The Daily Gardener

Today we celebrate the amateur botanist who was a two-time governor of South Carolina and the birthday of a French modernist painter who left peonies. We'll learn about the man who brought European grapes to California and the most important Prussian garden-artist of the 19th century. Today's Unearthed Words feature a poem about January. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us truly see plants. I'll talk about a garden item that is absolutely adorable, and they come in a six-pack so you'll have plenty for gifts, and then we'll wrap things up with a charming journal entry from one of my favorite garden writers. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show: Out of This World | Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens | Pittsburgh PA Check out this post featuring a preview of the Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show. How to sow micro-leaves & sprouting seeds - The English Garden The English Garden @tegmagazine shared this great post about growing sprouts. Want a quick, tasty crop any time of year? Micro-leaves and sprouting seeds are the answer. You don't even need any special equipment! This is an excellent introduction to microgreens from @tegmagazine. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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 1822Today is the anniversary of the death of a two-time Governor of South Carolina, the founder of the University of South Carolina, a writer, and a botanist John Drayton. Drayton grew up in Charleston, a hub of botanical activity. He knew the French royal gardener Andre Michaux and his son, who had settled in the area. The Michaux's introduced the camellias and Indian azaleas; Joel Roberts Poinsett, the man who discovered the Poinsettia, was also a son of Charleston. And, the gardener Chancellor Waddy Thompson and Benjamin Perry also helped to shape the horticulture scene in the Greenville area. Drayton is remembered for his 1807 unpublished book "The Carolinian Florist." Drayton listed almost a thousand plants, when they flowered, and where they could be found. Drayton presented his work to the South Carolina College library in 1807. The University South Carolina Society published it in 1943. Drayton explored Paris Mountain and the Greenville Area. He discovered the fragrant yellow honeysuckle (Lonicera flava Sims "Lah-NISS-er-ah FLAY-vah") - commonly known as yellow honeysuckle - growing on the south side of Paris Mountain. The name Lonicera was derived from the name of the German herbalist Adam Lonitzer (1527-1586). The specific epithet "flava" and variations all reference the yellow ('flavus') or yellowish '(flavescens') color of the flowers. Honeysuckle is also known as woodbine or goat's leaf. 1832 Today is the birthday of the French modernist painter Édouard Manet ("Mah-nay"). His painting, 'Music in the Tuileries Gardens,' ("TWEE-luh-Reehs"), was his first significant work depicting modern city life. Manet grew peonies in his garden at Gennevilliers ("Jen-vill-EE-aye"). They were reportedly his favorite flower. Manet's paintings of peonies were the perfect marriage of his skill and the subject. Manet's loose brushwork was perfect for the petals and leaves. When the explorer Marco Polo saw peonies for the first time, he wrote that they were, "Roses as big as cabbages." In Chinese, the peony is known as the sho-yu, which means "most beautiful." Traditionally, peonies are used to celebrate the 12th wedding anniversary. If you planted one on your Anniversary, the peony could outlive you. Peonies can live for over 100 years. 1862Today, the Hungarian vintner, Agoston Haraszthy, brought 1,400 varieties of grapevines from Europe to California and planted the first vineyard in the Sonoma Valley in California. Haraszthy's family was Hungarian nobility. Haraszthy had gotten hold of a book that reported the Wisconsin territory offered the finest land in America. So, in 1840, he immigrated to the United States. He quickly discovered Wisconsin was not the place for growing grapes. In short order, Haraszthy made his way to San Francisco during the Gold Rush. But San Francisco was not a fit with the grapes, either. It was foggy and cold. But then, in 1857, Haraszthy found the Sonoma Valley - called the "Valley of the Moon" by the writer Jack London. After a dozen years of searching, Haraszthy had found a place suitable for growing purple gold. The Sonoma Valley was the perfect place to grow European grapes - which were more delicate and finicky than North American wild grapes. Giddy with hope, Haraszthy built a white villa for his wife and six children on a property he named Buena Vista or "Good View." Haraszthy also brought many European growing methods to his estate in California. First, he grew the grape plants closer together. This was something other growers found unwise. But Haraszthy knew that growing grapes near each other stressed the vines, which in turn, made better-tasting grapes. Second, Haraszthy was the first vinedresser to grow his grapes on the mountainsides in California. There is an old saying that the God of wine, Bacchus, loved the hills. Well, Haraszthy's grapevines loved them, too. Finally, Haraszthy performed a green harvest - something no one had ever heard of - Least of all Haraszthy's neighbors. Today the technique is known as dropping fruit; it merely means doing an initial early harvest of some of the grapes. The benefit of fewer grapes on the vine is that it improves the flavor of the remaining grapes. Haraszthy also brought in a team of Chinese laborers, and they worked to dig out the first wine caves in the state. The most impressive accomplishment included a 100-foot-deep stone wine cellar built on the side of a hill. In 1863, Haraszthy incorporated his vineyard as the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society. Thanks to investors, Haraszthy purchased an additional 4,000 acres making Buena Vista the second largest vineyard in the state. In 1866, a vine disease swept through the area. Haraszthy's neighbors reactively blamed his unique growing methods for the small tasteless grapes and the brown, dying vines. In reality, the disease was Phylloxera, which is caused by an aphid that attacks vine roots. Phylloxera causes grapes to harden on the vine. It wiped out Buena Vista. Haraszthy filed for bankruptcy. With his vineyard and his reputation in tatters, Haraszthy went south to Nicaragua. He planted a massive sugar plantation, and he planned to make and sell a new beverage: rum. But, on July 6, 1869, as he was reaching for a vine while crossing a river on his property. He lost his balance, fell into the river, and was eaten by an alligator. Today, Haraszthy is remembered as "The Father of California Viticulture" (Wine-Making). In 1946, a plaque to Haraszthy was dedicated on the plaza of Sonoma. In March 2007, Haraszthy was inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame by the Culinary Institute of America. 1866Today is the anniversary of the death of Prussian landscape architect and gardener Peter Joseph Lenné ("Linny"). Lenné is regarded as the most important Prussian garden-artist of the 19th century. He was the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Berlin and Potsdam. Peter came from a long line of gardeners. In many respects, his accomplishments mirror those of his younger colleague across the ocean, Frederick Law Olmsted. Lenné cofounded a Royal Horticultural Society in Germany. He worked tirelessly designing parks and landscape areas with green spaces. Lenné admired William Kent, whom he named "the father of the new landscape architecture." Lenné established English landscape garden designs in Germany. Many of his designed spaces are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Lenné's legacy includes over 100 designed spaces from including parks, gardens, canals, and avenues. Rauch memorialized Lenné with a large bust in the garden of the new palace in Potsdam. The Magnolia Lenne variety was named in his honor. Today, the Peter-Joseph-Lenné-Prize of Berlin awards fresh and creative ideas for design, planning, and use of plants in garden architecture and landscape planning. 2009The Denver Post reported that a retired English professor and amateur botanist named Al Schneider and a Colorado State University Botany student named Peggy Lyon discovered a new plant in the Asteraceae, or sunflower, family and it was called Gutierrezia elegans. ("Goo-tee-ah-REEZ-ee-ah") Al and Peggy named their variety "elegans" for its elegant qualities of symmetry. The common name of the plant that Al and Peggy discovered is the Lone Mesa snakeweed. The Spanish botanist Mariano La Gasca, who originated the Gutierrezia genus named in honor of the apothecary and professor Pedro Gutiérrez Bueno. Gutierrezia is a group of flowering plants native to western North America and western South America. Native peoples have regarded this plant family as an essential source of medicine, and plants of this genus are known generally as snakeweeds or match weeds. Unearthed Words The days are short The sun a spark Hung thin between The dark and dark. Fat snowy footsteps Track the floor And parkas pile up Near the door. The river is A frozen place Held still beneath The trees' black lace The sky is low. The wind is gray. The radiator Purrs all day. — John Updike, January Grow That Garden Library The Cabaret of Plants by Richard Mabey Richard Mabey has a passion for plants that come through in this beautiful book called The Cabaret of plants. As a naturalist, Richard says, he has written, "a story about plants as authors of their own lives and an argument that ignoring their vitality impoverishes our imaginations and our well-being." Mabey is a naturalist with the voice of a poet. Mabey challenges ordinary perceptions of plants: that they are inactive, that they are background, or that they are simply props for the outdoors. Like Peter Wohlleben, Mabey sees these plants as having a self. "The Cabaret of Plants" is loaded with beautiful stories and tidbits from science, literature, and botany. It's engaging and challenging and inspiring. Mabey has been interacting with the natural world for over four decades. His 1972 book called "Food for Free" was revolutionary and taught readers how to forage. This book came out in 2015. You can get a used copy of The Cabaret of Plants by Richard Mabey and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $5. Great Gifts for Gardeners 6 Pack Ceramic Succulent Planter Pots Set, Wirezoll 6 Cute Owl Bonsai Pots with 3 Gardening Hand Tools for Home and Office Desktop Decoration (6) $19.99 Great decor for desk, bookshelf, dining table, living room, hosting room, etc. Great gift idea for friends and family who love indoor gardening/succulents/cactus/cacti Mini unique succulent pots, they're perfect for showing your lovely succulent. Adding a touch of animal forest accent to your house and create your own little urban jungle with these cute owl succulent planters. Meticulously handcrafted and glaze firing, smooth glaze, and bare clay create an interesting visual contrast. Due to handcrafted, every owl planter's glaze is different, but overall is consistent The six pcs mini owl planters are made of superior quality and breathable ceramics baked in high temperatures, which are good for your plants Each mini plant pot has its own unique owl face. Those little button eyes and beaks will make you smile every time you see your adorable owl succulent pots. Today's Botanic Spark 1942Today the garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence wrote to her friend, the playwright, Ann Preston Bridgers: "We had thin toast and your wild strawberry jam for tea this afternoon by the fire in my studio... Bessie and I took a salad and a pan of rolls and went to have supper with your family last night. Mrs. B. insisted upon adding both ham and chicken. We had [Ann's mountain friend] Blanche's walnuts for dessert. And Robert and I made Cleopatras, not so good, somehow, like the ones at Christmas… I must put the puppy to bed before he chews up all the files of Gardening Illustrated."

Today we celebrate the birthday of the English Statesman who created "Garden walks" and the birthday of a man who is remembered by Muhly grass. We'll learn about the man memorialized by a plant name that misspells his last name, and we'll also learn about the disastrous freeze for Florida growers that happened in the mid-1980s. Today's Unearthed Words feature poetry and quotes that teach the lessons we can learn from winter. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that shares terrific essays on the benefits of gardening. I'll talk about a garden item that can definitely come in handy for gardeners, and then we'll wrap things up with the story of a botanist who recognized that new species can always be discovered, even in areas previously explored. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles The Wardian case: Botany game-changer | Kew From @kewgardens The Wardian case: Botany game-changer: It's incredible to think that the Wardian case was invented by British doctor and amateur naturalist Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward in 1829 by complete accident... Gardens: Winning ways for winter Oodles of great tips for designing a Winter Garden from Anglesey's assistant head gardener David Jordan: One of Jordan's favorite combinations is the shaggy-barked paperbark maple teamed with the variegated evergreen shrub Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald Gaiety' and the pink, scented blossoms of Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn.' At Anglesey, the euonymus is cloud-pruned in summer to create a sinuous shape, but as Jordan points out, "It has adventitious roots, so you could grow it up the walls of a house and have it as a backdrop." Jordan also recommends the crab apple tree Malus 'Evereste' as a centerpiece to a winter border. "You get long, persistent fruit, and you can underplant with dogwood in red or orange that works with the color of the fruit. Underplant with snowdrops, then daffodils, and this takes you through to May when you get the flowers – that gives you a long window of interest." The winter garden recipe runs something like this: a tree with colorful or tactile bark – try Tibetan cherry (Prunus serrula), paperbark maple (Acer griseum) or Arbutus unedo, the strawberry tree – acts as an anchor for the rest of the planting; then add a mid-level shrub with scented flowers, colored stems or attractive leaves (dogwoods, euonymus, daphnes, viburnums or sarcococcas); finally, there's the option of a low-growing ground cover (snowdrops and hardy cyclamen, or foliage such as bergenias or pulmonarias). Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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 1561 Today is the birthday of the English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon. Francis wrote a splendid essay called "Of Gardens." The essay contains many quotable thoughts on gardening - although the opening line is the most quoted. "God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures. It is the greatest refreshment to the spirits of man; without which, buildings and palaces are but gross handiworks; and a man shall ever see, that when ages grow to civility and elegancy, men come to build stately sooner than to garden finely; as if gardening were the greater perfection. I do hold it, in the royal ordering of gardens, there ought to be gardens, for all the months in the year, in which several things of beauty may be then in season." In 1606, Francis introduced "Garden Walks" as a concept at Gray's Inn field. Bacon lived at Gray's Inn, and during that time, the Inns were putting gates and fencing around their land to provide greater privacy and security. It was in the gated field at Gray's Inn where Bacon created his walk. People were enthralled with the idea. Along the walk, Bacon added flowers and trees like Violets and Primroses, Cherry Trees, and Birch. This whole notion of strolling through a pleasure garden was the 16th century equivalent of the modern-day habit of walking in a shopping mall for exercise. In 1594, Francis Bacon said a learned man needs a garden, library, laboratory -- and a "goodly, huge cabinet" (of curiosities). And, Bacon said, "As is the garden - such is the gardener. A man's nature runs either to herbs or weeds." 1785Today is the day the American Lutheran Pastor and botanist Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg was made a member of the American Philosophical Society. He was always referred to by his second name Heinrich. The Muhlenberg family was a founding family of the United States, and Heinrich came from a long line of pastors. His father, Pastor Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg, was known as the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America. His brother was a major in the Revolutionary War, and his other brother was a Congressman. Muhlenberg's personal journals are a treasure trove of his thoughts on botanical self-improvement. He would write: "How may I best advance myself in the knowledge of plants?" And, Muhlenberg would set goals and reminders to challenge himself, writing: "It is winter, and there is little to do . . . Toward spring I should go out and [put together] a chronology of the trees; how they come out, the flowers, how they appear,. . . . I should especially [take not of] the flowers and fruit." The grass Muhlenbergia was named for Heinrich Muhlenberg. Muhly grasses are beautiful native grasses. They offer two incredible strengths in their plant profile: drought tolerance and visual punch. Muhly grasses are easy-going, and they grow equally well in harsh conditions and perfectly manicured gardens. The Muhly cultivar 'White Cloud' offers gorgeous white plumes. When the coveted Pink Muhly blooms, people often stop to inquire as to the name of the beautiful pink grass. Then, Lindheimer's Muhly makes a fantastic screen, and Bamboo Muhly commands attention when it is featured in containers. All Muhly grasses like well-drained soil and full sun. If you plant them in fall, be sure to get them situated and in the ground at least a month before the first frost. And here's an interesting side note: Muhlenberg also discovered the bog turtle. In 1801, the turtle was named Clemmys muhlenbergii in his honor. 1818Today is the anniversary of the death of the American physician Caspar Wistar ("Wiss-Star"), the Younger. His grandfather was also Caspar Wistar, so the Younger distinction helps people tell them apart. Wistar was a Professor of Anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1777, Caspar Wistar treated the wounded during the battle of Germantown and decided he would pursue medical training. Wistar had some pretty impressive friends: his best friend was probably Thomas Jefferson, and his most famous botany friend was probably Alexander von Humboldt. During his life, every Sunday Night, Wistar would hold a salon - an open house - at his home on the corner of Fourth and Locust Street. His friends would stop by - along with any members of academia, or the elite or high society, along with other accomplished people who happened to be in Philadelphia that evening. They all knew that Wistar's house was the place to go to meet up with the best minds of the day. The botanist Thomas Nuttall named the genus Wisteria in Caspar Wistar's honor (some people say Wistaria to reflect the proper spelling of Wistar's last name. Either is fine because guess what - the misspelling is preserved for all time under the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature). It's like one of my kid's birth certificates - it can be amended, but the original is wrong and will be until the end of time. Wistar died of a heart ailment unexpectedly on January 18, 1818. His final utterance was: "I wish well to all mankind." After Wistar died, his friends continued holding Wistar parties for a core group of 50 members. They would each take turns hosting, and the kept the tradition going for another forty years. Today, Wistar ("Wiss-Star")is the name of The Wistar Institute, the nation's first independent biomedical research center. Today, they focus on cancer, infectious disease & vaccine research to benefit human health. 1985 Record-breaking cold temperatures damaged 90% of Florida's orange and grapefruit crop. Newspaper accounts sounded grim saying: "A nightmare for citrus growers...The fourth killer cold wave in five growing seasons seized Florida's 760,000-acre Citrus Belt on Monday with an icy grip that growers said froze millions of oranges and could destroy thousands of acres of trees already weakened by the disastrous Christmas 1983 freeze. Shocked by lows that fell to the low- and mid-teens throughout the northern two-thirds of the orange belt by Monday morning, growers said the latest in the string of freezes undoubtedly would end the careers of many of the state's 30,000 citrus growers. "It's a nightmare come true: back-to-back 100-year freezes," said Marion County citrus-man John Futch. A 100-year freeze is expected to occur only once every century. All-time low-temperature records were set across the state early Monday, including 19 degrees in Orlando and 17 degrees in Daytona Beach. Farmers as far south as Naples lost fruit and vegetable crops to the numbing cold. Citrus experts with Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's largest growers' organization with more than 15,000 members, said the low temperatures Monday rivaled "Between last night and tonight, I don't think there'll be a tree alive in Hernando County when this is over," Dr. William Croom said Monday morning after surveying his 104-year-old, 110-acre grove on Powell Road. "I'm not going to replant. I'll be 65 in March. That's just too late in life" to start over. As the temperature fell to 15 degrees, Croom's grove foreman, Barney Parrott, and three other workers lighted 300 oil-fueled stack heaters among trees in an 8-acre section in an effort to salvage the healthiest portion of his grove. "We'll be back out tonight, although I don't know if it'll do any good," he said Monday. Unearthed Words Today's words are about the lessons we can learn from winter. Spring passes, and one remembers one's innocence. Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance. Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence. Winter passes, and one remembers one's perseverance. — Yoko Ono, Japanese-Multimedia Artist, Widow of John Lennon People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy. — Anton Chekhov, Russian Playwrite & Writer One kind word can warm three winter months. — Japanese Proverb "What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness." — John Steinbeck, American Author & Nobel Prize Winner To shorten winter, borrow some money due in spring. — W.J. Vogel If there were no tribulation, there would be no rest; if there were no winter, there would be no summer. — St. John Chrysostom ("kri-SOSS-tum"), Bishop of Constantinople "Nature has undoubtedly mastered the art of winter gardening, and even the most experienced gardener can learn from the unrestrained beauty around them." — Vincent A. Simeone ("Sim-EE-OH-nee"), Horticulturist Grow That Garden Library By Pen & by Spade by David Wheeler This book features thirty-three essays From David Wheeler's passion project known as Hortus magazine (Which I just subscribed to). Hortus provides expert information on plants and gardening, with articles focusing on gardens around the world. The essays explore the various benefits of gardening. They are written by multiple writers who share personal stories and lessons from the garden. This book features essays from Robert Dash (who examines the overlap between gardening and poetry), Rosemary Verey (who shares thoughts on the courtyard gardens of Charleston), Hermia Oliver does the same with Flaubert's gardens; And, Dennis Wood reveals the joy of gardening after retirement. These essays are an excellent source of good gardening advice: how to plant a scent garden ("Stick to a sunny, sheltered spot," advises Stephen Lacey), how to grow blue-hued gentians (seek out an acid soil, counsels Stephen G. Haw). This book came out in 1991. You can get a used copy of By Pen & by Spade by David Wheeler and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $1. Great Gifts for Gardeners Esschert Design Garden Tool Belt, Gray & Green, $13.18 Adjustable green and gray garden tool apron. Deep pockets, adjustable belt, and compartments for markers make this apron a must for every busy gardener.

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Today's Botanic Spark 1917 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Presbyterian minister, writer, and an American botanist Ellsworth Jerome Hill. Ellsworth was born in Leroy, New York. When Ellsworth was only 20 years old, one of his knees stopped working, and the doctor suggested he study botany. Ellsworth wood crawl from the house to the orchard, where he would pick a few flowers and then crawl back to the house to identify them. And the following year, Ellsworth moved to Mississippi, where it was warmer, and he used two canes to assist with walking. By middle age, Ellsworth met and married a young woman named Milancy Leach - who would become his indispensable helpmate. When he was lame, or when he didn't have the strength to complete all of his tasks as he collected specimens, Milancy would step in and finish the work for him. By the time he was 40, Ellsworth had put his lameness behind him. In the back half of his life, he seemed to be able to manage his physical challenges and, with Milancy's help, had learned how to cope with the symptoms. In a touching tribute to Ellsworth after his death, the botanist Agnes Chase rote: "Most of these collections were made while he walked on crutches or with two canes. He told me that he carried his vasculum over his shoulder and a camp stool with his crutch or cane in one hand. To secure a plant, he would drop the camp stool, which opened of itself, then he would lower himself to the stool and dig the plant. He recovered from his lameness but often suffered acute pain from cold or wet or overexertion. But this did not deter him from making botanical trips that would have taxed a more robust man – in the Dunes, I have seen him tire out more than one able-bodied man. " It was Ellsworth Jerome Hill who said, "In studying the flora of a restricted region, no matter how carefully it seems to have been explored, one is frequently surprised by new things... No region can be regarded as thoroughly explored until every acre of its wild areas at least has been examined. Some plants are so rare or local or grow under such peculiar conditions that a few square rods or even feet may comprise their range."

Today we celebrate a man known as "The Pathfinder" and the birthday of a man who impoverished himself writing a book in tribute to Carl Linnaeus. We'll learn about the woman who was as passionate about botany as she was assisting with the war effort and today's National Day that celebrates a garden creature. (Hint: it has a bushy tail) Today's Unearthed Words feature a riddle from an English-American writer and poet. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us understand the language of flowers. I'll talk about a garden item that comes in handy if you grow houseplants, and then we'll wrap things up with the birthday of a botanist who had an incredible love story and wrote beautiful poetry. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles A Winter Greenhouse: A Productive Way To Harvest Vegetables All Winter | @savvygardening Have you ever dreamt of harvesting fresh vegetables year-round?! Get inspired by @savvygardening - a winter greenhouse is a project worth thinking about... AND, they share this great tip: Keep a heat-generating compost pile INSIDE the greenhouse. 10 Unusual Vegetables For Adventurous Gardeners | Mother Earth News | @MotherEarthNews The list includes Cardoon, Shiso Perilla ("SHE-so per-ILL-ah"), Oca tubers, Celeriac ("sell-AIR-ee-ack"), Malabar Spinach, Kohlrabi, Seakale, Amaranth, Winter Radish, and Salsify & Scorzonera ("score-zah-NEAR-ah"). Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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 1813 Today is the birthday of the American explorer, soldier, and the first Presidential candidate of the Republican Party, John Charles Frémont. Frémont is remembered as "The Pathfinder" after helping many Americans who were heading West by creating documents and maps of his expeditions West. John and his wife, Jesse, created an entire map of the Oregon Trail. When Frémont saw Nebraska, he didn't see merely an endless prairie; he saw beauty. To Fremont, the entire state was one big garden, accentuated with fertile soil, swaying grasses, and wildflowers as far as the eye could see. Fremont was one of the first explorers to write about cottonwood trees. He discovered them near Pyramid Lake in Nevada on Jan 6, 1844. Years later, botanists would name the cottonwood in his honor, calling it the "Populus fremontii." Cottonwoods are the fastest growing trees in North America. After all of the beautiful elm trees at my childhood home succumbed to Dutch elm disease, my parents selected cottonwoods because they knew they would grow quickly - Up to six feet or more each year. They couldn't stand how naked the house looked without the beautiful large elm trees. In truth, there's no comparison between a cottonwood tree and an elm tree, which is regarded as one of the most beautiful trees by landscape painters. In addition, because the Cottonwood tree grows so quickly, it often has weak wood that can easily be injured or damaged. Cottonwood trees are in the Poplar species. Only the female trees produce the fluffy cotton seeds that float through the air and collect in your garden and garage in June. 1837 Today is the anniversary of the death of the English physician and botanical writer Robert John Thornton. Robert adored Carl Linnaeus. He was a huge fan. When Robert wrote his book called "The Temple of Flora," he dedicated it to Linnaeus. Robert wanted his book to be the very best illustrated botanical book ever made, and his goal was that it would be a memorialization of Linnaeus' work. Robert's idea was to have 70 large plates of exotic plants that would be organized according to Linnaeus's classification system. Another unique aspect of Robert's illustration concept was that the plants would appear in their native environment. Unfortunately, after working with the very best illustrators of his time, Robert had to stop production on the Temple book after only twenty-eight plant illustrations. He ran out of money, and the project stalled. Yet, even in its unfinished state, it remains one of the most excellent compilations of botanical illustrations that has ever been created. Although Robert was overly ambitious with his goals for the "Temple of Flora," the work is still considered to be arguably one of the loveliest botanically Illustrated books in the world. The most famous engraving in the book is of a night-blooming cereus cactus plant. The bloom takes up almost the entire width of the image, and in the background (in the dark), you can see the ruins of a castle. The night-blooming cereus is known as "The Queen of the Night." The flowers of the night-blooming cereus don't last long, but they are stunning. The night-blooming cereus is native to Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. Most people would be surprised to know a cereus cactus can get to be ten feet tall. Outside the Southwest, the cereus is generally grown as a houseplant. If you're waiting for your cereus plant to bloom, just know that it won't start flowering until it's at least five years old. Initially, you may only get one or two blooms for a few years. That said, once you do get a flower, you will be in love because the bloom is seven inches across, and the scent is heavenly. 1879 Today is the birthday of Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan - a prominent English botanist and mycologist. She died in 1967. Gwynne-Vaughn also helped form the University of London's Suffrage Society - where she was the first female professor. During #WWI, she also helped establish the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. Due to her extraordinary wartime leadership, Gwynne-Vaughan was one of the first women to receive a Military Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire award. Early on in her botanical career, Gwynn-Vaughan researched rust fungi. Rust is a plant parasite that invades a plant and uses it as a host for its survival. Rust actually invades the plant's cells, and it steals nutrients from the plant. The plant treats the rust like an infection. Sometimes the plants are able to fight off the rust. Other times, the rust wins, and the plants succumb to the Rust. Rust destroys 15 million tons of wheat each year. The University of London recently released a lovely article about Gywnne-Vaughan called "Fungi and the Forces," which revealed that Gwynne-Vaughan was as accomplished in the armed forces as she was in the theater of fungi. In fact, a handful of fungi are named for her - like Palaeoendogone gwynne-vaughaniae and Pleurage gwynne-vaughaniae. 2001Today is National Squirrel Appreciation Day, which was founded in 2001 by Christy Hargrove, a wildlife rehabilitator in Asheville, North Carolina. Christy created the special day to acknowledge that food sources for squirrels are scarce in mid-winter. Gardeners are generally of two minds when it comes to squirrels. They either don't mind them, or they really dislike them. Squirrels can be a challenging pest in the garden because of their tremendous athleticism. Squirrels have a 5-foot vertical. Nowadays, their ability to leap is well-documented on YouTube. And, squirrels are excellent sprinters and swimmers. Squirrels are master zig-zaggers when they run - a skill that comes in handy when they need to evade predators. A squirrel nest is called a drey. Squirrels make their nests with leaves, and the mother lines the inside of the drey with grass. Squirrels perform an essential job for trees. They help the forest renew itself by caching seeds and burying them. The caching of seeds by squirrels is vital for many tree species. As squirrels bury acorns and other seeds, they either sometimes forget or simply don't return to some of their buried food. Although squirrels have tremendous ability to source buried food, they can smell an acorn buried in the ground beneath a foot of snow. Unearthed Words Today's poem is a winter riddle from James Parton. The answer is snow: "From Heaven I fall, though from earth I begin. No lady alive can show such a skin. I'm bright as an angel, and light as a feather, But heavy and dark, when you squeeze me together. Though candor and truth in my aspect I bear, Yet many poor creatures I help to insnare. Though so much of Heaven appears in my make, The foulest impressions I easily take. My parent and I produce one another, The mother the daughter, the daughter the mother." - James Parton, English-born American biographer, A Riddle - On Snow Grow That Garden Library The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh Today's book is a fiction book. Vanessa weaves the Victorian language of love into a love story: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. For the main character, Victoria Jones, flowers are more useful in communicating mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings. Now eighteen and emancipated from the system with nowhere to go, Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. An unexpected encounter with a mysterious stranger forces her to confront a painful secret from her past. Brigitte Weeks of The Washington Post gave my favorite review of this book: " I would like to hand Vanessa Diffenbaugh a bouquet of bouvardia (enthusiasm), gladiolus (you pierce my heart) and lisianthus (appreciation). . . . And there is one more sprig I should add to her bouquet: a single pink carnation (I will never forget you)." This is a lovely fiction book for gardeners who are looking for something light and fun to read over the winter. This book came out in 2012. You can get a used copy of The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $1. Great Gifts for Gardeners Universal Products 10 Pack of 6 Inch Clear Plastic Plant Saucers for Indoor and Outdoor Plants $9.49

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Today's Botanic Spark 1854 Today is the birthday of the Washington DC-based USDA botanist Erwin Frink Smith. Smith had attempted to solve the problem of the peach yellows. Peach Yellows is a disease caused by a microorganism called a phytoplasma that was affecting Peach Orchards. It became known as the Peach Yellows disease because the main symptom begins with new leaves that have a yellowish tint. Had Smith solved the problem of the Peach Yellows, he would have become world-famous - but he didn't. Years later, it was actually the botanist Louis Otto Kunkel who discovered that a type of leafhopper was carrying the disease. Now Smith may not have solved the Peach Yellows problem, but he was a peach of a guy. In researching Smith, I discovered a rare combination of kindness and intellect. He developed a reputation for hiring and promoting female botanists as his assistants at the Bureau of plant industry in Washington DC. Smith gave these women tasks based on their strengths instead of their job descriptions, and in many cases, they were able to work on projects beyond the scope of their job description. Smith's friend, Dr. Rodney True, revealed Smith's unique combination of strength in a tribute after he died. He wrote: "Erwin developed a knowledge of French, German, and Italian literature that opened to him worlds of intense pleasure… He read his Bible in a copy of the Vulgate, and Dante was a favorite … in Dante's own great language. Goethe was often quoted in the original. Seldom have I known a man who brought such joy and understanding to the works of great writers. His library was a sort of map of his mind. In it were all manner of noble things. He was quick, enthusiastic, and strangely appealed to by beauty in all its forms." The happiest day in Smith's life was no doubt when he married the pretty Charlotte Mae Buffet on April 13, 1893. They shared an epic love for each other and for reading and poetry. Tragically, after twelve years of marriage, Charlotte was diagnosed with endocarditis. She died eight months later on December 28, 1906. Smith dealt with his grief by putting together a book of poetry, stories, and a biography of Charlotte. The book is called "For Her Friends and Mine: A Book of Aspirations, Dreams, and Memories."Smith wrote, "This book is a cycle of my life— seven lonely years are in it. The long ode (on page 62) is a cry of pain." There are many touching passages – too many to share here now." There's one passage from Smith describing Charlotte's fantastic ability to attune to the natural world, and I thought you'd find it as touch as I did when I first read it: "Charlotte's visual powers were remarkable. They far exceeded my own. Out of doors, her keen eyes were always prying into the habits of all sorts of living things: ants, spiders, bees, wasps, fish, birds, cats, dogs. Had she cared for classification, which she did not, and been willing to make careful records, she might have become an expert naturalist. Form in nature seemed to interest her little or at least comparative studies of form. What did interest her tremendously was the grade of intelligence manifested in the lower forms of life. She would spend hours watching the habits of birds and insects, and never without discovering new and interesting things. Whether she looked into the tops of the tallest trees, or the bottom of a stream, or the grass at her feet, she was always finding marvels of adaptation to wonder at and links binding the world of life into a golden whole. She made lists of all the birds that visited her neighborhood. She knew most of them by their songs, and some times distinguished individuals of the same species by little differences in their notes, as once a song-sparrow at Woods Hole, which had two added notes. She knew when they nested and where, how they made their nests, and what food they brought to their young. In studying birds, she used an opera-glass, not a shotgun. She was, however, a very good shot with the revolver."

Today we celebrate the German botanist who's 1542 book is one of the most historically significant works of all time and the birthday of a man who discovered the rutabaga. We'll learn about the man known as "The Father of English Botany" and the man known as the "Father of American Horticulture." Today's Unearthed Words celebrate the sleeping winter landscape. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us create a spa experience in our own homes using herbs from the garden. I'll talk about a garden item that can turn your plants into wall art, and then we'll wrap things up with the story of a man who came up with the idea for a magazine for gardeners who read and readers who garden. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Great Dixter's Head Gardner, Fergus Garrett, On Conifers | House & Garden Great post from @_houseandgarden about "Why the Conifer is Having a Comeback." "Conifers do not have to be plonked in island beds with gaudy heathers, or peppered around Seventies-style rockeries like missiles... Their range is mouth-watering, adding form and texture with a twist." Best Plants To Paint For Beginners | Kew Pick up your brushes - Here's Kew's list of the best plants to paint for beginners | @kewgardens Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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 1501 Today is the birthday of the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs. Leonard and his wife had ten children. The genus Fuchsia is named after Fuchs. Leonhart published the first drawing of a corn plant. He also drew one of the first illustrations of the pumpkin plant. It took Leonard 31 years to write his herbal masterpiece called Historia Stirpium. In the book, he describes 497 plants and 500 illustrations. In 1542, the book was published, and the medicinal uses for each plant were included in the descriptions. His goal was to make the knowledge of herbs accessible to the people. The fact that his book contained so many illustrations definitely helped him achieve his goal. Leonard's book described over a hundred plants that had never been written about - like Pumpkins, Chili Peppers, Corn, and Squash. Leonard's Historia Stirpium is regarded as one of the most historically valuable and significant books of all time. Now, I wanted to share that the cover of the book - which is beautiful - was a bit of a mystery to me. It shows a tree with a coffin in its branches. It turns out it was a printer mark of the printer, Michael Isingrin, who was the printer of Historia Stirpium. The image of the coffin in a tree forms a Christian cross, and the tree holding the coffin was a holly tree. The inscription "Palma Ising" (i.e., by the hand of Isingrin) is the mark that identifies Michael Isingrin, the printer. " The depiction of a holly tree (Ilex spp. ) was deliberate. Holly is a symbol of eternal life. So essentially, the image represents life and death - the coffin in the tree. Incidentally, the holly tree is regarded as the evergreen twin of the oak. 1560 Today is the 460th birthday of the Swiss botanist Gaspard Bauhin. Gaspard spent his life classifying plants, and he ordered plants in a way that's familiar to us today - using binomial names, one name for the genus, and one name for the species. Gaspard was also the first to document a vegetable he named the napobrassica, the vegetable we know today as the rutabaga. Gaspard's name for the rutabaga was prophetic because DNA testing has proven that the rutabaga is the result of a turnip crossing with a cabbage. Gaspard mentioned in his work that the rutabaga was grown in the northern fields of Bohemia, where the people simply called it "root." Can you survive on rutabaga's or Swedish turnips, as they are sometimes called? Yes. Yes, you can. Rutabagas can grow to be as big or bigger than a bowling ball. Almost a year ago, Helen Rosner wrote an article called, "What Rutabaga Does Better Than Anything Else." It turns out; the rutagaba is perfect for making neutral-tasting, nicely-textured vegetable noodles. Use turnips and the noodles are too spicy. Use zucchini, and the noodles are meh. Use carrots, the noodles are too sweet. But, rutabaga noodles are just right. Rosner's favorite restaurant in Brooklyn makes rutabaga noodles using a Japanese slicer resulting in perfect paper ribbons of rutabaga. If you look at the finished dish, you'd never know they weren't real pasta. Gaspard wrote, "Pinax Theatri Botanici" ("An Illustrated Exposition of Plants"). In his book, he described thousands of plants, and he classified them using binomial nomenclature. Naturally, his work is considered a forerunner to that of Carl Linnaeus. 1705 Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist and theologian John Ray. Ray is regarded as the most distinguished British naturalist of the seventeenth century and "The Father of English Botany." Ray was born to a blacksmith, and his mother was an herbalist. He was ordained as a minister but then turned his attention to zoology and botany after the King of England ordered the clergy to condemn their covenant with the church. In 1650, twenty-five years before the first maps of Europe were written for the masses; Ray went on a quest. He traveled around Europe for three years - with two friends - and he observed flora and fauna. Ray coined the botanical terms 'petal' and 'pollen.' His book, Historia Plantarum, was the first textbook of modern botany. The naturalist Gilbert White wrote, "Our countryman, the excellent Mr. Ray, is the only describer [of plants and animals] who conveys some precise idea in every term or word, maintaining his superiority over his followers and imitators." The sculptor, Faith Winter, created a distinguished-looking statue of John Ray. It was unveiled by the botanist David Bellamy on October 11, 1986. 1890 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Scottish-American plantsman Peter Henderson. Known as "The Father of America Horticulture," he published "Gardening for Profit" in 1866, followed by "Gardening for Pleasure." "Gardening for Profit" was the first to book ever written about market gardening in the United States. When Peter arrived in the US, he worked for a time for the nurserymen George Thorburn and Robert Buist. After years of refining his growing systems and practices, he established his seed company on his 49th birthday. Peter ran the company - alongside his two sons, Alfred and Charles. In Peter's biography written by his son, Alfred, it said: "His long experience as a market gardener probably made him realize more than most seedsmen, the necessity of testing seeds before offering them for sale, but whatever the cause, the fact remains, that he was the first in this country to initiate the true and natural way of proving the vitality of seeds—that is, by sowing them in the soil, the seedman's usual plan being to germinate them in moist cotton or flannel—nearly always a misleading method." Peter lived nearly his whole life in Jersey City. He began of friendship with Andrew Carnegie after reading his book called Triumphant Democracy. He also became friends with the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher; they shared a giddy love for flowers. Mr. William R. Smith, the superintendent of the Botanic Gardens at Washington, paid Peter the highest possible tribute in calling him "The Great Horticultural Missionary." Unearthed Words Here are some poems that use a sleeping metaphor to describe the Landscape in Winter. The hiss was now becoming a roar - the whole world was a vast moving screen of snow - but even now it said peace, it said remoteness, it said cold, it said sleep. — Conrad Aiken, American Writer I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again." — Lewis Carroll, English Writer The cold earth slept below; Above the cold sky shone; And all around, With a chilling sound, From caves of ice and fields of snow The breath of night like death did flow Beneath the sinking moon. — The moon made thy lips pale, beloved; The wind made thy bosom chill; The night did shed On thy dear head Its frozen dew, and thou didst lie Where the bitter breath of the naked sky Might visit thee at will. — Percy Bysshe Shelley, English Romantic Poet, The cold earth slept below When against earth a wooden heel Clicks as loud as stone on steel, When stone turns flour instead of flakes, And frost bakes clay as fire bakes, When the hard-bitten fields at last Crack like iron flawed in the cast, When the world is wicked and cross and old, I long to be quit of the cruel cold. Little birds like bubbles of glass Fly to other Americas, Birds as bright as sparkles of wine Fly in the nite to the Argentine, Birds of azure and flame-birds go To the tropical Gulf of Mexico: They chase the sun; they follow the heat, It is sweet in their bones, O sweet, sweet, sweet! It's not with them that I'd love to be, But under the roots of the balsam tree. Just as the spiniest chestnut-burr Is lined within with the finest fur, So the stoney-walled, snow-roofed house Of every squirrel and mole and mouse Is lined with thistledown, sea-gull's feather, Velvet mullein-leaf heaped together With balsam and juniper, dry and curled, Sweeter than anything else in the world. O what a warm and darksome nest Where the wildest things are hidden to rest! It's there that I'd love to lie and sleep, Soft, soft, soft, and deep, deep, deep! — Elinor Wylie, American Poet, Winter Sleep Grow That Garden Library The Herb Lover's Spa Book by Sue Goetz This book came out in 2015, and the subtitle to this book is: Create a Luxury Spa Experience at Home with Fragrant Herbs from Your Garden. Sue shows us how easy it is to grow and prepare therapeutic herbs for a custom spa experience in the comfort of your own home. It will help you unplug, relax, and make the world go away. Sue was the perfect author for this book - an herb gardener, spa enthusiast, and award-winning garden designer - she gives simple steps for growing and preparing herbs for aromatherapy oils, lotions, tub teas, masks, scrubs, sachets, and more. You can get a used copy of The Herb Lover's Spa Book by Sue Goetz and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $3. Great deal! Great Gifts for Gardeners Pack of 6 Glass Planters Wall Hanging Planters Round Glass Plant Pots $22.99 I had a friend who had these little glass globe planters on her walls, and she filled them all with succulents, and over the holidays, she added mini led lights with the warm color, and they are battery-operated, and it looked so great. She hung hers with screws. I'm planning to use my favorite moldable glue product -Sugru - to hang mine. Anyway, they look very cool on the wall with air plants or with pathos or what have you. It ends up looking like plant art for your walls. Perfect anywhere - mine will be going in the guest bathroom.

• The package includes six glass hanging planters with six nails.
• Size: 4.7-inch diameter for each glass ball air plant pot.
• The hole on the back of the glass planter allows you to hang it on the wall with the small white nail without doing any harm on your wall.
• The wall hanging planter is a perfect container for your air plants, water plants, and any other plant accessories.

Today's Botanic Spark 1989 David Wheeler's gardening journal, Hortus, was started. Adrian Higgins wrote about David's founding of Hortus in the Washington Post eight years ago saying: "A curious throwback to the analog age landed in my mailbox the other day: Hortus, a journal of garden writing. Almost everything about the quarterly periodical is wonderfully old-fashioned: It produces tactile and aesthetic pleasures once taken for granted ... Flop in a soft chair, thumb the pages and ponder that Hortus doesn't exist in some electronic ether ... David Wheeler started Hortus 31 years ago, and he has a motto that Hortus "is for gardeners who read and readers who garden." Thirty-one years later, the subscription list continues to stay modest. Subscriptions are about $75 a year, which includes airmail postage. Wheeler also writes for newspapers and other periodicals to supplement his income. He tells his friends that Hortus "pays for the tonic, but not the gin." FYI: I just bought a subscription myself — Merry Christmas to me.

Today we celebrate the Spanish Enlightenment priest and botanist who named the Dahlia and the glamorous movie star who traded in her star sapphire collection for a tractor. We'll learn about the item vintners were selling during prohibition and the woman who became the most widely read American Garden author in the United States. Today's Unearthed Words feature thoughts on the blackest month of the year: January. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a new book written by a 20-year Fellow of the Linnaean Society - he's the man who began his career as a forensic botanist after getting a phone call from the authorities. I'll talk about a garden item that comes in so handy - especially if you're going to hang things in trees. And then we'll wrap things up with thoughts on the lengthening days - we gain about two minutes of sunlight a day right now. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Planting Hope by Debi Holland | Richard Jackson's Garden Here's an inspiring post from Debi Holland @RJGarden: "I work with people who have experienced bereavement or long-term illness. Gardening has been a tremendous respite, an escape from the house, provided achievable goals with visible results from a few hours toil when other aspects of life may not be so straightforward." Marks Hall Arboretum and walled garden in Essex - Gardens Illustrated Marks Hall Arboretum is absolutely gorgeous in the winter. The Arboretum sits on a 2,200-acre estate in Essex. You wouldn't know it by looking at it, but the soil there is clay. The beautiful thing about this garden is that it has been organized into geographic zones, so from an inspiration standpoint, it's splendid. There's a beautiful 3-acre lakeside garden. This garden beautifully compliments the rest of the estate offers five interlinked gardens. There are hedges and walls, groupings of ornamental grasses, and long flowering perennials. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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 1745 Today is the birthday of the Spanish Enlightenment priest and botanist Antonio José Cavanilles ("Cah-vah-nee-yes") Antonio was a prolific botanist and probably Spain's first expert botanist. He was born in Valencia - Spain's third-largest city. When Antonio struggled to find a job at the university, he moved to France. In Paris, he was influenced by Andre Jussieu ("Juice You")and André Thouin (pronounced "too-ah"). By the time he was 36, he had decided to focus on botany. Antonio named over a hundred genera. He gave the name Cosmos to the Mexican Aster. Cosmos comes from a Greek word meaning harmonious or orderly. When Alexander Von Humboldt sent seeds of a beautiful plant to Antonio, he suggested that the plant should be named after Antonio called Cavenillesia. But, Antonio declined the honor named it the Dahlia after the botanist Andrew Dahl, instead. Dahl was Swedish and a student of Carl Linnaeus. Ironically, Dahl never had anything to do with the Dahlia. The plant's botanical name is Dahlia pinnata ("pin-AYE-tah"). Pinnata refers to the fact that the leaves are divided in a feathery manner. Now, around the same time, dahlia seeds arrived in Germany, and a botanist there decided to name the plant Georgina after a Russian explorer by the name of Professor Georgie. For decades, Germans refused to call it the Dahlia and stuck with the name Georgina. However, in 1834, London Gardeners Magazine settled the matter once and for all, declaring that the name would be Dahlia and not Georgina. German gardeners capitulated. And, despite being the first to grow the Dahlia, no Dahlia variety has ever been named after Antonio José Cavanilles. The French Revolution caused him to return to Spain. Antonio was 45 years old when he returned home, and he had already established himself as a respected botanist. At the turn of the century in 1801, Antonio was promoted to be the director of the Royal Botanic Garden. The garden was created by King Fernando VI in 1755 (10 years after Antonio was born.) In 1774, three staggered terraces were added to the botanic garden along with an iron gate that surrounds it. A greenhouse was constructed. Decades later, it would become Antonio's professional home. During Antonio's lifetime, botanists were beginning to classify plants using Carl Linnaeus's classification method. Not every botanist agreed with this, but Cavanilles was quick to jump on the bandwagon. Under his direction, the Madrid Botanical Garden became the center of botany for Spain and Europe. Antonio died three years after becoming the director of the garden. His early death prevented Cavanilles from finishing his book on the plants of the garden. It featured descriptions and drawings of the main species at the garden - many were the fruit of the great scientific expeditions of the 18th century. Four years later, after Antonio Cavanilles died, Napoleon would invade Spain, and the botanical torch would be passed to England and France - Spain's botanical golden age was over. Today the Madrid Botanical Garden is home to over a 100,000 plant species and roughly 1,500 trees. 1920 (100 years ago!) Prohibition began in the U.S., and many people became interested in learning about fermentation overnight. You might be curious to know how vintners handled the challenge of prohibition. Well, instead of making wine, they made wine bricks. Wine bricks were essentially grape concentrate. Some cities and towns even went so far as to ban wine bricks. The city of Richmond Virginia band them, and in an article from 1931, the Attorney General had to do his duty. The law does not differentiate between the person who buys wine bricks for the delicious fruit juice in them and the person who maliciously tampers with them in such a way as to produce a forbidden beverage. No chances must be taken. Every Virginian must be protected against himself. Wine bricks were marketed as a way to make your own grape juice, but of course, everyone knew the real reason for the wine brick Market. And there was a little slogan that became popular during the wine brick era: "Hic! Hic! Here's the brick with the kick!" 1942 Today is the anniversary of the death of the movie star and homesteader Carole Lombard. Lombard died tragically when her plane crashed shortly after taking off from Las Vegas. Three years earlier, just before the premiere of Gone With the Wind, Carole had married Clark Gable. As newlyweds, Carole and Clark had bought a 21-acre estate - just 40 minutes outside of Beverly Hills. Instead of living glamorously, they turned the estate into a working farm. Lombard had sold her star sapphire collection to fund their dream. Carole set up all the crops they would grow, and she worked long hours on the ranch. They had an orchard/citrus grove, a dairy, and a vineyard, and the farm produced peaches, grapes, oranges, lemons, walnuts, apricots, hay, and alfalfa. They used the alfalfa they grew for feed. They sent their grapes to the local hospital. The Farmers Association marketed their citrus crop. Many biographies mention that Carole and Clark raised turkeys for MGM to use at its commissary. Carole bought Clark a tractor, and Clark enjoyed taking care of his two prized racehorses and the cattle. To top it all off: Carole and Clark called each other "Ma" and "Pa." They were really and truly living a farm fantasy. They even used kerosene lamps in their living room. They loved their simple life together on their ranch, and Carole loved watching things grow. 1948 Today is the anniversary of the death of the American Gardener and Garden writer Louisa Boyd Yeomans King. At the age of 26, she married a wealthy man from Chicago by the name of Frances King, which is why her pen name was Mrs. Francis King. Louisa learned to garden from her mother-in-law Aurelia. Her mother-in-law lived on a large estate, and she had a huge garden and an impressive garden library. In 1902, Louisa and her husband moved to Michigan, where they built a home called Orchard House. With the help of a gardener by the name of Frank Ackney, Louisa began to plan and create her garden. She also began writing about her Gardens. Soon, she was giving lectures, contributing pieces to magazines, writing columns, and organizing garden clubs. She even became friends with prominent gardeners of her time like Gertrude Jekyll, Charles Sprague Sargent, and the landscape architects Fletcher Steele and Ellen Biddle Shipman. Louisa learned to garden during the heyday of American Garden Culture, and her garden writing in newspaper columns and magazine publications made her the most widely read American Garden author in the United States. For Louisa's first book, "The Well-Considered Garden," the preface was written by her dear friend Gertrude Jekyll. In 1915, when the book debuted, it was considered an instant classic in garden literature. Louisa would go on to write a total of nine books. The garden estate known as Blithewold has a copy of "The Well-Considered Garden." Their particular text also contains a handwritten inscription along with Louisa's signature. The inscription borrows a quote from Sir William Temple who said, "Gardening is an enjoyment and a possession for which no man is too high or too low." Louisa changed the quote and wrote, "Gardening is an enjoyment and a possession for which no woman is too high or too low." In 1922, House & Garden Magazine dubbed Louisa, "The Fairy Godmother of Gardening." We know that the garden photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston was a fan of her work because she donated her entire collection of Louisa's books to the library at the New York Botanical Garden. Louisa helped start the Garden Club of America and the Women's National Farm and Garden Association. She held leadership positions in both organizations. When her husband died suddenly in 1927, Louisa was forced to sell Orchard House. She moved to Hartford, New York, and bought a property she called Kingstree. This time, she set up a smaller garden. The size meant less work, which better-accommodated her writing and speaking commitments. When Louisa died on this day in 1948, her ashes were scattered at Kingstree. It was Louisa Yeomans King who said, "Each has his most real thing. Mine is the garden." Unearthed Words Today's poems reflect on the harshness of January. The winter months can be in agony - if for no other reason than the biting cold. Thus the saying, "The blackest month in all the year Is the month of Janiveer." Another piece of winter lore says, "As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens." January and February are the coldest months of the year and the toughest for many people to get through. It's no wonder that people have vented their feelings about these two cold months through poetry. Where has thou been all the dumb winter days When neither sunlight was nor smile of flowers, Neither life, nor love, nor frolic, Only expanse melancholic, With never a note of thy exhilarating lays? — Alfred Austin, English Poet, Poet Laureate, "A Spring Carol," Soliloquies in Song [W]hat a severe yet master artist old Winter is... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel. — John Burroughs, American Naturalist, "The Snow-Walkers," 1866 It's January, and I'm kicking snow off the ground. I just threw out the flower you made me promise to water, handle with care because I was too careless, you said. Careless with things and people, around me and behind and I remember being still for just a second or two, thinking that it's so much easier to leave and start anew, then take care of what's already here. ― Charlotte Eriksson, Author, The Glass Child January, month of empty pockets! let us endure this evil month, anxious as a theatrical producer's forehead. — Sidonie Gabrielle Colette, French Author, Nominated for Nobel Prize January gray is here, Like a sexton by her grave; February bears the bier, March with grief doth howl and rave, And April weeps—but, O ye hours! Follow with May's fairest flowers. — Percy Bysshe Shelley, English Romantic Poet, Dirge for the Year Grow That Garden Library Murder Most Florid by Mark Spencer The subtitle to this book is: Inside the Mind of a Forensic Botanist Mark is a passionate plantsman, and he's a champion of plants and the study of Botany. Mark is also passionate about connecting people with the natural world. Creating a niche for himself, Mark is a consultant botanist who specializes in Forensic Botany as well as the history of botany. Murder Most Florid is a book where Mark shows us how plants and the environment can help investigators solve crimes. Mark didn't train to become a forensic botanist. He became one through an accidental event in his life. It started with the phone call asking for help with a murder. Forensic Botany actually goes back to the early part of the 20th century and was memorably used to convict the kidnapper of the Lindbergh baby. "Murder Most Florid is an enthralling, first-person account that follows Mark's unconventional and unique career, one that takes him to woodlands, wasteland, and roadsides, as well as police labs, to examine the botanical evidence of serious crimes. From unearthing a decomposing victim from brambles to dissecting the vegetation of a shallow grave, Mark's botanical knowledge can be crucial to securing a conviction. More widely, this gripping book challenges our attitude to death and response to crime. It picks holes in the sensationalized depictions of policing we see on TV and asks pertinent questions about public sector funding in the face of rising crime. Most importantly, Mark's book shows us how the ancient lessons of botanical science can still be front and center in our modern, DNA-obsessed world." And before I forget, let me just tell you that there is a fantastic video podcast of Mark presenting to the Linnaean Society Where he's been a fellow for over 20 years. Mark is an honorary curator at the Linnaeus society's herbarium. He has worked for over a decade at the Natural History Museum in London. In this presentation, Mark talks about the book and his work. I thought it was fascinating. If you get a chance to watch it, you really should. I have created a link to it in today's show notes. Great Gifts for Gardeners 5 Pack 12 Inches Tree Branch Hooks, S Shape Hooks - Metal Hanger Hook for Hanging Bird Feeders, Baskets, Plants, Lanterns and Ornaments (Black): Garden & Outdoor $13.99

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Today's Botanic Spark Despite the fact that we're in the middle of January and it's so cold, and our gardens are buried under many feet of snow, The days are getting longer. The good news is that the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, is behind us. It took place on December 21st. In January, each day gains about 2minutes of daylight. In February, we gain about 2.5 minutes of sunlight each day. Here are some thoughts on the lengthening days by the English poet, novelist, and garden designer Vita Sackville-West: "The shortest day has passed, and whatever nastiness of weather we may look forward to in January and February, at least we notice that the days are getting longer. Minute by minute, they lengthen out. It takes some weeks before we become aware of the change. It is imperceptible even as the growth of a child, as you watch it day by day until the moment comes when with a start of delighted surprise, we realize that we can stay out of doors in a twilight lasting for another quarter of a precious hour." The next Winter Solstice will take place in the northern hemisphere on Monday, December 21st, 2020, at 4:02 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Today we celebrate a bryologist who Asa Gray called, "a noble fellow" and the botanist who, along with his wife, helped found the New York Botanic Garden in the Bronx. We'll learn about one of the first and most prolific professional female garden photographers and the female botanist with a mountain named in her honor. Today's Unearthed Words feature poetry that's all about using our imagination and memory when it comes to our gardens in the dead of winter. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us appreciate our garden through our senses during all four seasons. I'll talk about a garden item that is cute and functional and can be used outside of the garden as well, and then we'll wrap things up with the anniversary of the opening of the museum that was started with the estate of the botanist Sir Hans Sloane. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Gardening with Dave Allan: Scent in the winter garden | HeraldScotland Here are some great suggestions from Dave Allan about sweetly scented flowering shrubs for your Winter Garden:

• Take the small cream flowers of shrubby Lonicera fragrantissima(Common Name: sweet breath of spring): They suffuse the air with compelling fragrance. You know they're frustratingly close but sometimes must act as a sniffer dog to track them down, hidden in a tangle of leaf-stripped twigs.
• I can't see beyond Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn.'It's always a joy to have a whiff every time I pass by on the way up to the duck run. A flush of little buds readily replaces any that have been blasted brown by frost and snow. Viburnum farreri and V. tinus also faithfully flower from November to February.
• I'm thinking of shrubs like Mahonia japonica and M. x media (Common Name: Oregon grape-holly). These evergreens do boast highly scented sprays of the tiniest yellow buttons, so don't banish them to the gloomiest corner just because they're tough woodland edge plants. Why not plant them where you'll actually see them?

6 must-visit garden shows for 2020 From House Beautiful (ww.housebeautiful.com) | @hb: "What are the best British garden shows to visit in 2020? From the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show to fringe events like Seedy Sunday, these gardening events are perfect for the green-fingered horticultural lover, regardless of whether you're a budding beginner or a seasoned pro." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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 1803Today is the birthday of William Starling Sullivant. Sullivant was born to the founding family of Franklinton, Ohio. His father, Lucas, was a surveyor and had named the town in honor of the recently deceased Benjamin Franklin. The settlement would become Columbus. In 1823, William Sullivant graduated from Yale College. His father would die in August of that same year. Sullivant took over his father's surveying business, and at the age of thirty, he began to study and catalog the plant life in Central Ohio. In 1840, Sullivant published his flora, and then he started to hone in on his calling: mosses. Bryology is the study of mosses. The root, bryōs, is a Greek verb meaning to swell. It's the etymology of the word embryo. Bryology will be easier to remember if you think of the ability of moss to swell as it takes on water. As a distinguished bryologist, Sullivant not only studied and cataloged various mosses from across the United States, but also from as far away as Central America, South America, and from various islands in the Pacific Ocean. Mosses suited Sullivant's strengths, requiring patience and close observation, scrupulous accuracy, and discrimination. His first work, Musci Alleghanienses, was: "exquisitely prepared and mounted, and with letterpress of great perfection; ... It was not put on sale, but fifty copies were distributed with a free hand among bryologists and others who would appreciate it." In 1864, Sullivant published his magnum opus, Icones Muscorum. With 129 truly excellent illustrations and descriptions of the mosses indigenous to eastern North America, Icones Muscorum fixed Sulivant's reputation as the pre-eminent American bryologist of his time. In 1873, Sullivant contracted pneumonia - ironically, an illness where your lungs fill or swell with fluid - and he died on April 30, 1873. During the last four decades of his life, Sullivant exchanged letters with Asa Gray. It's no wonder, then, that he left his herbarium of some 18,000 moss specimens to Gray's beloved Harvard University. When Sullivant was still living, Gray summoned his curator at Cambridge, Leo Lesquereux, (pronounced "le crew"), to help Sullivant, he wrote to his friend and botanist John Torrey: "They will do up bryology at a great rate. Lesquereux says that the collection and library of Sullivant in muscology are Magnifique, superb, and the best he ever saw.'" On December 6, 1857, Gray wrote to Hooker, "A noble fellow is [William Starling] Sullivant, and deserves all you say of him and his works. The more you get to know of him, the better you will like him." In 1877, four years after Sullivant's death, Asa Gray wrote to Charles Darwin. Gray shared that Sullivant was his "dear old friend" and that, "[Sullivant] did for muscology in this country more than one man is likely ever to do again." The Sullivant Moss Society, which became the American Bryological and Lichenological Society, was founded in 1898 and was named for William Starling Sullivant. 1859Today is the birthday of the American botanist and taxonomist Nathaniel Lord Britton. Britton married the famous bryologist Elizabeth Gertrude Knight. Together, they used Kew Gardens in London as their inspiration for the New York Botanical Garden. An obituary of Britton, written by the botanist Henry Rusby shared this charming anecdote - an exchange that happened some few years back between Nathaniel and Henry: "Attracted one day, by the beauty of some drawings that lay before him, I inquired as to their source. When told that he, himself, was the artist, I asked in astonishment, 'Can you draw like that?' 'Of course,' he said. 'What you suppose I did all that hard work in the drawing class for?'" 1864Today is the birthday of Frances Benjamin Johnston - who always went by Fannie. Fanny was a photographer, and she took the portraits of many famous people during her career. Some of her famous subjects included Mark Twain, Susan B Anthony, Booker T. Washington, and Teddy Roosevelt. In 1897 the magazine Ladies Home Journal featured in an article that was written by Fanny called "What a Woman Can Do with a Camera." But gardeners should also know the name Frances Benjamin Johnston because Fannie also took incredible photos of gardens - public and private - during the early to mid part of the 1900s. Her garden photography of the elite was used in magazines and periodicals like House Beautiful and Country Life. And Fannie went around the country using lantern slides of gardens as visual aids for her lectures on topics like "The Orchids of the White House," "American Gardens," and "Problems of the Small Gardener," to name a few. One newspaper account said Fannie, "presented with the enthusiasm of a true garden lover." Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. wrote that Fannie's photographs were "the finest existing on the subject of American gardens." Over her career, Fannie was recognized as one of the first female press photographers in America. And if you're a gardening cat lover, you'll be pleased to know she had two cats; Fannie named them Herman and Vermin. 1923 Today is the anniversary of the death of Sara Plummer Lemmon. Lemmon is remembered for her successful 1903 piece of legislation that nominated the golden poppy (Eschscholzia californica) as the state flower of California. Asa Gray named the genus Plummera in honor of Sara Plummer Lemmon. Plummera is yellow wildflowers in the daisy family, and they bloom from July through September in southeastern Arizona. Lemmon and her husband, John Gill Lemmon, were both botanists. Her husband always went by his initials JG. Although Sara partnered equally with her husband on their work in botany, their papers were always published with the credentials "J.G. Lemmon & Wife." The Lemmons had found each other late in life in California. They had both suffered individually during the civil war. John was taken prisoner at Andersonville. He barely survived, and his health was impacted for the rest of his life. Sara had worked herself ragged - tending wounded soldiers in New York - while teaching. In 1881, when Sara was 45 years old, the Lemmons took a honeymoon trip to Arizona. They called it their "botanical wedding trip." The Lemmons rode a train to Tucson along with another passenger - President Rutherford B. Hayes. When they arrived, the Lemmons set off for the Santa Catalina Mountains. In Elliot's history of Arizona, he recounts the difficulty in climbing the mountain range: "The Lemmons often sat on the stone porch of their cave and dug the thorns and spines out of their hands and feet." Once, they saw, " . . . a lion so large he carried a huge buck away without dragging feet or antlers." When they returned to Tucson unsuccessful and discouraged, they were told to meet a rancher named Emerson Oliver Stratton. Thanks to Stratton, they were able to ascend the Catalinas from the backside. When they arrived at the summit, Stratton was so impressed with Sara's drive and demeanor he named the mountain in her honor - Mount Lemmon. Sara was the first woman to climb the Catalinas. Twenty-five years later, in 1905, the Lemmons returned to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. When they climbed the Catalina's in celebration, Stratton was again at their side, helping them retrace the steps of their "botanical wedding trip" to the top of Mount Lemmon. Unearthed Words Today we hear some poetry about the importance of using imagination and memory in regards to our gardens during the winter months. From December to March, there are for many of us three gardens - the garden outdoors, the garden of pots and bowls in the house, and the garden of the mind's eye. — Katherine S. White, Garden Author Soon will set in the fitful weather, with fierce gales and sullen skies and frosty air, and it will be time to tuck up safely my roses and lilies and the rest for their winter sleep beneath the snow, where I never forget them, but ever dream of their wakening in happy summers yet to be. — Celia Thaxter, American Poet & Storyteller Of winter's lifeless world each tree Now seems a perfect part; Yet each one holds summer's secret Deep down within its heart. — Dr. Charles Garfield Stater, Methodist Pastor & West Virginian Poet, Buckwheat Fields, and Brush Fences Gardeners, like everyone else, live second by second and minute by minute. What we see at one particular moment is then and there before us. But there is a second way of seeing. Seeing with the eye of memory, not the eye of our anatomy, calls up days and seasons past, and years gone by. — Allen Lacy, Garden Writer In winter's cold and sparkling snow, The garden in my mind does grow. I look outside to blinding white, And see my tulips blooming bright. And over there a sweet carnation, Softly scents my imagination. On this cold and freezing day, The Russian sage does gently sway, And miniature roses perfume the air, I can see them blooming there. Though days are short, my vision's clear. And through the snow, the buds appear. In my mind, clematis climbs, And morning glories do entwine. Woodland phlox and scarlet pinks, Replace the frost, if I just blink. My inner eye sees past the snow. And in my mind, my garden grows. — Cynthia Adams, Winter Garden, Birds and Blooms magazine, Dec/Jan 2003 Grow That Garden Library Cultivating Delight by Diane Ackerman This book came out in 2002, and the subtitle to Cultivating Delight is "A Natural History of My Garden. This book was the sequel to Diane's bestseller, "A Natural History of the Senses." In this book, Diane celebrates the sensory pleasures of her garden through the seasons in the same vein as Tovah Martin's "The Garden in Every Sense and Season." Diane is a poet, essayist, and naturalist, and she writes in lyrical and sensuous prose. Let me give you an example. Here's how Diane starts her section on spring: "One day, when the last snows have melted, the air tastes tinny and sweet for the first time in many months.That's settled tincture of new buds, sap, and loam; I've learned to recognize as the first whiff of springtime.Suddenly a brown shape moves in the woods, then blasts into sight as it clears the fence at the bottom of the yard. A beautiful doe, with russet flanks and nimble legs, she looks straight at me as I watch from the living room window, then she drops her gaze." The Boston Globe praised this book, saying Ackerman has done it again... one of the most buoyant and enjoyable garden reads... uplifting and intelligent. The New York Times review said: "Understated elegance, lush language, historical and scientific nuggets, artful digressions, and apt quotations, Ackerman's book reminds us that we, too, can make our paradise here and that tranquility can be achieved by contemplating the petals of a rose." You can get a used copy of Cultivating Delight by Diane Ackerman and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $2. Great Gifts for Gardeners DII Men and Women Kitchen Shamrock Green Buffalo Check Apron, Green and White Buffalo Check $14.99 I have a thing for aprons. I love looking for them. I like to have my student gardeners use them, and I often get a set of aprons to bring to family gatherings. They make for cute pictures of us all working in the kitchen together. This year for the garden, I found this adorable shamrock-green buffalo-check apron, and it's perfect for my student gardeners. It has a little pocket in the front for their phones, and it's so cheerful. 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Today's Botanic Spark 1759The British Museum opened. (261 years ago). The British Museum was founded in 1753 when Sir Hans Sloane left his entire collection to the country of England. At first glance, a personal collection doesn't sound worthy of starting a museum. But over his lifetime, Sloane ended up becoming a one-man repository for all things relating to the natural world. Sloane outlived many of the explorers and collectors of his day, and as they would die, they would bequeath him there herbariums and collections. So when Sloane passed away, he essentially had become the caretaker of the world's Natural History, aka the British Museum. Today the British Museum is the largest indoor space captured by Google Street View. Google mapped the museum in November of 2015, and so it's now available online to all of us. When your friends ask you what you're doing, you can say, "I'm going to tour the British Museum. What are you up to?"

Today we celebrate the Father of Paleobotany and the botanical illustrator honored by King Charles X. We'll learn about the botanical painter who got sick of painting flowers (he'd painted 800 of them) and the botanical illustrator who worked for Curtis's Botanical Magazine and Kew Gardens. Today's Unearthed Words feature the hidden (and often unappreciated) transformations happening in our garden during January. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us understand plant physiology through an intimate and entertaining memoir. I'll talk about a garden item that can help you propagate your house plants, and then we'll wrap things up with the birth flowers of January. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Horniman Museum's gardener Wes Shaw - Gardens Illustrated Horniman Gardens, Forest Hill, London - Spotlight: Wes Shaw "The last place that blew me away was GARDENS BY THE BAY in Singapore. Amazing conservatories, landscaping & planting - taking horticulture to a new level. While I was there, I saw gardeners abseiling down the side of green walls and volunteers using tweezers to pick over the beds. Gardens should continuously change and evolve. I never see the point of keeping something looking the same as it did at some point in the past. What's the next big project task you'll be tackling in the garden? We are planning a Winter Garden for an area of the Horniman Gardens that needs a bit of a refresh." High Society: The Expert's Guide To Alpines Here's a great post from @AlysFowler featuring Richard Wilford - an alpine lover and head of design and collection support at the Royal Botanic Gardens @KewGardens. "What Richard doesn't know about alpines isn't worth knowing. 'We've got a very tall house to grow some very small plants' he jokes. Alpines are surprisingly easy and hardy and perfect for tricky corners and small plots. As their name suggests, alpines are from areas of high elevation, so they love full sun, cool roots, and cold nights." Check out Richard Wilford's Five Easy Alpines: Sempervivum: will grow on sunny rocks, cracks in walls, and stony places. Put a little compost into the niches first, then nudge them in. Alpine pinks Dianthus alpinus: a tiny mat-forming evergreen with bright pink flowers. It likes free-draining conditions and suits pots, gravel path edges, and window boxes. Erinus alpinus, or alpine balsam: forms neat rosettes of narrow leaves and loves crevices. Campanula cochlearifolia (fairy thimbles or ear leaf flowers): Nodding blue flowers - Keep its feet well-drained. Phlox douglasii: A low-growing perennial - it grows in dry woodlands. It needs a dry winter, but good drainage and a sheltered spot by a wall will work. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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 1801 Today is the birthday of the French botanist and the Father of Paleobotany Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart ("Bron-yahr"). Adolphe-Théodore was born in Paris. His father, Alexander, was a geologist. There's no doubt his father's work helped Adolphe-Théodore become a pioneer in the field of paleobotany. A paleobotanist is someone who works with fossil plants. Plants have been living on the planet for over 400 million years. So, there are plenty of fossil plants to study and catalog. As one of the most prominent botanists of the 19th century, Adolphe-Théodore worked to classify fossil plant forms, and he did so even before Charles Darwin. Adolphe-Théodore's work provided content for his book on the history of plant fossils in 1828. Adolphe-Théodore published his masterpiece when he was just 27 years old. Adolphe-Théodore's writing brought him notoriety and gave him the moniker "Father of Paleobotany." He was also called the "Linnaeus of Fossil Plants." Adolphe-Théodore was not so much a fossil plant discover as he was a fossil plant organizer. He put fossil plants in order and applied principles for distinguishing them. In 1841, at the age of 40, Adolphe-Théodore received the Wollaston Medal for his work with fossil plants. It is the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. It must have made his father, Alexander, very proud. Adolphe-Théodore was a professor at the Paris Museum of Natural History. He was the backfill for Andre Michaux, who had left to explore the flora of North America. Adolphe-Théodore's wife died young. They had two boys together, and when Adolphe-Théodore died, he died in the arms of his eldest son. 1825 King Charles X honored the Belgian botanical illustrator Pierre-Joseph Redouté with the Legion of Honor. To this day, Redouté is one of the most renowned flower painters of all time. Redouté was born into a Flemish family of painters. Growing up, his family supported themselves by creating paintings for the home and for the church. Redouté was an official court draftsman to Queen Marie Antoinette. One evening around midnight, she summoned him to appear before her, and she asked him to paint her a cactus. She was exerting her control; she wanted to see if Redouté was as talented as was reported. (He was.) Redouté also became a favorite of Josephine Bonaparte. Redouté's paintings of her flowers at Malmaison are among his most beautiful works. Today, Redouté is best known for his paintings of lilies and roses. Roses were his specialty. And, Redouté's work earned him a nickname; he was known as "the Raffaele of flowers.". Now, if you'd like to really treat yourself or get a special gift or a gardener in your life, you should check out the book by Werner Dressendorfer called Redouté: Selection of the Most Beautiful Flowers. This is a large coffee table book. It is probably one of the most beautiful books I've ever seen; again, it's called Redoute: A Selection of the Most Beautiful Flowers. This book came out in September of 2018, and I finally just got myself a copy of it after mulling it over for over a year. the book features 144 paintings by Redouté that were published between 1827 and 1833. it's is truly one of my favorite books in my Botanical Library. When this book first came out, it retailed for $150. You can get new copies of Redouté: Selection of the Most Beautiful Flowers by Werner Dressendorfer and support the show - using the link in Today Show notes for $83. I managed to get an excellent used copy for $65. But, as I said, this is an investment piece, and it's also extraordinarily beautiful. I guarantee if you have this book sitting out, your visitors will be sure to comment, and they probably won't be able to resist looking through the beautiful paintings. Glorious. 1836 Today is the birthday of the botanical painter Henri Fantin-Latour (Fahn-tahn Lah-tur"). It's kind of humorous to me that we end up discussing Henri Fantin-LaTour today - right after Pierre Joseph Redoute - because Henri painted flowers as well. But, unlike Pierre Joseph Redoute, Henri got so sick of painting flowers that he could find no joy in doing it for the end of his career. All together, Henry painted well over 800 pictures of flowers over 32 years between 1864 and 1896. By the end of his career, the entire genre of still life flower painting was life-draining to him. He despised it. Yet, it's how he made a living, and many of his paintings bought to be displayed in homes. The painter James Whistler talked up Henri's work so much that his flower paintings were quite famous in England. In fact, during his lifetime, he was better known in England as a painter than he was in his native France. Henri also painted portraits, as well as group portraits of Parisian artists, and he even painted imaginative compositions. He enjoyed painting portraits and his other creative work more than painting flowers. But, it was always the flower paintings that sold, and so he kept painting them to support himself. 1892 Today is the anniversary of the death of the exceptionally talented Scottish botanical illustrator Walter Hood Fitch. He was 75 years old. Fitch was one of the most prolific botanical artists of all time. His illustrations were stunning, and he used vivid colors for his work. In 1834, Walter began working for William Hooker. Hooker was the editor of Curtis's Botanical Magazine. Walter's very first published plate was of a Mimulus Rose. He didn't know it then, but it was one down, and he had over 2,700 more to go. Hooker loved Walters's work because his paintings reflected the way the plants appeared in real life; they weren't fanciful or embellished, yet they were beautiful. In short order, Walter became the sole artist for the magazine. When Hooker became the director of Kew, the promotion meant moving to London. He talked Walter into moving, too. Pretty soon, Walter was not only making illustrations for the magazine but for everything published at Kew. At the end of his career, around the age of 60, Walter got into a disagreement with William Hooker's son, Joseph Dalton Hooker, over his pay. Walter left his post at Kew and became a freelancer. During his lifetime, Walter created over 12,000 illustrations that found their way to publication in various works. Unearthed Words There is a famous saying, slow as molasses in January. We often think nothing is happening in our gardens during the winter, As Alfred Austin said in his poem, Primroses (Primula vulgaris): Pale January lay In its cradle day by day Dead or living, hard to say. But this belief that January is a dead time in the garden… well, nothing could be further from the truth. Today's Unearthed Words are all about the productivity that takes place in our gardens in January. January is the quietest month in the garden. ... But just because it looks quiet doesn't mean that nothing is happening. The soil, open to the sky, absorbs the pure rainfall while microorganisms convert tilled-under fodder into usable nutrients for the next crop of plants. The feasting earthworms tunnel along, aerating the soil and preparing it to welcome the seeds and bare roots to come. — Rosalie Muller Wright, Editor, Sunset Magazine Nature looks dead in winter because her life is gathered into her heart. She withers the plant down to the root that she may grow it up again, fairer and stronger. She calls her family together within her inmost home to prepare them for being scattered abroad upon the face of the earth. — Hugh Macmillan, Scottish Minister & Naturalist, 1871 Over the land freckled with snow half-thawed The speculating rooks at their nests cawed And saw from elm tops, delicate as flower of grass, What we below could not see, Winter pass. — Edward Thomas, British Poet "You think I am dead," The apple tree said, "Because I never have a leaf to show- Because I stoop, And my branches droop, And the dull gray mosses over me grow! But I'm still alive in trunk and shoot; The buds of next May I fold away- But I pity the withered grass at my root." "You think I am dead," The quick grass said, "Because I have parted with stem and blade! But under the ground, I am safe and sound With the snow's thick blanket over me laid. I'm all alive, and ready to shoot, Come dancing here- But I pity the flower without branch or root." "You think I am dead," A soft voice said, "Because not a branch or root I own. I have never died, but close I hide In a plumy seed that the wind has sown. Patient, I wait through the long winter hours; You will see me again- I shall laugh at you then, Out of the eyes of a hundred flowers." — Edith Matilda Thomas, American Poet Grow That Garden Library A Garden of Marvels by Ruth Kassinger The subtitle to this book is: How We Discovered that Flowers Have Sex, Leaves Eat Air, and Other Secrets of Plants This book came out in April of 2015. Ruth Kassinger didn't always have a green thumb. in this book, she'll tell you that until she completely understood how plants actually worked, she couldn't know precisely what they needed. Her story starts this way, "This book was born of a murder, a murder I committed." The victim - it turns out-was a beloved kumquat tree. Ruth had decided to prune it. Her efforts made the tree turn brittle and brown. It made her wonder: Why did the kumquat die when a rose bush and a crepe myrtle that was pruned the very same way were both thriving? The dilemma is what made Ruth begin a quest to understand more about plant physiology. This book is part memoir and part science-class. Ruth writes with a friendly voice. This book is a beautiful way to learn basic botany - the marvel of flowers, roots, stems, and leaves. While we're learning botany from Ruth, we also get to know her personal stories. Ruth shares how she learned to become a better gardener. Initially, Ruth made the same mistakes we all make: over-watering, under fertilizing, making untrue assumptions about what plants need. You can get a used copy of A Garden of Marvels by Ruth Kassinger and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $5. Great Gifts for Gardeners 3-Bulb Vase (Plant Terrarium) with Wooden Stand Retro Wooden Frame -3 Glass Plant Vases - for Desktop Rustic wood and vintage design, these decorative glass vases are perfect for propagating plants like hoya, pathos, Swedish Ivy, etc. It is a gorgeous plant prop for your home. The frame is made of natural wood, mottled surface; three bulb vases are made of High boron silicon heat resistant glass. The wooden stand size : 5.5"H x 11" W x 4" D; Each vase : 3.74 H x 2.75 W; Opening – 1 inch Diameter. Perfect for the desktop, in office, or home. Accessories complete- Easy to set up - ready for water (the hexagon screwdriver and screws are included). Today's Botanic Spark January's birth flowers are the carnation and snowdrop. Let's take a moment to celebrate both. Carnations Carnations are some of the world's oldest flowers. They have been cultivated for over 2000 years. The Greeks and Romans used them and garlands Carnations are part of the Dianthus family. Their Latin name is Dianthus caryophyllus. The etymology of the word Dianthus is from two Greek words. Dios means Divine, and Anthos means Flower. And, the translation of dianthus means "Flower of the Gods." Carnations have different meanings based on their color. White carnations symbolize good luck and pure love. Pink carnations represent admiration, and a dark red carnation represents affection and love. Snowdrops January's other birth flower is the Snowdrop (Galanthus). Snowdrops were named by Carl Linnaeus, who gave them the Latin name Galanthus nivalis, which means "milk flower of the snow." Snowdrop is a common name. They were also known as Candlemas Veils because they typically bloom around Candlemas or February 2nd. Snowdrops are an indicator flower signaling the transition from winter into spring. Thus, the meaning of a Snowdrop blossom is Hope. The word Galanthophile is the name given to people who love snowdrops. And here's a Fun Fact: a substance extracted from snowdrops is used to treat Alzheimer's Disease.

Today we celebrate the woman who has been called the greatest painter of plants and insects who ever lived and the birthday of a man who is remembered in the name of one of the most ubiquitous garden plants. We'll learn about an Austrian-American plant explorer who grew to feel his "real" home was in China, and we'll learn about today's tradition: Plough Monday - the first Monday after the 12 days of Christmas. Today's Unearthed Words feature sweet poetry from a little-known woman who lived in Concord Massachusetts; she was a suffragist, animal rights activist, and American poet. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us turn our gardens into a sanctuary for restoration and healing. I'll talk about a simple garden item that serves a great purpose and looks great with a simple terra cotta pot, and then we'll wrap things up with an article from the 1930s about how to propagate a popular houseplant through air layering. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Around the World in Rare and Beautiful Apples - Gastro Obscura Here's a post about William Mullan, who takes gorgeous photos of Rare and Beautiful Apples. His images will open your eyes to the wider spectrum of varieties of the fruit known as apples. The giants of Cornell - Cornell College Here is an excellent post - actually, it's a "Tree-tise." Professor of History Catherine Stewart visited eight trees on the hilltop at Cornell College & wrote about each- imagining what they might tell us if they could speak. Her words appear with each tree. Catherine's post features the Cottonwood, the Redbud (Cercis spp.), the Blue Spruce, Larches, Magnolia, Ginkgo, and White Ash. Here's one of her entries. It is for the Blue Spruce: Botanical name: Picea pungens ("Pie-SEA-ah PUN-gins"). Locations: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is west of King Chapel. A second blue spruce that has been noted for its size is in front of Armstrong Hall. Identification: The blue spruce has a pyramidal shape with horizontal, dense branches with sharp blue needles. The bark is silver, grey, and brown with vertical scales. Known for: Providing homes to wildlife in the winter. Then Catherine writes: Most likely to assist you with time travel if you look long enough, and lean in, and breathe in the elixir of its scent. Take a moment and "Tree-t" yourself - by reading this wonderful article. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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 1717 Today is the anniversary of the death of the naturalist and botanical illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian. She was born on April 2, 1647. As a frame of reference, Isaac Newton was only a few years older than her. Unlike Newton, Merian's work was largely forgotten over time. However, during the past century, her work has made its way to us. In 2011, Janet Dailey, a retired teacher, and artist from Springfield, Illinois, became so captivated by Merian's life story that she started a Kickstarter campaign to follow Merian's footsteps to the mecca of her best work - Surinam, in South America. And, in 2013, Merian's birthday was commemorated with a "Google Doodle." Merian would have delighted in our modern-day effort to plant milkweed for the Monarchs. The concept that insects and plants are inextricably bound together was not lost on Merian. In her work, she carefully noted which caterpillars were specialists - the ones that ate only one kind of plant. (You can relate to that concept if your kid only wants to eat Mac and cheese; Hey - they aren't picky - they're specialists.) For centuries, drawings like Merian's were a holy grail for plant identification. One look at Merian's work, and Linneaus immediately knew it was brilliant. Merian helped classify nearly 100 different species long after she was gone from the earth. To this day, entomologists acknowledge that the accuracy in her art is so good they can identify many of her butterflies and moths right down to the species level! Between 1716 and 1717, during the last year of her life, Merian was visited multiple times by her friend, artist Georg Gsell - and his friend Peter the Great. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for THAT meetup. Gsell ended up marrying Merian's youngest daughter, Dorothea Maria, and Peter the Great ended up with 256 Merian paintings. In fact, Peter the Great so loved Merian's paintings, that when she died shortly after his last visit, he quickly sent an agent to buy up every one of her remaining watercolors. The agent was on the case. He bought her entire collection and then promptly brought all of them back to St. Petersburg where they remain to this day. 1761 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Austrian botanist and physician Nicolaus Thomas Host. Host was the physician to the Austrian emperor in Vienna. The genus Hosta was named for Host by Austrian botanist Leopold Trattinnick in 1812. Hostas were brought to Europe by the Dutch nurseryman Philipp Franz Von Siebold. He had visited Japan and brought specimens back to his Leiden Nursery. This is why Hosta Sieboldiana is a famous prefix to so many hosta varieties. Hostas are dependable and tough. They are undemanding herbaceous perennials that give us lush greenery in shady spots. Hostas belong to the Asparagaceae family along with Asparagus, Agave, Lily of the Valley, Sansevieria, Yucca, and Hyacinth. The common name for hosta is plantain lilies - they used to belong to the lily family. Nicholas Host died in 1834. 1884 Today is the birthday of the renowned Austrian-American botanist and explorer Joseph Rock. Joseph was born in Austria but ended up immigrating to the United States and eventually settled in Hawaii, where he was beloved. Joseph became Hawaii's first official botanist. He started teaching as a professor of Botany at the University of Hawaii in 1911. he also served as a botanist for the Hawaiian territorial Board of agriculture. He served in these capacities during his first 13 years in Hawaii and then got about the business of exploring China, which was his primary passion. He left Honolulu in 1920. He always said that he considered China to be his "real" home, "Where life is not governed by the ticking of the clock but by the movement of celestial bodies." Joseph spent much of his adult life - more than 20 years - in southwestern China. There were many instances where he was the first explorer to enter many of the locations he visited. Joseph became so embedded in the country that there were many times that his counterparts in other parts of the world thought that he might have died in the Tibetan or Yunnan ("YOU-nan") mountains. After World War II, Joseph had to be evacuated by plane from the Yunnan province. Joseph recounted many hair-raising stories from his time in China. One time he had collected plants along the base of Mount Gongga ("Gan-GAH") in China's Tibetan Borderland. Mount Gongga is known as "The King of Sichuan ("SITCH-ooh- an") Mountains. One spring, Joseph had great luck collecting around the base of Mount Gongga. When he returned in the fall, Joseph asked the tribal King for permission to go as far as the foot of the peak. Halfway up Mount Gongga, a runner caught up to Joseph and his guides with a letter from the King. Apparently, after their first collecting trip, a severe hail storm had destroyed the fields of the tribe that lived near the mountain range. The tribe blamed the catastrophe on Joseph Rock and his party. They believed that the deity of the mountains was not pleased; the tribe considered the mountains to be sacred. If Joseph and his party were to continue up the mountain, they would certainly be killed. The King requested that Joseph abort the trip - which he did. In addition to plants, Joseph had a knack for languages. He cataloged and transcribed Chinese manuscripts and actually wrote a dictionary of one of the tribal languages. He had an enormous intellect and was multi-talented. In addition to being a botanist, he was a linguist. He was also regarded as a world-expert cartographer, ornithologist, and anthropologist. From a gardening standpoint, it was Joseph Rock who first introduced blight-resistant Chestnut trees to America. He had sourced them in China, and he also brought us more than 700 species of rhododendron. Some of his original rhododendron seeds were successfully grown in the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. How could we ever thank him enough for that? In the year before Joseph died, he was granted an honorary doctor of Science degree from the University of Hawaii. He died at the age of 79. 2020 Well, it's official, the holidays are over - today is Plough Monday. Plough Monday is regarded as the traditional start to the agricultural year and the official end to the holiday season. Plough Monday is always the first Monday after the 12th night of Christmas, and it represented "men's work". For centuries, Plough Monday represented the day that agricultural workers returned to the fields after resting over the Christmas season. On Plough Monday, farmers would bring their ploughs to church so that they could be blessed. Unearthed Words 1847 Today is the birthday of the suffragist, animal rights activist, and American poet Hannah Rebecca Hudson. Not much is known about the life of Hannah Hudson, but gardeners love her poetry. Hannah's beloved poem called "April," was featured in The Atlantic Monthly, April 1868: "April has searched the winter land And found her petted flowers again She kissed them to unfold her leaves, She coaxed them with her sun and rain, And filled the grass with green content, And made the woods and clover vain." — Her crocuses and violets Give all the world a gay "Good year." Tall irises grow tired of green, And get themselves a purple gear; — She fills the dusk of deepest woods With vague sweet sunshine and surprise, And wakes the periwinkles up To watch her with their wide, blue eyes. — And when she sees the deeper suns That usher in the happy May, She sighs to think her time is past, And weeps because she cannot stay; So leaves her tears upon the grass, And turns her face and glides away. In 1874, when she was 27, Hannah published a book of her original poetry. Hannah was a charter member of the Woburn Women's Club. At the age of 74, Hannah died sitting at her aunt's kitchen table in Woburn, Massachusetts. Hannah is buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts. Grow That Garden Library Creating Sanctuary by Jessi Bloom This book is a favorite of mine. Rosemary Gladstar, the herbalist and author, said this about Jessi's book: "In this beautiful, inspiring, and practical book, we are invited to look deeply at the landscape around us and create sacred respites from our busy worlds." Creating Sanctuary is about creating a garden that will nourish your spiritual and emotional well-being. Jessi's beautiful book is chock full of ideas. She will help you discover ways to have a deeper connection with your garden. You'll discover the powerful and beneficial properties of plants, and learn how to incorporate nature-based routines and rituals. With the help of Jessi's book, you can turn your garden into a sanctuary - a place of true restoration for your mind, body, and soul. Jessi's book came out in November of 2018. You can get a used copy of Creating Sanctuary by Jessi Bloom and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $10. Great Gifts for Gardeners 6 Pack of Plant Saucers - 2.5 Inch Bamboo Round Plant Saucer $9.99 Bamboo (Bambuseae)

• Edge Design: a slightly raised edge, which is good for collecting excess water and soil spillage
• Natural Color: in natural wooden color, simple but beautiful, well match with most pots
• Good Material: made of bamboo, good quality, durable and lightweight
• Wide Suitable: suited for most 2.5-inch pots, the natural color can decorate the pot as well; Plants and pots not included in the order
• Size of the Plant Saucer: about 7.2 cm/ 2.8 inch of the outer diameter, 6.3 cm/ 2.5 inch of inner diameter, 1 cm/ 0.4 inch in height

You can get this 6 pack of bamboo plant saucers and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $10. Today's Botanic Spark 1935 Today the Pittsburgh Press shared a story about how to propagate a Rubber Plant. "Yes, you can get a new rubber plant by air-layering the old. To do this, a V-shaped cut is made in the branch, almost severing it. The cut should be made near the growing tip. A wedge is then inserted to keep the cut open. Bind the wound all around with sphagnum moss, tying with raffia or cord. Keep this bandage quite moist, never allowing it to dry out, and keep the plant in a warm place. In a month or six weeks, small white roots will appear. Then the new plant is cut from the parent and planted in a pot of Its own without removing the moss bandage. The place where it is cut from the large plant may be rubbed with a little dry sulfur, and it will quickly heal. The young plant in a five or six-inch pot should be kept shaded for a week when it may be brought into the light and watered. January to May is the time of the year most seasonable for this work, but it may be done with varying success the year-round." Rubber Plants (Ficus elastica) are a popular ornamental houseplant plant from the Ficus genus. For gardeners looking for a tree-type plant species with attractive large foliage, the Rubber Plant is an excellent choice. It is also a great low-light specimen. Water your rubber plant once a week and clean leaves monthly.

Today we celebrate the 17th-century renegade who wanted medicine through herbs to be accessible to the people and the Anniversary of the day Indian tea became available for sale in England. We will learn about the American landscape gardener whose superpower was framing a view and the English sculptor who famously said I am the landscape. Today's Unearthed Words feature words from Henry David Thoreau - It turns out it was super cold 164 years ago today. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that features a beloved poet gardener or gardener poet - whichever you prefer. I'll talk about a garden item that encourages experimentation and facilitates some indoor growing fun in your kitchen, and then we'll wrap things up with the first full moon event in 2020. It's happening today. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Winter Gardens | Flower Magazine The article features a beautiful, quiet winter garden with Charlotte Moss. A photo shows an urn standing like a sentry in the after-the-snowfall stillness of New York's Gramercy Park. "Reduced to a skeletal state, a garden in winter gives our imaginations an opportunity to explore those possibilities. It allows our eyes the chance to be a paintbrush devising new color schemes and filling in borders. On the other hand, we may choose to simply enjoy the bones of the pleached hedge, the peeling bark of the crape myrtle, remnants of bittersweet, and viburnum berries. Early morning walks reveal piles of oak leaves silver-plated with frost and holly trees standing boastful and defiant in a blaze of color." 'Forgotten' elm tree set to make a comeback - BBC News Good news for Elm trees. Karen Russell says, "With the right people in the right place and the funding, we can put elm back in the landscape. Mature specimens have been identified that are hundreds of years old, and have mysteriously escaped the epidemic. And a new generation of elm seedlings are being bred, which appear to be resistant to the disease." "More than 20 million trees died during the 1960s and 1970s from Dutch elm disease. In the aftermath, the elm was largely forgotten, except among a handful of enthusiasts who have been breeding elite elms that can withstand attack." Elm Facts:

• Known for its beauty, the elm has been captured in paintings by the likes of John Constable, while Henry VIII's warship, lost in 1545, was built partly from elm.
• Signs of Dutch elm disease include dead leaves on the tree, yellowing or other discoloration in autumn or spring and wilting leaves and young shoots
• Dutch elm disease is caused by a fungus spread by a bark beetle.

Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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 1654 Today is the anniversary of the death of the English physician, botanist, and herbalist Nicholas Culpeper. Culpepper was a non-conformist, and he was also a business owner. Ten years before his death, he found a spot in East London and open the doors to his own apothecary. Culpeper catered to the needs of the people. He took medical books that were written mainly in Latin and translated them into English. the masses were grateful. The medical community wasn't excited about this, and neither were the universities who had a monopoly on training doctors and holding medical information for their paying students. Culpeper wrote one of the first books about the medicinal use of herbs. It was comprehensive and helpful, and for years, it was a sought-after resource. The book was initially known as the English physician, but in the ensuing years, it became known as The Complete Herbal or Culpeper's Herbal. For each herb and plant he featured, Culpeper provided both the Latin and the common name. He also told people where to find the plant, when it flowered, the astrological connections, and how the plant could be used medicinally. Culpeper provided this information for almost 400 different herbs and plants - and in so doing, he revolutionized the medical world. 1839 Today is the day that Indian tea became available to the British people. Unlike the tea from China, Britain was entirely in charge of Indian tea - from the planting to the exportation - and as a result, Indian tea was cheaper than tea from China. The Brits went wild for it, and they drank tea every day. It wasn't long before tea became the official national drink of England. Of course, none of this would have happened without Robert Fortune. Fortune drew the attention of The British East India Company, and they sent him to China. Fortune had a particular mission: get tea plants and figure out how to make tea for drinking. The English only knew what the final tea product looked like - they had no idea how it was made. Fortune traveled to China incognito, dressed like a Mandarin. He had shaved the front of his head, and he had extensions sewn into the remaining hair on the back of his head - so he looked like he has this amazingly long ponytail. Then, he hired guides to do the talking for him. Since there was no national language, Fortune successfully flew under the radar of the emperor. Once in China, Fortune immediately began visiting tea plantations. He learned the methods and ways of harvesting tea plants to make tea. He learned that green tea and black tea come from the same plant; it's the processing method that makes different teas. Thanks to the Wardian case, Fortune was able to ship live plants to India. All told, Fortune managed to smuggle out 20,000 tea plants to India. He even managed to get some of the Chinese tea farmers (with their tools) to leave China and help set up tea production in India. Sara Rose, one of the authors who has written a biography on Fortune, said that what Fortune accomplished was no less than the most significant single act of corporate espionage in the history of the world. Today, China is still the top tea producer with over 2.4 million tons of production. Followed by India at a little less than half and then Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam make up the next spots. So, tea being grown outside of China is a direct result of Robert Fortune and India, as the number 2 tea producer in the world (behind China) was a feat that was accomplished in less than two centuries. And, again, it wouldn't have happened without Robert Fortune. 1839 Today the American horticulturist and landscape gardener Henry Winthrop Sargent married Caroline Olmsted. A little over a year after marrying Caroline, Henry Winthrop (who was fabulously wealthy) bought a twenty-acre estate that overlooked the Hudson River. He christened it Wodenethe - a marriage of two old Saxon terms Woden (pronounced Woe-den) and ethe, which stands for woody promontory ( promontory is a point of high land that juts out into the sea or a large lake; a headland.) Henry Winthrop's most considerable influence was his friend Andrew Jackson Downing. One historian wrote, "Had there been no Downing, there would have been no Wodeneth." Downing was a renowned landscape designer, horticulturist, and writer, and his botanic garden was just across the river from Wodenethe. In addition to Downing's guidance, Henry Winthrop had vision and courage - two characteristics that are often found in master Landscape Designers. One of his first actions at Wodenethe was to remove trees and foliage that obstructed scenic vistas - that's a scary proposition for many gardeners. Yet, Henry Winthrop was exacting when it came to vistas. This skill in framing a scene was Henry Winthrop's superpower, and he even created windows for his home that were shaped to maximize the view to the outside. One story about Henry Winthrop's exceptional ability to create a view involves his son, Winthrop. One time a woman visited the Sargents, and when she looked out the window, she noticed little Winthrop out on the lawn. Henry Winthrop had created the view to look like the lawn extended out to the Hudson, creating a sense that there was a sharp dropoff - almost like the lawn ran out to the edge of a cliff. Concerned for Winthrop, the lady visitor commented something to the effect of how SHE wouldn't let her own children play so close to that dropoff. Well, after that visit, Henry Winthrop would often have little Winthrop go out to the lawn with a fishing pole and pretend to fish off the edge. In reality, he was sitting a good mile away from the water's edge - quite safe on the flat earth. But, Henry Winthrop's masterful vista created an artful and beautiful illusion. 1903 Today is the birthday of the British sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth. Barbara drew inspiration from nature, the shoreline, and the landscape., she was one of the most influential figures in the creation of Abstract Art in Britain. In 1949, Barbara left London went to St Ives. For 26 years, she lived & worked at Trewyn studios, and she considered finding the studio 'a sort of magic.' Barbara died in an accidental fire at her Trewyn Studios at the age of 72. She had been smoking in her bed. You can still see the scorch marks at Trewyn. A year after her death, her Trewyn studio became the Barbara Hepworth Museum. Following her wishes, both the Museum & Sculpture Garden opened to the public in 1976. People who visit the garden are stunned by the beauty, peace, and tranquility. Barbara would be pleased that people often describe Trewyn as a magical place. It's a beautiful mix of art and nature. To see her working studio is absolutely incredible; it's an extraordinary place. It was Barbara Hepworth who famously said, "I, the sculptor, am the landscape." "In the contemplation of nature, we are perpetually renewed." Unearthed Words 1856 Today Henry David Thoreau wrote in his diary: "-2 degrees at breakfast time, but this has been the coldest night probably. You lie with your feet or legs curled up, waiting for morning, the sheets shining with frost about your mouth. Water left by the stove is frozen thickly, and what you sprinkle in bathing falls on the floor ice. The house plants are all frozen and soon droop and turn black. I look out on the roof of a cottage covered a foot deep with snow, wondering how the poor children in its garret, with their few rags, contrive to keep their toes warm. I mark the white smoke from its chimney, whose contracted wreaths are soon dissipated in this stinging air, and think of the size of their wood-pile, and again I try to realize how they panted for a breath of cool air those sultry nights last summer. Realize it now if you can. Recall the hum of the mosquito." Grow That Garden Library Emily Dickinson's Gardens by Marta McDowell Before Marta's latest book on Emily Dickinson, she wrote this book. As Marta points out at the beginning of this book, Emily Dickinson was a gardener. She grew up in a family of gardeners. Emily herself would send bouquets to friends, and she often slipped little flowers in two envelopes alongside her nearly 1,000 letters to friends and family. Most people think of Emily as a poet or writer; they don't think of her as a gardener. The fact that Marta has written two books about Emily Dickinson's gardening passion is a clue to how vital the activity was in her life. This first book of Marta's is a sentimental favorite of mine. And I love that book is arranged by season. In the section on Winter, Marta talks about the final years of Emily's life, which were a winter of loss. Her father died and then her mother. Emily referred to her house as a House of snow. Emily wrote, "I wish, until I tremble, to touch the ones I love before the hills are red - are gray - are white - are 'born again'! If we knew how deep the crocus lay, we never should let her go!" You can get a used copy of Emily Dickinson's Gardens by Marta McDowell and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $10. Great Gifts for Gardeners Back to the Roots Organic Mushroom Farm Grow Kit, Harvest Gourmet Oyster Mushrooms In 10 days for $15.99 Back to the Roots is on a mission to undo food. In a college class, they learned mushrooms could grow entirely on spent coffee grounds. After watching hours of how-to videos & turning our fraternity kitchen into a big science experiment, they eventually decided to give up our corporate job offers to become full-time mushroom farmers instead. What started as curiosity about urban farming has turned into a passion for undoing food & reconnecting families back to where it comes from.

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• The Organic Mushroom Growing Kit works year 'round in any city - Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter! Just place the box near a window with indirect light, mist twice a day, and you'll see delicious, beautiful mushrooms growing within a week!

Today's Botanic Spark Today we celebrate the first full moon of the year, also known as the Wolf Moon. The Wolf Moon can be seen rising on the horizon, although it reaches peak fullness at 2:21 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Today's Wolf Moon will experience a partial lunar eclipse that will last four hours and five minutes. The lunar eclipse will only be visible from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. India will have the best view. January's moon is called the Wolf Moon - supposedly because wolves are hungry and more vocal in January. They often howl more frequently during the winter months.

Today we celebrate an incredible woman, a true pioneer of Canada and a writer and botanical illustrator. We'll learn about one of the most dedicated and famous bryologists, and she helped establish the New York Botanical Garden. Today's Unearthed Words feature wonderful thoughts on the gardener's favorite winter reading material - seed catalogs. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us Garden through the back half of our lives. I'll talk about a garden item that will brighten up a corner in your cozy winter home and then we'll wrap things up with the most charming, memorable, and heartbreaking story, and I'm so glad I stumbled on it, and I am so excited to share it with you. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Japan's winter peonies (kan-botan) - IKIDANE NIPPON Check out Japan's winter peonies. They aren't allowed to flower in the Spring/Summer and are forced to bloom in winter. Each peony is covered with a little straw tent. Kan-botan (寒牡丹) or Fuyu-botan (冬牡丹) means "winter peonies." Andre Baranowski's Garden Wild - Flower Magazine New Book: Andre Baranowski's Garden Wild. One garden features Jorge Sánchez - who transplanted stumps of slash pines from Florida and added mosses. Ingenious. Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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 1802 Today is the birthday of the Canadian-English writer and botanical illustrator Catherine Parr Traill - she was such an amazing woman. When Catherine was 30 years old, she was newly married, and she immigrated with her husband to Canada. Her family wasn't thrilled about any of it. They didn't approve of her choice and husband, and they certainly didn't like the idea of her leaving England. Yet, there she was in a boat on the river to Peterborough when she saw some Cardinal Flowers growing along the riverbank. Catherine was enthralled. The flowers in Canada were drastically different from those she'd grown up with, and her passion for wildflowers would help sustain her during the hardships of settling in the Wilds of Canada. Catherine ultimately became known as the botanist of the Backwoods. Although she had never formally studied botany, her accomplishments were quite extraordinary. Catherine published a book called Canadian wildflowers. Her niece took care of the illustrations. The book was helpful and beautiful. It was bound together in a large folio with colored plates, which is now regarded as a rare and valuable antique book. One of the reasons the book is now so rare is that back in the mid-to-late 1800s, the book was used to decorate homes. Young mothers and wives would tear out the beautiful large hand-colored plates and frame them Dash, probably displaying them in their parlors or bedrooms. Settling in the Backwoods of Canada nearly broke her husband. Clearing the land was backbreaking work the weather Dash, especially during the winter, was incredibly harsh, and for the first three years, there was nothing to harvest. Although they were landowners, there was little labor around to help. One of their homes was destroyed in a fire, and another was seized by the bank to pay off debt. It was Catherine's General optimism and enthusiasm for the outdoors that carried her family through the hardest years. In all, Catherine spent 65 years in Canada. She raised nine children. Experts agree that her best work was a book called Backwoods of Canada that was intended to be a handbook for emigrating women. Catherine's tone was cheerful and direct. Her entire life, Catherine was incredibly observant and resourceful, and she pulled those skills together as she created the content for her writing. Despite all the terrible hardships she and her family endured, Catherine was a prolific writer, and she always stayed sweet. Catherine died in her home at the age of 98. 1857 Today is the birthday of the famous bryologist Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton. Elizabeth married the botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton. She was a teacher, and he was a professor of botany at Columbia University. Together, they helped create the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Their primary source of Inspirationtion was Kew Gardens in London. Elizabeth was a bryologist. Bryology is the study of mosses. The root, bryōs, is a Greek verb meaning to swell and is the etymology of the word embryo. Bryology will be easier to remember if you think of the ability of moss to expand as it takes on water. Uniquely skilled for her time, Elizabeth Britton was intelligent, resourceful, and not afraid to speak her mind. The author Elizabeth Gilbert used the real-life Elizabeth Gertrude Britain as the inspiration for the heroine and her novel The Signature of All Things. In researching Britton, Gilbert read through many of her letters and correspondence. Gilbert said that "In one of her letters, a fellow botanist had sent her a species of moth he thinks he has discovered and wants to name after himself. But Britain replied something like, 'Do your research, my friend; I've got 20 of these in my cabinet already.'" Elizabeth Britton was also dedicated to conservation. In 1902, Elizabeth helped found the Wildflower Preservation Society of America. 2004 Today the Beatrix Farrand Society purchased the Garland Farm under the mission "to foster the art and science of horticulture and landscape design, with emphasis on the life and work of Beatrix Farrand." The goal was to preserve Garland Farm and Beatrix Farrand's final garden. Beatrix was a landscape gardener and landscape architect in the United States. 1969 Forty-Nine years ago today "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye hit the #1 spot on the charts. It stayed there for seven weeks. Unearthed Words Today's Unearthed Words are all about seed catalogs. If you are a new gardener, welcome to the joy of curling up on the couch with a cup of coffee and a notebook and a seed catalog. If you're a veteran gardener, you got this down. In either case, you'll enjoy these verses and poems on a gardener's favorite Winter activity: going through seed catalogs. There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of any winter. One is the January thaw. The other is the seed catalogs. — Hal Borland Aside from the garden of Eden, man's great temptation took place when he first received his seed catalog. — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882, American poet For gardeners, this is the season of lists and callow hopefulness; hundreds of thousands of bewitched readers are poring over their catalogs, making lists . . . , and dreaming their dreams. — Katharine White, "A Romp in the Catalogues," The New Yorker, 1958, collected in Onward and Upward in the Garden, 1979 I read [garden catalogs] for news, for driblets of knowledge, for aesthetic pleasure, and at the same time, I am planning the future - so I read in dream. — Katharine White, in The New Yorker, March 1, 1959, collected in Onward and Upward in the Garden I have seen women looking at jewelry ads with a misty eye and one hand resting on the heart, and I only know what they're feeling because that's how I read the seed catalogs in January. — Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, 2007 I don't believe the half I hear, Nor the quarter of what I see! But I have one faith, sublime and true, That nothing can shake or slay; Each spring I firmly believe anew All the seed catalogs say! — Carolyn Wells Grow That Garden Library The Lifelong Gardener by Toni Gattone The subtitle to this book is: Garden with Ease and Joy at Any Age. Carl Honoré, the author of In Praise of Slowness, said this about Toni's book: "The secret to making the most of later life is to keep doing what you love. With practical advice and gentle inspiration, Gattone shows us how gardening can work for people of any age." As a Master Gardener, Toni teaches people how to garden all the time. One of the things she started noticing is that the majority of her students are seniors. As a senior herself, Toni quickly learned that adaptive gardening is a vital practice for people who want to continue to work in their Gardens as they age. As Toni says "My Generation, the Boomers, doesn't want to give up the things we love just because we're getting older. Never give up is our motto. My purpose for writing this book is to share what I've learned about how to keep gardening even when your back or knees are screaming at you." And Toni offers ten adaptive gardening rules to live by. I won't read all 10 of them to you, but I'll share a few to help you get the gist

• One of the best things you can do for your body is stretched before you start gardening
• Save money and time by planting perennials and shrubs instead of annuals
• Finally, look for ways to make your gardening life easier - use self-watering containers And by a Tool sharpener.

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Today's Botanic Spark Today's profile of Catherine Parr Traill is quite something, and I ran across an adorable story when I was researching her (it's a little heartbreaking as well). As I mentioned earlier, Catherine and her husband, Thomas, faced extraordinary challenges as settlers in the Backwoods of Canada. Whatever loveliness or dear possession they had brought with them from England ended up either ruined or sold or lost to them - one by one - in their great effort to survive. At one point, the only thing Catherine had left was her prized possession of silver spoons. They had been in her family for generations. One day, Catherine realized her spoons were gone. Distressed and alarmed, Catherine discovered that her young son Willie admitted he had taken them, and he had planted them in the garden. When she asked him why he said he wanted to get "more poons" (he couldn't say his s's properly). In any case, the entire family went out into the garden and searched and searched - but never found the silver spoons. But, I'm betting that every time Catherine worked in the garden, she was hopeful that she might run across them.