first modern southern writer. Despite being a German Protestant, instead of French Catholic, George understood Creole culture and is most remembered for his early fiction about his hometown, including Old Creole Days (1879), The Grandissimes "Gran-DE-seem" (1880), and Madame Delphine "Delphine" (1881). Today the George Washington Cable House is open to visitors. The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1962. Located at 1313 8th Street, in the Garden District of New Orleans, the home features gardens that George designed. In fact, The neighborhood is known for outstanding restaurants and beautiful gardens. The beauty of New Orleans inspired George, and he was especially fond of nature and gardens. In The Taxidermist, his story begins with these words, One day a hummingbird got caught in a cobweb in our greenhouse. It had no real need to seek that damp, artificial heat. We were in the very heart of that Creole summertime when bird-notes are many as the sunbeams. The flowers were in such multitude they seemed to follow one about, offering their honeys and perfumes and begging to be gathered. Our little boy saw the embodied joy fall, a joy no longer, seized it and, clasping it too tightly, brought it to me dead. He cried so over the loss that I promised to have the body stuffed. This is how I came to know Manouvrier "Man-vree-yay," the Taxidermist in St. Peter Street. In My Own Acre, he wrote, A garden, we say, should never compel us to go back the way we came; but in truth, a garden should never compel us to do anything. Its don'ts should be laid solely on itself. "Private grounds, no crossing"–take that away, please, wherever you can, and plant your margins so that there can be no crossing. Wire nettings hidden by shrubberies from all but the shameless trespasser you will find far more effective, more promotive to beauty, and more courteous. "Don't" make your garden a garden of don'ts. For no garden is quite a garden until it is "Joyous Gard." Let not yours or mine be a garden for display. Then our rhododendrons and like splendors will not be at the front gate, and our grounds be less and less worth seeing the farther into them we go. Nor let yours or mine be a garden of pride. And let us not have a garden of tiring care or a user up of precious time. Neither let us have an old-trousers, sun-bonnet, black fingernails garden–especially if you are a woman. Finally, in The American Garden, he wrote, One of the happiest things about gardening is that when it is bad, you can always–you and time–you and year after next–make it good. It is very easy to think of the plants, beds, and paths of a garden as things which, being once placed, must stay where they are; but it is shortsighted, and it is fatal to effective gardening. We should look upon the arrangement of things in our garden very much as a housekeeper looks on the arrangement of the furniture in her house. Except buildings, pavements, and great trees–and not always excepting the trees–we should regard nothing in it as permanent architecture but only as furnishment and decoration. At favorable moments you will make whatever rearrangement may seem to you good. October 12, 1895 Death of Cecil Frances Alexander, Anglo-Irish hymn writer, and poet. She wrote over 400 hymns. In addition to There Is a Green Hill Far Away and the Christmas carol Once in Royal David's City, she wrote All Things Bright and Beautiful. Here are the garden and nature-related verses, along with the refrain at the end. Each little flower that opens, Each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colours, He made their tiny wings. The cold wind in the winter, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one; The tall trees in the greenwood, The meadows for our play, The rushes by the water, To gather every day; All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all. Unearthed Words The name of the zoo was the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. As I crossed the parking area, I prepared myself for disappointment. I am going to see a collection of snakes, lizards, and miserable creatures in jars, feel terribly sorry for them and leave. It was October 1991. I was Terri Raines, a twenty-seven-year-old Oregon girl in Australia on an unlikely quest to find homes for rescued American cougars. A reptile park wasn't going to be interested in a big cat. I headed through the pleasant spring heat toward the park, thinking pessimistic thoughts. This is going to be a big waste of time. But the prospect of seeing new species of wildlife drew me in. I walked through the modest entrance with some friends, only to be shocked at what I found on the other side: the most beautiful, immaculately kept gardens I had ever encountered. Peacocks strutted around, kangaroos and wallabies roamed freely, and palm trees lined all the walkways. It was like a little piece of Eden. ― Terri Irwin, Steve & Me Grow That Garden Library Carving Out a Living on the Land by Emmet Van Driesche ("DRY-sh") This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is lessons in resourcefulness and craft from an unusual Christmas tree farm. Well, I have to confess that I'm a huge fan of Emmett's YouTube channel. He does everything that he's talking about in this book - Even carving his own spoons. But what I especially love about this book is learning about what it's like to be a Christmas tree farmer. I find this fascinating. (And to me, this book is an excellent option for a Christmas gift. So keep that in mind as well.) Now what Emmett is writing about is simplicity - living a life that's in tune with nature, A life that is away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the daily grind. Emmett is busy, but he has plenty of time to do the things that matter - Even pursuing his favorite pastime of spoon carving. Now I have to confess that I discovered a very pleasant surprise when I started reading Emmett's book; he's an excellent writer. And I wanted to give you a little taste for his writing, a little sample. Just by reading what he wrote in the introduction to his book. He wrote, The air is cold enough for my breath to show. But I'm about to break a sweat. I'm harvesting balsam branches, grabbing each with one hand and cutting them with the red clippers in the other. ...I work fast and don't stop until my arm is completely stacked with branches and sticking straight out, and I look like a kid with too many sweaters on under his jacket. Pivoting on my heel. I stride back to my central pile of balsam boughs and dump the armload on top, eyeballing it to gauge how much the pile weighs. I decide I need more and head off in another direction into the grove. The balsam fir grows from big wild stumps and thickets that can stretch 20 feet around, the trees crowded so closely together, in no apparent order or pattern, that their branches interlock. Instead of single trees, each stump has up to three small trees of different ages growing off of it. They are pruned as Christmas trees, and I am a Christmas tree farmer. Isn't that fascinating? Well, this book is 288 pages of self-reliance and the Christmas spirit. You can get a copy of Carving Out a Living on the Land by Emmet Van Driesche and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $13. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 12, 1907 On this day, a 41-year-old Beatrix Potter wrote to Millie Warne, the sister of her publisher, friend, and former fiance Norman Warne (who died two years earlier - a month after their engagement - at the age of 37). Beatrix wore Norman's ring on the ring finger of her right hand until she died three days before Christmas in 1943 at the age of 77. My news is all gardening at present and supplies. I went to see an old lady at Windermere and impudently took a large basket and trowel with me. She had the most untidy garden I ever saw. I got nice things in handfuls without any shame, amongst others a bundle of lavender slips ...and another bunch of violet suckers. Incidentally, twenty years earlier on this day, in 1887, that a 21-year-old Beatrix drew her first fungus, the Verdigris Toadstool "Vir-dah-greez" (Stropharia aeruginosa). Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Philadelphia plant lover who we get to know only through his correspondence to other botanists, we'll also learn about the German palm expert and the man who became a director at Kew - but not before becoming an expert in the graves of the fallen during WWI. We'll hear an excerpt from the amateur gardener Helena Rutherford Ely. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book from one of my favorite modern garden experts Robert Kourik. And then we'll wrap things up with a Thay - the Buddhist monk, writer, and peace activist. And I'll also add naturalist to his list of titles because he draws so much insight from nature - as should we all. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring:

• A personal update from me
• Garden-related items for your calendar
• The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week
• Gardener gift ideas
• Garden-inspired recipes
• Exclusive updates regarding the show

Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News 14 Tips for Planting Your Favorite Bulbs | BHG | Editors Important Events October 11, 1818 On this day, the Philadelphia botanist Zaccheus Collins to Jacob Bigelow in Boston. Zaccheus was a big-time plant collector and he had a large herbarium of most of the plants in the vicinity of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Zaccheus never published anything, but he corresponded with the botanists of his time, especially Henry Muhlenberg, Frederick Muhlenberg, Stephen Elliott, and Jacob Bigelow. In his letter to Jacob, written on this day, Zaccheus wrote, The schooner Hero [with] Capt. Daggett... may be at Boston as soon as the present letter. On board [is] a little open box containing a growing plant of Aristolochia serpentaria (Virginia snakeroot), roots of Euphorbia ipecac (American ipecac), Spiraea trifoliata( Bowman's Root), & Convolvulus pandurata (wild sweet potato vine). These were put up under the direction of the worthy Mr. Bartram, my friend, still living at the old Bot. gardens, home of the father of Amer. Botany. You will only have to pay the freight. October 11, 1825 Birth of Hermann Wendland, German botanist. He followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both botanists, and served as director of the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen in Hannover. Each generation of Wendlends had their specialty; the grandfather worked with ericas or heather, the father's focus was phyllodineous acacias, and Hermann's love was the palm family, the Arecaceae. Hermann's monograph established the classification for palms. He's remembered in the South American palm genus Wendlandiella. During his life, Hermann turned Herrenhausen into the world's leading garden for palm cultivation and research. Herrenhausen's palm collection was unrivaled, and the focus on these stately and elegant trees resulted in Herrenhausen's construction of the tallest glasshouse in all of Europe. In addition to naming over 500 palm species, Hermann named the Arizona palm Washingtonia filifera in memory of George Washington. Hermann is also remembered for calling the genus Saintpaulia (African violet) after Baron Walter von Saint Paul. In 1882, Baron Walter was the Governor of the Usambara ("Ooh-sahm-bar-ah") District in German East Africa. During his time there, he explored the Usambara Mountains located in northeastern Tanzania. There, in the cloud forests, he collected seeds and specimens of a small herb, which he sent home to Herrenhausen. Hermann immediately cultivated the little plants, and he recognized that they were an entirely new species in an entirely new genus. And so, he named the plant Saintpaulia ionantha ("saint-paul-ee-ah ii-o-nan' thah"). Today we call the plant by its common name, the African violet. Hermann also called it the Usambara veilchen ('Usambara violet'). Today, African violets continue to be one of the most popular house plants. But, at home in their native Usambara Mountains, the plants face extinction. October 11, 1875 Birth of Arthur William Hill, English botanist, and taxonomist. He served as Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Before he became director of Kew, he worked on a project for the Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries, the entity in charge of locating the graves of Britains service members who died during WWI. In 1915, Arthur became part of this project and served as horticulture advisor. The job required visits throughout Europe and the middle east. Anywhere the war was fought, Arthur visited - from France to Turkey, Italy to Palestine. In 1916, during the month of March alone, Arthur visited thirty-seven cemeteries. In 1917, Arthur visited the Somme Battlefields in France and wrote poignantly about the poppies and wildflowers that grew in the aftermath of the fighting that had occurred in the summer and fall of the previous year. Although the landscape was pockmarked from shells, Arthur wrote, ...One saw only a vast expanse of weeds of cultivation, which so completely covered the ground and dominated the landscape that all appeared to be a level surface. In July, poppies predominated, and the sheet of colour as far as the eye could see was superb; a blaze of scarlet unbroken by tree or hedgerow. No more moving sight can be imagined than this great expanse of open country gorgeous in its display of colour, dotted over with half-hidden white crosses of the dead. In no British cemetery, large or small, however beautiful or impressive it may be, can the same sentiments be evoked or feelings so deeply stirred. Nowhere, I imagine, can the magnitude of the struggle be better appreciated than in this peaceful, poppy-covered battlefield hallowed by its many scattered crosses. Unearthed Words After five or six years, I dig up my Roses about October tenth, cut the tops down to about twelve inches, cut out some of the old wood, cut off the roots considerably, trench the ground anew, and replant. The following year the Roses may not bloom very profusely, but afterward, for four or five years, the yield will be great. My physician in the[128] country is a fine gardener and particularly successful with Roses. We have many delightful talks about gardening. When I told him of my surgical operations upon the Roses, he was horrified at such barbarity and seemed to listen with more or less incredulity. So I asked him if, as a surgeon as well as physician, he approved, on occasion, of lopping off a patient's limbs to prolong his life, why he should not also sanction the same operation in the vegetable kingdom. He was silent. ― Helena Rutherford Ely, A Woman's Hardy Garden Grow That Garden Library Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally by Robert Kourik This book came out in 1986. And in 2005, it was back in print by popular demand. Now, as per usual, Robert is ahead of the curve here. He's talking about incorporating edibles into the landscape and he was doing this way back in the eighties. So props to Robert. Now, what I love about all of Robert Kirk's books. Is how practical and experience-based is advisive. And as with his other books, he puts tons of resources at the end of this book as well. So make sure to check that out. In this book, Robert mainly focuses on the edible plants you can put in your garden. That will help fertilize the soil and attract beneficial insects like pollinators and then provide additional benefits like helping your garden with issues like erosion or sheltering your home from cold heat and wind. Robert also talks about how to incorporate edibles in trouble spots. So think about areas where water is a problem or where you maybe don't get that much sun. Well. Robert guides you through all of that and makes edible suggestions for those areas as well. In this book, Robert also talks about making your soil better. He walks you through a ton of tree pruning styles. And he even dishes up some gourmet recipes. Because, of course, if you're growing edibles, You're going to want to eat them. That's the best part. This book is 382 pages of edible landscaping from a master. Robert installed his very first edible landscape back in 1978. And he brings all of that experience to bear in this fantastic resource. You can get a copy of Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally by Robert Kourik and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $18. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 11, 1926 Birth of Thích Nhất Hạnh ("Tick Nyot Hahn"), Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk and peace activist. His students call him Thay (pronounced "Tay" or "Tie"), which is Vietnamese for "teacher." In 1982 he cofounded The Plum Village, a Buddhist monastery in southern France. Thay often uses nature to teach. In 2014, he wrote No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering. He once wrote, Wilting flowers do not cause suffering. It is the unrealistic desire that flowers not wilt that causes suffering. In Fidelity: How to Create a Loving Relationship That Lasts (2011), Thai wrote, Every time you breathe in and know you are breathing, every time you breathe out and smile to your out-breath, you are yourself, you are your own master, and you are the gardener of your own garden. In his 1992 book, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, Thay wrote, I have lost my smile, but don't worry. The dandelion has it. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an American civil servant and poet, an American art expert, and a Harlem artist and gardener. We'll hear an excerpt from historical fiction by Deanna Raybourn. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a lyrical book by a peach farmer. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a humorist who made a living writing about the sunny side of life. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring:

• A personal update from me
• Garden-related items for your calendar
• The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week
• Gardener gift ideas
• Garden-inspired recipes
• Exclusive updates regarding the show

Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Why it took nearly 50 years for scientists to name this mysterious tropical plant | CNN | Megan Marples Lauritzen Gardens - Omaha Botanical Center 20th birthday! Important Events October 8, 1838 Birth of John Hay, American politician, diplomat, and poet. He served three assassinated American leaders, including President Lincoln. Along with John Nicolay, he co-wrote a ten-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln that helped shape his legacy. Like Lincoln, John lost a son, and the loss profoundly affected him. Three years later, he wrote, The death of our boy made my wife and me old at once and for the rest of our lives. After the death of his father-in-law, John became enormously wealthy and took over the family business and investments. His family enjoyed regular trips to Europe, a grand mansion in Washington D.C., and a cottage in New Hampshire that John called the Fells. John had cobbled together 1,000 acres of land after quietly buying up abandoned farms. The etymology of The Fells name was Scottish and means rocky upland pastures. John especially enjoyed time at The Fells, which overlooked pastoral view. In the foreground, sheep grazed among prehistoric boulders that dotted the landscape, and in the distance were views of scenic Lake Sunapee. John's wife, Clara, was a gardener, and she had a special love for roses and hydrangeas. In 1890, John wrote, I was greatly pleased with the air, the water, the scenery. I have nowhere found a more beautiful spot. In terms of poetry, John was best known for a collection of post-Civil War poems compiled into a book called Pike County Ballads (1871). Here's one of his poems called Words, in which he uses nature to show the power a simple word can have on our lives. When violets were springing And sunshine filled the day, And happy birds were singing The praises of the May, A word came to me, blighting The beauty of the scene, And in my heart was winter, Though all the trees were green. Now down the blast go sailing The dead leaves, brown and sere; The forests are bewailing The dying of the year; A word comes to me, lighting With rapture all the air, And in my heart is summer, Though all the trees are bare. October 8, 1934 Birth of J. Carter Brown, American art expert, intellectual, and visionary. He was the director of the U.S. National Gallery of Art from 1969 to 1992. Although he was born in a family of great wealth - the Browns of Newport, the Browns of Brown University - he was a champion of public access to art. He believed people needed to see art in person and used a garden analogy to drive that point home: No one will understand a Japanese garden until you've walked through one, and you hear the crunch underfoot, and you smell it, and you experience it over time. Now there's no photograph or any movie that can give you that experience. October 8, 1930 Birth of Faith Ringgold, American painter, writer, mixed media sculptor, and performance artist. Faith was born in Harlem into a family that embraced artistic creativity. She grew up after the Harlem Renaissance, and her neighborhood was home to the likes of Duke Ellington and Langston Hughes. One of her childhood friends was jazz musician Sonny Rollins. Growing up, Faith had chronic asthma, so she learned to pass the time indoors, creating visual art with the help of her mom. She became an expert seamstress and began experimenting with fabric as a medium for her art. Today Faith is known for her narrative quilts. One of her most beloved quilts is Sunflowers Quilting Bee at Arles, which depicts a group of African American women working on a sunflower quilt with Van Gogh off to the side, bringing them a vase of sunflowers. In 1999, Faith had a garden installed at her Englewood, New Jersey home. She says, [I love] to be able to look at the garden the first thing every morning, and I love to paint the green in as many ways as I can. For many years now, Faith has hosted a garden party in June to benefit the Anyone Can Fly Foundation. The mission of the Anyone Can Fly Foundation is to expand the art establishment's canon to include artists of the African Diaspora and to introduce the Great Masters of African American Art and their art traditions to children and adult audiences. In 2019, there was an exhibition of Faith's art at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens. Unearthed Words Something had shifted between us, faintly, but the change was almost palpable. Our friendship had sat lightly between us, an ephemeral thing, without weight or gravity. Once, in the Boboli Gardens, "Bo-bah-lee" under the shadow of a cypress tree on an achingly beautiful October afternoon, he had kissed me, a solemnly sweet and respectful kiss. But weeks had passed, and we had not spoken of it. I had attributed it to the sunlight, shimmering gold like Danaë's shower, "Dan ah ee" and had pressed it into the scrapbook of memory, to be taken out and admired now and then, but not to be dwelled upon too seriously. Perhaps I had been mistaken. ― Deanna Raybourn, Silent in the Sanctuary Grow That Garden Library Epitaph for a Peach by David M. Masumoto This book came out in 1996, and the subtitle is Four Seasons on My Family Farm. This memoir is a personal favorite. Mas's lyrical writing is a pleasure to read. Here are a few gems from the book: A new planting is like having another child, requiring patience and sacrifice and a resounding optimism for the future. I try to rely less and less on controlling nature. Instead, I am learning to live with its chaos. Good neighbors are worth more than an extra sixteen trees. Mas is an organic peach farmer who shares his story with humor, grace, and incredible insight into the natural world. The New York Times said, [Masumoto is] a poet of farming and peaches. This book is 256 pages of thoughts on growing from a peach farmer with the soul of a poet. You can get a copy of Epitaph for a Peach by David M. Masumoto and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $2. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 8, 1915 Birth of William E. 'Bill' Vaughan (pen name Burton Hillis), American columnist and author. In addition to his magazine features, he wrote a syndicated column for the Kansas City Star for over three decades. His folksy sayings include, Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them. Experience teaches that love of flowers and vegetables is not enough to make a man a good gardener. He must also hate weeds. The best of all gifts around any #Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. Bill Vaughan was beloved for his humor and his friendliness. He generally wrote thirteen paragraphs of humorous observations every single day for his column. He also was an artist. A 1970 profile of Bill in his beloved Kansas City Star stated, [He] has always had what art lovers describe as unfortunate yearnings to be an artist. While testing his fledgling wings as a columnist in Springfield, Vaughan became adept at drawing deep one-column sketches that relieved him substantially of the responsibility of filling the space with words. The day Vaughan filled virtually an entire column with a drawing of a garden hose with very little at either end, the editor ordered a halt to this sort of thing. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a beloved Indiana poet, the Engelmann Botanical Club and their display of fall flowers over 120 years ago, and an Australian author who had asthma as a child. We'll hear an excerpt from the New York Times bestselling author, Karen White. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a terrific book by a modern plantsman and nurseryman. And then we'll wrap things up with a poignant poem from a writer and critic who said his goodbyes through his writing. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring:

• A personal update from me
• Garden-related items for your calendar
• The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week
• Gardener gift ideas
• Garden-inspired recipes
• Exclusive updates regarding the show

Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Prairie Strips Prevent Soil Erosion, Help Pollinators | Farm Progress | Fran O'Leary Important Events October 7, 1849 Birth of James Whitcomb Riley, American writer, and poet. In Indiana, he was especially beloved and is remembered as the Hoosier poet. James wrote in dialect - in the voice of the common man - and the majority of his over 1,000 poems were often sentimental or humorous. He managed to have a successful writing career despite a lifelong struggle with alcohol. Today, in James' hometown of Greenfield, Indiana, the Riley Festival is touted as Indiana's largest four-day gathering. The event started in 1925 and took place the first or second weekend of October. The "Riley Days" festival traditionally ends with a flower parade, and children place flowers around 1918 Myra Reynolds Richards' statue of Riley on the county courthouse lawn. James wrote several poems about flowers and gardens. One of his most famous poems is When the Frost is on the Punkin. Here's an excerpt from When The Green Gits Back In The Trees: In Spring, when the green gits back in the trees, And the sun comes out and stays, And yer boots pulls on with a good tight squeeze, And you think of yer bare-foot days; When you ort to work and you want to not, And you and yer wife agrees It's time to spade up the garden-lot, When the green gits back in the trees When the whole tail-feathers o' Wintertime Is all pulled out and gone! And the sap it thaws and begins to climb, And the swet it starts out on A feller's forred, a-gittin' down At the old spring on his knees— When the green gits back in the trees — October 7, 1900 On this day, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) shared articles about autumn-blooming flowers. The wild flower exhibition held by the Engelmann Botanical Club in the Public Library Building gave the observer a striking idea of the beauty and profusion of the uncultivated flowers which can be found In the vicinity of St. Louis in the autumn. To many it was a revelation. Miss Ellen C. Clark, President of the Englemann Botanical Club, wrote, The table that attracted the children the most was that on which the fruits and seeds were collected. The pods of the milkweed and dogbane families, with their hairy seed, those of the trumpet creeper and others, showed them how seed could fly; the berries of the dogwood, buckthorn, the coralberry, the pokeberry had each its special attraction. The Engelmann Botanical Club has had only a short existence. [It started] a little more than two years ago… When a name for the club was considered it seemed most fitting to honor Dr. Engelmann, the eminent St. Louis physician who made time in the midst of a large practice to do botanical work that distinguished him among the botanists of the world. J. H. Kellogg wrote, Besides the large exhibits of gentians, lobelias, asters, and goldenrods, there were others equally as attractive, although the Cardinal Lobelia is one of the most glaringly beautiful wildflowers to be found. Eupatorium ageratoides, or whitesnake root, growing in rich shady woods with white flowers, is a very pretty plant, blooming until late in the fall. Eupatorium coelestinum. or mistflower, with its delicate blue flowers, is very beautiful. It Is found growing in low grounds and blooming until cold weather. Bidens Bipinnata or Spanish Needle is one of our common fall flowers, sometimes covering low meadows with its bright yellow flowers and along roadside almost everywhere. Another group of plants that will attract your attention if you take a walk through the woods in almost any direction during the fall of the year is the Desmodiums or beggar's ticks [or beggar lice]. Not on account of their showy flowers, but of their seeds, which will stick to you "closer than a brother," as anyone can testify who has taken a walk in the country at this season of the year. October 7, 1935 Birth of Thomas Keneally, Australian novelist. He is most widely known for his non-fiction novel Schindler's Ark, which was adapted into Steven Spielberg's 1993 Academy Award-winning film for Best Picture, Schindler's List. As a child, Thomas had terrible asthma. He wrote, I [was] frequently sick, particularly with asthma for which there was no proper treatment then. In September of 2009, Thomas helped open the brand new Asthma and Allergy Friendly Garden in the Eden Display Gardens in Sydney. A first of its kind in Australia, the garden was developed by Eden by Design with guidance from the Asthma Foundation NSW to help people living with asthma and allergies enjoy the benefits of gardening. One of the keys for asthmatics and allergy sufferers is to select low-allergen plants and female trees. Some tree species are distinctly male or female. The male plant produces pollen, and the female plants are often less triggering for folks with allergies. Other tips include gardening in the morning when the grass is still wet with dew - that helps keep the pollen on the ground. Avoid gardening on windy days when pollen is in the air. And after being in the garden, make sure to shower and change your clothes to remove any allergens that are on your body and clothes. Unearthed Words I looked around the garden, the sun feeling warm on my back. "So why are you here? I would think you'd want to be as far away from a hurricane as possible." She looked at me as if I'd just suggested streaking down the beach. It took her a moment to answer. "Because this is home." She wanted to see if the words registered with me, but I just looked back at her, not understanding at all. After a deep breath, she looked up at a tall oak tree beyond the garden, its leaves still green against the early October sky, the limbs now thick with foliage. "Because the water recedes, and the sun comes out, and the trees grow back. Because" - she spread her hands, indicated the garden and the trees and, I imagined, the entire peninsula of Biloxi - "because we've learned that great tragedy gives us opportunities for great kindness. It's like a needed reminder that the human spirit is alive and well despite all evidence to the contrary." She lowered her hands to her sides. "I figured I wasn't dead, so I must not be done." ― Karen White, The Beach Trees Grow That Garden Library The New Shade Garden by Ken Druse This book came out in 2015, and the subtitle is Creating a Lush Oasis in the Age of Climate Change. In this book, Ken Druse does it again. He provides another comprehensive guide - but this time focuses on shade plants and our changing climate. Ken's conversational writing style makes his advice stickier and easier to implement. Today gardeners need to be planning for the conditions their garden may face long term to maximize their efforts and investment.

• What shade plants are best if you have deer?
• How can I have a shade garden and also water less?
• What are the best plants for color in the shade garden of the future?

These are the questions current and future generations of gardeners face. Beauty is still a garden goal, but today's gardener is looking for earth-friendly, climate-wise, and super functional plants. This book is 256 pages of everything you need to know to create or upgrade a shade garden from a modern plant master. You can get a copy of The New Shade Garden by Ken Druse and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $30. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 7, 1939 Birth of Clive James, Australian-born British literary critic, poet, lyricist, novelist, and memoirist. In 1972, Clive gained notoriety as a television critic for The Observer. His voice was unique, and his writing reflected his wry and intelligent humor. Then, eleven years ago, in 2010, Clive was diagnosed with both emphysema and leukemia. As one might expect, his deteriorating health impacted his work, and Clive began using his poetry to write his earthly goodbyes. One day in 2014, his daughter gifted him with a tree, and he wrote a touching poem called Japanese Maple. Clive worried he wouldn't live to see the tree change color in the fall. Here are the words he wrote from that particular verse. My daughter's choice, the maple tree is new. Come autumn and its leaves will turn to flame. What I must do Is live to see that.That will end the game For me, though life continues all the same. Clive James enjoyed several autumns with that tree. He died in 2019. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Kentucky botanist, a French priest and plant explorer, and a Texas doctor and botanist. We'll hear an excerpt from Susan Hill's book, The Magic Apple Tree. We Grow That Garden Library™ with another great book by Michael Dirr. And then we'll wrap things up with a reminder from a modern gardener to stop and enjoy the leaves. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring:

• A personal update from me
• Garden-related items for your calendar
• The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week
• Gardener gift ideas
• Garden-inspired recipes
• Exclusive updates regarding the show

Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Garden Border Ideas | Country Living | Matt Rees-Warren Important Events October 6, 1794 Birth of Charles Wilkins Short, American botanist, and doctor. A Kentuckian, Charles wrote a flora of Kentucky in 1833. He had one of the largest, most valued private herbariums with 15,000 plant samples, and his massive garden covered several acres. Charles was honored in the naming of many plants, including the Oconee bell named the Shortia galacifolia. Now in terms of botanical history, this plant has quite a story. Back in the 1800s, when Charles was still alive, the plant's location had become a mystery. People couldn't find it. And in 1863, after Charles Short died, botanists still did not know where to find this plant, or even if it still existed. In fact, many botanists were asked the question, Have you found the Shortia yet? It was driving them crazy. But finally, in May of 1877, a North Carolina teenager named George Hyams sent an unknown specimen to Asa Gray at Harvard. And when Asa laid eyes on this plant, he knew immediately that it was the Shortia, and he could be heard crying 'Eureka' when he saw it. Two years later, Asa and his wife along with his dear friend, the botanist John Redfield, the director of the Arnold Arboretum Charles Sprague Sargent, and the botanist William Canby all stood around the little patch of earth where the Shortia grew in oblivion of all the hubbub it had caused. The long search to find the Shortia was over. It was growing right where George Hyams said it would be. October 6, 1858 Birth of André Soulié, French Roman Catholic missionary, herbalist, healer, and botanist. Many of the first plant collectors were missionaries. André was one of a handful of the last missionary collectors. He collected thousands of dried plants and seeds and then sent them back to Paris. André was so fluent in the different Chinese dialects that he could pass as a local. In the 1800s and early 1900s, plant collecting in China was a dangerous business. Collectors not only contended with geographic challenges like terrain but also political upheaval. The Opium Wars and the ongoing dispute with Tibet increased distrust and hostility toward foreigners. In 1905, in retaliation for an invasion of Tibet by a British explorer named Francis Younghusband, André was abducted by Tibetan monks. He was grabbed right in the middle of packing up his plant specimens. André was tortured for over two weeks before finally being shot dead by his captors. André is remembered for his discovery of the Rosa soulieana and the butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii). He also has a Rhododendron, a Lily, and Primula named in his honor. October 6, 1877 On this day, a 46-year-old American doctor and botanist named Levi Jasper James Russell was whipped. He was lured out of his home at midnight to treat a sick woman and instead met with a mob who stripped him naked and gave him 100 lashes for being an "infidel." A leading member of the Freethinkers, Levi was agnostic and a pioneering doctor and herbalist. He served as chairman of the committee on medical botany of the Texas State Medical Association. Before his life in Texas, Levi had gone west to California to dig for gold with his brothers after leaving their home state of Georgia. The three brothers were among the first to prospect for gold in Colorado and helped found the city of Denver. Levi survived being shot with a bow and arrow by Native Americans in Montana and contracting smallpox during his imprisonment by Union soldiers during the Civil War. But all that was behind him by the time he was whipped on this day, October 6th, 1877. Levi stayed in Texas, and he continued to serve his community as a doctor. He eventually died in Bell County, Texas, in 1908 at the age of 77. Unearthed Words In early October, the woods begin to come alive again, and that surprises many people, who think of them in autumn as places of decay and dying, falling leaves and animals hiding away for their long winter hibernation. But it is summer there that is the dead time. In summer, the air hangs heavy and close and still, nothing flowers, nothing sings, nothing stirs, and no light penetrates. But, now, there is a stirring, a sense of excitement. ― Susan Hill, The Magic Apple Tree: A Country Year Grow That Garden Library The Tree Book by Michael Dirr and Keith Warren This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is Superior Selections for Landscapes, Streetscapes, and Gardens. This book is co-authored by Michael Dir and tree breeder and nurseryman Keith Warren. Together, this dynamic duo of tree expertise put together the latest and greatest must-have tree book. The two men feature old favorites and exciting new selections. My favorite is when they recommend the hidden gems, the overlooked, and the underappreciated trees that deserve a second look. I've been saying for the past two years that gardeners need to plant more trees. But gardeners often lack the expertise for trees that they cultivate for edibles or ornamentals. This is where The Tree Book can save the day. If you've wondered about the trees you should be considering, what tree is suitable for your space, why a tree is not working out, or how to put together a stunning tree portfolio for your property, this book is essential. This book is 900 pages of nerding out on trees from two masters who share information gleaned from training and experience. You can get a copy of The Tree Book by Michael A. Dirr and Keith S. Warren and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $32 - or 3 cents a page! Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 6, 2017 On this day, Chris Howell, the gardener at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, tweeted a beautiful fall photo of leaves. In a day and age where manicured lawns are still universally valued, leaves are often seen more as a nuisance to our busy lives, being quickly raked up, bagged up, or blown away. But on this day in 2017, Chris was so struck by the simple beauty of fallen leaves on a path, he tweeted that photo along with this caption: Some leaves just need to be left on the ground to admire for a while. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Flemish Renaissance painter who painted the first landscapes, the American naturalist and artist who saved Prospect Park, and an American botanist who jotted down a little poem on one of the pages in his herbarium - a little known treasure. We'll hear an October excerpt from Barbara Kingsolver from one of her best-selling books. We Grow That Garden Library™ with the bible for trees and shrubs - it's a must-have monster resource. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of the Enlightenment author who captured the work of gardeners and various trades at his own peril. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring:

• A personal update from me
• Garden-related items for your calendar
• The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week
• Gardener gift ideas
• Garden-inspired recipes
• Exclusive updates regarding the show

Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News House & Garden | Nicola Harding's tips for outdoor dining | Nicola Harding Important Events October 5, 1524 Birth of Joachim Patinir, Flemish Renaissance painter of history, religion, and landscape. He worked primarily in Antwerp, and he's credited with creating landscape painting as an independent subject. Joachim's scenes are imaginary. His world landscape offers a panoramic landscape with craggy rocks and boulders jutting out a cliff on one side and partially obscuring the view. Then he usually included small figures portraying religious events. His use of vibrant colors and little details set in the sweeping landscapes is mesmerizing. October 5, 1850 Birth of William Hamilton Gibson, American illustrator, author, and naturalist. Born in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, William grew up with an immediate love of the natural world. When he was ten years old, his parents sent him to a boarding school called the Gunn school for advanced training. Frederick Gunn loved the natural world, and he incorporated the study of nature into the academic teachings of the school. As a young teen, he wrote his mother, I have just found an Imperial moth worm on a maple tree. Will you please look on one of the small apple trees in the orchard near the place where the arbor used to be… there is a tree on which I put a Cecropia worm for myself… I think a great deal of it, or I wouldn't write about it. The boys are leaving from here very fast, and we all will leave in 13 days more.... P. S. That worm that I told you about on the apple tree, if very large, must be taken off and put into a box with fresh apple leaves every day; if small, do the same. In another note to his mother, he ended with this offer, In a garden up here, there is a kind of Columbine, very large, of two kinds, purple and white and very large. I am welcome to all the seed that I want. I don't know whether you want any or not, but nevertheless, I'll get you a lot. I remain Your aff. son Willie. At the Gunn school, William was able to study all aspects of the natural world - even botany - and he benefited from being surrounded by the immersive nature of the school. He wrote, There is often an almost inexhaustible field for botanic investigation even on a single fallen tree. My scientific friend ...recently informed me... that he had spent two days most delightfully and profitably in the study of ...a single dead tree, and [was surprised to learn that] a hundred distinct species of plants congregated upon it. Plumy dicentra clustered along its length, graceful sprays of the frost-flower with its little spire of snow crystals rose up here and there, scarlet berries of the Indian turnip glowed among the leaves, and, with the ….lycopodiums and mosses, ...ferns and lichens, and [a] host of fungous growths, it [was] easy… to extend the list of species into the second hundred. It is something worth remembering the next time we go into the woods. As an adult, William lived in Brooklyn. He started out in a soul-crushing job selling insurance until the day he tried to sell insurance to a draftsman. He ended up spending the day watching him draw and immediately pivoted to pursue an art career. His first gig was drawing feathers for Harper Brothers magazine. His iconic peacock feather drawing sealed his fate as an illustrator. Once he began writing, he also became known as a nature writer. One of his favorite places to write was a wild corner of Prospect Park. There he enjoyed a rare oasis of flora and fauna unlike any other green space in the city. When the city sought to clean up the wild space by cutting trees and removing plants, William wrote articles for the newspaper and persuaded local leaders to see what the city stood to lose. After the city reversed course, William Hamilton Gibson became known as the man who saved Prospect Park. October 5, 1873 Birth of Merritt Lyndon Fernald, American botanist. He wrote over 800 papers and coauthored Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America (1919-1920) with Alfred Kinsey, the American scientist, and sexologist. On one of his herbarium sheets, he once wrote a quick poem about the Rhodora - the pink blooming azalea found in the Northeastern United States. The gay Rhodora long the margin stands, Forerunner of the summer's fairer Rose; Yet coming as she does to ope spring's lands, She brightens every mood wherein she blows. Unearthed Words Our gardening forebears meant watermelon to be the juicy, barefoot taste of a hot summer's end, just as a pumpkin is the trademark fruit of late October. Most of us accept the latter and limit our jack-o'-lantern activities to the proper botanical season. Waiting for a watermelon is harder. It's tempting to reach for melons, red peppers, tomatoes, and other late-summer delights before the summer even arrives. But it's actually possible to wait, celebrating each season when it comes, not fretting about its being absent at all other times because something else good is at hand. ― Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life Grow That Garden Library Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs by Michael A. Dirr This book came out in 2011, and it is a hefty gem of a resource. This book has over 3500 photographs of over 3700 species and cultivars. Michael covers thousands of plants in this very detailed book, from flowering shrubs to weeping trees. Photos show trees in winter and other seasons to make identification and selection 100% accurate. This book is an excellent resource for gardeners, landscape architects, designers, and anyone who wants the bible for trees and shrubs. This book is 952 pages of trees and shrubs by a respected plantsman who writes with passion, candor, and wit about every possible aspect of these plants - flower color, fall color, salt or shade tolerance, winter interest, and form, just to name a few. You can get a copy of Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs by Michael Dirr and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $37. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 5, 1713 Birth of Denis Diderot, French philosopher, art critic, and writer. Denis was an ordinary man. He was not part of the aristocracy like his contemporary, Voltaire. After he started work on the first encyclopedia in France, he was imprisoned - punished for claiming that knowledge came from our senses and not from God. In this way and many others, Denis Diderot challenged the church, but he learned to be a little more discreet with his criticisms over time. Diderot's concept for his encyclopedia was to gather together the brightest minds of his time and create a series of books that shared standard academic fair like philosophy and literature and everyday jobs in the crafts and trades. This type of information had never been captured, and by including it in his encyclopedia, he elevated the people's work. Some of the work he wrote about was horticultural and floral. For Instance, he featured the work of artificial flower makers and market gardeners. Today, the illustrated pages of these jobs have become popular as pieces of art. Speaking of art, Diderot was a huge admirer of artisans and art. He was a tough critic. He once wrote, First of all, move me, surprise me, rend my heart; make me tremble, weep, shudder, outrage me! Delight my eyes, afterwards, if you can... Whatever the art form, it is better to be extravagant than cold. Denis Diderot's 28-volume Encyclopédie (1751-1772) featured work from over 100 writers covering over 71,000 entries and 20 million words. Although it was banned by both King Louis XV of France and the Vatican, Diderot's Encyclopédie was a huge success and led Diderot to devise his famous saying that, A book banned is a book read. Today the Encyclopédie is considered one of the great works of the European Enlightenment. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an English artist and clergyman, an old diary entry from the great Henry David Thoreau, and we'll also learn about an American publishing tycoon and his family's retreat called Bird Haven Farm. We'll hear an excerpt on October from a Harry Potter book. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book from one of the great plantsmen of our time and his excellent resource on Viburnums. And then we'll wrap things up with a charming garden verse. I bet you've heard it before - but you may not be familiar with the woman who wrote it. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring:

• A personal update from me
• Garden-related items for your calendar
• The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week
• Gardener gift ideas
• Garden-inspired recipes
• Exclusive updates regarding the show

Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Improve Your Soil by Raking Less | Fine Gardening | Terry Ettinger Important Events October 4, 1761/1762 Birth of William Gilpin, English artist, teacher, clergyman, and landscape designer. He coined the term picturesque. He had documented his visit to Ross-on-Wye, and the resulting book became England's first tourist guide. William inspired others to enjoy the sights of the town, including the picturesque Wye river, and visitors came to the area in droves. William spent a great deal of time outdoors painting landscapes. He observed, Every distant horizon promises something new, and with this pleasing expectation, we follow nature through all her walks. During his life, many looked to William as an arbiter of artistic taste. In addition to the picturesque landscape, he was especially fond of old ruins, mountains, and trees. William's paintings were created on-site out in nature, and he wasn't opposed to using a little artistic license to make the scene even more compelling - adding more trees, a little bridge, or enhancing an old ruin. In 1786, William wrote, A ruin is a sacred thing. Rooted for ages in the soil; assimilated to it; and become, as it were, a part of it ... William was the first president of the Royal Watercolor Society, and he also authored several books related to his work as an artist. One of his more popular books was called Forest Scenery, which featured forty-five watercolors of trees and shrubs along with descriptions. He also included his tips and tricks for capturing a picturesque effect on canvas through the clumping of trees. Tree painting was a William Gilpin specialty. He adored trees. He once wrote, It is no exaggerated praise to call a tree the grandest and most beautiful of all productions on earth! October 4, 1853 On this day, Thoreau wrote in his journal: The maples are reddening, and birches yellowing. The mouse-ear in the shade in the middle of the day, so hoary, looks as if the frost still lay on it. Well it wears the frost. Bumblebees are on the Aster undulatus, and gnats are dancing in the air. October 4, 1862 Birth of Edward Stratemeyer, American publisher, writer of children's fiction, and founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate. He produced over 1,300 books and sold over 500 million copies. He's remembered for series like The Bobbsey Twins and The Hardy Boys. The very day his new series, Nancy Drew, was released, he died. Regarding his legacy, Fortune wrote: As oil had its Rockefeller, literature had its Stratemeyer. After Edward died, his widow, Magdalene Van Camp, bought a Bird Haven farm for a weekend retreat. It was a place she enjoyed living on weekends and holidays for more than forty years. During those four decades, she wrote over half of the Nancy Drew books and developed plots for many other series. Edward and Magdalene's daughter Harriet took over the family business and ran it for fifty years. She also spent the last half of her life at Bird Haven. In 1982, while watching The Wizard of Oz for the very first time, she had a heart attack and died. Today the twenty-five acres known as Bird Haven Farm in Tewksbury Township is part of the Garden Conservancy Open Day. The barns, outbuildings, and the original nineteenth-century stone house are joined by a contemporary home built in the 1990s. In 2002, the garden was redesigned under the vision of Fernando Caruncho as a medieval village. The property boasts mature trees, an apple orchard, fruit trees, a vegetable and herb garden, hay meadows, and a perennial border designed by Lisa Stamm. Design elements include a woodland walk, cascading ponds, a charming pond hut, a maze garden for grandchildren, and an elf's stump. But there's something else happening at Bird Haven Farm. The current owner, Janet Mavec, finds inspiration in flora and fauna on Bird Haven, and she created her own line of whimsical jewelry. One day, as she was working in the garden, she was thinking about jewelry and was suddenly struck with the idea of making jewelry inspired by her vegetables. In a video of Bird Haven Farm, Janet says, I only make things that I either grow here myself - or they swim, or they fly in. Janet's jewelry is made with brass and then dipped in 18 karat gold, sterling silver, or gunmetal. Janet hopes her jewelry clients feel a closeness to nature with her unique jewelry designs. Unearthed Words October arrived, spreading a damp chill over the grounds and into the castle. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was kept busy by a sudden spate of colds among the staff and students. Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flower beds turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid's pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds. ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets Grow That Garden Library Viburnums by Michael A. Dirr This book came out in 2007, and the subtitle is Flowering Shrubs for Every Season. In this book, Michael takes us on an in-depth tour of Viburnums - one of the most versatile, most utilized, and beloved shrubs for our gardens. As a woody expert, Michael was the perfect person to write a comprehensive guide on viburnums. He reveals their robustness and beauty in addition to sharing detailed information about every possible type of viburnum a gardener could ever desire. His honest and balanced review of every plant will make it easier for you to pick the perfect viburnum for your garden. Viburnums can satisfy any Landscape need: some are four-season, some are a true wow in the garden, some are well-behaved workhorses, others play a supporting role in the garden design. Whether you want gorgeous fall color, stunning blossoms, fragrance, or fruit, there's a viburnum for every need. Michael likes to say that a garden without viburnums is like a life without the pleasures of music and art. This book is 264 pages of viburnums in all their glory - spotlighting the diversity in this incredibly functional and beautiful genus. You'll want to bring it along on your next trip to the garden center. You can get a copy of Viburnums by Michael A. Dirr and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $14. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 4, 1858 Birth of Dorothy Gurney, English hymn-writer and poet. She wrote the famous wedding hymn O Perfect Love for her sister's wedding. Her sister loved the tune of O Strength And Stay but wanted different words so she could use the song during the ceremony. In a flash of divine inspiration, Dorothy jotted down new lyrics in just fifteen minutes, and the result was O Perfect Love. But Dorothy also wrote one of the most charming garden verses ever created. The words she strung together still grace our gardens, sundials, memorials, and cemeteries. The four lines of simple verse are taken from her original poem God's Garden. The kiss of the sun for pardon, The song of the birds for mirth, One is nearer God's heart in a garden Than anywhere else on earth. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an American botanist, professor, and writer, an American short-story writer, and her last novel, and the amateur botanist honored with the Australian Native Plants Award. We'll hear an excerpt from Neil Gaiman's book, Season of Mists. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a master book on wreaths. And then we'll wrap things up with a garden classic that came out on this day in 2013. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring:

• A personal update from me
• Garden-related items for your calendar
• The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week
• Gardener gift ideas
• Garden-inspired recipes
• Exclusive updates regarding the show

Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News How your electric toothbrush can aid pollination | The Guardian | James Wong Important Events October 1, 1874 Birth of LeRoy Abrams, American botanist, professor, and writer. Born in Sheffield, Iowa, he moved west with his parents as a small boy. As a graduate student, he botanized around Los Angeles. A biographical sketch of LeRoy said, [He] crisscrossed southern California in a wagon, on the back of a mule or burrow, and on foot to make field observations... and collected specimens from Santa Barbara to Yuma, from Needles to San Diego, and from the Salton Sink prior to its flooding to the summits of Old Baldy. He published Flora of Los Angeles and Vicinity (1904), encompassing a fifty-mile radius around LA. In 1909, LeRoy married a fellow student at Stanford named Letitia Patterson. The couple handbuilt and enjoyed their mountain cabin on the west side of Fallen Leaf Lake. When their only daughter died a few short years after her college graduation, they shouldered their grief together. LeRoy served as the director of the Natural History Museum at Stanford, where he taught botany for thirty-four years. The final volume of his four-volume work An Illustrated Flora of the Pacific States was completed posthumously. LeRoy was a loving teacher. His students called him "Father." When, at 51, the great botanist Ynes Mexia decided to pursue a career in botany, her first course was on flowering plants, and her professor was LeRoy Abrams. October 1, 1972 On this day, The Tampa Tribune profiled American short story writer Eudora Welty and shared some backstory on what would be her last book: Miss Welty was writing "Losing Battles" at home with her [dying mother] and two nurses and laughing a great deal (the book is beyond grief and funny as owls in heaven), and the nurses did not approve of anything. And right in the middle of it, the nematodes did in the roses, which had been packed in that garden tight as a trunk, but nothing that could be tried availed at all. Ordinarily, an attack on her roses would have brought [the older] Mrs. Welty right out of the kitchen, as they say, but she was past those battles then. Her characters in her stories are like the roses: some make it, some don't. October 1, 2019 On this day, amateur botanist Glenn Leiper received the Australian Native Plants Award. He co-wrote a popular field guide of native plants in southeast Queensland called Mangroves to Mountains. While botanizing the area, he rediscovered the rainforest myrtle tree Gossia gonoclada a century after the plant was considered extinct. He also discovered a native violet colony. Once, he spied a fifteen-centimeter-tall from his car while driving. The unusual spotting resulted in the naming of the plant in his honor: Androcalva leiperi. Glenn acknowledges his most helpful skill for botany, I've got good eyes. Unearthed Words October knew, of course, that the action of turning a page, of ending a chapter, or of shutting a book did not end a tale. Having admitted that, he would also avow that happy endings were never difficult to find: "It is simply a matter," he explained to April, "of finding a sunny place in a garden, where the light is golden, and the grass is soft; somewhere to rest, to stop reading, and to be content. ― Neil Gaiman, Season of Mists Grow That Garden Library Wreaths by Terri Chandler This book came out in 2018, and the subtitle is Fresh, Foraged, and Dried Floral Arrangements. In this book, Terri shares her nature-inspired wreaths. Now, if you've ever tried to make your own wreath, you know it's more complicated than it looks. Terri breaks down the fine art of creative wreath-making - playing with color, texture, natural elements, and how to use them. If you thought wreaths were just for the front door - Terri will show you how to integrate them into your home to dress up unexpected areas like chairs, centerpieces, and even books. This book is 144 pages of wreath goodness - good ideas, good uses, and excellent form. You can get a copy of Wreaths by Terri Chandler and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $3 Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart October 1, 2013 On this day, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer was released. The compelling subtitle is Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. The book has brought her fame and opened the eyes of her readers who see the natural world in a new way - an ancient way. Robin introduces her book on her website with this excerpt: I could hand you a braid of sweetgrass, as thick and shining as the plait that hung down my grandmother's back. But it is not mine to give, nor yours to take. So I offer, in its place, a braid of stories meant to heal our relationship with the world. Robin's prose is like poetry. Her Native American roots offered a distinct and more profound way to connect with plants and with the world. As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin approaches nature with a spirit of gratitude and humility. In her book, Robin writes of gardens and gardening. Gardens are simultaneously a material and a spiritual undertaking. That's hard for scientists so fully brainwashed by Cartesian dualism to grasp. "Well, how would you know it's love and not just good soil?" she asks. "Where's the evidence? What are the key elements for detecting loving behavior?" That's easy. No one would doubt that I love my children, and even a quantitative social psychologist would find no fault with my list of loving behaviors: nurturing health and well-being, protection from harm, encouraging individual growth and development, desire to be together, generous sharing of resources, working together for a common goal, celebration of shared values, interdependence, sacrifice by one for the other, creation of beauty. If we observed these behaviors between humans, we would say, "She loves that person." You might also observe these actions between a person and a bit of carefully tended ground and say, "She loves that garden." Why then, seeing this list, would you not make the leap to say that the garden loves her back?" A good question. A question most of us would not even consider asking. Yet, as gardeners, the notion of finding love in our gardens may not be such a strange notion after all. Do we not find renewal and healing from the solitude offered in our gardens. Are there not moments where we find a deeper understanding of ourselves or a new wonderment about the world just from being in our gardens? And isn't renewal, healing, self-discovery, and wonder the benefits we receive from being loved? It's something nice to consider, isn't it? It's something Robin's thought about. In Braiding Sweetgrass, she writes, This is really why I made my daughters learn to garden—so they would always have a mother to love them, long after I am gone. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an old English poet, a Mexican botanist, and a British gardener and survivalist who was way ahead of his time. We'll hear an excerpt from a beautiful Jack Gilbert poem We Grow That Garden Library™ with a garden classic of our time from a contemporary garden expert. And then we'll wrap things up with a fun movie that featured a botanist. It debuted six years ago today in England. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring:

• A personal update from me
• Garden-related items for your calendar
• The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week
• Gardener gift ideas
• Garden-inspired recipes
• Exclusive updates regarding the show

Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Is a coconut a fruit, nut, or seed? | Library of Congress Important Events September 30, 1669 Death of Henry King, English poet. He served as Bishop of Chichester and was close friends with John Donne. He wrote, Brave flowers - that I could gallant it like you, And be as little vain! You come abroad, and make a harmless show, And to your beds again. You are not proud: you know your birth: For your embroidered garments are from earth. September 30, 1901 Birth of Helia Bravo Hollis, Mexican botanist. She was the first woman to graduate with a degree in biology in Mexico. By 29, she was curator of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Mexico City) herbarium, where she studied cacti. Her work brought notoriety, and she became known as The Queen of the Cacti. She co-wrote her masterpiece, Las Cactaceas de México, with Hernando Sánchez-Mejorada. In 1951, she cofounded the Mexican Cactus Society, which planned to celebrate her 100th birthday in 2001, but she died four days shy of the century mark. In 1980, Monaco's Princess Grace Kelly, who was also fond of cacti, presented Helia with the second-ever Golden Cactus Award. Helia helped found the Botanical Gardens at UNAM, where she served as the director throughout the 1960s. Once, when a strike occurred at the gardens, she offset her workers' lost wages with her own savings. In 2018, Google commemorated Helia's 117th birthday with a Google Doodle. Online, there is a memorable image of Helia dressed in a skirt and blazer - with a knife in her hand - and standing next to an enormous Echinocactus platyacanthus, aka the giant barrel cactus. In Mexico, where the cactus is a native, the hairs are harvested for weaving, and a traditional candy is made from boiling the pith. Today, the Helia Bravo Hollis Botanical Garden, with more than 80 species of Cactaceae, is found at the Biosphere Reserve of Tehuacán. Helia once wrote, My reason for living is biology and cacti. September 30, 1910 Birth of Edward Solomon Hyams, British gardener, French scholar, historian, anarchist, and writer. He was a gardening correspondent for the Illustrated London News and The Spectator and various horticultural journals. After WWII, he lived a self-sufficient lifestyle at Nut Tree Cottages in Molash in Kent. He planted a small vineyard and later wrote The Grape Vine in England (1949). The following year, he wrote From the Waste Land (1950), which describes the transformation of three acres at Nut Tree Cottages into a market garden that generated food and income. In The Gardener's Bedside Book (1968), he wrote, I have never been interested in and am incapable of writing about the great hybrid garden tulips. I do not mean to condemn them or anything foolish like that; but one cannot be interested in every kind of garden plant, and that particular kind has never made any real appeal to me whatsoever. But the botanical species tulips are quite another matter. Unearthed Words Love is like a garden in the heart, he said. They asked him what he meant by garden. He explained about gardens. "In the cities," he said, "there are places walled off where color and decorum are magnified into a civilization. Like a beautiful woman," he said. How like a woman, they asked. He remembered their wives and said garden was just a figure of speech, then called for drinks all around. Two rounds later he was crying. ― Jack Gilbert, Ovid in Tears, The Dance Most of All: Poems Grow That Garden Library Windcliff by Daniel J. Hinkley This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is A Story of People, Plants, and Gardens. In this book, we learn about Windcliff - one of two magnificent gardens created by the plantsman, nurseryman, and plant hunter Dan Hinkley. (Dan also created Heronswood.) "These iconic gardens, and the story of how one gave rise to the other, are celebrated in Hinkley's deeply personal Windcliff. In a lively style that mingles audacious opinions on garden design with cautionary tales of planting missteps, Hinkley shares his infectious passion for plants." In these pages, you will fall in love with Windcliff thanks to the gorgeous photography and fall even deeper in love hearing about the careful way Dan created Windcliff, from the exceptional plants he selected to his pragmatic garden advice. This book is 280 pages of creating a garden with a modern master who loves plants and is delighted to share his stunning garden with us. You can get a copy of Windcliff by Daniel J. Hinkley and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $22. Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart September 30, 2015 On this day, The Martian, featuring Matt Damon as botanist Mark Watney premiered in England. In the movie, Mark is accidentally left on Mars and is forced to grow potatoes to stay alive until he is rescued. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an English novelist and travel writer who loved the pleasure gardens he created at a cemetery, an English writer and friend of Charlotte Bronte, and a beloved and humorous garden author. We'll hear an excerpt from Ali Smith's Autumn. It's perfect for this time of year. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about a species among the most ancient of Earth's inhabitants. And then we'll wrap things up with the birthday of an American garden writer. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to "Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast." And she will. It's just that easy. The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring:

• A personal update from me
• Garden-related items for your calendar
• The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week
• Gardener gift ideas
• Garden-inspired recipes
• Exclusive updates regarding the show

Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf. Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Curated News Vegetable Garden Design: DIY Bean Trellis - Gardenista| Gardenista | Michelle Slatalla Important Events September 29, 1760 Birth of William Beckford, English novelist, travel writer, and architect. His family's enormous wealth stemmed from the enslavement of Jamaicans. Reclusive and eccentric, William is best known for his romance novel, The History of the Caliph Vathek (1782). William was fascinated with Italianate gardens. He especially enjoyed the landscape at Lansdown Cemetery after he installed a pleasure garden. He designed a large tower there and hoped to be buried in its shade near one of his favorite dogs. But it was not to be. The ground was considered unconsecrated, and the dog only made the situation even more untenable. And so, William's sarcophagus was moved to Abbey Cemetery in Bath. William once wrote, Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul to. September 29, 1810 Birth of Elizabeth Gaskell, English writer. She married a Unitarian minister named William Gaskell, and his work led them both to help and advocate for the poor. In 1850, she met Charlotte Brontë at the summer home of a mutual acquaintance, and the two became instant friends. Once when Charlotte visited her, her shyness got the best of her, and Charlotte hid behind some curtains rather than meeting other visitors who had stopped by the Gaskell's Manchester home. After Charlotte died in 1855, her father, Patrick, asked Elizabeth to write her biography, which resulted in The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857). Elizabeth's work included the novels Mary Barton (1848), Cranford (1851–53), and North and South (1854–55). She once told her daughter, Marianne, It is hard work writing a novel all morning, spudding up dandelions all afternoon, and writing again at night. Elizabeth was a gardener, and she loved flowers - especially roses. Gardens, flowers, fragrances, and country life permeate her writing. In Ruth (1853), she wrote, With a bound, the sun of a molten fiery red came above the horizon, and immediately thousands of little birds sang out for joy, and a soft chorus of mysterious, glad murmurs came forth from the earth...waking the flower-buds to the life of another day. In Wives and Daughters (1865), she wrote, I would far rather have two or three lilies of the valley gathered for me by a person I like than the most expensive bouquet that could be bought! September 29, 1920 Birth of Geoffry B. Charlesworth, garden author. Regarding the Devil's Claw or Tufted Horned Rampion (Physoplexis comosa), he wrote, We like people not just because they are good, kind, and pretty but for some indefinable spark, usually called "chemistry," that draws us to them and begs not to be analyzed too closely. Just so with plants. In that case, my favorite has to be Physoplexis comosa. This is not merely because I am writing at the beginning of July when the plant approaches maximum attractiveness. In A Gardener Obsessed (1994), he wrote, A garden is a Gymnasium; an outlet for energy, a place where accidents occur, where muscles develop, and fat is shed. — Uneventful living takes up most of our time. Gardening is part of it, possibly a trivial part to the rest of the world, but by no means less important to the gardener than the big events. In The Opinionated Gardener (1988), he wrote, Every gardener knows this greed. I heard a man looking at a group of plants say, "I have all the plants I need." Ridiculous. He said it because he was leaving for South America the next day, and he didn't have his checkbook, and it was December, and he didn't have a cold frame. Unearthed Words A minute ago, it was June. Now the weather is September. The crops are high, about to be cut, bright, golden, November? Unimaginable. Just a month away. The days are still warm, the air in the shadows sharper. The nights are sooner, chillier, the light a little less each time. Dark at half-past seven. Dark at quarter past seven, dark at seven. The greens of the trees have been duller since August since July really. But the flowers are still coming. The hedgerows are still humming. The shed is already full of apples, and the tree's still covered in them. The birds are on the powerlines. The swifts left a week ago. They're hundreds of miles from here by now, somewhere over the ocean. ― Ali Smith, Autumn Grow That Garden Library Moths by David Lees and Alberto Zilli This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is A Complete Guide to Biology and Behavior. In this book, David and Alberto give us an expert reference to the vital insect group of moths. In many cases, moths rely on their ability to camouflage to survive and reproduce. Gardeners are attracted to brightly covered butterflies, but the work of moths in the environment is equally important. Now, of course, you can't have a practical guide to moths without spectacular illustrations, and this book has that in spades. Readers come away with an incredible appreciation for the diversity of these winged insects and their miraculous lifecycle - from egg to larva to cocoon to airborne adult. This book is 208 pages of the marvelous world of moths - and our world would be the lesser without them. You can get a copy of Moths by David Lees and Alberto Zilli and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $20 Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart September 29, 1902 Birth of Jean Hersey, American garden writer and magazine feature writer. She lived in Westport, Connecticut, with a meadow instead of a front lawn and woodland and stream for a back yard. She wrote over a dozen books. Her first book was called I Like Gardening (1941), which one reviewer said: "makes one fairly itch to start a garden (bugs and insects included)." Jean is probably best known for The Shape of a Year (1967), a year-long almanac of her garden life. In her chapter on September, she wrote, September is a sweep of dusky, purple asters, a sumac branch swinging a fringe of scarlet leaves, and the bittersweet scent of wild grapes when I walk down the lane to the mailbox. September is a golden month of mellow sunlight and still, clear days. The ground grows cool to the touch, but the sun is still warm. A hint of crisp freshness lies in the early hours of these mornings. Small creatures in the grass, as if realizing their days are numbered, cram the night air with sound. Everywhere goldenrod is full out. One of the excitements of the month is the Organic Garden Club show. Bob and I were prowling around the night before, considering what I might enter and studying all our tomatoes. The large ones seemed pretty good, but all had the common scars on the top that don't make a bit of difference in the eating but aren't good for a show. There was a special charm to some smaller ones, volunteers, that grew out of the midst of the chard. Each one was perfect, not a blemish. These were larger than the cherry tomatoes. "They're about the size of ping-pong balls," Bob said. "They must be a cross between the ordinary large ones and the cherry ones. Say – why not enter them as Ping-pong Tomatoes? So I did, selecting three perfect ones, and they won first prize overall tomatoes. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."