The Daily Gardener

Today we celebrate an early Swedish explorer of Niagara Falls. We'll also learn about a plant that Thomas Jefferson loved. We salute the Russian botanist who arranged plants by geography. We also recognize the Czech, who became the most famous collector of orchids in the world. And, we'll remember the lives of a British plant hunter and a German chemist. I've got a wonderful poem about August for you today. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about canning - the author says you'll be able to make your mamma jealous with your canning skills after getting her book. And then we'll wrap things up with a mystery about a plant collected by the botanist Albert Ruth. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News 10 Berries That Birds Love | Treehugger | Tom Oder "Have you ever thought about birdscaping your garden? Birdscaping in this case doesn't mean putting out a lot of feeders with different types of seed. It means planting the types of plants that will attract birds to your garden. A good way to get started is by planting berry-producing plants — and now is the perfect time of year to do that. Here are 10 easy-to-grow berry-producing shrubs, vines, and trees that produce berries that birds will love. Most of these plants should grow well throughout the United States, according to Bill Thompson III of Bird Watcher's Digest in Marietta, Ohio. As a bonus to help you get started with birdscaping, we've also included two popular fruit trees that birds love." Boy, nasturtiums are such wonderful plants, aren't they? August is a time when your nasturtiums look fabulous, even after a summer of blooming their hearts out. Right about now, your nasturtiums will bloom better if you remove a few of the center leaves. Opening up the plant a little bit will promote airflow - and allow the sun to shine on the base of the plant. Nasturtiums are 100% edible. You can add the petals to any salad - just as you would watercress. In fact, you can make a beautiful sandwich with nasturtium flowers and a little salad dressing. Jane Eddington shared this idea in the Daily News out of New York in 1928. She wrote, "If you have never tried a nasturtium leaf spread with a thin mayonnaise between two thin slices of bread and butter, you do not know how pleasant a little bite – in two senses – you can get from this Indian-Cress filling." And before I forget, I found this wonderful article on nasturtiums that was featured in the Hartford Current out of Hartford, Connecticut, in August of 1914. It had all of these wonderful recipes for nasturtiums. It not only gave some good advice about nasturtium capers and nasturtium sandwiches, but also, a nasturtium sauce for fish, meat, and vegetables, a nasturtium vinegar, and a nasturtium potato salad. I'll have all of that in today's show notes -if you're geeking out on nasturtiums. And, here is a little insight into how nasturtiums like to coexist with us: the more we cut nasturtiums - to bring in as cut flowers, or to eat them raw, or as capers - the more they are they will bloom. Regular cuttings seem to encourage more lateral development, and therefore you get more flowers. Win-win. If you protect your plants with burlap or sheets on cold fall evenings, your nasturtiums just might surprise you and bloom well into November. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1750 The botanist Peter Kalm visited Niagara Falls. Niagara was a natural attraction for botanists like Peter who studied under Carl Linnaeus. (It was actually Linnaeus who came up with the idea to send trained botanists to Niagara.) There are no records of the plants that Peter collected on this day all those years ago. However, botanists suspect that Kalm's Lobelia and Kalm's Saint John's Wort were both collected there; and that's how they were both named for him by Carl Linnaeus. 1805 Today Meriwether Lewis discovered the Snowberry or Symphoricarpos albus. I love the story of how Lewis came across the Snowberry. Meriwether was really looking for the Shoshone Indians, but he found the Snowberry instead. Meriwether wrote in his journal that he discovered something like a small honeysuckle, except that it was bearing a berry, "... as large as a garden pea and as white as wax." The plant was a truly new discovery to the scientific community. And, Meriwether showed his botany chops when he said he thought it resembled the honeysuckle because it actually IS a member of the honeysuckle family. The Latin name for Snowberry is from the Greek meaning "fruits joined together," because the berries are clustered in pairs. Sadly, Snowberries aren't good eating; they're pretty tasteless. But, the birds - especially grouse - love it. As for Meriwether, botanists suspect that he probably took a specimen of the Snowberry in his pack because some of the seeds made their way to Philadelphia to Thomas Jefferson's favorite nurseryman: Bernard McMahon. Once the Snowberry was in his hands, McMahon did what he always did; cultivate the plant and take cuttings. After McMahon grew the Snowberry, he sent cuttings to Thomas Jefferson. By October of 1812, Jefferson wrote back to report that the Snowberries were thriving in his garden. He gushed that they were some of the most beautiful berries he had ever seen - a hearty endorsement for the Snowberry. 1815 Today is the birthday of the Russian botanist Edward August Von Regal. Edward was born in Switzerland - but he lived most of his life in Russia. Edward worked in a number of botanical gardens, including gardens in Germany and Switzerland. In 1852, Edward founded a magazine called Garten Flora, where he described new plant species. Three years later, in 1855, Edward moved to St. Petersburg, where he oversaw the imperial botanical garden. Edward was a very hands-on botanist. When he went to St. Petersburg, he immediately addressed the setup and the level of excellence. He changed how all the plants were arranged and rebuilt the greenhouses (most of which were heated by hot water). Edward loved to arrange plants in groups based on geography. For instance, he would have an area for plants of St. Petersburg, and an area for the plants of Siberia, and an area for the plants of North America, and so on. While in St. Petersburg, Edward also started a Russian gardening society, as well as several botanical journals. And if you're a fan of Curtis's botanical magazine, which was started by William Curtis (who was employed at Kew), you'll appreciate knowing that volume 111 is dedicated to Edward August van Regal. 1823 Today is the birthday of Benedict Roezl, who was born on this day in Czechoslovakia. Benedict was probably the most famous collector of orchids during his lifetime. Benedict had an interesting life. As a gardener, he traveled all over Europe. He was also the founder of a Czech botanical magazine called Flora. Eventually, Benedict made his way to the United States. He was making his way south to Mexico, so after first landing in New York, he went to Denver. There, he collected the Yucca Angustifolia. Benedict indeed ended up in Mexico. For a time, he owned a restaurant. But he was also trying to make a go of a business growing a nettle called the Boehmeria nivea, which produces a fiber that can be harvested. Now Benedict was a tinkerer and he had built a machine to extract the fiber from the Boehmeria. One time, Benedict brought his invention to an exhibition. At one point, someone asked if Benedict's machine would be able to extract fiber from an agave. When Benedict attempted to try it, his hand got entangled in the machine and was crushed. The accident changed his life, and he began collecting plants full-time. Benedict used an iron hook in place of his amputated hand; it made him popular among the locals who brought the plants to him. Benedict started collecting for a man named Frederick Sander, who was known as the king of orchids. But it was Benedict behind the scenes that made it all happen. Although, as a collector, he was a bit of a mess. Still, Benedict collected over 800 orchids from Mexico and South America, along with thousands of other plants like agaves and cacti. In Columbia, he discovered the Zambia Roezlii, the tallest and oldest orchid of all. Benedict collected for Sander for 40 years. Even though Benedict was 6'2" tall, and had that imposing iron hook for a hand, during his collecting days, Benedict was robbed 17 times and, once, even attacked by a jaguar. At the end of his life, Benedict returned to Czechoslovakia. His country welcomed him home with open arms, and he was honored by the Russian Czar. After he died at home in his bed, Benedict's funeral was attended by the Austrian emperor. Today, there is a statue of Roezl in Prague. If you happen to go, It's located on the southern end of Charles Square. 1870 Today is the anniversary of the death of the nurseryman and botanist John Gould Veitch. The Veitch Nursery dynasty was a force in the British nursery trade. Their dominance was born out of the idea to hire their own plant hunters to collect exclusively for them. John Gould Veitch became a plant hunter himself. He's remembered for collecting in Japan and in Australia where he once complained that the seeds of many plants, "were so tiny he did not know if he was collecting seed or dust." John Gould Veitch's life was cut short by tuberculosis. He died when he was just 31 years old. 1872 Today is the birthday of the German chemist and botanist Richard Willstätter. We sure could use Richard's expertise today… Richard was trained as an organic chemist, and early in his career, he focused on plants. Richard was one of the first scientists to study plant pigment, and his work with chlorophyll earned him the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1915. That very same year, 1915, a friend and fellow scientist by the name of Fritz Haber asked Richard to help him formulate poisonous gas to use as a weapon in World War 1. Richard's conscience wouldn't allow him to use his talents in that way. However, he did help to lead an effort to devise a filter that could protect soldiers from enemy gases. Richard's 3-layer filter was mass-produced - 30 million were made by 1917 - and Richard was awarded the Iron Cross for his work. By September of 1938, Richard, who was Jewish, tried to remain in his home in Munich. That month, Richard was forced to surrender his passport. On November 10th, a co-worker and fellow professor at the Chemistry Institute named Margarete Rohdewalde called Richard to warn him that the SS were on their way to his home with the intent of taking him to Dachau. When the SS arrived, his housekeeper, Elise, recalled that they searched his home "from top to bottom," looking in all of the closets and under all of the beds, but they could not find him. It turns out, Richard had avoided their capture by being in the south side of his garden where Richard wrote that "the last roses were just freezing." Over the next three days, Richard sat at his desk and waited for them to return. But they did not come for him. Although he could have found a university job in the United States, Richard felt drawn to Switzerland. In March of 1939, he managed to leave Germany legally. Elise followed him and took care of him as he battled the strain of leaving his books, his home, and his country. Shortly after leaving Germany, Richard's heart began to fail. His memoir shares that he died in Switzerland on the afternoon of August 3rd, 1942. And, Elise noted that he passed while a violent thunderstorm raged outside. Unearthed Words Here is a poem about August For which there is no possible rhyme other than sawdust. Now, the task of justifying that word is going to be immense If I want to make sense, But anyway, here goes: I once had a doll called Rose Whose body was encased in a species of strong white cotton. Well, I have not forgotten How curious I was to see what was within The cotton skin. And so I made, with surgical precision, A long incision. Poor Rosie bled and bled and bled. She bled not blood, but sawdust, And then went limp. Well, so do I, in August. Get the connection? Now, for those to whom August means a similar disaffection I have news today: Relief is on the way For, and I say this without fear of starting an angry dialogue, September will follow Aug. It means that those kids who screamed "help, help" at the river all summer will go back to school And I can keep my cool, Sitting tight Instead of leaping up in fright. It means the lawn will stop being so assiduous about growing, Requiring mowing Every second day. Hooray! It means I can give up wondering whether To try for a tan, or will the sun merely turn me to leather? It means the rabbits can finish off what they've left of my garden for all I'll care. Allowing my temper to simmer down from way up there. For all of which thank God, Although, of course, there'll be the goldenrod; Frankly, I think it's pretty But visitors from the city To such a view object. Pointing out how it makes their eyes and noses runny and wet. "Why don 't you get rid of the stuff?" they ask, As though exterminating goldenrod were some sort of easy task. Tsk! By the time you've yanked out one you turn around To find its sisters, aunts, and cousins springing blithely from the ground. What goldenrod knows about family planning you could put in a gnat's eye, That's why Some farms grow wheat or corn or hops But goldenrod's my bumper crop, A fact allergic friends remember And so I can be lonely in September. — Maggie Grant, Ottawa Newspaper Columnist, August Grow That Garden Library Not Your Mama's Canning Book by Rebecca Lindamood This book came out in 2016, and the subtitle is Modern Canned Goods and What to Make with Them. Rebecca's book offers both savory and sweet recipes for canned goods. Her book teaches not only how to can but also how to elevate your food flavors. Her recipes feature unique flavor combinations - including jams and jellies, pickles and relishes, and drunken fruit—just a heads up that some recipes call for pressure canning, but not all. As Rebecca says - with her book, you can, "Make your mama proud. But don't tell her your canning is better than hers!" Rebecca is the founder of the blog Foodie with Family. She worked as both a full-time cook and a food columnist. She lives in Belfast, NY. This book is 224 pages of expert modern-day canning advice. You can get a copy of Not Your Mama's Canning Book by Rebecca Lindamood and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $14. Today's Botanic Spark 1892 The botanist Albert Ruth collected a plant in Sevier County that he thought was Partridge Berry. Over 40 years later, in 1934, Ruth's specimen of Partridge Berry ended up at the University of Tennessee under unusual circumstances. In 1934, the University of Tennessee's herbarium had been destroyed in a fire - which was especially sad since the herbarium was quite excellent and contained over 30,000 specimens. To rectify the matter, the botanist and university professor, AJ Sharp, put out a call for new specimens from botanists all over the globe. His effort met with success. And, that's how Albert Ruth's Partridge Berry made its way to AJ Sharp. Now, When Dr. Sharp saw Ruth's specimen, he immediately recognized that it was NOT a Partridge Berry. Instead, what Sharp was looking at, was the twinflower, the flower named for Carl Linnaeus, the Linnea Borealis – an extremely delicate plant. Although the twinflower is found in Greenland and Alaska and Scandinavia, it has never been known to grow in the Smoky Mountains. To this day, no one has ever found the spot where Albert Ruth found his twinflower. To date, there have been two attempts to locate Ruth's twinflower led by Dr. Peter White out of the University of North Carolina. But Peter rightly cautions anyone attempting to search for the twinflower in the Smokies. Peter says there are two things you need to have in order to botanize in the Great Smoky Mountains, "Excellent rock climbing experience and a great life insurance policy."

Today we remember the busiest man in London. We'll also learn about the man honored by the Baobab tree. We salute a daughter of Winterthur, We also recognize a life cut short in the world of tropical botany. And we'll look back on a letter from one garden writer to another written on this day in 1961. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that puts your focus on the grill for preparing your garden harvest. And then we'll wrap things up with a story about Gallant Soldiers. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News 7 Best Tips for Growing Dahlias | Melissa J. Will Here's an excerpt: Melissa gathered these tips for growing dahlias from numerous sources, including books, research papers, my own experience, and advice from professional growers whose livelihood depends on their success. Melissa provides seven top tips and answered Frequently Asked Questions for an excellent overview of everything needed to grow dahlias.

• Dahlias take 90 to 120 days to flower after planting, depending on the variety you are growing.
• Generally, the larger the plant and flowers, the longer it takes.
• If you want flowers before late summer, consider starting your dahlia tubers indoors in pots 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost.
• Pinching back (the same as cutting off), the main stem encourages the plant to become bushier.
• Every enthusiastic dahlia grower will tell you their storage method works like a charm. And—they are right—for their specific conditions. The point is, it's the health of the tuber and the overall environment that counts.
• The optimum storage temperature is 40-45°F (4-7°C). We run into problems when the heating systems in our homes make the humidity level too low for the tubers.
• Consider using the plastic food wrap method where each tuber is wrapped individually to keep moisture in. Growers who use this method report a higher number of viable tubers each spring.
• Exposure to some cold is necessary for their development each year, so we wait until early frosts have blackened the foliage before digging up the tubers and storing them for the winter.
• Come spring, a handy rule is, if it's the right time to plant tomatoes, it's the right time to plant dahlias.
• On a brighter note, while not entirely deer-proof, dahlias are not their first food choice when other plants are available.

Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1803 Today is the birthday of the English gardener, architect, and Member of Parliament, Joseph Paxton. Joseph Paxton was brilliant. It was Charles Dickens who dubbed him, "The Busiest Man in England." Joseph designed the Crystal Palace, aka the People's Palace, for the first World's Fair. The Crystal Place was a large exhibition hall. It was an extraordinary and revolutionary building. Joseph was the head gardener to the Duke of Devonshire in Chatsworth. Now, you might be wondering how Joseph's job as the head gardener had given him the experience he needed to create the Crystal Palace. Well, the answer is simple: he had built four massive greenhouses for the Duke over fifteen years from 1833 to 1848, and that made Joseph one of the top greenhouse experts in the world. And, English royalty knew it. Don't forget that the beautiful Crystal Palace was essentially a large greenhouse. Gardeners will appreciate that Joseph's iron and glass architectural plans were inspired by the "transverse girders & supports" of the giant water lily - which itself is an architectural wonder. Now Instead of creating a large empty building for exhibits, Joseph decided to build his greenhouse around and over the existing Hyde Park. The high central arch - the grand barrel vault you see in all the old postcards and images of the Crystal Palace - actually accommodated full-sized trees that were already in the park when Joseph began to build around them. Joseph's Crystal Palace was built in a very short amount of time, and this was due again to Joseph's expertise and connections. He had built relationships with various iron and glass companies in building greenhouses for the Duke, and he had even designed many of the components needed to create a greenhouse. For instance, the large beautiful columns also served a purpose: drainage. The Joseph Paxton biographer Kate Colquhoun wrote about the immensity of the Palace: "[Paxton's] design, initially doodled on a piece of blotting paper, was the architectural triumph of its time. Two thousand men worked for eight months to complete it. It was six times the size of St Paul's Cathedral, enclosed a space of 18 acres, and entertained six million visitors." The Crystal Palace was an enormous success and was open every day except Sundays all during the summer of 1851. Queen Victoria and Albert were there on the day it opened - May 1st. And by the closing day on October 11th, six million people had walked past the international exhibits at the Crystal Palace. For his work with the Crystal Palace, Joseph Paxton was knighted. Still, if I could knight Joseph Paxton, I would honor him for cultivating my favorite breakfast item: the Cavendish banana - the most consumed banana in the Western world. Naturally, Joseph cultivated the banana in the greenhouses he built for the 6th Duke of Devonshire - William Cavendish - who is honored with the name of the banana. Even with the perfect growing conditions, it took Joseph five years to get a banana harvest. But, in November 1835, Joseph's banana plant finally flowered. By the following May, the tree was loaded with more than 100 bananas - one of which won a medal at the Horticultural Society show in London. Today, bananas still grow on the Devonshire estate, and the Cavendish banana is the most-consumed banana in the western world. It replaced a tastier variety, which was wiped out by a fungal disease in the 1950s. Today, work is underway to create a Cavendish banana replacement. Without attention to this matter, we will someday see the extinction of the Cavendish banana. Now, if you'd like to read about Joseph Paxton - he's such a fascinating person - you should really check out the biographies written by Kate Colquhoun. Her first Joseph Paxton biography is called A Thing in Disguise: The Visionary Life of Joseph Paxton (2003), and her second book is called The Busiest Man in England: The Life of Joseph Paxton, Gardener, Architect, and Victorian Visionary (2006). You can get a used copy of either of these books and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $10. 1806 Today is the anniversary of the death of the 18th-century Scottish-French botanist and naturalist Michel Adanson. Michel created the first natural classification of flowering plants. In fact, Jussieu ("Juice You") adopted Michel's methodology to create his masterpiece that defined plant groups called Genera Plantarum (1789). Although today we think mainly of Darwin and Linnaeus, they stood the shoulders of people like Michel Adanson. Michel was the first person to question the stability of species. When he saw breaks or deviations in nature, he came up with a word for it - and one we still use today - mutation. One of the most profound experiences in Michel's life was the five year period he spent living in Senegal, where he collected and described many new plants and animals. That experience provided the foundation for his most famous work - the two-part Familles des Plantes (1763). In the book, Michel classified plants by evaluating a variety of plant characteristics in contrast to Linnaeus' more straightforward sexual system. Again, Michel's perspective on this was revolutionary and was embraced by Jussieu and other botanists. Today, it is called the natural system of classification. Linnaeus recognized Michel's contribution by naming the genus Adansonia, which features the spectacularly unique Baobab ("BOW-bab") trees of Africa, Australia, and Madagascar. The Baobab tree is remarkable and memorable - it has a Seussical quality - and it is one of the most massive trees in the world. In Africa, they are called "The Queens of the Forest" or "The Roots of the Sky." The last name refers to a legend that tells how long ago, in a fit of anger, the devil pulled the Baobab tree out of the ground, only to shove it back into the earth upside down - leaving its roots shooting up into the air. Although they seldom grow taller than forty feet and they are generally sparsely branched, the trunks have astounding girth - and they can be almost thirty feet wide. In fact, some large Baobab cavities have served as jails, post offices, and even pubs. And there is a massive Baobab tree in Gonarezhou, Zimbabwe, that is called Shadreck's Office by the locals and was used as a safe by a famous poacher for keeping his ivory and rhinoceros horns. And inside those enormous trunks, they can store up to 32,000 gallons of water. The outer bark is about 6 inches thick, but inside, the cavity is spongy and vascular. This is why animals, like elephants, chew the bark during the dry seasons. The Baobab can grow to enormous sizes, and carbon dating indicates that they may live to be 3,000 years old. They go by many names, including boab, boa boa, Tebaldi, bottle tree, upside-down tree, monkey bread tree, and the dead-rat tree (referring to the appearance of the fruit). Finally, the flowers of the Baobab bloom at night, and they are bat-pollinated. The fruit of the Baobab looks like an oblong coconut with a brown velvety hard outer shell. But inside, the flesh is sweet and tastes a bit like yogurt. The Baobab fruit contains more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk, more antioxidants than blueberries or cranberries, and more iron than steak. And here's a fun fact: the cooking ingredient Cream of Tartar was initially made from Baobab seed pulp. Today, it is mostly sourced as a by-product of making wine. In 1774, Michel Adanson wrote another masterpiece - an encyclopedic work covering all of the known plant families. Sadly, it was never published. But, that work was clearly meaningful to Michel, who requested that a garland for his Paris grave made up of flowers from each of the 58 plant families featured in his book. And Michel's work - his papers and herbarium - were clearly treasured by his surviving family. They privately held his entire collection for over a century before transferring everything to the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, in the early 1960s. The Hunt Institute was so energized and grateful for the gift that they republished Michel's Familles des Plantes in two volumes in 1963 and 1964. 1877 Today is the birthday of Louise du Pont Crowninshield, who was born on this day @WinterthurMuse. Louise spent her life working on projects related to ecological preservation, charity, and horticulture. Aside from her philanthropic efforts, Louise is remembered as the last du Pont to live in the residence at Winterthur ("Winner-TOUR") before it became a museum and library. The Winterthur estate covers 1,000 acres of rolling hills, streams, meadows, and forests. A love-long lover of nature and a natural designer, Henry Francis du Pont got his bachelor's in horticulture from Harvard. Henry thoughtfully developed Winterthur, and he planned for the gardens to be a showpiece. When it came to sourcing plants, du Pont spared no expense to source top plants from around the world. Today, you can visit Winterthur Garden and see for yourself the Quarry, Peony, and Sundial gardens as well as the Azalea Woods and the Enchanted Woods. You can get a lovely used copy of a book called Henry F. du Pont and Winterthur: A Daughter's Portrait and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $2. 1945 Today is the anniversary of the death of the American botanist Alwyn Howard Gentry. It's been 75 years since Alwyn's life was tragically cut short when his plane crashed in fog into a forested mountain during a treetop survey in Ecuador. At the time, Alwyn was just 48 years old, and he was at the peak of his career. Alwyn was regarded as a towering figure in tropical biology and ranked among the world's leading field biologists. He also was the senior curator at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Theodore Parker III was also on the plane with Alwyn. Parker was a world expert ornithologist. Parker's fiance survived the crash, and she told a reporter that both Alwyn and Parker had survived the crash as well. But sadly, they were both trapped in the wreckage of the plane, and without immediate medical attention, they passed away together the following morning. The only consolation for the many who knew and loved them was that Alwyn and Parker both died doing what they loved. Throughout his professional life, Alwyn had been in awe of the powerful pull of the rainforest, writing: "The Amazon is a world of lush green vegetation, and abundant waters has inspired naturalists, fortune hunters, dreamers, explorers, and exploiters." According to Conservation International, Alwyn had collected more specimens than any other living botanist of his time - a staggering 70,000 plants. To this day, botanists rely on Gentry's Guide to the Woody Plants of Peru for understanding and direction when it comes to neotropical and tropical plants. 1961 Today Katharine Stuart wrote to Elizabeth Lawrence. My dear Elizabeth, By now, you will have given me up entirely as a friend. It is shocking that I have not written to you in so long, and especially that I have never answered your letter offering me some of Mr. Krippendorf's hellebores. Perhaps you can forgive me, though, when you hear all the things that have been happening to me since May 24th, the date of your letter. [Turns out, Katharine had an appendectomy.] I enclose some of Andy's snapshots of the garden in early spring. As you can see, it isn't a garden — no plan, no style, no proper arrangement of colors — but at least the pictures give you the feel of the land in a cold, late Maine spring. Everything is very different now. The picket fence hardly shows for the flowers; the grey windbreak is covered with the blossoms of Mme. Baron Veillard, Jackmarie, and Mrs. Cholmondley, and on the little terrace, the hybrid roses are full of bloom. We lost one of our big Balm of Gilead trees in a fierce wind and rain storm, and Andy has made a most ingenious birdbath from a section of its big trunk, into which he poured cement… yesterday, we could watch two song sparrows, and a yellow warbler take their baths [in it] under the pear tree. Even if I can't garden, I can enjoy the flowers in a maddeningly remote way. My first water lily is in blossom in the pasture pond... Today, my first-ever hardy cyclamen is in bloom under the Persian lilac. It is enchanting and a triumph, as I have failed so often with them. I finally raised this one indoors last winter and set it out this spring. I don't even know the variety, for the tag is lost. It has pink blossoms and variegated leaves. Everything else is at sixes and sevens—iris needs separating; one long perennial bed is too crowded; one is too skimpy thanks to winter losses. It has been a year of frustration. Andy finally sold our beautiful Herefords, and there goes my source of manure. Oh, dear, we are crumbling badly! But just writing you gives me hope, and I am determined that I shall get back to normal again. We really feel encouraged. Ever affectionately, Katharine Unearthed Words Today is National Watermelon Day. Here are some words about Watermelon. Go along, Mister Winter- Crawl into your frosty bed. I'm longing like a lover For the watermelon red. — Frank Lebby Stanton, American lyricist And the windows opened that night, A ceiling dripped the sweat Of a tin god, And I sat eating a watermelon All false red, Water like slow running Tears, And I spit out seeds And swallowed seeds, And I kept thinking I'm a fool I'm a fool To eat this Watermelon, But I kept eating Anyhow. — Charles Bukowski, American-German poet and novelist, Watermelon Green Buddhas On the fruit stand We eat the smile And spit out the teeth. — Charles Simic, American-Serbian Poet, Watermelons Up from the South, by boat and train. Now comes the King of Fruits again; Lucious feast for judge or felon, Glorious, sun-kissed Watermelon; Green as emerald in its rind, But cutting through it thou shalt find Sweetest mass of crimson beauty Tempting angels from their duty. — Ode to Watermelon, anonymous It is pure water, distilled, and put up by nature herself, who needs no government label to certify to the cleanliness of her methods and the innocence of her sun-kissed chemistry. It is the tiniest trace of earth salts. It has a delicate aroma. It is slightly a food, generously a drink, and altogether poetry. Not altogether is it poetry. Not in respect of price. Not even the most hard-working of the poets can afford to buy the early Watermelon. — The Citizen-Republican, Scotland, South Dakota, Watermelon On Saturday, he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of Watermelon. That night he had a stomach ache. — Eric Carle, American designer, illustrator, and writer of children's books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Grow That Garden Library From Garden to Grill by Elizabeth Orsini This book came out in 2017, and the subtitle is Over 250 Vegetable-based Recipes for Every Grill Master. From kebabs and salads to made-from-scratch sauces and seasonings, bring your garden to your grill with more than 250 mouthwatering vegetarian grilling recipes! Bring your garden harvest to the grill! Backyard barbecues aren't just for burgers and hotdogs. Delicious vegetables can be part of every diet with From Garden to Grill--featuring more than 250 mouthwatering, vegetable-based grilling recipes, variations to add meat, tips to make meals paleo, and changes to go gluten-free or vegan! With everything from sauces and salads to small plates and main courses, this book shows grill masters how to incorporate fresh produce into healthy and hearty meals: *Grilled Zucchini Salsa *Kale and Feta Pita Pizza *Caramelized Corn *Eggplant Ratatouille *Foil Pack Vegetables *Quinoa Veggie Wraps *Grilled Romaine Salad *Grilled Veggie Paninis *Butternut Squash Kebabs *Artichoke Pizza *Portobello Mozzarella Caps Whether you are dedicated to a lifetime of healthy living or just love bringing that freshly grilled char to seasonal veggies, this is the cookbook for you. This book is 320 pages of grilled garden goodness. You can get a copy of From Garden to Grill by Elizabeth Orsini and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $13 Today's Botanic Spark 1948 On this day, The Guardian posted a brief snippet about the Gallant Soldiers plant. Now before I read the post, here's a primer. Gallant Soldiers is loosely derived from its Latin name: Galinsoga parviflora (gal-in-SOH-guh), and it's also known as Quickweed. Gallant Soldiers is a herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae or Daisy family. Over a single summer, a single specimen of Gallant Soldiers can produce over 7,000 seeds - so they'll be marching on. Galinsoga was named for Mariano Galinsoga, who was a botanist and a Spanish doctor for royalty during the 1700s, and he famously observed that women who wore corsets had more health problems than peasant women who did not wear them. Now, Galinsoga is a trooper when it comes to medicinal uses. Galinsoga is a super coagulator, antibiotic agent, and a healer. And the next time you run into stinging nettle, grab some Galinsoga, and you'll be all smiles. Rich in iron, Galinsoga is also edible. In fact, every part of the plant, except the root, can be eaten. In the United States, foragers are beginning to add Galinsoga to their list, but in China and South America, Galinsoga is already regularly added to soups, stews, and salads. On the Forager Chef website, it says "Galinsoga can be used raw or cooked. Got a call from a farmer that the spinach was killed by hail? Don't worry, just toss some Galinsoga in that pasta. While you're at it, put it in the salad mix and on the fish entree, then throw the purchased microgreens in the compost where they belong, as fodder to grow interesting, edible weeds. Like so many other greens sans watercress, It's shelf life shames conventionally harvested salad greens. I would regularly get two weeks of shelf life from what I picked or more... Galinsoga tastes mild and fades into the background; there's not even a hint of bitterness. It's a blank canvas for whatever you like. This also means from a health/diet perspective, you can consume mass quantities cooked, unlike other aggressive growers like garlic mustard, whose bitterness I tend to blend with other plants." Great information there. Now let's hear that post from The Guardian on Galinsoga from 1948: "In some gardens, near Kew and Richmond, there flourishes an unusual weed which nine out of ten people will call "Gallant Soldiers." It has escaped from Kew, where it was introduced some years ago from Peru under the name of Galinsoga parviflora. Local gardeners made the name easier to pronounce, but the corruption did not stop there. Sir Edward Salisbury, the director of Kew Gardens, tells how he found a gardener one day pulling out Galinsoga from his borders. He asked its name. The gardener replied, "I don't rightly know, but I have heard it called Soldiers of the Queen."

Today we remember the master landscape and portrait painter who grew up with a magnificent mulberry tree. We learn about the planting of the first potato in Hawaii, and the discovery of a tree named for Benjamin Franklin. We also remember the poet who was inspired not by his day job at an insurance company, but by a beautiful park that was across the street from his house. We review some August Weather Folklore - and all I have to say is you might want to grab your coat. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that lets us drop in on some of the most beautiful spaces on the planet. And then we'll wrap things up with a little post about a gorgeous garden at Longwood. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world, and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Cheery Hollyhocks Brighten Up the Garden | Southern Living These vibrant blooming stalks can reach heights of 8 feet. Here's an excerpt: "In summer, we can't get enough of hollyhocks. These plants are long-blooming summer flowers that appear in spikes of bright blossoms. Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) are cottage garden favorites because of their appearance and extended bloom time. The warm-weather bloomers are low-maintenance plantings and make great additions to cut flower gardens. They're also known to attract birds to the garden." These perennials and biennials thrive in the sun and in the right conditions will grow to heights of 3 to 8 feet and widths of 1 to 3 feet. Their dramatic heights make an impact in mass plantings and can create magical effects in the garden. They're also capable of acting as privacy plantings. Hollyhocks are beautiful when planted in en masse in one color or in a variety of colors. They're vibrant and welcoming and can add a cheery note to backyard gardens and front-yard designs. (Hello, curb appeal!) The foliage of hollyhocks is bright green, sometimes in shades of blue-green, and the flowers appear in a rainbow of colors including red, white, pink, purple, yellow, and blue. Foliage surrounds the base of the plant and appears on stems higher up the center stalk. When it's time to bloom, the flowering stalks are covered in buds, and the blooms begin to unfurl, opening from the bottom and emerging gradually up the stalk. In regard to care, usually, you'll have to wait a year after first planting to enjoy hollyhock blooms. Be patient: Once the hollyhocks have spent a year growing, they'll put on a vibrant show. In addition to full sun and regular water, they also appreciate having a support system nearby. The tallest varieties like to be planted against a wall or a fence to keep them growing upright. Some popular selections to plant include 'Chater's Double,' which has peachy-pink, yellow, and white blooms, 'Peaches 'n Dreams,' which has double apricot-hued blooms, and 'Creme de Cassis,' which has vibrant magenta flowers. Did you have hollyhocks in your family garden growing up? Do you want to plant some of these summer blooms in your garden this year?" Link to Pinterest Page on Hollyhock Dolls Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1788 Today is the anniversary of the death of the landscape and portrait painter, known for his painting of the Blue Boy, Thomas Gainsborough. Gainsborough is regarded as one of the master Landscape painters. But, he is also remembered for his portraits, which made his subjects look relaxed, natural, and beautiful. Thomas's portraits were a direct result of customer preference, and Thomas's customers were the elite. In fact, his commissioned paintings of King George III and Queen Charlotte made him a favorite with royals. So much so, that after Thomas died at age 61, he was buried in the royal church. Today, you can visit Thomas's house in Sudbury. It has been turned into a charming art center,... and there's also the garden - the garden Thomas grew up in. And, it has a spectacular mulberry tree with falling down branches dating to the early 1600s during the reign of James I, who encouraged the planting of mulberry trees so that he could establish a silk industry. Although England never successfully became known for silkworms, the craft of silk weaving became firmly rooted. The Gainsborough families were weavers. In fact, over 95% of the woven silk in England comes from Sudbury. Now, back when James I and his advisers were trying to get into silk making, they lacked the knowledge about Mulberry trees. There are actually two kinds of Mulberries. The white mulberry tree feeds silkworms, and the black tree supplies the fruit. The Gainsborough Mulberry (as well as every other Mulberry cultivated in England) was the black Mulberry. And this tree, the Gainsborough Mulberry, would have been over a hundred years old when Thomas was born. In addition to the ancient Gainsborough Mulberry, which is regarded as a sentinel tree or a tree that has kept watch for a great many years, the Gainsborough garden includes two beds for Herbs and another that has plants used for dying fabric. There are also beautiful trees such as the medlar, quince, and Witch Hazel (Hamamelis Mollis), which gives some beautiful color and scent to the garden early in the year. The rest of the garden is made up of plants that were available during Thomas's lifetime in the 18th Century. And, Thomas once said, "Nature is my teacher and the woods of Suffolk, my academy." 1820 The first potatoes were planted in Hawaii. It turns out, the American brig, the Thaddeus, brought more than the first missionaries to the island. Four years later, the mango tree would be introduced. By 1828, the first coffee plant would be grown in Kona. It marked the beginning of the Kona Coffee Industry. 1938 The Belvedere Daily Republican, out of Belvedere Illinois, published a small article about a tree named for Benjamin Franklin. Here's what it said: "About 200 years ago, John Bartram, an eminent botanist, discovered a strange flowering tree in a Georgia forest and named it "Franklinia" in honor of his fellow Philadelphian, Benjamin Franklin." The discovery of the Franklinia made John Bartram famous. The Franklinia is in the tea family, and it has blossoms similar to the Camellia. Thirty years after Bartram's discovery, the Franklinia went extinct in the wild - the last one was seen in 1803 - and the only surviving Franklinias are descended from the original seed and the work of Bartram's Garden, North America's oldest botanic garden, who worked to preserve the species. Bartram himself lovingly cultivated the Franklinia. It was Benjamin Franklin who said, "I have thought that wildflowers might be the alphabet of angels." 1955 Today is the anniversary of the death of poet Wallace Stevens Stevens said, "Death is the mother of beauty. Only the perishable can be beautiful, which is why we are unmoved by artificial flowers." Stevens was one of the most skilled poets of the 20th Century. He lived his entire adult life near Elizabeth Park in Hartford, Connecticut. By day, Stevens worked at Hartford insurance company where he became a Vice President, and by night, he was a poet; it was in an unusual combination. Stevens lived two miles from his work, and he walked to work every day, undoubtedly using the time to find inspiration and to write poems. The park across from his house was one of his favorite places. Elizabeth Park is huge, covering over 100 acres with formal gardens, meadows, lawns, greenhouses, and a pond. Stevens wrote the following poems About Elizabeth Park:

• Vacancy in the Park
• The Plain Sense of Things
• Nuns Painting Water Lilies

By 1950, Stevens was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for his poetry. And, here's a little known fact about Wallace Stevens: He once started a fist-fight with Ernest Hemingway in Key West. Unearthed Words August Weather Folklore. It's surprising how many August sayings mention winter. Here's some August Weather Folklore: As August, so February. If the first week in August is unusually warm, The winter will be white and long. So many August fogs, so many winter mists For every fog in August, There will be a snowfall in winter. Observe on what day in August the first heavy fog occurs, and expect a hard frost on the same day in October. If a cold August follows a hot July, It foretells a winter hard and dry. In August, thunderstorms after St. Bartholomew (August 24th) are mostly violent. When it rains in August, it rains honey and wine. August is that last flicker of fun and heat before everything fades and dies. The final moments of fun before the freeze. In the winter, everything changes. — Rasmenia Massoud, author and short story writer, August Weather Grow That Garden Library How They Decorated by P. Gaye Tapp and Charlotte Moss This book came out in 2017, and the subtitle is Inspiration from Great Women of the Twentieth Century. "Interior designer and blogger P. Gaye Tapp recollects the lives and impeccably decorated homes of 16 iconic women in her upcoming book, How They Decorated: Inspiration From Great Women of the Twentieth Century." —New York Magazine "In How They Decorated: Inspiration from Great Women of the Twentieth Century, blogger P. Gaye Tapp casts her eyes on the decorating styles of iconic women like Babe Paley, Pauline de Rothschild, Mona Von Bismarck, and Elsa Schiaparelli. Whether these women employed top decorators or executed their homes on their own, the book provides great insights into lives fabulously lived." —Forbes.com "Covering these sixteen elegant women, she shows how they (most, of course, worked with decorators, architects, and designers) orchestrated rooms of great charm, individuality, and style. Tables are lavishly set, bedrooms invite lingering, fashions are paraded. And then, just when the lavish interiors are feeling rather intense, she introduces Georgia O'Keeffe (bold simplicity) and then Lesley Blanche, the ultimate romantic. It's a book to treasure. I love it." —The Style Saloniste Now, this is not a gardening book. But this book is 224 pages of gorgeous decorating and many feature botanicals and indoor gardening that add nature-inspired beauty to these incredible spaces. You can get a copy of How They Decorated by P. Gaye Tapp and Charlotte Moss and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $26. Today'sBotanic Spark A few days ago, Andrea Brunsendorf of Longwood gardens wrote an excellent post about the little Studio Garden and the plants she used to create some of her gorgeous containers. I thought you would love to hear about it. Be sure to read Andrea's full post for more details on additional plants that she loves. If you especially enjoy hearing about plant styling and putting different combinations of plants together, you will particularly enjoy listening to Andrea's post. Here's an excerpt: "As Longwood's Director of Outdoor Landscapes, I am very fortunate that my office opens up to a little patio known as the Studio Garden. This 35-[square]-foot space... centers around a large elliptical concrete pad, surrounded by low stone walls to sit for lunch or lean one's bicycle against before or after it gets you around the gardens in the morning. This beautiful little space serves as a constant reminder that the physical action of gardening is good for us … not just for our bodies, but also for our mental well-being, as it gives our minds a respite. This morning…[as I wrote about my containers,] I was reminded of the basic human need for nurturing something like plants … and the simple pleasure that comes with it. In early June, once all the seasonal change-outs from spring to summer have taken place… you will find me squirreling around, collecting left-over plants to switch out the Studio Garden's seasonal containers from spring bulbs to summer annuals. This year… sparked the idea of creating a calm... interesting space to rest my eyes … and ... meet colleagues for a social-distancing lunch. The mantra I followed while gathering from the surplus plants was looking for green—one of the most diverse, versatile, and beautiful colors in the plant kingdom. I pulled back from intense flower colors and focused on the textures, structures, and foliage of plants by combining those based on harmony and contrast. I looked at the plant's character and habit, beyond their flower color, when assembling them in pots. I should mention that I tend to mass containers and pots together of the same neutral material and similar style but vary their sizes and shapes. For example, I utilize mass groupings of aged concrete containers and groupings of smaller terracotta pots to build my pot compositions in the Studio Garden. In my larger container in the Studio Garden, I have the beloved silver dollar gum (Eucalyptus cinereal) with a purple-leaved shrubby spurge, Caribbean copper-plant (Euphorbia cotinifolia)... [combined with} fine-textured pheasant tail grass (Anemanthele lessoniana). [This is a] grass that I miss so much from my gardening days in London, where of course, it is hardy; [but] here in Pennsylvania, in Zone 6b, we just must enjoy it during the warmer months before the extreme winter colds take it. Honestly, I am not sure how … the pheasant tail grass from New Zealand is going to weather the high humidity combined with summer's heat on my patio, but as gardeners, we should not be afraid to experiment. Trialing new plants, growing them in different conditions, or creating 'unusual' compositions are all worthy ventures. Sometimes a plant fails and doesn't thrive, or the impact of the intended design is not what we hoped for, but in the end, we have learned something, we have grown from that experience, and we have become more knowledgeable and skilled in our art and craft of gardening … all while enjoying that simple human pleasure of caring for plants."

Today we celebrate an English poet who didn't want gardens to be monetized. We'll also learn about the 8th generation seedsman of a beloved Boston company. We remember the naturalist who followed the seasons up and down the country. We also recognize the exuberant botanist, who created the Dot Map. We welcome the new month with some poems about "the Queen of the Ripe Season" - August. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that was created by one of the world's best garden photographers. It's a beauty. And then we'll wrap things up with a little Q&A about the origin of Plant Names. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Double Coconut: The Largest Seed in the World | Kew Here's an excerpt:: "On the beautiful islands of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean grows a legendary palm. Lodoicea maldivica ("LOW-DOE-ah-SEE-ah MAHL-div-eh-cah") , also known as the double coconut, or coco-de-mer, is renowned for producing the largest and heaviest seeds in the world. With their rather suggestive shape and weighing up to an impressive 25kg, (about 55 pounds!) while measuring up to half a meter long, these spectacular seeds are attractive to scientists, tourists, and poachers alike. Legend has it that the double coconut possesses medicinal properties [and] single nuts currently sell for £500-£2,000. Sadly, due to overharvesting, there are now only around 8,000 wild mature Lodoicea palms on just two islands. To protect them from going extinct, seeds in the wild and in botanical gardens worldwide that have managed to grow them, are carefully guarded, sometimes even placed in cages, to prevent poaching." Weather Update August really begins to set the stage for fall and fall-like weather. But, remember, the most significant change that is affecting your plants right now is the reduction in daylight. We are not as sensitive to it, but believe me, our plants notice even the most subtle changes in the amount of daylight. All through August, the length of daylight starts to rapidly decline as the calendar approaches the autumnal equinox, with 12 hours of day and night, approaches in September. In the northern half of the United States, we lose 2 to 3 minutes of daylight every single day in August. For example, today, in NYC, the sun will set at 8:11 pm. But, already by the end of the month, the sun will set around 7:30 pm. And, in Seattle tonight, the sun sets at around 8:45 pm. By the end of the month, it will set almost a full hour earlier. The last full month of summer brings many changes in the weather. Hurricanes begin to get active later in August. In a typical year, August brings triple the number of named storms compared to July. If you look at the number of storms during the summer, August's total would be greater than June and July combined. The Rockies and Alaska usually get their first snows in August. August brings average cooler temperatures, and the length of daylight decreases. Although you may not be noticing the decrease in light, your houseplants are certainly making adjustments - especially African Violets (Saintpaulia species), Christmas Cactus, and Cyclamens. Are you growing, Gladiola? The plants are also sometimes called the Sword Lily. Gladiola is Latin for a small sword. In Victorian times, the Gladiola meant, "You pierce my heart." And the next time you see a Gladiola, take a closer look: Members of this family produce parts in multiples of three. There are three sepals, colored to look like petals, and three true petals, and three stamens. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1743 Today is the anniversary of the death of the English poet Richard Savage. Richard once wrote about a practice among the wealthy, allowing their servants to show their gardens in exchange for money. Even the Queen let her Richmond garden and cave to be viewed for a sum. It was a practice that distressed Richard. Richard wrote: But what the flowering pride of gardens rare, However royal, or however fair, If gates, which to access should still give way, Open but, like Peter's paradise, for pay? If perquisited varlets frequent stand, And each new walk must a new tax demand? What foreign eye but with contempt surveys? What Muse shall from oblivion snatch their praise? Richard wisely withheld these lines from publication while the Queen was alive. But after her death, he published his work in its entirety. 1900 Today is the anniversary of the death of the seedsman Charles Henry Bass Breck. Charles was the 8th generation heir to Joseph Breck & Sons, a wholesaler, and retail company located in Boston, Massachusetts. Breck & Sons specialized in seed, flowers, and agricultural tools and was founded by Joseph Breck - who was a descendant of one of the first puritan families in the country. Charles' father, Joseph, amassed a botanical publishing empire after he acquired the New England Farmer, and later Horticultural Register and Gardens magazine. For decades, the Breck's catalog, which featured many plant engravings, served as the primary educational reference for east coast farmers. Charles served as vice-president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for over twenty years until his death on this day in 1900. And here's a little-known fact about Charles - he was an accomplished flutist, and he was a generous patron of the arts in Boston. Forty years after Charles died, Breck & Sons had two locations at 85 State Street and 85 Franklyn Street in Boston. One of their most famous customers was Beatrix Farrand. Beatrix Farrand bought seed and roses from the Brecks for her estate Dumbarton Oaks Gardens in Washington, D.C. 1923 The botanist Edwin Way Teale married Nelly Imogene Donovan. Edwin and Nelly met in college. After they married, they moved to New York so that Edwin could continue his education at Columbia University. Edwin's first job was writing for the magazine Popular Science. On the side, Edwin began taking pictures and specializing in nature photography. When Edwin was 42, he left Popular Science and became a freelancer. By 1943, his book By-ways to Adventure: A Guide to Nature Hobbies won the John Burroughs Medal for distinguished natural history writing. During World War II, Teale's son, David, was killed in Germany. Edwin and Nelly began traveling across the country by automobile, and the trips help them cope with their grief. The trips became not only a catharsis but also an integral part of Edwin's writing. Their 1947 journey, covering 17,000 miles in a black Buick, following the advance of spring, led to Edwin's book north with the spring. Additional road trips lead to more books: Journey Into Summer, Autumn Across America, and Wandering Through Winter. Wandering Through Winter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1966. And, it was Edward Way Teale who said: For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad. Any fine morning, a power saw can fell a tree that took a thousand years to grow. Nature is shy and noncommittal in a crowd. To learn her secrets, visit her alone or with a single friend, at most. Everything evades you, everything hides, even your thoughts escape you when you walk in a crowd. Our minds, as well as our bodies, need the out-of-doors. Our spirits, too, need simple things, elemental things, the sun and the wind and the rain, moonlight, and starlight, sunrise and mist and mossy forest trails, the perfumes of dawn, and the smell of fresh-turned earth and the ancient music of wind among the trees. 1927 Today is the birthday of the botanist Franklyn Hugh Perring who is born in London on this day. Franklyn was the best kind of botanist, possessing the eagerness of an amateur and the training of a true professional. He also had an outstanding field botanist with a phenomenal memory for plants. At heart, he was a conservationist. In 1962, Franklyn, along with Max Walters, wrote The Atlas of the British Flora, which some called the most important natural history book of the 20th century. After getting his Ph.D. at Cambridge, Max Walters, the director of the University herbarium, invited Franklyn to map the distribution of all the wildflowers trees and ferns of England and Ireland. The year was 1954, and it was a very ambitious and groundbreaking project; Franklyn said, "yes." And, that's how Franklyn Perring was the first person to create a Dot Map. Thanks to the help of countless citizen scientists, Max and Franklyn successfully mapped all of Britain's plants in under five years - and that fact is even more impressive after learning the entire country was divided into 10 km squares. Frank once wrote, "The amateur naturalist or the professional can make a significant contribution to biological knowledge by volunteering to collect data in the field." When Franklyn finished his project, he went on to help David Webb map the plants of Ireland. And he also encouraged fellow scientists, to make similar atlases of distribution; for example, zoologists could map the distribution of mammals, butterflies, and other life forms. Franklyn adored leading groups of people on field trips by any means available - bicycle, train, or on foot. He was excellent with volunteers and little details - like dots - but he wasn't considered to be a sharp strategist. In an unpublished 1965 Biographical Sketch, Frank said, "[I] Rarely if ever relax [and I] read perhaps two novels a year – at Christmas and during the summer holiday – nearly always spent abroad ... [My] favorite reading is Jane Austen and Dickens: take one of the latter on each long journey. I remember reading Pickwick in the Pickwick Hotel, San Francisco. [I'm also] very fond of music, especially Mozart and Britten. Britten's Spring Symphony and Elgar's Introduction and Allegro and Violin Concerto spell out for me the Englishness of England which I want to see preserved." And here's a charming little snippet about Franklyn's personality that was captured in a recent twitter exchange. On September 14th, 2018 the fanatical botanist Mick Crawley posted that he was, "Botanizing from the train. Some species are so distinctive that you can identify them with confidence, even at high speed. The triffid-like climber that scrambles over so many rail-side fences, covered with masses of tiny white flowers, is Fallopia baldschuanica ("Fa-LOW-PEE-ah Bald-shoe-AYE-nick-ah:)." (aka The Silver Lace Vine) Mick's tweet drew the attention of the Chief Exec of the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Stephen Trotter, who replied, "Reminds me of the late Franklyn Perring who when botanizing from a car defined species as being 30mph, 50mph or 70mph plants!" To which, I replied, "Ha! Love this insight - Plant ID at high speeds. What a concept!" Thank you, Franklyn Perring, for the new botanical sport! And, it's something we can actually safely do during the pandemic. Unearthed Words August 1st is Lammas Day ("La-MA-ss"). Lammas was a festival that celebrated the annual wheat and corn harvest. After Lammas Day, corn ripens as much by night as by day. And, Lammas is a cross-quarter day - a day between an equinox (when the sun sets due west) and a solstice. In this case, Lammas is the mid-point between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox. Here are some poems to welcome August. Fairest of the months! Ripe summer's Queen The hey-day of the year With robes that gleam with sunny sheen Sweet August doth appear. — R. Combe Miller, English poet and clergyman, Fairest of the Months The brilliant poppy flaunts her head Amidst the ripening grain, And adds her voice to sell the song That August's here again. ― Helen Winslow, American editor and journalist Buttercup nodded and said good-bye, Clover and Daisy went off together, But the fragrant Waterlilies lie Yet moored in the golden August weather. The swallows chatter about their flight, The cricket chirps like a rare good fellow, The asters twinkle in clusters bright, While the corn grows ripe and the apples mellow. — Celia Laighton Thaxter, American writer and poet, August Note: The poet Celia Laighton Thaxter grew up on Appledore Island. Celia's dad built a hotel on the island, and it became a hub for creatives and a muse for many. Along with creating a lovely cut flower garden, Celia wrote a book called An Island Garden. Grow That Garden Library In Bloom by Ngoc Minh Ngo("Nah-OW-P min NO") This book came out in 2016, and the subtitle is Creating and Living With Flowers. "The first reason to buy the book is Ngoc Minh Ngo is one of the best garden photographers at work these days. She is as hypnotized as anybody by the heartbreaking simplicity of a dogwood blossom as its petals unfurl. But what sets her apart is her ability to convey with a camera how much that moment means to her." "The photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo celebrates people who make beauty their life's work with the gorgeous IN BLOOM: Creating and Living With Flowers (Rizzoli, $45). The textile and wallpaper designer Neisha Crosland covers the walls of her London house with chinoiserie-style flowers. The potter Frances Palmer imprints clay vessels with the vivid dahlias from her Connecticut garden. The horticulturalist Umberto Pasti celebrates Morocco's rich floral history in tile and fabric. The painter Claire Basler rings rooms with floral murals in her French chateau, while in the Bronx, Livia Cetti cuts, dyes, crimps, and folds paper into exquisite flower arrangements. Each place is wondrous; for those not lucky enough to have friends around to enhance life with such magic, Ngo's enchanting photographs invite us in." —New York Times Book Review "Oh, the dahlias. Oh, the aged Moroccan tiles. Oh, the coppery-brown irises. In Bloom is about creative types whose work life revolves around flowers. For most of them, their lives, period, revolve around flowers. Certain flowers, all flowers, fresh flowers, dead flowers." —Dallas Morning News This book is 224 pages of floral inspiration from one of the best botanical photographers of our time. You can get a copy of In Bloom by Ngoc Minh Ngo and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $30 Today's Botanic Spark 1950 The Ithaca Journal out of Ithaca New York published a question from a reader. The reader wanted an answer to this question: Please list a few plants that are named for people. Here is the answer: The poinsettia was named for Joel R. Poinsett, a famous statesman. Wisteria is named in honor of Caspar Wistar, ("Wiss-Star") a distinguished physician, and scientist of Philadelphia. Leonard Fuchs, a German botanist, discovered the plant known as fuchsia, while William Forsyth, a Scotch botanist, is responsible for the name of forsythia. The name of Louis Antoine de Bougainville, a French soldier and explorer, is perpetuated in the bougainvillea. The Paulownia is named for the Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna, daughter of Czar Paul I.

Today we remember the beloved English writer who was punished for treason but adored with flowers. We'll also learn about the female botanical illustrator who is known as the "Audubon of botany." We celebrate the Dean of American Architecture. We also salute the "poet of the blackbirds." We honor the establishment of the horticulture program at the Smithsonian Gardens. In Unearthed Words, we say goodbye to July and hear some poems about the fleeting summer. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that celebrates 25 years of the Garden Conservancy through over 50 gardens from across the country. And then we'll wrap things up with a little story about the Alligator Pear. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News How To Grow A Mood-boosting Garden| Financial Times | Clare Coulson Here's an excerpt: "Isabel Bannerman – who along with her husband, Julian, has created atmospheric gardens for the Prince of Wales at Highgrove [and other royalty] – is a passionate flag-bearer for good-for-you gardening. "Plants are a really good steadier. You can't let them die, you have to keep going. Like having children, but less demanding," she says. But as she also notes, gardens are very forgiving. "There's always another year, another season to look forward to, to try again. There is so much beauty, such sensory pleasure, all of which feeds the soul and the psyche." For Bannerman, scent is key to creating gardens that transport and revive – a subject she explores in her book Scent Magic: Notes from a Gardener. Natural chemical "uppers", including indole, are present in the fragrance of lilac and jasmine, while the calming qualities of lavender are connected to linalool. Bannerman uses their powers to envelop the home." Garden designer Jo Thompson says it is really important to have an "enclosed garden (the hortus conclusus). "It's really important to have a place to sit or even a retreat," she says. "These areas are magical and inspiring. You're in nature, there's movement and life but you feel safe..." American journalist and author Florence Williams has gathered and simplified the research in her book The Nature Fix, which reveals that we are hard-wired to be in the natural world. "Our brains become relaxed because these are things that we are designed to look at, hear and smell," she says. "The frontal lobe – the part of our brain that's hyper-engaged in modern life – deactivates a little when you're outside, while alpha waves, which indicate a calm but alert state, grow stronger." Korean researchers have found that pictures of landscapes stimulate brain function in... areas associated with empathy and altruism." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1703 It was on this day in 1703 that the English journalist and author Daniel Defoe was made to stand in the pillory in front of the temple bar. Daniel is remembered for his popular novel Robinson Crusoe which, at the time, claimed to be second to the Bible in its number of published translations. After Daniel was convicted of treason for one of his political writings, he was punished with time at the pillory. The pillory was essentially a stockade; the hands and head were stuck between two giant beams of wood. The person would stand in the pillory for days. It was a horrible punishment and it was usually reserved for hideous crimes. While Daniel was in the pillory, the crowds did their best to show their support; they sang songs, shouted encouragements, and threw flowers at his feet instead of mud. In 1830, a biography of Daniel said that his stocks were adorned with garlands and that drinks were provided to celebrate Daniel's release. The image of Daniel standing with his head and hands in the stocks surrounded by an adoring audience was memorialized in an 1862 painting by Eyre Crowe. Gardeners will especially notice the flowers strewn on the ground in the foreground. On the right, there are two women struggling to hold on to a large basket of flowers as they are being pushed away by the red coats. Behind the women, a man has managed to attach a small bouquet to the tip of a spear that he is attempting to give to Daniel who is standing calmly in the pillory. 1860 It's the birthday of the botanical illustrator Mary Vaux Walcott who born in Philadelphia on this day. Gardeners appreciate Mary for her meticulously accurate watercolors of plants and flowers. For this reason, Mary is regarded as the "Audobon of Botany." Mary began her career as an illustrator one summer after being challenged to paint a rare blooming Arnica. Although her effort was only a modest success, it encouraged her to pursue art. In the pursuit of her art, Mary met Charles Doolittle Walcott. They were both doing fieldwork in the Canadian Rockies, and they found they were equally yoked. They married the following year. At the time, Charles was the secretary of the Smithsonian; that's how Mary was tapped to develop the Smithsonian process printing technique. Mary created hundreds of illustrations of the native plants of North America. Her five-volume set entitled North American Wildflowers showcases the stunning beauty of common wildflowers, many of which are at peak bloom right now. In addition to her work as a botanist, Mary was a successful glacial geologist and photographer. She was the first woman to summit a peak over 10,000 feet in Canada when she tackled Mount Stephen. Today Mary even has a mountain named after her in Jasper - Mount Mary Vaux. 1895 Today is the anniversary of the death of Richard Morris Hunt, who was an American architect during the gilded age. Gardeners know Richard for his collaborations with Frederick Law Olmsted. They worked together on the Vanderbilt mausoleum and the Chicago world's fair. Their ultimate collaboration occurred in Asheville, North Carolina, where they worked together to design the gardens, house, and manor village for the Biltmore Estate. Richard is often recognized as the Dean of American Architecture. He was the first American trained at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. If you get the chance to walk around Central Park, you'll discover a memorial to honor Richard Morris Hunt. The memorial is located on the eastern perimeter of the park, and it was created by the same man who created the monument to Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial: Daniel Chester French. When he was alive, Richard wanted to elevate the public taste in design and the arts, but he was also flexible enough to meet them where they were. Modern-day designers will recognize the truth of Richard's advice to other Landscape Architects. He said, "The first thing you've got to remember is that it's your clients' money you're spending. Your goal is to achieve the best results by following their wishes. If they want you to build a house upside down standing on its chimney, it's up to you to do it." 1917 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Irish war poet and soldier Francis Ledwidge. Francis grew up in the Irish countryside. When he became a writer, he established himself as the "poet of the blackbirds." Francis was killed in action during World War I at the Battle of Passchendaele. When the clouds shake their hyssops and the rain Like holy water falls upon the plain, 'Tis sweet to gaze upon the springing grain And see your harvest born. And sweet the little breeze of melody The blackbird puffs upon the budding tree, While the wild poppy lights upon the lea And blazes 'mid the corn. — Francis Ledwidge, A Rainy Day in April Broom out the floor now, lay the fender by, And plant this bee-sucked bough of woodbine there, And let the window down. The butterfly Floats in upon the sunbeam, and the fair Tanned face of June, the nomad gypsy, laughs Above her widespread wares, the while she tells The farmer's fortunes in the fields, and quaffs The water from the spider-peopled wells. The hedges are all drowned in green grass seas, And bobbing poppies flare like Elmo's light While siren-like the pollen-stained bees Drone in the clover depths. And up the height The cuckoo's voice is hoarse and broke with joy. And on the lowland crops, the crows make raid, Nor fear the clappers of the farmer's boy, Who sleeps, like drunken Noah, in the shade. And loop this red rose in that hazel ring That snares your little ear, for June is short And we must joy in it and dance and sing, And from her bounty draw her rosy worth. Ay! soon the swallows will be flying south, The wind wheel north to gather in the snow Even the roses spilt on youth's red mouth Will soon blow down the road all roses go. — Francis Ledwidge, June 1972 It was on this day that the horticulture program at the Smithsonian Gardens was established by Sydney Dylan Ripley, who served as the secretary of the Smithsonian. An American ornithologist and conservationist, Sidney had been inspired by the area around the Louvre in France as a child. With the Louvre always in the back of his mind, Sidney hoped to make the Smithsonian a bustling destination with activities to engage crowds of visitors and tourists. The horticultural services division was created to provide landscaping in and around the Smithsonian museums. Sidney knew that gardens not only attracted pollinators but people as well. In 2010, the Smithsonian horticultural program was renamed the Smithsonian Gardens to recognize the central role that the gardens play in the visitor experience. Unearthed Words Today we say, "Goodbye, July. Until next year, we'll miss you." Today's words are about the fleeting summer. Our fear of death is like our fear that summer will be short, but when we have had our swing of pleasure, our fill of fruit, and our swelter of heat, we say we have had our day. — Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and poet You have seen the blossoms among the leaves; tell me, how long will they stay? Today they tremble before the hand that picks them; tomorrow they await someone's garden broom. —Hanshan, Chinese Tang Dynasty Grow That Garden Library Outstanding American Gardens by Page Dickey This book came out in 2015 and the subtitle is A Celebration: 25 Years of the Garden Conservancy. This gorgeous book celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Garden Conservancy. The book highlights eight gardens preserved by the conservancy and 43 gardens that have participated in the Open Days Program. The author, Page Dickey, is a well-known garden writer. Among her many books are Gardens in the Spirit of Place, the award-winning BreakingGround: Portraits of Ten Garden Designers, and Duck Hill Journal. She created Duck Hill, her garden in North Salem, New York, over the past 30 years. This book is 272 pages of inspiring gardens from all around the country and photographed in a variety of seasons from spring to fall. You can get a copy of Outstanding American Gardens by Page Dickey and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $20. Today's Botanic Spark Today is National Avocado Day. Avocado is a fruit, and it was initially called an alligator pear by Sir Hans Sloane in 1696. And, Guinness has a giant avocado recorded at 5 pounds, 6 and ½ ounces. Don't forget that the skin of an avocado can be toxic to cats and dogs - but the flesh of an avocado is higher in potassium than bananas. Now, the next time the price of avocados gets you down, remember that avocados are harvested by hand. Pickers need to use a 16-foot pole to reach the hanging fruit. And, finally, here's a little fun fact about avocados: The conquistadors used avocado seeds to write. It turns out, the avocado seed produces a milky liquid that changes to the color red when exposed to air.

Today we celebrate the author and poet who wrote some beautiful garden verses. We'll also learn about a magnificent Australian artist and botanical illustrator, and her art is now part of Australia's national library. We celebrate the selection of the State Flower for Arkansas - and the very cute story of how it came to be picked. We honor the life of the poet and WWI soldier who wrote what is probably the most popular poem ever about trees. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about living naturally with eco-friendly ideas that don't sacrifice style, function, or sustainability. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of first academy award-winning animated cartoon that gardeners will love. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Director of science at Kew: it's time to decolonize botanical collections Professor Alexandre Antonelli is the Kew Gardens director responsible for the world's largest collection of plants and fungi. He was born and raised in Brazil and wrote this landmark piece for The Conversation research website. Alexandre believes that the time has come to decolonize botanical collections by ridding the field of "structural racism." Here's an excerpt: "I've often struggled to answer the simple question, "Where are you from?" As I was born and raised in Brazil, like many people my origin is mixed… I dislike pre-defined labels. At school, I was taught that Brazil was "discovered" in 1500 by the Portuguese. The fact that several million people lived there prior to that was barely mentioned in our books. We were told of a long history of brutal exploitation of our natural resources, including vast amounts of gold, rubber and timber. All this was achieved through the exploitation of our native people and African slaves – including my own ancestors. …[That] Brazil is … the world's most biodiverse country... astounded colonial botanists. Charles Darwin was astonished at our "lands teeming with life", as was Alfred Russel Wallace, who spent years in the Amazon. It is not lost on me that these were both white British men. And Britain is also where I ended up professionally. After two decades studying biodiversity across the world, I'm now head of science at Kew, responsible for the world's largest collections of plants and fungi. For hundreds of years... colonial botanists would embark on dangerous expeditions in the name of science but were ultimately tasked with finding economically profitable plants. Much of Kew's work in the 19th century focused on the movement of such plants around the British Empire, which means we too have a legacy that is deeply rooted in colonialism. ...Scientists continue to report how new species are "discovered" every year, species that are often already known and used by people in the region – and have been for thousands of years. ...The first inhabitants of Brazil and the first users of plants in Australia often remained unnamed, unrecognised, and uncompensated. They are quite literally invisible in history. This needs to change. By opening up our collections and practices, we will give voice to a past that includes troubled chapters, but one that will hopefully contribute to a brighter future." Have you tried growing Castor Bean? It's one of Michael Pollen's favorite plants. Check out the way he starts his article on the plant called, "Consider the Castor Bean": "Pretty they are not, but a garden can labor under a surfeit "surfut" of prettiness, be too sweet or cheerful for its own good. Sometimes what's needed in the garden is a hint of vegetal menace, of nature run tropically, luxuriantly amuck. For this, I recommend the castor bean." While most of us have heard of castor oil (extracted by crushing and processing the seeds), growing the castor bean plant can be a new adventure for gardeners. The castor bean plant is the only member of the genus Ricinus communis and belongs to the spurge family. Unlike other members of the euphorbia family, castor bean does not have that milky latex sap, the sap of castor bean is watery. The giant, tropical leaves and peculiar seed pods make the plant an exotic addition to your garden. A native plant from Ethiopia, castor bean can grow to 40 feet tall when it can grow year-round. For most gardeners who grow castor bean as an annual in a single season, castor bean will grow quickly and vigorously, but it will only reach about 8-10 feet. If you grow castor bean, you need to be aware that the seeds are extremely poisonous. If you have kids around, keep plants out of reach, and eliminate the seeds altogether by cutting off the flowering spike. As you probably suspected from the Latin name, the toxin in castor seeds is ricin (RYE-sin), one of the world's deadliest natural poisons. During the Cold War, the Bulgarian journalist, Georgi Markov, was killed when an umbrella rigged as a pellet rifle, shot a small BB into his leg as Markov stood in line at a bus stop. After he died in 1978, Scotland Yard investigated and found the BB; it was the size of a pinhead, and it had been drilled with two holes producing an X-shaped cavity, and the holes had been packed with ricin. The holes had been coated with a sugary substance that trapped the ricin inside the BB. The coating was designed to melt at body temperature, at which time the ricin was free to be absorbed into the bloodstream and kill him. Despite their unnerving history, castor beans are still good garden plants. They look beautiful with cannas, bananas, and elephant ears for a tropical garden. They make a beautiful backdrop for grasses. And, they shine at the back of the flower border where they create a magnificent screen in no time. Castor Beans do best in full sun, and they don't like wet feet - so plant them high and dry or in well-drained locations. When you are done harvesting blackberries or boysenberries, it is time to do a little housekeeping. Cut this year's fruit-bearing canes back to the ground and tie up the new green canes to take their place. Once all the fruiting has finished, you can begin to trim back your blackberries and boysenberries. The canes that just produced the fruit will start to dry and become woody and brown. Now is the time to cut them right back to the ground. While you're at it, cut back any diseased or damaged canes. Next, look for anything too long or out of control. Try to make your plants have a beautiful, pleasant form. Take the new canes and train them where you want them to go. Make sure to spread them out so that they get good airflow. Remember, taking the time to do this right now will make them easier to pick from next season. Thornless varieties make the job of pruning blackberries and boysenberries much easier. Don't forget: The fruit grows on new wood. And be sure to remove all dead or broken limbs - and suckers as well. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1818 It's the birthday of the author and poet Emily Brontë. Emily's older sister, by two years, was Charlotte. Her younger sister and closest friend was Anne. They were two peas in a pod. Emily's mom died when she was three. She lost two older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth when she was six. The result of this loss was an exceptional closeness between the four surviving Brontë children: Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell. Emma Emmerson wrote a piece called the Brontë Garden. In it she revealed: "The Brontës were not ardent gardeners, although… Emily and Anne treasured their currant bushes as 'their own bit of fruit garden'." Charlotte [once wrote:] "Emily wishes to know if the Sicilian Pea (Pisum sativum)and the Crimson cornflower are hardy flowers, or if they are delicate and should be sown in warm and sheltered situations." Emily's father, Patrick, once wrote; Oh why, in the snow and storms of December, When the branches lie scattered and strewn, Do we oftest and clearest and dearest remember The sunshine and summer of June? Emily Brontë wrote: Reason, indeed, may oft complain For Nature's sad reality, And tell the suffering heart, how vain Its cherished dreams must always be; And Truth may rudely trample down The flowers of Fancy, newly-blown. Love is like the wild rose-briar, Friendship like the holly-tree— The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms But which will bloom most constantly? The wild rose-briar is sweet in spring, Its summer blossoms scent the air; Yet wait till winter comes again And who will call the wild-briar fair? Then scorn the silly rose-wreath now And deck thee with the holly's sheen, That when December blights thy brow He still may leave thy garland green. Friendship is like the holly tree. The holly is dark when the rose-brier blooms, But which will bloom most constantly? Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away; Lengthen night and shorten day; Every leaf speaks bliss to me Fluttering from the autumn tree. I shall smile when wreaths of snow Blossom where the rose should grow; I shall sing when night's decay Ushers in a drearier day. 1848 Today is the birthday of the Australian artist and botanical illustrator Ellis Rowan. In a 1994 newspaper article, Sarah Guest described Ellis this way: "She was an explorer. She set off alone at 68, for Papua New Guinea - and died in 1922. She dyed her hair red; had a face-lift; left her husband (the suggestion is that she was bored); was a member of one of Victoria's great pastoralist families; was a much-admired, prolific, technically proficient and joyous painter of plants and birds; and a conservationist she campaigned to stop the slaughter of birds for the decoration of ladies' hats... in her day she was known as "Australia's brilliant daughter" which, indeed, she was." Ellis discovered painting after her botanist husband, Frederick, encouraged her to develop a talent. Ellis developed her passion into her profession, and it led her into unknown parts of Australia. During the First World War, Ellis was living in New Guinea. At one point, she painted 45 of the 62 known species of birds of paradise. As a woman living during the mid-1800s, Ellis followed the dress code of her era. Wherever she went, whether on an expedition or at home, she was always impeccably dressed, wearing heavy ankle-length dresses, high collars with full sleeves - complete with crinolines, corsets, whalebone stays, and a hat. Just before Ellis died, the federal parliament in Australia debated whether or not to buy 1,000 of Ellis' paintings. The Australian artist and novelist, Norman Lindsay, called Ellis' work vulgar art. Lindsey didn't think wildflowers were worthy subjects for real art. Ultimately, Ellis' paintings were purchased for $5,000. They are now a treasured part of Australia's national library. 1901 On this day, the General assembly of Arkansas selected the apple blossom as the floral emblem. This selection was not without controversy. The Floral Emblem Society, led by Love Harriett Wilkins Barton, had supported the apple blossom. The Arkansas Federation of women's clubs wanted the passionflower. The disagreement between the two groups became known as the battle of the blooms. Love became a one-woman crusader for the apple blossom, writing articles and memos to newspapers - even personally mailing letters to affluent citizens. Whenever she sent anything, she included a promotional pamphlet that she had created praising the apple blossom. In an ingenious move, she not only promoted the apple blossom, but she also dissed the passionflower, saying it was "as pretty as a non-native of Arkansas," and saying that it would "grow anywhere the farmer's hoe let it." Ouch. When the legislature was set to vote, Love appeared at the capital wearing ... wait for it.... a bright apple red dress. And, she pulled a Martha Stewart and personally gifted every lawmaker with an apple and a note that said, "These are the results of our beautiful apple blossoms. But, what is the result of a passionflower? A dried, shriveled pod." Well played, Love. Unearthed Words Today is the anniversary of the death of the journalist, poet, and World War I soldier Alfred Joyce Kilmer, who was born in Brunswick, New Jersey. He was killed in action while serving as a sergeant in the 165th Infantry regiment on July 30, 1918 Every year on his birthday in April, Kilmer's childhood home at 17 Joyce Kilmer Ave. in New Brunswick, holds an Open House from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Joyce is best remembered for his poem, Trees: I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth's sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. Joyce also wrote these gems: The air is like a butterfly With frail blue wings. The happy earth looks at the sky And sings. — Joyce Kilmer, Spring If I should live in a forest And sleep underneath a tree, No grove of impudent saplings Would make a home for me. I'd go where the old oaks gather, Serene and good and strong, And they would not sigh and tremble And vex me with a song. — Joyce Kilmer, Old Poets Grow That Garden Library Natural Living Style by Selina Lake This book came out in March of 2019, and the subtitle is Inspirational ideas for a beautiful and sustainable home. In her review of this book Julie from Try Small Things said, "They say change starts at home. What I've come away with from Natural Living Style are all kinds of ideas for reducing plastics and waste around the home in favor of natural or greener alternatives. As it turns out, they can be functional, sustainable, and that's inspired living." Selina's book is divided into sections, Inspirations, Textures, Natural Living Spaces, and The Natural Garden, where Selina writes about green gardening, growing your own food, and exploring, enjoying, and living in the natural world. The book is sprinkled with lots of earthy-friendly tips and inspiration to help you create an eco-friendly home and garden. This book is 160 pages of eco-living without sacrificing style. You can get a copy of Natural Living Style by Selina Lake and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $16. Today's Botanic Spark 1932 On this day, Walt Disney premiered his first academy award-winning animated cartoon. The short was called "Flowers and Trees," and it was the first cartoon to use technicolor. Flowers and Trees was supposed to be a black-and-white cartoon, but Walt Disney decided it would make the perfect test film for the new technicolor process. The vivid colors of the natural world were the ideal subject for a technicolor production. Meanwhile, the Mickey Mouse short features were judged to be successful enough; they remained in black-and-white until 1935. Flowers and Trees premiered at the Chinese theater in Los Angeles on this day and won the Academy Award for animated short subject. In the movie, the trees and flowers are anthropomorphized, and they wake up at the beginning of the day and begin lifting their heads and stretching. In this short film, a beautiful lady tree is wooed by a suitor tree, while an evil old leafless tree attempts to steal her away. The two trees duel for her affection. When the old tree loses the battle, he sets the forest on fire. Together, all the plants in the forest work together to put the fire out. In the end, the two trees are together and happy; they get engaged in the final seconds of the movie. The gentleman tree presents the lady tree with a ring made from a curled up caterpillar. And, as the trees embrace, bellflowers begin to play the wedding march, while the other flowers dance around the hugging trees.

Today we remember the botanist who jumped in a birch bark canoe with Aaron Greeley and paddled to Mackinac Island 110 years ago today. We'll also learn about the woman who was a housewife until the age of 48 and then transformed into one of Australia's leading naturalists. We celebrate the artist who died today among his canvases of sunflowers. We also hear the letter Beatrix Potter wrote about her garden on this day in 1924. We honor the life of a marvelous landscape designer who died in a fire on this day already four years ago. He once said, "I've had a wild life." Today we hear some fun poems about tomatoes. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about shrub and hedge plants - an excellent resource for gardeners looking to define borders and add practical, healthy, and low-maintenance beauty to their property. And then we'll wrap things up with a botanist who shared his disdain for honeysuckle. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Why Front Gardens Matter | The Guardian | Clare Coulson Here's an excerpt: "Last month… Charlotte Harris, one half of the landscape design duo Harris Bugg, decided to dig up her paved front garden in east London. "It was a discussion we'd been having for a while," says Harris, who gardens with her girlfriend Catriona Knox. "Around here every bit of green space feels precious," she says. "Obviously there are parks, but I think each of us has to take responsibility for any space we have." In an area where 50% of the front gardens have no plants, the ones that do provide moments of joy. Harris's neighbors include a couple who boast "the most beautiful magnolia" in their shady spot, ... another front garden [is] an abundant [vegetable] patch complete with frames and climbing squash. "They were the inspiration, really," adds Harris. "It's a gift, isn't it? It's the ultimate in gardening altruism because your back garden is for you to enjoy, but your front garden is about improving everyone's experience." Over the past couple of months, the front garden has gained a powerful new significance… [a] point of contact… with friends or family delivering supplies or catching up with a neighbor you'd hardly spoken to before. Iris Chores Before Fall When your irises finish blooming, cut off the dead flower stalks; but not leaves. Irises use their swords, the green leaves, to nourish rhizomes for the following year. Since they are semi-dormant, you can divide them now if necessary. Replant them as soon as possible and remember to cut off about two-thirds of the foliage to compensate for root loss. Simply cut the leaves in a fan shape and enjoy more iris next year. How to Create a Peter Rabbit Garden Of course, Peter Rabbit is the creation of Beatrix Potter, who was a noted botanist and mycologist. (A mycologist studies fungi). Now to make your Peter Rabbit Garden, we will draw inspiration from Beatrix's Potter's garden was located at Hill Top Farm. In making your Peter Rabbit garden, you could add a little wooden fence or a low stone wall around the perimeter. Inside, use the herbs and perennials featured in the books: Herbs include Mint, Chamomile, Lavender, Parsley, Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, Lemon Balm, and Tansy. Edibles include Lettuce, Beets, Radish, Rhubarb, Onions, and Strawberry. Then add Pansies, Roses, and Pinks. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1810 On this day, a 24-year-old botanist named Thomas Nuttal, jumped in a birch bark canoe with Aaron Greeley, the deputy surveyor of the territory of Michigan, and they paddled to Mackinac Island arriving two weeks later on August 12. Thomas spent several days on Mackinac - He was the first real botanist to explore the flora of Michigan, and indeed, of Mackinac Island. Thomas immediately set about collecting and writing detailed accounts of the flora he discovered. He documented about sixty species - about twenty were previously unknown. One of the new Mackinac discoveries was the dwarf lake iris (Iris lucustris), which became the state wildflower of Michigan. 1874 Today is the birthday of the Australian naturalist and prolific writer Edith Coleman. Until recently, little was known about Edith. The author, Danielle Claude, wrote a book about Edith called The Wasp and the Orchid, which explored how Edith went from being a housewife until the age of 48 and then transformed into one of Australia's leading naturalists. Edith had a special appreciation for orchids. Beginning in January 1927, one of her daughters told her that she had seen a wasp entering the flower of the small tongue orchid backward. The odd behavior was something both Edith and her daughter would repeatedly see over the next few seasons. The response was perplexing, especially after Edith dissected the plants and discovered that they were male. Edith continued to study their behavior, and she finally found that the wasp was fertilizing the orchid. The orchid uses this stealth pollination strategy Called pseudo-copulation to trick the male wasps into thinking they are meeting with a female wasp. By getting the males to enter the plant, the plant can be pollinated. Edith became the first woman to be awarded the Australian natural history medallion. Edith will forever be remembered for her groundbreaking discovery about orchid pollination. 1890 Today is the anniversary of the death of the artist Vincent Van Gogh. After shooting himself in the stomach, Vincent managed to get back to his home and live for two additional days before dying beside a stack of his sunflower canvases. In March of 1987, his painting titled Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers was sold by Sotheby's in London for $39.85 million, more than three times the highest price ever paid at the time for a painting at auction. 1924 Beatrix Potter writes to a little girl named Dulcie and describes her garden. She writes that her garden has: "... a box hedge around the flower bed, and moss roses and pansies and black currants and strawberries and peas —and big sage bushes for Jemima, but the onions always do badly. I have tall white bell flowers I am fond of — they are just going over, next there will be Phlox; and last come to the Michaelmas Daisies and Chrysanthemums. Then soon after Christmas, we have Snowdrops. They grow wild and come up all over the garden and orchard, and some in the woods." 2016 It's the anniversary of the death of the landscape designer extraordinaire, Ryan Gainey. Ryan died trying to save his two beloved Jack Russell terrier's, Jellybean Leo and Baby Ruth, from a fire at his home. Neither he nor his dogs survived. When it came to landscape design, Ryan was entirely self-taught. In the beautiful documentary about his life called "The Well-Placed Weed: The Bountiful Life of Ryan Gainey." (btw I shared it in the FB group so check it out) In the documentary, Ryan asked the filmmaker, "I've had a wild life. Do you know why?" His reply was simple and 100% Gainey: "I created it." Ryan purchased a home in Decatur Georgia that used to be the site of Holcomb Nursery. He removed many of the greenhouses behind his home but kept the low brick walls that had served as the foundation for the greenhouses. The result was that Ryan instantly had a series of garden rooms that he could decorate and design to his heart's content. Throughout his career, Ryan became friends with notable designers and gardeners like Rosemary Verey ("VEER-ee") and Penelope Hobhouse. Ryan loved Verey; they had a special bond. He loved the Camellia japonica. Ryan's gardens looked effortless with things spilling over and nestled in a way that made them look like they had been in the garden for decades. It was Ryan who said, "Where lies the genius of man? It is the ability to control nature... but for one purpose only; and that is to create beauty." One hundred forty-eight days before Ryan passed away, an enormous white oak fell over and crushed his house. Ryan considered the tree to be the soul of his life. Unearthed Words The street filled with tomatoes Midday, Summer, light is Halved Like A Tomato, its juice Runs through the streets. In December, Unabated, the tomato Invades the kitchen, it enters at lunchtime, Takes its ease on countertops, among glasses, butter dishes, blue saltcellars. It sheds its own light, benign majesty. Unfortunately, we must murder it: the knife Sinks into living flesh, Red Viscera, a cool Sun, Profound, Inexhaustible, populates the salads of Chile, happily, it is wed to the clear onion, and to celebrate the union We Pour Oil, Essential child of the olive, onto its halved hemispheres, pepper Adds its fragrance, salt, its magnetism; it is the wedding of the day, Parsley Hoists its flag, Potatoes bubble vigorously, the aroma of the roast knocks at the door, it's time! come on! and, on the table, at the midpoint of summer, the tomato, star of earth, Recurrent and fertile Star, Displays its convolutions, its canals, its remarkable amplitude and abundance, no pit, no husk, no leaves or thorns, the tomato offers its gift of fiery color and cool completeness. — Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet & Nobel Prize winner, Ode to Tomatoes (translated by Margaret Sayers Peden) She took the purity pledge (Sweet Baby Girl, Super Snow White, Artic Rose), fled the grasp of Big Beef and Better Boy on a Southern Night and, baptized in hydroponics, gleamed waxy and vapid under a fluorescent gaze. She was a good girl (Beauty Queen, Gum Drop, Mighty Sweet, Sugar Plum, Pink Champagne), a tidbit on the tip (Flaming Burst, Solar Flare, Razzle Dazzle, Roman Candle) of his tongue (Lucky Tiger, Top Gun, Tough Boy, Sun King). She was Plum, Pear, Grape, and Cherry, because one thing is always like another— like a wad of chewed-up gum, tasteless and shriveled on the marriage vine and gave it away too soon. She was a Jezebel (Shady Lady, Spitfire, Perfect Flame), hot to the touch, steeped in dark earth, sun-soaked, bright tang bursting in the throat. A little dirt on the tongue never hurt anyone. — Janice Northerns, poet, Good Tomato Janice was inspired to write "Good Tomato" after reflecting on the fact that "Tomato" was a popular slang term for a woman between the 1930s and the 1950s. The poem came together after she incorporated the many fascinating gendered names of tomato varieties like Beauty Queen, Sugar Plum, Better Boy. Note: Italicized terms are all names of tomato varieties. Grow That Garden Library Shrubs & Hedges by Eva Monheim This book came out in March of this year and the subtitle is Discover, Grow, and Care for the World's Most Popular Plants. Washington Gardener said this book is, "...clear enough for beginners, detailed enough for pros." Ruth Rogers Clausen wrote that, "Shrubs and hedges are often taken for granted by professional horticulturists and garden owners alike. However, this invaluable book celebrates them, with readable and fascinating details about a range of species suitable for individual locations. The author's passion and experience shine through the text. Detailed information is included for each cultivar, hybrid, and/or selection, its suitability for specific sites, sound growing and pruning tips, and its place in ecological landscapes, along with tool care, reference material, and more. Undoubtedly Shrubs & Hedges will become a significant reference book for years to come." Eva Monheim is co-founder of Verdant Earth Educators (VEE) - a horticulture education and consulting firm. She's an instructor at the world-famous Longwood Gardens in their Professional Horticulture Program where she teaches woody plants and arboriculture. Eva is also a faculty member at The Barnes Arboretum of St. Joseph University where she teaches Landscape Management. This book is 224 pages shrub and hedge plants - a great resource for gardeners looking to define borders and add practical, healthy, and low-maintenance beauty to their property. You can get a copy of Shrubs & Hedges by Eva Monheim and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $23. Today's Botanic Spark 1951 On this day the botanist Charles Clemon Deam replied to an inquiry about the honeysuckle. Charles wrote: "That [plant's] name is to me the same as a red flag to a bull. I cannot tell you in words how I regard this vine. Your question is: Does it propagate from seed? I do not believe it does. I have never heard a good word for it. All that I can say affirmatively is that it is no good for anything." And, before Charles finished writing his censure of the honeysuckle, he twice suggested that some new "insecticides" might kill it.

Today we celebrate the botanist and writer who published the first book about salad. We'll also learn about the horticulturist whose life was cut short on this day when the steamship he was on caught on fire and sank. We celebrate the man who helped generations of people fall in love with ornithology. We also hear some garden poetry that features women. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about creating a Pollinator Victory Garden by having a garden that is healthy, diverse, and chemical-free. And then we'll wrap things up with a glimpse into a Maine garden on this day in 2011. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Thriving With Nature | Mental Health Foundation "There are lots of ways in which spending time in nature can be positive for our mental health and wellbeing. New and exciting research is happening all the time that adds to our understanding of how our natural environment affects the health of our bodies and minds. The reasons why time in nature has this effect on us are complex and still being understood. The benefits are often related to how our senses connect us to the environment around us, from the shapes in nature we see to the scents that trees give off and the soft fascination that nature can stimulate which helps our minds rest." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1662 Today the English Gardner and writer John Evelyn recorded in his diary that he met with the dowager Queen Henrietta Maria. John kept a detailed diary for 66 years, and he had a devoted passion for gardening. As a result, his diary has been a treasure for garden historians over the years. And, here's a little known fact about John Evelyn: he was the first garden author to publish a book about salads (or sallets as they were spelled at the time). Check out the benefits of eating salad as described by John: "By reason of its soporiferous quality, lettuce ... still continues [to be] the principal foundation of … Sallets, which ... cool and refresh, [and have] beneficial influences on morals, temperance, and chastity." (FYI: Soporiferous means Inducing or tending to induce sleep. Here John is referring to the fact that some lettuce secretes lactucarium - a milky fluid found in the base of the lettuce stems. It is known as lettuce opium because of its sedative and pain-relieving properties. It has also been reported to promote a mild sensation of euphoria.) It was John Evelyn who wrote: "The gardener's work is never at an end, it begins with the year and continues to the next. He prepares the ground, and then he plants, and then he gathers the fruits." "Gardening is a labor full of tranquility and satisfaction; natural and instructive, and as such contributes to the most serious contemplation, experience, health, and longevity." And, keep in mind John's appreciation for the amount of work a garden requires as I tell you this little story about him. In 1698, John Evelyn had owned his estate for 40 years. Everyone who knew it said it was magnificent - both inside and out. It was decorated to the nines. Of all that he owned, John's garden was his pride and joy. That year, the Russian Czar, Peter the Great, brought an entourage of 200 people to England to visit William III. In a gesture of hospitality, William volunteered John Evelyn's home to host the Czar and his people during their visit. John and his wife graciously moved out to give the Czar his privacy. Well, it wasn't long before John's servants began sending him urgent messages begging him to return. When John came home, he walked into a nightmare. The whole estate had been trashed. Priceless paintings had served as dartboards. His floors were ruined, windows were smashed; even the garden was destroyed. The servants told how the 6'8 Czar had played a game with his friends, where they put him in one of John's wheelbarrows and then raced him through the garden beds, crashing into walls, trees, and hedges. It was a complete disregard for the sanctity of John's garden. For twenty years, John had nursed along a hedge of holly that had turned into a glorious living wall. It was ruined. The party even managed to knock down part of the stone wall that surrounded the garden. It must have been a scene akin to the movie Animal House. John immediately sent word to the king about what had happened, and arrangements were made straight away to move the Czar to other lodgings. King William settled with John to have his property restored - his home needed to be gutted and rebuilt from the floors up. John Evelyn was 78 years old when this happened to him. I'm sure there was no amount of restitution that could restore the years of love he had spent in his garden. He lived for another eight years before dying in 1706. 1815 Today is the anniversary of the tragic death of the horticulturist and writer Andrew Jackson Downing. Andrew was the author of The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America, which came out in 1845. He also served as the editor of a magazine called The Horticulturist. Regarded as one of the founders of American Landscape Architecture, Andrew used his work in The Horticulturist magazine as a platform for advancing his pet causes. It was Andrew who first came up with the idea for a New York park. In fact, Andrew's dream became the park we know today: Central Park. Andrew also advocated for individual states to create schools devoted to agriculture - and that hope became a reality as well. In 1846, the National Mall in Washington, DC, was run down and neglected. It fell to Andrew to devise plans to revive the space. When the Frenchman Pierre Charles L'Enfant designed the mall in 1791, he envisioned a grand avenue. In sharp contrast, Andrew's vision simple. Not a fan of formal European gardens, Andrew wanted to create what he called a public museum of living trees and shrubs. Instead of a grand avenue, Andrew designed four separate parks that were connected by curving walkways and featured many different trees. Sadly, Andrew's plans were never fully funded or carried out. In the summer of 1852, Andrew boarded a steamship called The Henry Clay. At some point, the steamship got into a race with another boat called The Armenia. When The Henry Clay began to overheat, a fire broke out in the engine room. Coincidentally, a former girlfriend of Andrew's also happened to be on board The Henry Clay that fateful day. As passengers escaped the flames to jump into the water, some began to drown. When Andrew jumped in the water to save his old flame, her panic caused them both to drown. Now, before Andrew attempted to save his old paramour, he was one of the men who quickly threw some deck chairs off the boat. The thinking was that the chairs could be used as flotation devices. As fate would have it, Andrew's wife Carolyn survived the disaster by holding on to a deck chair. When the ordeal was all over, many friends tried to comfort Carolyn by insinuating that she was likely saved by one of the chairs Andrew had thrown into the water. But this sentiment was small consolation to her, given that she lost her husband as he was busy trying to save an old love. Andrew Jackson Downing was just 36 years old when he died on this day two hundred and five years ago. 1996 Today is the anniversary of the death of Roger Tory Peterson of Peterson's Field Guide to Birds fame - he was born in 1908. A son of Jamestown, New York, Roger, helped new generations of people fall in love with ornithology. Roger not only wrote the guides, but he also illustrated them. He was the noted American naturalist who brought the natural world to the masses in the 20th century. Roger admired the gumption of the common starling. He felt blue jays had "a lot of class," and he said the house sparrow was "an interesting darn bird." Roger once famously described a purple finch as a "Sparrow dipped in raspberry juice (male)." When it came to the Audobon Oriole, Roger quipped that its song was like "a boy learning to whistle." What was Roger Tory Peterson's favorite bird? The King Penguin. Here are some famous Peterson quotes: "Few men have souls so dead that they will not bother to look up when they hear the barking of wild Geese." "Birds have wings; they're free; they can fly where they want when they want. They have the kind of mobility many people envy." "Birds are indicators of the environment. If they are in trouble, we know we'll soon be in trouble." And finally, the book, The World of Roger Tory Petersonis worth a read if you can get hold of a copy. Unearthed Words Today's words feature Women and the Garden. In January, for example, the housewife should be busy planting peas and beans and setting young rose roots. During March and April she will work 'from morning to night, sowing and setting her garden or plot,' to produce the crops of parsnip, beans, and melons which will 'winnest the heart of a laboring man for her later in the year. Her strawberry plants will be obtained from the best roots which she has gathered from the woods, and these are to be set in a plot in the garden. Berries from these plants will be harvested later the same year, perhaps a useful back-up if the parsnips have failed to win the man of her dreams. July will see the good wife 'cut off ...ripe bean with a knife as well as harvesting the hemp and flax, which it will be her responsibility to spin later in the year. — Thomas Tusser, English poet and farmer, Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandry, 1573 You are a tulip seen today, But (dearest) of so short a stay That where you grew, scarce man can say. You are a lovely July-flower, Yet one rude wind, or milling shower. Will force you hence, and in an hour. You are a sparkling rose in the bud. Yet lost ere that chaste flesh and blood Can show where you grew or stood. You are a full-spread fair-set vine. And can with tendrils love entwine. Yet dried, ere you distill your wine. You are like balm enclosed well In amber, or some crystal shell, Yet lost ere you transfuse your smell. You are a dainty violet. Yet withered ere you can be set Within the virgin's coronet. You are the queen all flowers among. But die you must, fair maid, ere long. As he, the maker of this song. — Robert Herrick, English poet and cleric, A Meditation for His Mistress Grow That Garden Library The Pollinator Victory Garden by Kim Eierman This book came out in January of 2020, and the subtitle is Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening; Attract and Support Bees, Beetles, Butterflies, Bats, and Other Pollinators. Peter Nelson, Director of The Pollinators film, said of this book, "The Pollinator Victory Garden is a book for these times. Kim Eierman empowers readers with ideas, direction, and the inspiration they need to create beautiful and eco-friendly habitats for many different pollinators. Creating healthy, diverse, and chemical-free habitats are essential steps in solving pollinator decline, and The Pollinator Victory Garden guides you towards creating your own lovely garden habitat." Kim Eierman is an environmental horticulturist and landscape designer specializing in ecological landscapes and native plants. She is the Founder of EcoBeneficial, a horticulture consulting and communications company in Westchester County, New York. Kim also teaches at the New York Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Native Plant Center, Rutgers Home Gardeners School, and advanced education classes for Master Gardeners. This book is 160 pages of ideas and information to support pollinators and help the environment. You can get a copy of The Pollinator Victory Garden by Kim Eierman and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $16. Today's Botanic Spark 2011 In the popular gardener book The Roots of My Obsession, the former executive director of the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Bill Cullina wrote: "Yesterday it happened. With everything finally planted, the weeds temporarily at bay, and the garden refreshed by rains after a long dry stretch, I reached that brief apogee in the arc of the season where I could sit on the bench and just appreciate. It is that magic time of year between the rising cacophony of spring and the slow murmuring descent of autumn when there is stillness in my soul. Right now, nothing needs doing. It has been the most frenzied spring yet at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, where I work — a season stretching well into summer. We planted just over twenty-nine thousand plants and created four acres of new gardens. I have laid out so many plants this year that I started seeing them in my sleep — one pot after another plunked atop the freshly turned earth in endless triangles stretching off to infinity." In 2019, Bill Cullina was named the F. Otto Haas Executive Director of the University of Pennsylvania's Morris Arboretum. He started his new job a year ago on July 8, succeeding Paul W. Meyer, who served the Arboretum for 43 years, 28 years as executive director.

Today we remember the first woman to have circumnavigated the world. We'll also learn about the wealthy horticulturist who built a magnificent estate on the shores of Lake Waban. We celebrate the botanist who was the first editor of Rhodora, the New England Botanical Club's journal. We also salute the father of British plant geography. We honor the Reverend, who wrote two sweet little books for Burpee about sweet peas. Today's Unearthed Words feature some silly light-hearted poems about the garden. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that gives us something to do in terms of projects for our garden, And then we'll wrap things up with the story of the woman who founded the Greening of Harlem. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News Landscape designer Piet Oudolf on finding solace in the garden | PBS NewsHour "The world has looked strange these past months, familiar places no longer familiar at all. Many people have turned to their own or community gardens during this period, growing vegetables and flowers, nourishing body and soul. Gardening centers have been among the first essential businesses to reopen. Sales of seeds have soared. Piet Oudolf isn't surprised." Piet Oudolf ("Peet Ow-dolf") quotes from the transcript: "I think every day is an experience, because there's always something you will like, and it's not only about the plants. It's also about the light and the movement. Once you touch the plants and just start to work with them, there's a big chance that you get lost in the world of plants and that you want to experience more of gardening. You can think while you're gardening. You can think about life and how to follow up after this crisis. But at least people want to go to places where I normally would go to, to gardens and to parks. And I think that people will realize that we, as human beings, need that, to feel good. What I say for people that just start gardening, I think anything that you see at the garden center that you like can be a good start — to become a serious gardener." Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1740 Today is the birthday of the explorer and botanist Jeanne Baret. Jeanne was the first woman to have circumnavigated the globe as part of the expedition, which was led by Louis Antoine de Bougainville. Beret was able to join the expedition after posing as a valet to the expedition's naturalist: Philibert Commerçon. Before the expedition, Jeanne had been employed as Commerçon's housekeeper. A few years later, his wife died, and Jeanne took over the management of the household and began a personal relationship with Commerçon. Commerçon had poor health, and it was likely that he needed Jeanne to join him on the expedition because he needed her assistance. Jeanne was an excellent botanist in her own right. When the ship stopped in Rio de Janeiro, an old leg injury prevented Commerçon from collecting specimens. Thus, it was Jeanne who ventured out into the tropics and returned with the lovely tropical vine that would be named to honor the expedition's commander: Bougainvillea. 1810 Today is the birthday of one of America's most prominent horticulturalists – Horatio Hollis Hunnewell. Horatio was staggeringly wealthy. He was a railroad financier. But he also had a lifelong love of nature and gardening. When Horatio purchased over 40 acres of land along the eastern and southern shores of Lake Waban ("Wah-bin"), he built a magnificent estate there. He had married Isabella Pratt Wells, and he decided to call his impressive home Wellesley in honor of his wife's maiden name. When it came time for the nearby town and college to settle on a name, they also chose the name Wellesley after discussing the matter with Horatio, who happened to be the most generous benefactor of the city. The Hunnewell estate was so large that when the Hunnewell children grew up, seven of the nine had homes built on the property - right next to their parent's original house. Aside from the impressive homes, Horatio added many magnificent features to the estate, including a pinetum with over 325 specimens of conifers. Hollis Honeywell made the following remark in 1899 about his trees, "No Vanderbilt, with all his great wealth, can possess one of these [trees] for the next 50 years, for could not be grown in less time than that." And, Horatio also installed the very first Topiary Garden in America at Wellesley. He referred to it as the Italian Garden, and it was ideally situated along the shore of Lake Waban. When it came to the Topiary Garden, Horatio went all out. Whenever he had guests, Horatio would have them hop aboard a large authentic Italian Gondola boat complete with an authentically dressed gondola man. After they glided up to the Topiary Gardens, they would stop and take a tour. Horatio's shores rivaled that of Lake Como in northern Italy. It's difficult to fathom how much attention this one-of-a-kind garden received from the public. Thousands of visitors from all over the country came to Wellesley just to see the topiary garden firsthand. Many more took in its beauty through photographs and engravings published in the most popular periodicals of the time. To this day — a century and a half later — the Hunnewell Topiary Garden is among the most spectacular sites in the region. There are a few stories about Horatio I discovered during my research. The first is that Horatio and his friend Nathaniel Thayer Jr. brought the game of tennis to America. The second story is that Horatio was the first person to cultivate and popularize rhododendrons In the United States. 1864 Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Benjamin Lincoln Robinson. In 1892, Benjamin was appointed the curator of the Asa Gray Herbarium at Harvard. When Benjamin took over, both the herbarium and the library were in dire straits. Benjamin brought in funding and expanded the herbarium. Today, the Gray Herbarium and library are still housed at Harvard at 22 Divinity Ave. In 1899, the first issue of the New England Botanical Club's journal, Rhodora, was published. And, Rhodora's first editor was Benjamin. 1881 Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist and the father of British plant geography Hewett Cottrell Watson. In recognition of his significant contributions, the botanical society of the British Isles named their journal Watsonia. Beginning in 1834, Hewett was one of the first botanists to research plant evolution. Hewett's work also paved the way for a new science now known as ecology. When Darwin created his theory of evolution, he was standing on the shoulders of curious early evolutionists like Hewett. Darwin's popularity and success overshadowed the folks like Hewett, who came before him. Yet, it's evident that when Hewett read Darwin's Origin, his reaction was one of wonder... and also self-reflection. He spent his adult life trying to reach Darwin's conclusion. Now, as an older man, he could see the match he had lit being passed to a true torch-bringer. After reading the origin, Hewett wrote to Darwin. Hewett's letter is a part proud dad, part awed fan, and yet, he still takes time to advise Darwin on areas to improve or take heed. In two different passages, Hewett points out that Darwin had succeeded where he had stopped short, saying Darwin had figured out the quo modo or the method to knit the strings of the theory of evolution together. Hewett's letter to Darwin is quite something to read – even after all this time: 21 Nov 1859 My dear Sir Once [I started] to read the 'Origin' I could not rest [until] I had galloped through [all of it]. I shall now begin to re-read it more deliberately. Meantime I am tempted to write you [my] first impressions… 1st. Your leading idea will assuredly become recognized as an established truth in science, i.e. "natural selection". (It has the characteristics of all great natural truths, clarifying what was obscure, simplifying what was intricate, adding greatly to previous knowledge). You are the greatest Revolutionist in natural history of this century, if not of all centuries. 2d. You will perhaps need … to limit or modify, ... the principle of 'natural selection'. 3d. Now [that] these novel views are brought… before the scientific public, it seems truly remarkable how [we didn't see them sooner].. A quarter-century ago, you & I must have [had]the same state of mind... But you were able to see & work out [the theory], … while I failed to grasp it. ... How greatly this...will shock the ideas of many men! very sincerely | Hewett C. Watson to C. Darwin | Esq. Darwin Correspondence Project, "Letter no. 2540," accessed on 26 April 2019, http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/DCP-LETT-2540 1895 On this day, a photo of the horticulturist and Reverend William T. Hutchins of Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, appeared in the Springfield Republican. William is remembered for his book called "All About Sweet Peas," published in 1892 by the Burpee Seed Company. Five years later, William wrote another book for Burpee calledSweet Peas Up-to-Date.William's writings were used as promo material for Burpee, and customers positively received them. Incredibly, Burpee distributed fifty thousand copies of "All About Sweet Peas." In August of 1898, The Star-Gazette out of Elmira New York reported on a talk that William had given about the history and culture of sweet pea. "Mr. Hutchins said that the flower is a native of Sicily, and is widely cultivated there, but in late years it has come into popular favor in America, and is now raised in nearly every part of the country. The speaker mentioned some of the rare varieties and told how they are obtained… He also gave a most interesting description of the gardens of Mr. Eckford in England, whose cultivation [of] about seventy-five of ...the choicest sweet peas have been given to the flower lovers of the world." And, in 1950, Charles H. Curtis, the editor of the Gardeners' Chronicle, wrote, "Fifty years ago, a parson from Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, stood on the platform in the Lecture Hall of the Crystal Palace. He was the Rev. W. T. Hutchins, an enthusiastic grower of Sweet Peas, who had a voice as sweet and persuasive as the fragrance of his subject. I can hear him now." One of my favorite articles featuring William was published in The Atlanta Constitution on March 31, 1991. The title of the article was "Oh, Sweet Peas, Please Climb Above My knees" and was written by Laura Martin. Laura dug up this quote by William, who said that the sweet pea has "a fragrance like the universal gospel." And, regarding the sweet pea, Laura wrote, "Finding a plant with outstanding beauty and fragrance is a treat. Many roses, of course, offer this combination, but easier and far less demanding are old-fashioned sweet peas, which will trail and climb in your garden while emitting a delicious scent. Common name: Sweet Pea . Botanical name: Lathyrus odoratus." The Greek word lathyros means pea or pulse, and the Latin word odoratus means fragrant. Today, Japanese varieties have the most abundant blooms, and some Australian varieties are frilly. Sweet peas are a long-lasting vase flower, which makes them quite popular with florists and brides. Finally, in terms of floriography, or the language of flowers, sweet peas convey bliss and pleasure. They also mean saying goodbye after having a good time. Nothing says thank you like sweet peas. Finally, of the sweet pea, John Keats wrote: Here are sweet peas, on tiptoe for a flight; With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white, And taper fingers catching at all things, To bind them all about with tiny rings. Unearthed Words July 27 is Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day - a silly, light-hearted day that brought to mind these nonsense poems. One fine October morning In September, last July The sun lay thick upon the ground The snow shone in the sky The flowers were singing gaily The birds were full in bloom So I went down to the cellar To clean the upstairs room — Anonymous There should be no monotony In studying your botany; It helps to train And spur the brain-- Unless you haven't gotany. It teaches you, does Botany, To know the plants and spotany, And learn just why They live or die-- In case you plant or potany. You learn, from reading Botany, Of wooly plants and cottony That grow on earth, And what they're worth, And why some spots have notany. You sketch the plants in Botany, You learn to chart and plotany Like corn or oats-- You jot down notes, If you know how to jotany. Your time, if you'll allotany, Will teach you how and what any Old plant or tree Can do or be-- And that's the use of Botany! — Berton Braley, American poet, Science Newsletter, March 9, 1929, Botany Grow That Garden Library Rustic Garden Projects by Marianne Svärd Häggvik This book came out in February of 2019, and the subtitle is Step-by-Step Backyard Décor from Trellises to Tree Swings, Stone Steps to Stained Glass. I tell you what; if you're bored and looking for something to do in the garden, this book is a charming gift to have on hand. It is loaded with ideas and gorgeous pieces of garden art. The projects will give you something to do and help you express yourself in the garden. Some are simple and quick, and others might take you a few days to complete. Projects include:

• Willow baskets
• Conical votives
• Personalized walkways
• Raised flowerbeds
• Lion's head fountains
• And more!

The author Marianne is an engineer based in Stockholm. She had been puttering around in her garden for ages before Marianne and her husband decided to compile a book of their beautiful and fun garden projects.Marianne is the owner of Heliconia Garden, a garden design company in Sweden. This book is 256 pages of ideas and projects - all shared with today's gardener in mind. You can get a copy of Rustic Garden Projects by Marianne Svärd Häggvik and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $5. Today's Botanic Spark 1949 Today is the birthday of the founder of the Greening of Harlem Coalition, Bernadette Cozart. Bernadette was a professional gardener and urban gardening advocate. She founded the Greening of Harlem Coalition in 1989. Her efforts transformed Harlem, bringing flower gardens and green spaces to areas previously covered by concrete and neglect. It was Bernadette Cozart who said, "Instead of taking children on field trips to see farms and gardens, why not bring nature into the community? I don't think it's fair that they should have to go outside the community to have that experience of seeing things grow."

Today we remember a pioneering seedsman out of Rockford, Illinois, whose company became the world's largest mail-order seed company. We'll also learn about an Irish playwright and critic who had a unique writing hut in his garden. We recognize the botanist who botanized in Yellowstone for an entire summer. We also revisit some July Folklore in Unearthed Words. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about the History of Indoor Plants by one of my favorite authors. And then we'll wrap things up with the story of an English writer and politician who used humor in his work. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to [email protected] And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy. Curated News How to Grow and Care for Blueberry Bushes for Buckets of Sweet Blueberries | Stephanie Rose over at Garden Therapy "Blueberries are easy to grow, look beautiful in the garden, taste fabulous, and are well-known to be good for you. If you have just a bit of space and some sun, plant a blueberry bush or two as gorgeous landscaping and enjoy the many benefits of sun-ripened blueberries picked straight from your garden. Here are a few other known health benefits of blueberries:

1. Blueberries are low on the glycemic index, which means that they do not cause your blood sugar to spike.
2. They are considered to be a very nutritious fruit, supplying high levels of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
3. Studies show that they help improve memory.
4. Numerous studies have shown that blueberries help lower blood pressure.
5. Blueberries are closely related to cranberries and may help prevent urinary tract infections.

Add a few blueberry plants to your landscape for their white, bell-shaped blooms in the spring and the bright globes of blue in the summer. But the REAL show happens in the late fall when the bushes turn bright red, neon pink, orange, or red-purple. Blueberry bushes make a great edible alternative to short growing shrubs like boxwood. Imagine a row of blueberries lining the fence and how many berries you will have! And you know garden-grown food always tastes better than grocery store-bought food." Work early, and stay cool. To avoid the high temps, potential sunburn, and bug bites, I go out in the morning, work for no more than a two-hour stint and wrap up no later than 10 am. For self-care, I set up a sports umbrella for shade, and I bring a massive fan around with me to stay cool. The fan also keeps the bugs at bay; mosquitos especially are not good fliers. Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1842 Today is the birthday of a pioneering seedsman out of Rockford, Illinois, Roland Hallet Shumway - who always went by his initials R.H. The RH Shumway Seed Company became the world's largest mail-order seed company; their "Marketmore" seeds are especially popular. Famous Shumway Seed customers included Bing Crosby and Perry Como. When Roland was 19, he enlisted in the army to serve in the Civil War. He contracted bronchitis and became totally deaf during his service. Once Roland was asked how he would like to be remembered. He gave a three-word response: Good Seeds Cheap. Roland said that he wanted to make sure, "That good seeds were within reach of the poorest planters " As with any venture, hustle and heart drove Roland's success. Roland said, "From the beginning of the new year, until after spring planting, my industrious employees work 16 hours a day, and myself and my family 18 or more hours per day. Are we not surely knights at labor? How can we do more? Do we not deserve the patronage of every planter in America?" In 1905, Roland donated land in Rockford for the Shumway Market on the condition that the city would preserve the Farmer's Market in perpetuity, "for the benefit of all and the poor especially. " The market ran year-round on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This was THE place for farmers and people to gather and sell their fruits, vegetables, and flowers. In the 1980s, Shumway Seed was sold, and today the area behind the market building is a parking lot. 1856 Today is the birthday of the Irish playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw. In 1906, when he was 50 years old, George and his wife Charlotte bought an ivy-covered brick country house set on almost four acres of land that ultimately became known as Shaw's Corner in Ayot St Lawrence. For over four decades, George wrote most of his work in his tiny writing shed in the garden at Shaw's Corner. Both Pygmalion and Heartbreak House were created in George's little writing hut. Now, when George worked in his little hut, he sat in a straight back wicker chair and wrote using a black typewriter that was positioned on a little shelf-desk attached to the wall in the corner. George could communicate with the outside world using the wall-mounted phone that was above the desk. The hut had windows on the front and back sides, and there was a little bed built into the side opposite the desk. George wouldn't have had much room to move around other than to get to his desk, stand up, turn around, and then lie on his bed. It was all very modest and humble except that his little summer house had a unique feature to distinguished itself - it was built on top of a revolving platform. This ingenious device made it so that the little hut could be turned to face the sun throughout the day. When the Shaw's first bought the property, there wasn't much except for open land. Over the years, Charlotte and George worked to transform the place into a personal sanctuary. At first, the Shaw's split time between Shaw's corner and their London house. However, as they grew older, they gravitated more and more to Shaw's corner. The Shaw's loved their garden. From family records, we know the Shaws especially enjoyed delphiniums, iris, and tulips. And, every day, George and Charlotte would walk around the garden together every morning and keep tally the number of kilometers by adding a stone to a pile in the garden. At the age of 94, George was still actively gardening until his unexpected death after a fall. George had been pruning a tree and slipped off the ladder. After their deaths, George and Charlotte's ashes were spread over the garden paths they had loved to walk together. To this day, George's July birthday is honored with performances of his plays in his garden. It was George Bernard Shaw who said all of these gardening quotes: I have found, after a good deal of consideration, that the best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. Gardening is the only unquestionably useful job. The planting of a tree is a modest form of immortality and one of the few truly long-term expressions of hope to mortal human beings. Except during the nine months before he draws his first breath, no man manages his affairs, as well as a tree, does. 1899 Today is the 121st anniversary of the 14-week botanical expedition through Yellowstone led by the botanist Aven Nelson. Aven had hired a student named Leslie Gooding to be the chore boy for $10 per month. The group assembled at the University of Wyoming, where Nelsen was a new teacher. Leslie remembered the excitement on campus at the prospect of going on the trek, saying, "Some three or four months were to be spent in Yellowstone park collecting plants… Many students… were anxious to accompany Dr. Nelson on [the] expedition, and were willing to work for nothing just to see the Park… This was in the days when autos were much like hen's teeth, and trips through the Park by stage were expensive. " (Note: The euphemism "hen's teeth "refers to something being exceptionally rare; since hens have no teeth, it implies that something is so scarce it is virtually nonexistent. So, during the time of this expedition – no vehicles.) In addition to Leslie, another botany student named Elias Nelsen, (no relation to Aven), joined the group. On this day, back in 1899, Leslie and Elias had gone collecting near an area called Artist Paint Pots; it's a dangerous area with over 50 springs, geysers, vents, and mud pots. Geothermal features are some of the deadliest natural features in Yellowstone, but people often fail to realize that fact. To this day, park rangers rescue one or two visitors, who fall from boardwalks or wander off designated paths and punch their feet through the thin earthen crust into boiling water. Yet, drawn by curiosity, Elias ignored the warning signs and went off the path. Suddenly, he found himself with one leg sunk into boiling mud. He managed to free himself, and Aven's wife did what she could with soda and flour to bandage his wounds, and the doc at the nearest town recommend Elias return home for treatment. Despite the challenges posed by Yellowstone, Aven Nelsen and his team collected roughly 30,000 specimens, although only about 500 species were represented. Aven had purposely gathered 20 -30 duplicates per species because he correctly assumed that institutions and collectors would want specimens from Yellowstone. Today, Aven is remembered as the Father of Wyoming Botany, but his greatest legacy is the Rocky Mountain Herbarium created from Aven's collection of Yellowstone plants. Unearthed Words Here are some words from July Folklore:

• Never trust a July sky or Never trust the sky in the month of July.
• As July, so next January.
• If the 1st of July be rainy weather, it will rain more or less for three weeks together.
• If ant hills are high in July, the coming winter will be hard.
• Whatever July and August do not boil, September can not fry.
• No tempest, good July, Lest the corn look ruely.
• Corn should be knee-high by the Fourth of July.

Grow That Garden Library Once Upon a Windowsill by Tovah Martin This book came out in 1988, and the subtitle is A History of Indoor Plants. This book is an oldie but goodie. Tovah Martin is a devoted and passionate organic gardener and the author of The Indestructible Houseplant, The Unexpected Houseplant, The New Terrarium, and Tasha Tudor's Garden, as well as many other gardening books. This book is 312 pages of how plants moved indoors, plant lore, plant culture, and the evolution of our relationship with plants. You can get a copy of Once Upon a Windowsill by Tovah Martin and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $30. Today's Botanic Spark 1839 Today is the birthday of the English writer and politician Winthrop Mackworth Praed, who is remembered for his humorous verse. He wrote, "I remember, I remember how my childhood fleeted by. The mirth of its December, and the warmth of its July." At his home, Winthrop had a fine grove with beautiful grounds that overlooked a harbor. At one point, he even built an orangery. Sadly, Winthrop died at age 37 from tuberculosis. Yet, for many years, his fans enjoyed this little story about him: "A man went to a bookshop and asked, "Have you, Browning?" And the clerk replied, "No, we can't sell him. People say they can't understand him." Then the customer asked, "Have you Praed?" And the clerk said, "Yes, we've prayed, and we can't understand him.