The Daily Gardener

Today we celebrate the ending of the 1675 coffee shop ban in England and the birthday of a man who devised his own theory of evolution independently of Charles Darwin. We'll learn about one of the fiercest Dutch conservationists and the nurseryman who created the world's most excellent arboretum. Today's Unearthed Words feature fabulous one-liners about January. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us grow houseplants - the official greenery of January and February. I'll talk about a garden item that can help you relax, and then we'll wrap things up with the birthday of a plant wizard who brought the date palm to California. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Gardens: dogwood days | Dan Pearson | Life and style | The Guardian Great post from @thedanpearson about Dogwood & this helpful tip: "Cornus takes easily from hardwood cuttings. Save prunings and plunge a few pencil-thick lengths into the ground by your mother plant. They will be rooted and ready to lift within a year." Top 5 flower trends for 2020, according to Serenata Flowers From @HouseBeautiful We can expect to see more warm palettes and soft neutrals in bouquets. "One particular shade, known as 'neo-mint,' is described as an 'oxygenating, fresh tone,' and expected to be seen much more throughout 2020. 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 1676 On December 23, 1675, King Charles II issued a proclamation suppressing Coffee Houses in England. The edict lasted 16 days. The public response was so negative that he revoked it on this day, January 8, 1676. 1823 Today is the birthday of the British naturalist Alfred Wallace. Wallace developed his theory of natural selection quite independently of Charles Darwin - although he did send his theory to Darwin. Wallace's work prompted Darwin to get serious about publishing his 20-year-old idea. In 1858, both Wallace and Darwin's work was presented to the Linnaean Society. Wallace published a remarkable book called The Malay Archipelago. The book is considered a classic and covers the flora, fauna, and folks native to the area - now known as Malaysia and Indonesia. Wallace wrote, "Nature seems to have taken every precaution that these, her choicest treasures, may not lose value by being too easily obtained." Wallace has been obscured by Darwin over the course of history. Yet, when he died at the age of 91, his obituaries praised him as an extraordinary figure. One obituary said, "He was one of the greatest and brightest and clearest thinkers of his age...of one thing I am certain, and that is that never has anybody come more fully within my favorite description of a great man, namely, that 'he is a combination of the head of a man and the heart of a boy.'" A forthcoming children's book about Wallace is titled Darwin's Rival: Alfred Russel Wallaceand the search for evolution by Christian Dorian. 1945 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Dutch conservationist and botanist Jac P Thijsse. Jac founded the Society for the Preservation of Nature Monuments in Holland. His 60th birthday present was a wildlife garden in Bloemendaal near Haarlem. After WWI, a Dutch food company by the name of Verkade (vare-Kah-dah) ask Jac to create some album books on the Flora of the Netherlands. Essentially, the books became a collector series Album with empty spots for photo cards, which were distributed individually with the biscuits. The Dutch would buy their biscuits, and then they would place the card in the space designed for it in the book. These albums were quite trendy among the Dutch and today sell for hundreds to thousands of dollars apiece today on auction websites. Today in the Netherlands, there is a college named after Jac, and he always makes the top 100 Dutchman's list. 1985 Today is the anniversary of the death of conservationist and plantsman Harold Hillier. In 1864, Hilliard's grandfather Edwin began the family Nursery. His son was supposed to take over the family business, but he died during the war, and so it fell to Edwin's grandson Herald to continue his legacy. Harold immediately set about creating a public garden and arboretum alongside the nursery. The site was already home to some magnificent trees - some of which were at least 200 years old. In an article from 2019, it was revealed that the Hillier Arboretum is home to the largest collection of Champion Trees in all of Britain and Ireland with a whopping total of 611 followed by Kew Garden with 333 Champion Trees. Champion Trees fit into three categories being either the largest, the finest, or the rarest of their species. Today the Hillier Nursery is putting together a Champion Tree Trail throughout the Arboretum so that visitors can walk to each of the Champion tree specimens. Among some of the Champion Trees are specimen eucalyptus from Australia, rare pine trees from Mexico, and Sequoias from North America. The Hillier Arboretum really began as a propagation holding place for the nursery. If a tree needed to be propagated, the nursery workers would just go out to the Arboretum and take a scion wood or seeds from the tree there. Similarly, if the nursery received some incredible rootstock or seed, they would sell most of it but hold some back for the Arboretum. Today the 180-acre Arboretum is entirely separate from the nursery, and it features about 42,000 plants across 1200 taxa. the Arboretum features 11 National Plant Collections and has magnificent specimens of witch hazel and oak. Hillier died just six days after his 80th birthday. Harold spent his entire life working to save rare and endangered trees and shrubs from Extinction. In 1978 he gifted the Hillier Arboretum with thousands of specimens in plants. When asked by a reporter for his opinion on plant conservation, Hillier famously replied, "While others are talking about it, I am doing it, roots in the ground, planting, planting, planting." Unearthed Words Today's Unearthed Words are incredible and unforgettable onliners about January. January brings the snow, Makes our feet and fingers glow. — Sara Coleridge, English author "Come, ye cold winds, at January's call, On whistling wings, and with white flakes bestrew The earth." — John Ruskin, an English art critic, and thinker "Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius." — Pietro Aretino ("Pee-et-tro Air-ah-TEE-no"), Italian author O, wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? — Percy Bysshe Shelley, Romantic poet In seed-time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. — William Blake, English poet When one reads a poem in January, it is as lovely as when one goes for a walk in June. — Jean-Paul Friedrich Richter, German writer "Nothing is as easy to make as a promise this winter to do something next summer; this is how commencement speakers are caught." — Sydney J. Harris, Chicago Journalist Grow That Garden Library Houseplants by Lisa Steinkopf The resurgent interest in houseplants is due primarily to Millennials who are filling every nook and cranny in their homes with houseplants. Those smart millennials! If you (like so many millennials) are filling your house with houseplants - especially during the winter season when they add so much - humidity, green, a touch of the outdoors, and clean air. One of the things I appreciated the most about Lisa's book is that she divided the 125 houseplants featured in her book into three helpful categories - Easy to Grow, Moderately Easy-to-Grow, and Don't-Try-This-at-Home-It's-A-Waste-of-Money-and-Time-and-You-Really-Need-That-New-Pair-of-Shoes. Just kidding. It's actually just called Challenging to Grow. (Which doesn't sound so bad now, does it? Still - be careful here.) Now, guess which one Lisa and I spent the most time talking about when we chatted a while back? You're right, again - the easy-to-grow category. Why? Because that's where the sweet spot is. These plants give the best return on investment of your time and money. These are also the plants that will provide you with the most personal satisfaction. Here's what you are going to love about Lisa's book: she's down-to-earth, and she's a conscious competent - she knows how to teach houseplants to anyone (even those without green thumbs!) I'm also betting she must be an incredibly wonderful mom and wife because her understanding family has made room for over 1,000 houseplants thriving under Lisa's care and supervision. This book came out in 2017. You can get a used copy of Houseplants by Lisa Steinkopf and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $14. Great Gifts for Gardeners Coloring Fibonacci in Nature by Art Therapy Lab Assembled here is a collection of outline illustrations inspired by the Fibonacci number sequence found in nature. They appear everywhere in nature, from the leaf arrangement in plants to the pattern of the florets of a flower, the bracts of a pinecone, or the chambers of a nautical shell. The Fibonacci Sequence applies to the growth of every living thing, including a single cell, a grain of wheat, a hive of bees, and even all of mankind. You can get the coloring book and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $20. Today's Botanic Spark 1892 Today is the birthday of the agricultural botanist and plant wizard Walter Tennyson Swingle. Swingle was a very popular botanist during his lifetime. He made the news for several remarkable achievements in the world of horticulture. He introduced the Date Palm to California. He created many new citruses through hybridizing. In 1897, Swing made the first man-made cross of a Bowen grapefruit and a Dancy tangerine in Eustis, Florida. In 1909, Swingle created the limequat, a cross between the key lime and the kumquat. That same year, Swingle created the Citrangequat, which is a trigeneric citrus hybrid of a citrange and a kumquat. Swingle developed the Citrange, a combination of the sweet orange and the trifoliate orange. He was attempting to breed an orange tree that could withstand colder weather. Swingle was born in Pennsylvania. His family quickly moved to Kansas, where he was home-schooled and ultimately educated at Kansas State Agricultural College. In short order, Swingle began working for the government at the United States Bureau of Plant Industry in the Department of Agriculture. The USDA immediately put him to work, sending him to nearly every country in the world. Swingle brought Egyptian Cotton to Arizona and Acala Cotton to California. However, Swingle's most significant accomplishment was the introduction of the Date Palm to America. The Date Palm was something swingle discovered during a visit to Algeria. Swingle was intelligent and observant, and he noticed that the climate and soil in Algeria mirrored that of California. Swingle was optimistic about the Date Palm's chances in California right from the get-go, writing: "No heat is too great and nor air too dry for this remarkable plant, which is actually favored by a rainless climate and by hot desert winds. It is also shown that the date palm can withstand great quantities of alkali in the soil- more than any other useful plant…It is probably the only profitable crop that can succeed permanently.' When the Date Palm arrived in California, the Coachella Valley was identified as the perfect spot to grow them. By 1920, over a hundred thousand pounds of dates were grown in California. Today, Dates are one of California's main exports. The total value of the Date crop is approaching $100 million every single year.

Today we celebrate the wealthy Dutch banker who bought enough plants to fill a book for a young Carl Linnaeus and a royal gardener who is an ancestor of Princess Diana. We'll learn about the man who started the first seed company in America and the German botanist buried in the Botanical Garden he curated during his lifetime. Today's Unearthed Words feature words for children about January. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book written by a beloved Washington DC garden columnist. I'll talk about a garden item that I use all the time in my potting shed and around my garden (so many uses!), and then we'll wrap things up with the New Zealand gardener, who is featured in one of my all-time favorite garden photos. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Gardening: Going blue for 2020 The Pantone color of the year for 2020 is Classic Blue. Here's a great post from Nancy Szerlag Detroit News who suggests blue options for the garden: "If I were to look for that color to use in the garden, my first thought would be a Delphinium. Nigella 'Miss Jekyll' produces exquisite quarter-sized blue flowers on 15-inch plants in full to part sun in late spring or early summer. They are said to reseed annually, so I'm hoping a one-time planting of seed will do the job. A favorite blue flowering shrub of mine is Proven Winners Color Choice 'Blue Chiffon' Rose of Sharon. In full sun, it will climb to 10 feet and be covered in lovely anemone-like blossoms for several weeks in summer." Paris in Bloom - Flower Magazine Here's an excerpt from Georgianna Lane's new book Paris in Bloom. Georgianna's charming images of parks, gardens, shops, and architectural motifs are a vision of Romance and Spring - the perfect gift for Valentine's Day. 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 1685 Today is the birthday of the wealthy Dutch banker and a director of the Dutch East India Company George Clifford III. Clifford loved gardens and had a passion for plants and plant collecting. His work with the Dutch East India Company had made him quite wealthy, and he could afford to purchase the latest plants discovered from around the world in the early 1700s. Clifford invited a young Swedish naturalist to come and stay at his estate. Over two years from 1736 to 1738, Carl Linnaeus helped Clifford with his plant inventory, and he cataloged his vast herbarium. Clifford's estate gave Linnaeus a treasure trove of botanical specimens, which became the subjects of a book - his early Botanical Masterpiece called Hortus Cliffortianus. The book is essentially an inventory of Clifford's plant collection. Today Clifford's herbarium is housed at the National History Museum in London. 1715 Today is the anniversary of the death of Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort ("BOH-fert"). She was an avid gardener and botanist. She survived two husbands and had eight children. After she was widowed a second time, she focused all of her discretionary effort on gardening. The best horticultural minds of her time helped Mary with her efforts: George London, Lenard Plukenet, and William Sherard. Her next-door neighbor was Sir Hans Sloane, and when Mary died, she (like almost every plant-lover of her era) left her herbarium and other valuable botanical items to him. This is how Hans Sloane became a one-man Botanical Repository. Among Mary's many descendants are Princess Diana and the genus Beaufortia was named in her honor by Robert Brown. 1784 Today, David Landreth started the first American commercial seed business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. David and his family immigrated to Montreal from England in 1780. Four years later, David relocated his family to Philadelphia and named the company simply David Landreth. David was one of the first nurseries to propagate seeds from the Lewis and Clark expeditions. He introduced the Mexican Zinnia in 1798, the garden tomato in 1820, the 'Landreths' Extra Early' pea in 1822, and the 'Bloomsdale' spinach in 1826. His son, David Jr, took over the business after his death. David Jr. was one of the founding members of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which started in 1827. Today the Landreth Seed Company is the fifth oldest corporation in America. 1848 Today is the birthday of the German botanist and curator of Berlin Botanical Garden, Ignatz Urban. He helped catalog the Flora of the Caribbean and Brazil. In 1986, Urban's tombstone was moved to the Botanical Garden he helped relocate during his tenure. He lies alongside other well-known botanists in Berlin. Unearthed Words Today's Unearthed Words were written to delight little ears, which makes them timeless in my book. The theme, of course, is January. Little January Tapped at my door today. And said, "Put on your winter wraps, And come outdoors to play." Little January Is always full of fun; Until the set of sun. Little January Will stay a month with me And we will have such jolly times - Just come along and see. — Winifred Marshall Gales, Abolitionist & Author, January The sun came out, And the snowman cried. His tears ran down on every side. His tears ran down Till the spot was cleared. He cried so hard That he disappeared. — Margaret Hillert, American author, poet, and educator, January Thaw January opens The box of the year And brings out days That are bright and clear And brings out days That are cold and grey And shouts, "Come see What I brought today! — Leland B. Jacobs, Poet & Literature Professor at Ohio State, January In January it's so nice while slipping on the sliding ice to sip hot chicken soup with rice. Sipping once Sipping twice. — Maurice Sendak, American illustrator, and writer of children's books (Where the Wild Things Are), In January Grow That Garden Library The Essential Earthman by Henry Clay Mitchell Mitchell was a garden columnist for the Washington Post, and this book was the sharing of the many posts featured in his column. As a writer, Mitchell was down-to-earth and funny. As a gardener, Mitchell was down-to-earth and funny. This is why, for me, his book is a personal favorite. Here is an excerpt regarding his suggested New Year's Resolutions for gardeners: "The days are now at their shortest, and the gardener should keep it in mind that his ill humor and (as it may be) gloominess is directly linked to this nadir of the year. All that is necessary is to hold on until spring or a few sunny days, which will surely come in January, February, March, April, or May at the latest. Meanwhile, several activities will help the gardener keep cheerful.

• Whenever it snows, go out with a broom and swat all conifers likely to be broken down by snow.
• Whenever there are ice storms, pull the window shades down.
• When Christmas gift plants… stop blooming, either give them conditions they require or else throw them out. There is no point making yourself miserable by watching a Poinsettia, Cyclamen, or Azalea died over a period of 3 months.
• Force yourself, for once, to order the varieties of annuals you want from a seedsman in January, so you will not find yourself in a snit in March.
• Decide those old gardeners are correct, who have been saying for the past few hundred years, that nothing is lovelier or more cheerful in Winter than common ivy, common holly, and common yew. And, you might add, junipers.
• Put a couple of logs in Lily pools to absorb or deflect some of the pressure of the ice. Do not chop holes in the ice. Fish do not need air holes.
• If it ever gets warmish again, admire the swelling buds of Elm, Ash, Azalea, flowering Quince. Make up your mind once and for all whether you will give space to a Pussy Willow Bush. Whichever you decide, decide, and stop being of two minds about it.
• Thank God you do not have to stay in the garden all winter like a blasted Snowdrop ( which should, incidentally, be showing some signs of activity within the year's first month). Gardeners, on the other hand, will stir about April 8th.

You can get a used copy of Mitchell's book and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $3. Great Gifts for Gardeners RETON 20 PCS Black Color Heavy-duty Steel S-hooks for Plants, Towels $7.99

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Today's Botanic Spark 1983 Today is the anniversary of the death of New Zealand botanist Eliza Amy Hodgson. Hodgson specialized in liverworts. Liverworts are nonvascular plants like mosses. Without a vascular system, mosses and liverworts don't get very big. These are tiny plants to be sure, and worts are considered one level simpler than mosses. They grow flat on the ground and have large leaf-like structures. Like mosses, worts thrive in moist areas. The word "wort" means "little plant, herb or root" (St. John's Wort, Pennywort, lungwort, and Bladderwort.) Long ago, herbalists likely thought one of the liverworts resembled a liver - and so used it as a medicine for liver ailments. Thus, the word liverwort means a "liver-like small plant." Now, the reason I chose Eliza Amy Hodgson to close the show today is that she is often shown in a photo, standing in front of a flower border with green foliage and white blossoms. The only problem with the photo is that Eliza is wearing a green hat along with a green dress that is covered in white leaves, which turns the photo into a bit of a Where's Waldo - and it makes sweet Eliza look like her head is floating above the Landscape. So, here's a thank you to dear Eliza - who gives us the good reminder never to have your clothes blend in too much with the garden - lest you, in an odd way, become part of the garden itself.

Today we celebrate the one of the 19th century's top orchidologist and the birthday of a man who used his wealth to purchase an American garden treasure. We'll learn about one of the most prolific female plant collectors and the florist who shocked London with her floral displays. Today's Unearthed Words feature a beloved American poet and children's book author celebrating her 93rd birthday. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us grow edibles indoors - a great topic for January. I'll talk about a garden item that can help define the look of your garden space, and then we'll wrap things up with the birthday of a master storyteller who incorporated descriptions of real and fictitious plants in his landscapes. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles How to make a small garden feel more spacious | Blog at Thompson & Morgan "If you can hone down the style of your space in terms of colors & style, keep the number of different materials used to a minimum and pare down your planting palette, you'll find the overall look is more coherent and pleasing to Colombian Botanist Risking His Life To Preserve Nature's Memory | @IBTimes From @IBTimes The botanist Julio Betancur is a 59-year-old, a biologist, university professor and "collector of bromeliads -- which include the pineapple, Spanish moss and queen of the Andes -- says it's worth taking the risks so his country can 'know about' its biodiversity. "Every time I take a botanical sample it's like writing a page in the book of our forests," he said. In the future, once the vegetation has disappeared from somewhere, people "will know what species lived there at a certain time and with that will reconstruct the natural history of this territory." 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. So, 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 1796 Today is the birthday of the Scottish artist, naturalist, and ornithologist William MacGillvray. He once walked 838 miles from Old Aberdeen to London in order to visit the natural history museum there. Along the way, MacGillvray documented all the flora and fauna he encountered. You can read about it in a book by Dr. Robert Ralph called A Walk to London. It's a brilliant read. (Btw, In his journal, MacGillvray also kept a tally of all the whiskeys he drank on the way to London!) At the bottom of every day he would right his miles walked that day, the total miles walked, and the number of whiskies drank. Here's one humorous account from September 11, 1819: "As I have no Botanical accounts for my readers tonight I shall try to patch up a story somehow or other...My readers will recollect that I came here on a dark night, wet and weary. At the door I met a woman of whom I am required if I might stay all night. Like other honest women of her kind she thought fit to scrutinize my exterior in order to regulate her conduct by the result. So a candle was held to my face, and adore then opened for me. The results of my examination was not favorable to me as I was informed that I would be obliged to sleep with a man to whom she pointed in bed, and as I grumbled told me to reconsider the matter." MacGillvray was a Professor of Natural History at the University of Aberdeen from 1841 until his death. He founded the Zoology Museum, which still houses some of his specimens. The MacGillvray warbler is named after MacGillvray. 1884 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Austrian botanist and monk Gregor Mendel. He pioneered the study of heredity when he gave peas a chance. In all seriousness, he discovered the basic principles of heredity through experiments with peas in his garden at the Augustinian monastery he lived in at Brno in the Czech Republic. During a seven-year. In the mid-1800s, Mendel grew nearly 30,000 P plants Dash taking notes of their height and shape and color. This work resulted in the laws of hereditary heredity. And Mendel came up with genetic terms that we still use today like dominant and recessive genes. 1896 Today is the birthday of the botanist and prolific plant collector Charles Austin Gardner. Gardener was born in England, but his family immigrated to Australia in the early 1900's. Gardener had a tremendous love for plants and landscape painting. During his 20s he received painting intruction and encouragement from the Landscapeape painter JW Linton and the wildflower painter Emily Pelloe. He created a impressive herbarium with Nearly 10,000 specimens specimens from all over Australia. He helped start the Western Australian naturalist Club. And although he had become a repository for information about Western Australian Flora, he never did publish a book on the Flora of Western Australia. in part because he didn't work well with other botanists it is much more of an individual list. He received a number of honors and medals for his work but Macho his much of his information about Australian plant geography and distribution and plant biology was lost when he died. Today in Tammin in Western Australia, there is a Charles Gardner Memorial that is surrounded by over 50 species of native wildflowers. There's also a Charles Gardner National Park I was named in his honor. 1945 Today is the 75th birthday of the American botanist Alwyn Howard Gentry. Gentry's life was tragically cut short when his plane crashed in fog into a forested mountain during a treetop survey in Ecuador. At the time, Gentry was just 48 years old and he was at the peak of his career Dash A towering figure in tropical biology and ranking among the world's leading field biologist. He also was the senior curator at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Theodore Parker the third was also on the plane with Gentry. Parker was a world expert ornithologist. Parker's fiance survived the crash and she told a reporter that Gentry and Parker had survived the crash but without immediate medical attention and remaining traps in the wreckage of the plane they died the following morning. Gentry and Parker both died doing what they loved Gentry recognized the powerful pull of the rainforest, writing: "The Amazon is a world of lush green vegetation and abundant waters, has inspired naturalists, fortune hunters, dreamers, explorers and exploiters" According to conservation International Gentry had collected more specimens then any other living botanist at the time. A staggering 70000 plants. To this day, botanist ReliOn Gentry's Guide to the Woody plants of Peru for understanding neotropical and tropical plants. Unearthed Words Here are some verses about the beginning of the new year: January is here, with eyes that keenly glow, A frost-mailed warrior striding a shadowy steed of snow. — Edgar Fawcett, American poet (1847-1904) Janus am I; oldest of potentates; Forward I look, and backward, and below I count, as god of avenues and gates, The years that through my portals come and go. –Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (1807–82) Time has no divisions to mark its passage, there is never a thunder-storm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols." — Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain Anyone who thinks that gardening begins in the spring and ends in the fall is missing the best part of the whole year. For gardening begins in January with the dream. — Josephine Nuese Grow That Garden Library A Garden Miscellany by Suzanne Staubach The subtitle to this book is: Turn Your Home Into a Year-round Vegetable Garden - Microgreens - Sprouts - Herbs - Mushrooms - Tomatoes, Peppers & More. Great Gifts for Gardeners baotongle 100 pcs Plant Clips, Orchid Clips Plant Orchid Support Clips Flower and Vine Clips for Supporting Stems Vines Grow Upright Dark Green $6.49 These clips are high quality. .They are non-toxic and eco-friendly. You can use it for outdoors and indoors plant. They are suitable for small and medium sized plants. These plant clips hold stems and delicate flowers securely, non-slip, provide great and steady support for plants to grow upright and towards sunlight. Can be used to tomato support, orchid, vine or seedlings. Just clip the stem to bamboo stakes, tomato cage or anything that can provide support. Today's Botanic Spark 1946 Today is the birthday of the guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett. After his immense success with Pink Floyd, Sid released to solo LPS and then disappeared into a self-imposed 30 year exile where he spent most of his time painting and gardening. Before his life with Pink Floyd he'd attended the camberwell art school and one of the pieces he is still remembered for is a still life of dried flowers that he had created with watercolor. Sid died of cancer at the age of 60 In 2006. Before he died, Sid was a patient at Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge. In 2017, following his death his friend the sculptor Stephen Pyle and a garden designer named Paul Harrington were working to install the Syd Barrett Garden at the hospital. Stephen's sculpture of Sid shows him riding on his bicycle - hands-free - with a guitar in one hand and artist brushes in the other

Today we celebrate the one of the 19th century's top orchidologist and the birthday of a man who used his wealth to purchase an American garden treasure. We'll learn about one of the most prolific female plant collectors and the florist who shocked London with her floral displays. Today's Unearthed Words feature a beloved American poet and children's book author celebrating her 93rd birthday. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us grow edibles indoors - an excellent topic for January. I'll talk about a garden item that can help define the look of your garden space, and then we'll wrap things up with the birthday of a master storyteller who incorporated descriptions of real and fictitious plants in his landscapes. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Dead rats, putrid flesh and sweaty socks: rare orchid gives botanists a first whiff | Environment | The Guardian The orchid – Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis – is in bloom for the first time in a glasshouse at @Cambridge_Uni Botanic Garden. The orchid's natural habitat in western Papua New Guinea, where it grows at altitudes of around 500 meters, is under threat. Amaryllis: how to grow this festive houseplant - The English Garden The English Garden @tegmagazine shared this great post about growing Amaryllis. If you are hesitant to try growing it - don't be. They are lovely & "It's very straightforward to coax them from a bulb into a towering plant producing colorful trumpets of flowers." After the flowers have faded, cut back the flower stalk to the base. Continue to water and give the bulb an occasional feed – the leaves will continue to grow. 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 1823 Today is the birthday of the orchidologist Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach. The orchidologist Frederick Sander wrote a masterpiece on every variety of orchid, and he named it Reichenbachia in honor of Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach. In 1882, Heinrich honored Sanders by naming the "Queen of Philippine Orchids" after Sanders - naming it the Vanda Sanderiana, which the locals call the waling-waling orchid. The waling-waling is considered one of the rarest, most beautiful, and most expensive orchid, and it is also one of the largest species of orchids in the world. Heinrich's father was also a botanist, and Heinrich grew up helping his father with his work. Heinrich grew up fully appreciating the competitive aspects of the flower business. During his lifetime, Heinrich was one of the top orchid collectors in the world. Heinrich named more orchids than any other person, and in his will, he asked that his herbarium be closed for 25 years to protect his work from his competitors. 1856 Today is the birthday of Augustus Van Wickle - the man who established the Blithewold ("Blithe-wald") Mansion and Estate in the 1890s. Augustus was born into a well-to-do family who had a coal-mining business. As he took over the reins, Augustus turned the company into a stunning success and Augustus became enormously wealthy. When Augustus purchased Blithewold from a family with the last name of Gardner, it was so that he could have a home on the water that could accommodate docking his new steam yacht named Marjorie after his only child. Blithewold would be a summer residence for Augustus and his family. The following summer, Augustus' wife, Bessie, hired the landscape designer John DeWolf to design the grounds of Blithewold - which had previously been used for farming. Three years later, in the Spring of 1898, Augustus and Bessie learned they were expecting another child. They had been trying for fourteen years, and the baby was due in November. Sadly, midway through Bessie's pregnancy, on June 8th, Augustus died. He accidentally shot himself during a skeet-shooting trip with his buddies. His last words were, "Don't tell Bessie." Today, Augustus & Bessie's 33-acre estate, known as Blithewold, is considered an American garden treasure. It's one of the top gardens in New England, and Trip Advisor gives it a nearly-perfect rating, saying: "[Blithewood is] an exceptional collection of rare and unusual plants, specimen trees, an accessible greenhouse, and whimsical stonework [that all] project a character that is romantic, fresh and inspiring - and unique to Blithewold." And, the estate is drop-dead gorgeous. Btw, After Augustus died, Bessie gave birth to a healthy baby girl with dark eyes and black hair. She named her Augustine, and she was stunningly beautiful, and she charmed everyone who knew her during her 78 years on this earth. 1873 Today is the birthday of the botanist and prolific plant collector Mary Strong Clemens. When she was 19 years old, she married a minister named Joseph Clemens. Joseph was a chaplain in the United States Army, and he served in the Philippines, and later in France - during World War I. Mary was a maniacal plant collector, and wherever Joseph was stationed, she would collect plants. A faithful pastor's wife, sometimes Mary, would offer lessons on biblical scripture or sing hymns in exchange for lodging. The years spent in the Philippines were particularly productive for Mary. When Joseph retired, he became Mary's assistant, and they worked together as a team. They had a system worked out; Mary collected the plants, and Joseph processed them - he dried them and then boxed them up for shipping. Joseph and Mary traveled the world together, spending time in Asia, between the first and second world wars. By 1935, they were in New Guinea. Joseph ate some food that was contaminated by wild boar meat. The food poisoning was too much for his system, and he died on January 21st, 1936. This past year, the New Zealander citizen scientist, Siobhan Leachman (pronounced "Sha-vonne"), stumbled on a specimen of a tree that Mary had collected six days after her husband died. In the lower left-hand corner of the specimen sheet is a label titled Flora of New Guinea. Mary labeled it M. clemensiae. There, in her own handwriting, Mary wrote: "It was under this tree that my soul companion for over 40 years of wedded life, bade me farewell for the higher life." 1960 Today is the 40th anniversary of the death of the florist Constance Spry. In 1929, Constance - who went by Connie - unveiled her first floral shop window display, and she shocked London by using hedgerow flowers. Ever the trailblazer, Connie began creating flower arrangements for dinner parties. Her work made her an immediate hit with the socialites of her time. Her success led her to go into business, and she opened a flower shop as well as a flower-arranging school. Connie designed the flowers for the coronation of H.M. The Queen in 1953. During WWII, Connie gave lectures encouraging people to grow their own food. A June 20, 1945 article on Connie from the Corsicana Daily Sun out of Texas, said: "Constance Spry, the English woman who not only arranges and sells flowers - but also grows them - carried on all through the blitz. On one occasion, a bomb struck her house - it trembled - the roof sagged, but the building held, and Constance went right on working. At the corner of Berkeley Square, in the most elegant district of London, lives Constance Spry with her flowers... [and her] new-kind of flower shop. There is a bridal department and a department for boutonnieres and corsages, a department for fresh flowers, one for trimming on hats, and a department for day and evening dresses. In her greenhouse, Constance cultivates some rare and exotic beauties. They are used to decorate the homes and tables of clients, and they are also sent to recreation homes for soldiers - spreading joy to many." 1993The American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine premiered. The show gave us 176 episodes over seven seasons. The episode, called "The Wire," included a botanical riff on the famous catchphrase "I'm a doctor, not a…" when Dr. Julian Bashir said: "I'm a doctor, not a botanist." Unearthed Words 1926 Today is the birthday of the American poet and children's book author Joan Walsh Anglund. Anglund wrote these lovely garden-inspired words: A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song… Friendship is like a rose... opening one petal at a time, only as it unfolds... day by day, it reveals its true beauty. A leaf is a letter from a tree That writes, in gold, "Remember me!" Grow That Garden Library Indoor Kitchen Gardening by Elizabeth Millard The subtitle to this book is: Turn Your Home Into a Year-round Vegetable Garden - Microgreens - Sprouts - Herbs - Mushrooms - Tomatoes, Peppers & More. This book came out in 2014 and was named one of the "Best Garden Books of 2014" by the Chicago Tribune. Elizabeth teaches you how to grow edibles inside your own home, where you won't have to worry about seasonal changes or weather conditions - but you do need to make good plant choices and create the right environment. Elizabeth owns Bossy Acres, a 100-member community-supported farm in Minnesota that provides produce to members and area restaurants. Elizabeth also leads workshops on vegetable and herb gardening - so she knows of what she writes. One reviewer wrote: "I bought this book after I borrowed my daughter's copy and tasted the peas sprouts and broccoli sprouts she has been growing. They are delicious and help us to eat organic and local even in the winter in New England. I already have light stands and am very excited about starting sprouts in a few days. I have read most of the book, and love how specific the directions are." Hands-on experience, easy to understand directions, and matter of fact guidance - that's Elizabeth Millard. You can get a used copy of Indoor Kitchen Gardening and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $7. Great Gifts for Gardeners Good Directions 804PR Landing Duck Cottage Weathervane, Polished Copper with Roof Mount Weathervanes are more than just decoration. They can pay homage to the essence of your garden, your location, your family, and so forth. They add character and charm to any garden shed or outbuilding. At our cabin, I bought a copper mallard duck for my garden shed because the house is on a lake that is home to so many birds and waterfowl. Today, I've included a link to the Landing Duck Cottage Weathervane in Polished Copper I bought last summer. It's from a company called Good Directions, and they sell such quality products. Today's Botanic Spark 1892 Today is the birthday of J. R. R. Tolkien. Gardeners will appreciate the Flora of Middle-Earth: Plants of J. R. R. Tolkien's Legendarium by Walter S. Judd and Graham A. Judd. The natural landscape is a major part of Tolkien's work. When Tolkien created Middle-Earth, he was incredibly detailed about the plant life; "in total, over 160 plants are explicitly mentioned and described… Nearly all of these plants are real species, and many of the fictional plants are based on scientifically grounded botanic principles." The father-and-son author team is Walter Judd and Graham Judd. Walter is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biology at the University of Florida, and Graham Judd has a Master's in Printmaking and teaches at Augsburg College and Minneapolis College of Art and Design. NPR's review of this book says "Moved by Tolkien's passion for plants, the retired botany professor (Walter) spent years cataloging every plant that appeared in his writing, eventually compiling a list of 141 different species. He teamed up with his son, Graham, a professional illustrator. And together, they embarked on a quest to transform that list into a botanical guide to Middle Earth."

Today we celebrate the Feast Day of a gardener Abbott and an important day in the life of the Father of Taxonomy. We'll learn about the man who planted the first pineapple in Hawaii on this day in 1813 and the botanist who shared a train with a President during his honeymoon to the Santa Catalina Mountains. Today's Unearthed Words feature garden-inspired New Year's poetry from an artist and writer whose life has been obscured by time. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that is trendy and handy and all about the greenery of January - Houseplants. I'll talk about a great garden item to help your potting bench stay a little more organized, and then we'll wrap things up with the story of the couple who discovered the winter home of our most beloved butterfly. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles Backyard of the Week: Woodland Garden With Scandinavian Roots @Houzz Excellent design ideas from @Houzz featuring Amy Martin Landscape Design: clean, organic lines set the tone for the sloped yard. The hardscapes act as mini retaining walls. The grade was dealt with without a single retaining wall. It is gorgeous!!! The idea was to deal with the grade without making a highly structured terraced retaining wall," Martin says. They regraded the yard, filling and sloping it to make navigating it easier and more comfortable. AD100 Landscape Designer Louis Benech Infuses a Normandy Retreat with Memories of Long Island Great Post by @ArchDigest featuring Landscape Designer Louis Benech: "For me, the garden is like walking into a dream, and my dreams are memories from other countries. I am more attached to the garden than to the house." 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 827 Today is the anniversary of the death of Saint Adelard (pronounced Alard) of Corbie - a patron saint of gardeners - who died on this day in 827. Adelard was related to Charlemagne; they were first cousins. In addition to serving as the Abbott of the Abbey, Adelard was also the gardener. Today, on St. Adelard's Feast Day, Adelard is remembered in church iconography working in his garden while his Abbott's crown is shown resting on the ground beside him. 1735 Today Carl Linnaeus went a-courting. He briefly visited an 18-year-old woman named Sara Lisa Morraea in full Lapp costume. He returned the next day and spent the entire day with Sara Lisa and her family. By the end of the month, his friends were betting bottles of wine that there would be a baptism within the next four years. Sara Lisa was from a wealthy family. Her father was a doctor, and he agreed to allow Linnaeus to have her hand, once he had established himself. Linnaeus would return three years later. Carl Linnaeus and Sara Lisa were married on June 26, 1739. Fourteen years later, on May 1st, 1753, Linnaeus published his masterpiece Species Plantarum and changed plant taxonomy forever. Linnaeus is known as the Father of Taxonomy; his naming system is called binomial nomenclature. Binomial means "two names" which in the naming game includes the plant's genus (which is capitalized or could be abbreviated by its first letter) and species or specific epithet (which is all lowercase and can be abbreviated sp.) If you have trouble remembering taxonomy, I like to think of it as the given name and surname of a person, but in reverse order. The names that Linnaeus assigned live on unchanged and are distinguished by an "L." after their name. And, it was Linnaeus himself who said: "God created, Linnaeus ordered." The national flower of Sweden is the Linnaea (Linn-ee-ah) Borealis or the Twinflower; After naming over 8,000 plants, the Twin Flower was the lucky plant to which Linnaeus gave his name. And, it was Linnaeus' favorite plant. Linnaea is the genus. Borealis is the species, and it references where it is found (Borealis means northern). As for the story of how Linnaeus named it after himself, he was persuaded to do so by a Dutch botanist - his great friend, Jan Frederik Gronovius. Twinflower belongs to the honeysuckle family. It's a sweet tiny plant, offering a faint scent of vanilla. 1813 The first pineapple was planted in the kingdom of Hawaii by the Spaniard and botanist Don Francisco de Paula Marin. The Hawaiian word for pineapple translates to "foreign fruit." By the time Marin was in his early twenties, he had already made his way to Honolulu, Hawaii. It would be his home for the rest of his life. Marin became a friend and advisor to King Kamehameha I, who consolidated all the Hawaiian Islands during his rule. Marin served in the Kamehameha Dynasty in various capacities all through his life, but he is best remembered for his work in horticulture. Two years after planting the first pineapple, Marin planted the first Hawaiian vineyard using vines of the Mission grape. And, in 1817, with the approval of King Kamehameha, Marin planted the first coffee seeds in Hawaii. Marin is remembered as Hawaii's Original Farmer. 1831 Today is the birthday of the botanist John Gill ("J.G.") Lemmon. Lemmon and his wife, Sara Plummer Lemmon, were both botanists. Although Sara partnered equally with her husband on their botanical work, 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. She tended wounded soldiers in New York while teaching full time. In 1881, 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 in Tuscon, the Lemmons immediately set off for the Santa Catalina Mountains. In Elliot's History of Arizona, there are some recollections of the Lemmon's time in the mountains that illustrate their fortitude and bravery: "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 the Lemmons 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. 1899 The first issue of the New England Botanical Club's journal, Rhodora, was published. The first editor was Dr. Benjamin Robinson of Harvard University. Robinson served as an assistant to Sereno Watson and succeeded him as the curator of Gray Herbarium at Harvard University. From the Rhodora website, "Rhodora is a journal of botany devoted primarily to the flora of North America. It has been in publication continuously since 1899. This peer-reviewed quarterly comprises 400-500 pages per year. Members of the New England Botanical Club receive the journal with their annual membership." Individual membership (in the USA & International) is $50. Unearthed Words The artist and writer Minnie Aumônier ("o·mo·nyé") wrote some of the most beautiful verses about the garden and about ringing in the new year. Although little has been written about Minnie's life, she was part of an artistic family. Her father, William, founded the Aumonier Studios in 1876, an architectural sculpture firm in London. Her Uncle James was a painter. Minnie wrote: "Pure as the joy a garden gives, the memory of a true friend lives. And like a garden, through the changing year is ever lovely, ever fresh and dear." and "The Old Year passes into the New, and gladness fills all the earth for the joyous awakening of bud and blossom is at hand." Grow That Garden Library Leaf Supply by Lauren Camilleri and Sophia Kaplan The subtitle to this book is A Guide to Keeping Happy House Plants, and it came out in April of 2018. I ran across this book in a gift store over Christmas break, and I absolutely love it. The cover is gorgeous! Btw, Leaf Supply is the name of their book as well as their Sydney-based houseplant-delivery company. Leaf Supply is a beautiful, practical, and offers advice for choosing and caring for over 100 easy-to-find houseplants. And, Lauren and Sophia recommend houseplants over giving fresh flowers as a gift. Of course, everyone loves receiving fresh flowers. But houseplants are a gift that has staying power. More than a plant guide, Lauren and Sophia give inspiring plant styling advice - choosing pots, making the most of your indoor greenery, plus advice on pet-friendly (as well as harmful) plants for your home. Great Gifts for Gardeners Colonial Tin Works Three Bin Desk Organizer by Colonial Tin Works I got this little tin desk organizer for my potting shed, and I love it. It is perfect for gathering up all the small odds and ends that manage to find their way onto my workbench. This little organizer will save gardeners time from hunting for bits and bobs. I love the compact size, the patina of the tin, and the cute hardware and label holders.

• Product Dimensions: 10½"W x 5"D x 6"H
• Includes two label holders and a decorative handle.

Today's Botanic Spark 1975 The naturalist Kenneth C. Brugger ("Brew-ger") and his then-wife, Cathy Trail, discovered the first winter refuge of monarch butterflies in Mexico. Kenneth had been born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1918. After serving in World War II, Kenneth began working for Jockey International - the company known for making underwear. Kenneth was mechanically inclined, and he ultimately became Jockeys Chief Engineer. Kenneth was credited with many of Jockey's innovations. He even invented a machine that minimized shrinkage in the fabric of the underwear. It was called a compactor. During the 1960s, Kenneth moved to Mexico. There, Kenneth met his future wife, Cathy. In 1972, Kenneth read an advertisement that had been placed in a Mexico City newspaper by the Canadian zoologist husband-and-wife team of Fred and Norah Urquhart ("Irk-Heart"). The Urquharts had followed the monarchs as far as Texas. Fred and Norah believed that the butterflies ended up settling somewhere in Mexico - but they needed help, which was the reason they placed their advertisement in search of citizens to help their research. Luckily, Kenneth and Cathy answered the advertisement. Kenneth was an avid amateur naturalist, and Cathy was a native Mexican. She knew the country, understood the culture and the people, and she was fluent in Spanish. Together, Kenneth and Cathy ultimately became paid assistants of the Urquharts. Finally, on this fateful day in 1975, Kenneth and Cathy completed the work began by Fred and Norah 38 years earlier when they discovered the winter home of the monarch butterfly in the mountains of Mexico. Twenty months later, in August of 1976, Kenneth and Cathy's discovery made the cover of National Geographic magazine. The image showed a picture of Cathy - covered in monarch butterflies. She was 26 years old. In the years since the discovery, Kenneth and Cathy separated and then divorced. Cathy changed her name to Catalina and moved to Austin, Texas. She tells people, "I'm not a scientist… I'm a gardener that likes insects." Kenneth died at the age of 80 in 1998. Kenneth and Cathy's quest was part of an IMAX movie called Flight of the Butterflies. There is one touching fact worth mentioning about Kenneth's personal story. His Wikipedia entry says that he couldn't fully appreciate the beauty of witnessing the monarchs at their winter home; Kenneth was colorblind.

Show Notes Today we celebrate the Chelsea Physic Garden Curator who was partly responsible for the British Fern Craze and the botanical illustrator whose art ended up on South African currency. We'll learn about the man who discovered the virus researching tobacco plants and the English architect who partnered with Gertrude Jekyll to design Country Estates. Today's Unearthed Words feature garden-inspired poetry from the English gardener and writer Thomas Moore. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that will make you feel like you've made a garden friend. I'll talk about a great garden item that is made from repurposed weapons. and then we'll wrap things up with the origin story of the Kent mango. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Curated Articles The Herbs of Christmas by Mother Earth Living @mthrearthliving "Learn which herbs help welcome us into the holiday season The botanical trappings of the season have proven astoundingly consistent throughout the past several thousand years." Naturally, they discussed the holly and the ivy and the poinsettia. But, they also discussed the mistletoe. They explained: "Mistletoe called for a gesture of conciliation—usually a kiss. Under the original rules, a berry must be picked for each kiss." After all the berries were removed, the sprig was taken down and replaced with a new one. Superglue plant and 'miracle berry' among 2019's new finds by @dpcarrington @guardian As we welcome the new year, here's a nod to a handful of the plant discoveries made in 2019. @Kew scientists officially named 102 plants & 8 fungi in 2019 - including a shrub that oozes superglue and cancer-fighting fungi. A new species of Snowdrop was spotted on #Facebook! 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, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events 1887 Today is the anniversary of the death of the gardener, naturalist, and Chelsea Physic Garden curator Thomas Moore. Before Moore worked at Chelsea Physic Garden @ChelsPhysicGdn, he spent four years at Fraser's Lea Bridge Nurseries, Leyton from 1839-1842. Moore wrote several books on horticulture - many reflected his lifelong passion for ferns. In 1848, the year he started at Chelsea Physic Garden, he wrote the 'Handbook of British Ferns.' His maniacal focus on ferns led to the creation of a Fernery in the garden and inspired the Victorian Fern craze or "Pteridomania". Twelve years after his first book on ferns, his love was still going strong and he wrote British Ferns and Their Allies in 1869. Thomas is remembered for these wonderful quips like: "The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden," or "Garden as though you will live forever." My favorite Thomas Moore quote is about rosemary. He wrote, "As for rosemary, I let it run all over my garden walls...because it is the herb sacred to remembrance and to friendship." 1895 Today is the birthday of the South African botanical artist Cythna Letty. Letty's mom was a painter and she gave Cythna her first lessons on painting and sketching. As a small girl, she began creating a book that illustrated all of the flowering plants of her homeland. It took her a lifetime to finish the work and it was finally published in 1962. Letty captured the wildflowers of Africa with detail and grace. She worked for the Botanical Institute in the Department of Agriculture in South Africa. Based in Pretoria. In the 1960s as South Africa moved from the English sterling system, Cythna's work was selected for three coins in South African currency. The 10-cent coin featured the Aloe, the 20-cent featured the Protea which was the National Flower of South Africa. And the 50-cent flower featured the Agapanthus. Cythna wrote poetry as well. She once wrote: "I hitched my wagon to a daisy Direction vague and destination hazy But, could any star have guided me more exactly to where I most dearly loved to be?" 1931 Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Martinus Beijerinck (pronounced "by-a-rink"). Beijerinck searched for the reason tobacco plants were dying. In his research, Beijerinck ground up some diseased tobacco leaves and then pressed the juices through a bacteria filter. He was utterly shocked when the filtered, bacteria-free liquid still spread the disease. After reviewing his experiment, Beijerinck concluded that a "contagious living fluid" was the culprit. It was a disease-carrying micro-organism that was smaller than bacteria and he called it a virus, the Latin word for poison." Today, two of the most common viruses are the flu and the common cold. 1944 Today is the birthday of the English Architect Sir Edwin Lutyens ("Lutchins"). Edwin went by Ned. When Ned was almost forty, he was hired to work on a house for the great garden designer and horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll. It was the beginning of a professional collaboration and friendship that had profound effects on the English country garden. Jekyll and Ned created some of the greatest Edwardian gardens in the world. Lutyens reflected on the work of a garden designer when he wrote: "No artist has so wide a palette as the garden designer, and no artist is in greater need of discretion and reserve." When Jekyll introduced Ned to the founder of Country Life Magazine, Edward Hudson, she created another invaluable source of synergy for his work. Hudson greatly admired Ned's work and he became a vital patron. He regularly shared Ned's work in his magazine, he commissioned Ned to design numerous jobs for his many homes, and he even had Ned design the new office space for the magazine. The home Lutyens designed for Hudson known as Deanery Garden is arguably his best country home. It's now owned by Led Zepplin guitarist Jimmy Page. Unearthed Words After researching the Chelsea Physic Garden curator Thomas Moore for today's show, I thought you'd enjoy a few of his delightful poems. In 1805, Moore was inspired by a rose specimen called 'Old Blush' and wrote a poem called The Last Rose of Summer: Tis the last rose of summer, Left blooming alone; All her lovely companions Are faded and gone. Moore wrote this verse about the tuberose also known as a Night Violet or Dame's Violet (Hesperis matronalis): The tuberose, with her silvery light, That in the gardens of Malay Is called the Mistress of the Night, So like a bride, scented and bright; She comes out when the sun's away. And, here's a lovely verse from Moore about Jasmine (Jasminum officinale): From plants that wake when others sleep, from timid jasmine buds that keep their odor to themselves all day, but when the sunlight dies away let the delicious secret out to every breeze that roams about. Grow That Garden Library Potted and Pruned: Living a Gardening Life by Carol J. Michel The subtitle to Carol's book is Living a Gardening Life and it came out in February of 2017. Potted and Pruned won the 2018 Garden Media Awards Gold Medal for Best Overall Book. As someone who has a large garden library, one of the things I love about Carol's delightful little book, Potted and Pruned, aside from the title and all the wonderful stories inside, is the cover - it's a verdant green. Is there any other color more suited to a garden book? I think not. Yet, you wouldn't believe how few garden books are actually green nowadays. Beautiful green books like Carol's are wonderful to have out during the holidays. But all year long, Carol's book is really the perfect book to have by the bed in a guest room or at the cabin or just on an end table because it's short and sweet - just 144 pages; and best of all, it is heartwarming. To read Carol's book is to feel like you've made a garden friend. Carol's the kind of gardener that can laugh at her garden mistakes and she makes you feel like making mistakes is as natural as the garden itself. After all, how else are we to learn? In her book, Carol has written 36 wonderful stories for gardeners. You'll feel like you're right beside her in her garden called May Dreams where some of her plants prove frustrating, where the weeds want her full-time attention and where new rare plants are always welcome. You'll find inspiration as you read about how Carol handles drought or her practical pieces of advice that are sprinkled throughout the book. Carol's Book reminded of the book Gardener's BedTime Stories - only shorter, sweeter, and more relatable. You can dip in and out of her stories and then drift off to dreamland where you'll hopefully dream of your garden - your happy place. Great Gifts for Gardeners Here's a very unique gift for gardeners; it's the Garden Mattock from Raw Tools. Raw Tools makes garden tools from guns, in the spirit of beating swords into plowshares. The mattock is a double-sided tool that meets a variety of needs when caring for your garden. It offers a hoe on one side and a fork on the other. The tool is made from about 5" of a rifle barrel. Every barrel gives us a different tool. Each is one of a kind and made by hand. The handle is 14″-18″, the hoe and fork are 6″-8″. You can check out their amazing work here. Today's Botanic Spark 1933 On this day the Kent Mango (Mangifera indica) is planted on land belonging to Leith Dunlop Kent in Coconut Grove, Florida. Kent was just a kid when he was given a little Brooks Mango seedling for Christmas. Six years later, Kent's tree produced its first crop of mangos. The tree was a prolific and consistent producer. Kent brought some of the mangos to the Florida Mango Forum and the Kent Mango became a vital part of the commercial mango industry in Florida. By 1950, Kent was elected president of the Florida Mango Forum. And, here's a caution for gardeners when it comes to mangos. People can have a sensitivity to the peel and milky sap of the plant. It turns out that the substance, urushiol ("u-ROO-she-ol"), is also found in poison ivy, sumac, and poison oak.

Today we celebrate the Spanish botanist who tackled the area known as New Spain and the man who discovered the Schneck Oak.

We'll learn about the French botanist who made many of our blooms bigger and better and the mayor who was known as the Little Flower.

We'll hear some thoughts about Winter and how we can benefit from the solace.

We Grow That Garden Library with a book about indoor gardening.

I'll talk about a beautiful holiday gift for the gardener who likes to work on puzzles, and then we wrap things up with the 1992 discovery that rocked the botanical world.

But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.

Today's Curated Articles:

Chinese Witch Hazel Plant story - Hamamelis mollis - The English Garden @theenglishgarden.co.uk

Here's the story behind the beautiful Chinese witch hazel - Hamamelis mollis. The English Plant Hunter Charlies Maries found it in China in 1878 & brought it home to London, where it sat unnoticed for 20 years. From @theenglishgarden.co.uk

In pictures: Tubers of the future | Kew @KewGardens

Garden Design and Landscaping "College Glen" | Decorum.London @LondonDecorum @cedstonegroup

Here's a fantastic post by landscape design co @LondonDecorum Gorgeous "College Glen" w/ Sandstone Paving @cedstonegroup, timber, Siberian Larch deck, & Lavender plantings. Love it all - pics, project & plant list - so thoughtful!| Decorum.London https://buff.ly/35lR7HK

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 on Facebook. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.

Brevities:

#OTD Today is the birthday of the Spanish botanist Martin Sesse who was born on this day in 1751.

King Carlos III charged Sesse with identifying, classifying, and illustrating all of the plant species throughout New Spain. This was a tremendous request. But Sesse was the man for the job. He was excellent at training young botanists, he was a pragmatist, and he had a strategic mind. He made plans for a major botanical expedition of new Spain, which was composed of the southwestern part of the United States, Mexico, and Central America. The expedition was an elaborate undertaking, and the botanists and the rest of the company would not return to Spain for a dozen years.

Sesse put together an A-team of botanists, including José Mariano Mociño and Vicente Cervantes, as well as a cantankerous naturalist by the name of José Longino Martinez.

A surgeon and naturalist from Madrid, Martinez wasn't suited to teamwork. After one too many disagreements with Sesse and the other botanists, Martinez went his own way and went off to explore California, which is how he became known as California's first naturalist.

As for Sesse and the other botanists, they conducted several plant collecting missions all over Mexico, which resulted in Sesse's most significant contribution to botany; a Flora of Mexico.

Of course, Sesse didn't do any of this alone. He collaborated with his team, especially Mociño and Cervantes. Together they established the Royal Botanical Garden of Mexico City, and Cervantes ended up serving as the Prof. of botany. They also founded botanical gardens in Manila and the Canary Islands. Altogether, Sesse's team cost Spain nearly 400,000 pesos.

Sesse's work could not have been done without the support of King Carlos, the Third. Luckily Sesse's significant endeavors were accomplished by the time Carlos the Fourth ascended the throne in 1788. Number Four had little interest in advancing scientific knowledge. It was clear that the time of significant Spanish scientific exploration was coming to an end.

During his lifetime, Sesse made a significant number of botanical illustrations, which he brought with him when he returned back home to Spain. These pieces were never published, and they sat dormant until the botanist de Candolle saw them, and he knew right away that they were worth pursuing. He hired the artist is Jean Christophe Heyland to produce new drawings based on Sesse's work.

Today Sesse is remembered most conspicuously by a dry gin that's made in Madrid. It has a beautiful blue label.

#OTD Today is the birthday of the Indiana physician, naturalist, and botanist Jacob Schneck who was born on this day in 1843.

After his service in the Civil War, Jacob decided to educate himself by going to school to become a teacher. After teaching for a short period, he decided he wanted to become a doctor. His teaching jobs allowed him to put himself through medical school

Jacob loved plants, and he spent as much time as he could in the field Botanizing. His quick curiosity and cleverness enabled him to observe a feature regarding some species of red Oaks. Jacob noticed that the acorn from one species of red Oak was quite distinctive. He shared his discovery with a fellow botanist named Nathaniel Lord Britton. Britton agreed with Jacob's observation, and he named the oak in his honor, calling it the Quercus Schneckii (ii = "ee-eye"). But most people just call it the Schneck Oak.

Jacob put together a collection of various types of wood for an exhibition at the Chicago World's Fair.

Jacob died at the age of 63. His funeral was reported to be the largest ever held in Mount Caramel Illinois

Newspaper accounts indicated he had been battling pneumonia but still had gone out to tend to his patients. His efforts probably cost him his life.

"No man in Wabash county had endeared himself to so many people as had Dr. Schneck. Year after year he had gone about in our midst, quietly doing his great work for humanity, turning away now and then to investigate some scientific question, especially in the realm of botany, his favorite study, and one in which he had acquired a national reputation."

After Schneck died, his collection of specimens, stones, shells, and fossils was put on display at the Carnegie public library in 1934.

When he was alive, Jacob spent a great deal of time fashioning cases and containers to display his collection. Each specimen was labeled in Dr. Schneck's impeccable handwriting.

#OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the French flower breeder Victor Lemoine ("Loom-one") who died on this day in 1911.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Lemoine for enhancing the beauty of so many flowers in our gardens: Lilacs, Mock-Oranges, Phlox, Peonies, Gladiolus, Tuberous Begonias, Geraniums, and Deutzias.

Around the year 1850, Lemoine borrowed money from his gardener father and began a nursery that survived three generations thanks to his son Emile and his grandson Henri. The Lemoine nursery thrived on land bought in Nancy, France (pronounced "non-cee"). A few years later, Lemoine created his first double-flower; the Portulaca grandiflora or Moss Ross. As with so many of Lemoine's creations, the double-flower created double the beauty.

In 1854, Lemoine turned the original five-petaled single blossom of the geranium into a double-flowered stunner he called "Gloire de Nancy" or "Glory of Nancy."

Northern gardeners owe Lemoine a debt of gratitude for his work with peonies. He crossed the Paeonia wittmanniana with the Siberian albaflora; creating a peony that could withstand a winter freeze. Lemoine created some of our most memorable heirlooms: the white Le Cygne or Swan peony, the Primevere with creamy white outer guard petals, and packed with canary yellow petals inside, the blush-colored Solange peony, the pink Sarah Bernhardt, La Fee the Fairy peony, and the creamy-white Alsace-Lorraine peony.

But, it is the Lilac that will forever be associated with Lemoine. Incredibly, Lemoine didn't start working on Lilacs until he was almost fifty. That said, Lemoine's wife, Marie Louise, was his tireless assistant when his eyes and fine-motor skills were failing. She hand-pollinated the little lilac flowers and aided both her husband and her son with hybridizing.

Lemoine worked magic with his Lilacs. He made them bloom earlier and later. He improved the quality of the bloom, and he expanded their color spectrum. He grew the very first double Lilac. By the time the Lemoine nursery closed its doors in 1968, the Lemoine's had bred 214 new cultivars of Lilac.

#OTD Happy birthday to the Little Flower, aka Fiorello LaGuardia, who was born on this day in 1882 on Sullivan Street in Greenwich Village.

Mayor LaGuardia often referred to as the Little Flower (Fiorello means little flower in Italian). Although the reference could be construed as a slight for LaGuardia's short stature (he was only 5'2"), it became an ironic endearment as LaGuardia had a larger than life, take-charge personality. Little Flower is remembered for his desire for justice and fairness; he was a champion of the working class and immigrants. He died at age 64.

Unearthed Words

"In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me, there lay an invincible summer."

- Albert Camus

"There is a privacy about [winter] which no other season gives you ..... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself."

- Ruth Stout

It's Time to Grow That Garden Library with Today's Book: Countertop Gardens by Shelley Levis

The subtitle for this book is Easily Grow Kitchen Edibles Indoors for Year-Round Enjoyment. This is such a timely topic for those of us who I want to maintain some type of gardening activity during the winter in addition to satisfying I desire for garden-to-table produce. Self-contained growing systems are perfect for growing your own food indoors, and they're becoming evermore is sufficient and occupy such a small footprint that now you can grow your food even in the smallest spaces.

Shelly walks you through the different growing systems that are available nowadays, including hydroponic, aquaponic, and vertical gardening systems. She also shows you how to make your own DIY setup.

Chapters include:

• Countertop garden methods
• Best edibles for countertop gardens
• DIY countertop gardening
• Growing basics
• Countertop growing devices
• Troubleshooting

Thanks to Shelley, Countertop Gardens ensures that fresh food is at your fingertips year-round.

You can get a used copy of Shelley's book and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $3.

Today's Recommended Holiday Gift for Gardeners: Galison's 1,000-piece butterfly puzzle by Wendy Gold

This flawless fit 1000+ piece puzzle is a stunning collage work of art that makes for a challenging and gorgeous puzzle that you will love piecing together. The puzzle features Wendy Gold's vintage images of butterflies collaged and clustered over a map of the world. Plus, it includes an insert with information about the artist and her fantastic image. The Galison Wendy Gold Butterfly Migration 1000-piece puzzle is the right level of challenge for older children or adults to complete over a long weekend or a few days. Pull up a chair and sit together at the kitchen table, talking and laughing as you find the proper place for each puzzle piece.

• The finished puzzle measures 20" x 27."
• The 1054-piece colorful jigsaw puzzle is just the right level of challenge for a few days of activity.
• It includes an insert with information about the artist and her fantastic image.
• This flawless fit jigsaw puzzle features vintage images of butterflies collaged and clustered over a map of the world.
• Makes an ideal gift for any puzzle lover!
• Galison uses continuous quality control checks during production to ensure there is virtually no puzzle dust.
• Each piece is printed with no glare, non-toxic inks.
• $15.81

Something Sweet

Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart

On this day in 1992, California newspapers reported that botanists had discovered a new plant in California, and it was caused a big stir in the botanical world.

The plant is a member of the Rose family and has a delightfully charming common name - the Shasta snow-wreath. The closest known living species to the Shasta snow-wreath is the rare Alabama snow-wreath.

The Shasta snow-wreath is regarded as one of California's rarest plants. It has a beautiful blossom, which appears for just ten days in the spring. It looks like a white spikey puff ball made up of a cluster of stamens rather than petals.

A native shrub to California - especially around Lake Shasta - researches studying salamanders were familiar with the plant, but they didn't know what it was.

In 1992, the two botanists - Dean Taylor and Glenn Clifton - were able to discover the plant thanks to the California drought, which caused the waters of Cedar Creek to drop far enough to enable them to access a limestone outcropping. The Shasta snow-wreath was identified after a week of review.

In April of this past year, volunteers removed invasive species from the places where the Shasta snow-wreath likes to grow - like along shorelines and canyons around Lake Shasta.

Today there are only around 20 populations of Shasta snow-wreath in California.

Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener, and remember:

"For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate the gardener poet known for writing "hope is the thing with feathers", and the man who became the world authority on agaves. We'll learn about the Victorian botanist who was the first to speak in favor of Darwin's theory and the man who created the Ballard Lock Garden in Seattle. We'll hear a December poem from the man known during the 20th century as the People's Poet. We Grow That Garden Library with a book of letters between two gardeners during the year between 1998 and 1999. I'll talk about an architectural element for your kitchen that makes a tremendous holiday gift and we wrap things up with a clever poem about King Midas and what would happen if his roses had turned to gold. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Today's Curated Articles: Book Review: Wild about Weeds, Garden Design with Rebel Plants by Jack Wallington Here's Alison Levey's review of the wonderful new book from @jackwallington on garden design with weeds and rebel plants #gardenblog #bookreview #gmg @LaurenceKingPub The book is one of my favorites for 2019. I especially enjoy the designer profiles and Jack's ability to defend the plants many of us secretly love but might not admit in certain circles. Botany at the Bar Three scientists discuss the plant science and history of bitters—and share a Thanksgiving cocktail | Scientific American@sciam Take 3 researchers, add plant science, & a deep dive into the world of bitters& you have this phenomenal book of 75 botanically inspired craft cocktails! #BotanyattheBar #science #technology Great post to help you discover the fascinating and ancient #botanicalhistory behind bitters, plus a fun cocktail recipe - and, these scientists really know how to make a good cocktail! Folks on Social Media provided many ringing endorsements saying they had tried a number of their bitters and etc at conferences and were definite fans. Who Doesn't Like Sweet Potatoes? This Kenyan Researcher, For One| @npr @estherngumbi Can you have too much of a good thing? Yes. Yes, you can. Here's a very relatable post from Researcher Esther Ngumbi who grew up eating sweet potatoes for nearly every meal. Part of our desire for certain foods is their seasonality. Monotony is the death of pleasure. Now many of her family members are just done with these foods. "No one — and I mean no one — had any more appetite for these root vegetables." "True confession," she writes, "I will not eat sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving. Or any other time of the year. It all has to do with my Kenyan childhood." "I know it is many people's favorite food, especially during Thanksgiving, but as for me, I still say NO to sweet potatoes. They remind me of what it's like to grow up ... without being able to choose what kind of food you'd like to eat each day." 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 on Facebook. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Here are Today's Brevities: #OTD Today is the birthday of Emily Dickenson who was born on this day in 1830. The Dickinson Author Judith Farr reminds us that during her lifetime, Emily Dickinson was "known more widely as a gardener,... than as a poet." Emily grew up gardening. She would help her mother with their large edible and ornamental garden. The flower garden became Emily's responsibility when she got older. She planted in a carefree cottage garden style. After Emily died, her sister Lavinia took over the garden. Emily's niece and editor, Martha Dickinson Bianchi recalls: "All [Lavinia's] flowers did as they liked: tyrannized over her, hopped out of their own beds and into each other's beds, were never reproved or removed as long as they bloomed; for a live flower to Aunt Lavinia was more than any dead horticultural principle." #OTD Today is the birthday of Howard Scott Gentry who was born on this day in 1903. A 1982 newspaper article shared a great story about Howard, saying: "This elder statesman of the botanical world [is] a first-class charmer when you get .... to his subject;... his love for the wilds of Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico; [and] about the years he spent as an agricultural explorer for the USDA, and about how he gradually came to know more about agaves "than any other human being." Concerning the hectic pace of his agave research after his retirement from the USDA in 1971, Howard said: "I don't like to start things and not finish them." Several times a year, Howard would plunge into the rugged interior of Mexico perched atop a mule, just as he'd done during his first collecting trips nearly half a century earlier. [Howard graduated college with a degree in] vertebrate biology from the University of California at Berkeley [and he] concocted the notion of becoming a freelance biologist. To pay for his first field trip into Mexico, Howard sent 300 letters around the country - to scientific institutions, naturalists, really anybody he could think of - soliciting collection orders. "I came up with $3,000 worth of orders. For anything and everything, for an embryo of a white-tailed deer, which I did collect, for birds' eggs, for ticks, for plant specimens. I really got fascinated with that southern Sonoran and Chihuahuan country." After this trip, Howard wrote "Rio Mayo Plants." He recalled: "After that book came out, I became somewhat known as a botanist, which I wasn't. I was a zoologist doing exceptionally well writing as a botanist." Howard completed a doctorate in botany at the University of Michigan, where the well-known botanist Harley Harris Bartlett taught. In 1950, Howard became an agricultural explorer for the USDA. Based in Maryland, he traveled the world locating, researching and collecting plants for the government. [Howard was involved in a] spurt of postwar agave work when it was discovered that plants in the agave family and plants in the wild yam family contained compounds that seemed effective in treating arthritis. Because of his far-flung collecting (he traveled in 24 foreign countries), Howard was constantly introducing new plants to the United States. It was high-profile work in the botanical community. "I refused several times to become a desk man for USDA. It was a chance to cut out all the travel, but I told them, 'No, not me. I want to work with plants, not people. People are problems." #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Victorian British botanist, explorer, President of the Royal Society, and director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker who died on this day in 1911 at the age of 94. Hooker accomplished much during his long life. The botanic gardens of the world were a discovery and classification network he masterfully orchestrated into R&D facilities to enhance the world's economy and promote trade. Hooker was Charle's Darwin's closest friend and collaborator. In fact, they corresponded about Darwin's theory before it was made public. And, Hooker was instrumental in getting Darwin's work published. Many regard Hooker as Darwin's personal PR man. In 1877, Hooker was knighted for scientific services to the British Empire. And here's an adorable factoid about Hooker: Kew Gardens recently shared that, during his travels, Hooker would address letters to his young son to "my dear little Lion" or "my dear cub". #OTD On this day in 1974, in Seattle, Washington, that seven acres of gardens were named in honor of the eminent horticulturist, Carl S. English Jr. The gardens are located on the Lake Washington Ship Canal and overlook the Hiram Chittenden Locks which connect Puget Sound to Lake Washington. The locks and the canal offer their own beauty and are fascinating to watch. And, every year, hundreds of thousands of salmon and trout climb the fish ladder in their annual migration. English was the supervisor of the gardens for 36 years, from 1940 until his death in 1976. After graduating with a degree in botany from Washington State University, Carl was hired by the locks to tend the grounds. The seven acres were intended to be used as a demonstration field where soldiers could march. In reality, the area sat idle. Being a botanist, Carl thought the grounds had potential and would have loved to install a garden on the spot, but there was no budget. So, Carl used his own time and went on many plant collecting trips around the world. Not surprisingly, Carl always brought back seeds and specimens for the garden. In addition, Carl and his wife, who was also a botanist, had a small seed business and published a seed catalog. Today, this lovely arboretum and specimen garden is home to nearly 1,500 flower varieties. There's a charming description of the garden by Dr. Arthur Kruckeberg written in the Summer of 1959: "To be sure, the average visitor enters the grounds bent on viewing the activity of boats and people at the locksides. Yet, once entering the north gate, one senses the change from the clutter and crowding of city life to the serenity and expansive beauty of a park. To the knowing eye, the plantings are not at all typical of just any park. The keen gardener, horticulturalist, or botanist is at once convinced that he has stepped into a botanical sanctuary-a true arboretum." Unearthed Words Edgar Albert Guest, Winter in the Garden Gray skies above us, and the snow Blankets the frozen earth below. Where roses bloomed the drifts lie deep. The hollyhocks are fast asleep. The cedars green are wearing white Like rich men's wives on opera night. The elm tree strangely seems to throw A lean, gaunt shadow on the snow. The last brown leaves of twig and stem Have found the storms too much for them. Winter, the tyrant of the land, Once more is in supreme command. Guest was known as the People's Poet during the first half of the 20th century. His poems were happy and hopeful; which is why people liked them. It's Time to Grow That Garden Library with Today's Book: A Year in Our Gardens by Nancy Goodwin and Allen Lacy This is a book of letters that were exchanged between Nancy Goodwin and Allen Lacy during one year between 1998 and 1999. They were both enormously passionate gardeners and they drew inspiration from their shared zest for plants. Aside from sharing a growingng zone (7A), their gardens were very different. Allen gardened on sandy soil on a small lot while Nancy battled rich clay loam on more than sixty acres. Together Nancy and Allen swapped stories of their horticultural successes and failures; traded information about a great many plants; discussed their hopes, fears, and inspirations; and mused on the connections between gardening and music, family, and friendship. I love what it says in the description of this book: Any woman who buys a house because of the quality of its dirt is a true gardener. Any man who reads garden catalogs word for word, cover to cover, is equally enthusiastic about plants. Meet Goodwin and Lacy, two kindred spirits… who also reveal the changes in their lives, sharing their innermost feelings and experiences, as one does only with a very close friend. You can get a used copy and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $4. Today's Recommended Holiday Gift for Gardeners: Esschert Design C3000 Herb Drier

• With this hanging herb drier, you can enjoy aromatic herbs year-round
• Just tie herbs in bunches with string and hang upside down
• Herb drier made of rustic metal with hooks for hanging herbs
• Herb drier is 15.8 inches in diameter
• $23.99

Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart #OTD Today is the birthday of the poet Carolyn Kizer who was born on this day in 1925. Kizer wrote occasionally about the garden and my favorite poem of hers is this charming piece about King Midas growing golden roses called The Ungrateful Garden. Here are some definitions to help you understand Carolyn's poem: Ague is a shivering fever, serried means standing in a row, to "silt up" is to block or fill with silt, and a shift is a nightgown. To keep the show clean, I've eliminated all offensive language. The Ungrateful Garden Midas watched the golden crust That formed over his steaming sores, Hugged his agues, loved his lust, But (cursed) the out-of-doors Where blazing motes of sun impaled The serried roses, metal-bright. "Those famous flowers," Midas wailed, "Have scorched my retina with light." This gift, he'd thought, would gild his joys, Silt up the waters of his grief; His lawns a wilderness of noise, The heavy clang of leaf on leaf. Within, the golden cup is good To lift, to sip the yellow mead. Outside, in summer's rage, the rude Gold thorn has made his fingers bleed. "I strolled my halls in golden shift, As ruddy as a lion's meat. Then I rushed out to share my gift, And golden stubble cut my feet." Dazzled with wounds, he limped away To climb into his golden bed, Roses, roses can betray. "Nature is evil," Midas said.

Today we celebrate the botanist who was also a spy during WWII. We'll learn about the German photographer who saw artistic inspiration in his close-ups of plants. We'll hear some prose about winter, We Grow That Garden Library with a book that offers us 100 tips for Growing a More Glorious Garden. I'll talk about a sweet little gift of bling for your indoor pots and containers, and then we'll wrap things up with the woman who became the beautiful face of a produce company. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Here's Today's Curated Articles: Will I Ever Call Sansevieria by Its New Name? - The Houseplant Guru by Lisa Steinkopf Goodbye Sansevieria trifasciata... Hello, Dracaena trifasciata! The Royal Society- Microscopic Blue Mould @royalsociety This beautiful illustration is actually a microscopic view of blue mold growing on leather. The original (1665) appears in Micrographia: or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses with observations and Inquiries thereupon, by Robert Hooke. Penicillium expansum is commonly known as Blue Mold. Blue molds are the bluish fungus that grows on food. Most people are familiar with the blue molds on some cheeses... Substituting Herbs| @RosaleeForet "What herbs can I use instead of ________?" Great post from @RosaleeForet At first, it may seem like a simple question. But the reality is, herbal substitutions are more complicated than that. You need to know how to think about them first." 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 on Facebook. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Here Are Today's Brevities: #OTD On this day in 1855, it was starting to snow on Walden Pond, and Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal: "At 8.30 a fine snow begins to fall, increasing very gradually, perfectly straight down, till in fifteen minutes the ground is white, the smooth places first, and thus the winter landscape is ushered in. And now it is falling thus all the land over, sifting down through the tree-tops in woods, and on the meadow and pastures, where the dry grass and weeds conceal it at first, and on the river and ponds, in which it is dissolved. But in a few minutes, it turns to rain, and so the wintry landscape is postponed for the present." #OTD Today is the birthday of Peter Smithers, who was born on this day in 1913. Sir Peter Smithers, was a British politician and diplomat, but also an award-winning gardener. He worked as a British spy during World War II. Smithers was said to have inspired the fictional character of James Bond. His obituary stated that: "Flowers were ... important to him. [He said] "I regard gardening and planting as the other half of life, a counterpoint to the rough and tumble of politics." Smithers learned to love the natural world from his nanny. When he was in his 50s, that Smithers was finally able to focus on horticulture and botany fulltime. Smithers loved rhododendrons, magnolias, tree peonies, lilies, and wisteria. He developed a garden that didn't require a ton of work - along the same lines as Ruth Stout. He wrote: "The garden is planted so as to reduce labor to an absolute minimum as the owner grows older." Thanks to Smither's travels, the Royal Horticulture Society asked Smithers to write his gardening memoirs. The book was a part-autobiography and part-garden book. Smithers had observed gardens in England, Mexico, Central America, and Switzerland. Smithers shared stories from his incredible career - like the time he was serving in naval intelligence in Washington when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. And, George Coen commented, "[Smithers is] as comfortable talking about [his career] as he is in explaining the behavior of wasps in a flower garden." And, Smither's followed individual basic principals to help ground him as he pursued the hobby of gardening. All gardeners could benefit from Smithers wise advise. He wrote: "[The garden] shall be a source of pleasure to the owner and his friends, not a burden and anxiety." #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the German plant photographer Karl Blossfeldt who died on this day in 1932. Working in Weimar, Germany, as a sculptor and architect, Karl made his cameras himself. He designed them to magnify up to thirty times - which allowed him to capture the incredible forms, patterns, and textures of plants. Blossfeldt's work was not a passing fancy; he took pictures of plants for 35 years. Karl said, "If I give someone a horsetail, he will have no difficulty making a photographic enlargement of it – anyone can do that. But to observe it, to notice and discover old forms, is something only a few are capable of." Karl preferred to portray an ideal, and as a result, he carefully selected his specimens. Even then, he shaped them with strategic pruning and clipping and arranged them in the very best light. As a teacher of industrial design, Blossfeldt wanted his students to understand that art and design originated in the forms of nature and he wrote, "The plant must be valued as a totally artistic & architectural structure." and "The plant never lapses in to mere arid functionalism; it fashions and shapes according to logic and suitability, and with its primeval force compels everything to attain the highest artistic form." Four years before his death, at the age of 63, Karl Blossfeldt created a book of his photographs called "Art Forms in Nature". The book featured 120 photos, and they were all created using a home-made pinhole camera. The book made him famous. A few years later, a second edition featured more plant photographs. After the first book was released, the San Francisco Examiner wrote a feature review that gushed: "These photographs of leaves, blossoms, and stalks of living plants amplify details… not apparent to the human eye. One of the most interesting of the photographs … is [of] the plant known as Willkomm's Saxifrage (pronounced SAK-suh-frij), enlarged eight times. The picture does not seem to be that of a plant but a delicately designed and fashioned brooch. Another [image] shows a shoot of the Japanese Golden Ball Tree, enlarged ten times, and is strikingly like the hilt of a sword used in the adventurous Middle Ages. [Another] picture, showing the rolled leaf of a German ostrich fern, was also so much like a crozier (a hooked staff carried by a bishop) that it seems [it] must have been designed from fern leaves. Another photograph looks like the detail of a Fourteenth Century screen done in wrought iron, but it is nothing, but a picture of the tendrils of the common pumpkin vine enlarged four times. Students all over Europe are interested in the German professor's unique discovery and will, in the future, go more and more to nature for decorative designs." Karl's work still feels fresh and fascinating, and his 6,000 photographs remind us that art often imitates Nature. Karl's microphotography is an excellent reminder to gardeners to look more closely at their plants. It was Karl Blossfeldt who said, "Nature educates us into beauty and inwardness and is a source of the most noble pleasure." Unearthed Words "The grim frost is at hand, when apples will fall thick, almost thunderous, on the hardened earth." - D. H. Lawrence, Author "Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour." –John Boswell, Historian "I prefer winter and fall when you feel the bone structure in the landscape - the loneliness of it - the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it - the whole story doesn't show." - Andrew Wyeth, Realistic Painter It's Time to Grow That Garden Library with Today's Book: Ground Rules by Kate Frey The subtitle to this book is 100 Easy Lessons for Growing a More Glorious Garden, and it came out in October of last year. In this photo-filled book, Kate shares her secrets to garden design and hard-won lessons on gardening. Thanks to the gorgeous illustrations and practical tips, Kate's book is an uplifting and refreshing read. Best of all, Kate's tips are shared one page at a time, and they are easy-to-read and understand. This makes Kate the rarest sort of expert gardener and designer in that she understands how to explain things to gardeners. Kate's book covers the following sections: 1) Design - paths, seating, color combos... 2) Planting Advice - plants for your zone & weather considerations. 3) Soil - identify the soil you have and then amend it. 4) Water - conserve water, use drip irrigation, plant smart. 5) How To Be a Good Garden Parent - deadhead, divide plants, manage weeds. 6) How To Attract Birds, Bees, and Butterflies - attract insects with plants and provide water. 7) How To Create a Garden of Earthly Delights - how to evoke emotion through design and create community through plants. Today's Recommended Holiday Gift for Gardeners: 5.2" x 4.6" 3pc Aluminum Mushroom Planter Figurine Set Gold - Smith & Hawken™ Bring a touch of fun, rustic flair to your plant collection when you decorate using the 3-Piece Aluminum Mushroom Planter Figurine Set from Smith & Hawken™. This gold-finish planter decor set includes three figurines designed to look just like little mushrooms, complete with allover textured and embossed detailing. Each mushroom features a small stake at the bottom, making it easy to insert into your planter, and the aluminum construction offers lasting style. Use them in the same planter, or spread them throughout your collection for whimsical appeal. It's a fun way to add a little bling to your indoor pots and containers. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart #OTD Today is the birthday of the American model Lorraine Collett who was born on this day in 1892 in Kansas City, Missouri. At the age of 23, Lorraine was working as a Sun-Maid Raisin girl and wore a blue bonnet with a white blouse and blue piping. Lorraine and the other Sun-Maid girls handed out raisins. In a spectacular marketing stunt, Lorraine even hopped aboard a small plane every day of the festival and tossed raisins into the crowds of people. One Sunday morning, after her mom had set her hair into eight long black curls, Lorraine was outside drying her hair in the warmth of her sunny backyard in Fresno. That afternoon, Lorraine had swapped out her blue bonnet for her mother's red one. The combination of her silky black curls and the red bonnet in the sunshine apparently made an arresting sight. Coincidentally, a group of raisin coop executives and their wives walked by at that very moment, and they asked Lorraine about the red bonnet. After that day, all the Sun-Maids wore red bonnets, and Lorraine agreed to pose for a watercolor painting. Lorraine and her mom had to rent an apartment in San Fransico for a month in order to work with the artist Fanny Scafford. Lorraine posed every day - all month long - for three hours a day. She held a wooden tray overflowing with grapes while wearing the red bonnet. The portrait ended up as the symbol for the company, and it was included on every box of raisins. One newspaper article about the story in 1978 had the headline "Hair A-glinting in the Sun Made Girl an Emblem." After the executive passed away, the painting ended up in Lorraine's possession. But after many years, Lorraine returned the watercolor to the company. Today, the portrait hangs in a conference room at the Sun-Maid Growers plant. And the faded red bonnet? That was donated to the Smithsonian on the company's 75th Anniversary. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate the botanist who made his mark in human anatomy and the botanist who lost his civil war specimens to a confederate raider.

We'll hear the most popular poem about trees written by a poet who was killed in WWI.

We Grow That Garden Library with a self-published humorous garden book by one of my favorite garden authors.

I'll talk about a garden gift that you can split - one for you and one for a gift - and in the perfect price point for holiday gift exchanges and then we'll wrap things up with a story about the protection of the work done by botanists over a century ago.

But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.

Today's Curated Articles:

Clove-Pink (Dianthus caryophyllus) syrup recipe | Quebec Terre a Terre by Sylvain Pilon & Bonnie Kerr

Dianthus Syrup!

In the past, Clove-pink was esteemed equally with the rose in mixtures. Regarded as "exceedingly cordial" and "wonderfully above measure comforts the heart."

Clove-pink petals w/ verbena infused in alcohol was a refreshing bath liqueur.

A third of Africa's tropical flora threatened with extinction: study | @physorg_com

The "Red List" is the go-to for birds and mammals but only covers ~10% of plants. A new study's preliminary estimate found a third of Africa's tropical flora (~7000 species) are likely/potentially threatened with extinction

The Potato Shines in New Missouri Botanical Garden Exhibit | @MobotMuseum

You say Potato, I say Potato Exhibit!

Just in time for the Holidays, the exhibit @MobotMuseum is called "Potato (Solanum tuberosum): Apple of the Earth" & will be on display through March 17.

The potato is the most important non-cereal food crop in the world.

Galleries feature contemporary artists Seamus O. Hames, Dornith Doherty, and Corina Kennedy. Each artist has interpreted the unique story of the potato, especially the historic impact of the late potato blight that devastated the potato crop in Ireland in the mid-19th century.

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 on Facebook. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.

Brevities

#OTD Today is the birthday of Johann Gottfried Zinn who was born on this day in 1727.

Zinn died at the age of 32, but he accomplished much in his short life and he focused on two areas of science: human anatomy and botany.

From an anatomy standpoint, in his early twenties, Zinn wrote an eye anatomy book and became the first person to describe the anatomy of the iris in the human eye. There are a number of parts of the eye named in his honor including the Zinn zonule, the Zinn membrane, and the Zinn artery.

It's fitting that Zinn wrote about the iris - which of course is also the name of a flower - and so there's some charming coincidental connection between his two passions of anatomy and botany.

In Greek mythology, Iris was a beautiful messenger - a one-woman pony express - between the Olympian gods and humans. Iris was the personification of the rainbow. She had golden wings and would travel along the rainbow carrying messages from the gods to mortals.

In the plant world, the iris is a genus with hundreds of species and is represented by the fleur-de-lis.

When Zinn was 26 years old, he became director of the University Botanic Garden in Göttingen (pronounced "Gert-ing-en"). He thought the University was going to put him to work as a professor of anatomy, but that job was filled and so botany was his second choice. Nonetheless, he threw himself into his work. When Zinn received an envelope of seeds from the German Ambassador to Mexico, he described the blossom in detail and he published the first botanical illustration of the zinnia. He also shared the seeds with other botanists throughout Europe. Like most botanists in the 1700s, Zinn corresponded with Linnaeus. No doubt Zinn's work as a bright, young garden Director and the fact that he tragically died young from tuberculosis, spurred Linnaeus to name the flower Zinn received from Mexico in his honor.

And so, Zinn lives on in the name Zinnia - a favorite flower of gardeners, and for good reasons: They come in a variety of vivid colors, they can be direct sown into the garden, they attract pollinators like butterflies and they couldn't be easier to grow.

And, if meditation is something you struggle with, you can still become a Zinn Master, if you enjoy growing Zinnias. :)

And, I'd like to think Zinn would be pleased being remembered by the Zinnia because, like the Iris, the Zinnia has a connection to the eyes.

We've all heard the phrase beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well... in the case of the Zinnia, the Aztecs were clearly not a fan. In fact, the Aztecs had a word for zinnia which basically translated to the evil eye or eyesore. The Aztecs didn't care for the zinnia flower - but don't judge them because it was not the hybridized dazzling version we've grown accustomed to in today's gardens. (You can thank the French for that!) The original plants were weedy-looking with an uninspired dull purple blossom. This is why the blossom was initially called the crassina which means "somewhat corse" before Linnaeus changed the name to remember Zinn.

Over time, the gradual transformation of zinnias from eyesores to beauties gave Zinnias the common name Cinderella Flower. And here's a little factoid: the zinnia is Indiana's state flower. I like to imagine when it came time for Indiana legislators to vote in favor of the zinnia, Zinn was looking down from heaven and smiling as he heard these words: "All in favor of the zinnia, say aye."

#OTD On this day in 1852, the Harvard botanist Asa Gray wrote to Joseph Henry, first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

Gray wrote the letter because he couldn't lecture at the Smithson due to his demanding schedule. But he also sent his reassurance in that Smithsonian was establishing itself as the scientific adviser to the United States Government and not to worry about any more negative media coverage of the Institution.

#OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Quaker doctor and botanist Jeremiah Bernard Brinton who died 125 years ago today in 1894.

During the civil war, Brinton served as an assistant surgeon and on September 14, 1863, he was promoted to Medical Purveyor.

It's hard to imagine, but Brinton managed to continue botanizing during the civil war. It's true. One time he was going to collect a specimen and he made a friend in Major General Gouverneur K. Warren. That little connection was a happy recollection for Brinton through the years.

During the Civil War, there was a man named John Singleton Mosby who was a Confederate raider. Mosby and his men conducted raids on union soldiers and communications over the span of two years.

On May 12, 1864, Mosby and his men captured a group of supply wagons. Dr. Brinton narrowly escaped, but his collection of botanical specimens from Virginia were destroyed when Mosby burned the wagons.

After the war, Brinton founded the Philadelphia Botanical Club. The highlight of his botanical life was guiding Harvard's Asa Gray and the Linnaean Society's William Caruthers on a visit to the pine barren region of New Jersey. His successfully showed them an extremely rare plant - the Schizaea pusilla or the little curly-grass fern.

In the final years of his life, Brinton dedicated himself fully to botany. He loved to entertain friends in his botanical workroom known as "the Den." In 1895, when Brinton was 60, he died from a heart attack and was found sitting in his chair in the Den.

A Biographical Sketch of Brinton in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club reported that on the last night of his life, Brinton visited a friend and they discussed a German poem called "Good night."

Over the quiet pathway Comes clear the bell-ring sound; Good night thy heart now sleep may And 'morrow a day comes round.

Once more then let us whisper A good evening and good night. The moon shines o'er the housetops, Our Lord keeps us in sight.

Unearthed Words

Today is the birthday of the journalist, poet, and World War I soldier Alfred Joyce Kilmer who was born on this day in 1886.

Kilmer was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and he was killed in action on July 30, 1918, while serving as a sergeant in the 165th Infantry regiment.

Every year, Kilmer's childhood home at 17 Joyce Kilmer Ave. in New Brunswick, the city holds it's annual Open House is held from 10 am to 4 pm.

Kilmer is best remembered for his poem, Trees:

I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth's sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.

It's Time to Grow That Garden Library with Today's Book: Plants Are Terrible People by Luke Ruggenberg

I had the pleasure of interviewing Luke a few years ago and his love of plants and his sense of humor make for a delightful combination.

Luke has worked in horticulture for quite some time. This book gives you another crack at reading Luke's hilarious take on his favorite pastime: gardening.

Personally, I love following Luke on twitter because his perspective is so original. He draws on the downright funny aspects of growing plants.

Despite (or perhaps because of) a childhood spent dodging falling apples in his Dad's orchard, Luke harbored a dormant love of all things horticultural until college, when his brother showed him how to germinate an avocado pit. That experience inspired Luke to change his major to Botany and the rest is history.

This is Luke's second book and it's a series of essays that offer another hilarious and heartfelt look at Luke's life with THE MOST terrible people on earth: plants.

I love what IndieReader said about this book,

"It reads like the kind of far-flung ruminations a wacky mind might ponder during the mundane processes of working on a garden."

Luke's book would make a lovely gardener gift for the holidays for yourself or for someone else - because it's the kind of book you can pick up and just read a funny story or two and then go about your day with a little boost of garden happiness and humor.

Best of all, it's Luke's passion for gardening and for life that makes his stories especially connect with those of us who give gardening our all.

Don't forget, you can get a copy of Luke's book and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $14.

Today's Recommended Holiday Gift for Gardeners: Fiskars Non-stick Softgrip Micro-Tip Pruning Snip, 2 Pack

• Make quick, precise cuts when deadheading, trimming and shaping small plants with easy-to-use pruning snips
• Easy Action spring-action design gently opens blades after each cut to help reduce hand fatigue
• Fully hardened, precision-ground stainless steel blades stay sharp, even through heavy use
• Non-stick coating helps reduce jamming and buildup of sticky resin
• Full lifetime warranty

You can get the 2 pruning snip set for gifts or give one and keep one for yourself and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $23.99.

Something Sweet

Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart

Last year on this day on a post on IDigBio we learned that the over 100,000 specimens that make up the University of Cincinnati's botany collection were going digital thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation.

In the post, the herbarium curator Eric Tepe,

"... opened a folder on his desk to reveal a flower that was plucked on a spring day in 1884.

He said, 'This is running buffalo clover. It does really well when there's some disturbance in the soil. So in bison tracks, it would have been abundant.'

Running buffalo clover began to disappear across much of the West with the wide-scale slaughter of buffalo. Today, the clover is federally protected as an endangered species. So UC's specimen is especially valuable for researchers."

In the article, Eric pointed out that the single specimen of Running Buffalo Clover was shipped to two separate researchers over the past few decades - one in Kansas and once to Miami. Digitizing specimens means that everyone can have access and shipping won't always be necessary.

That's a great thing because we learned just last year Australian customs purposely destroyed a herbarium collection because they were worried about bringing in invasive species. They were not aware that what they were intercepting was a priceless 200-year-old French collection on it's way to the herbarium in Queensland. Those kinds of tragedies can be avoided by going digital. And, if something does happen to the original, at least there is a digital copy - which is better than nothing at all.

In the Cincinnati herbarium, like so many herbariums around the country, these collections have been waiting, largely undisturbed for over a century. And, I think, it's tremendous that the valuable long-ago work of botanists can be seen and referenced by all of us - at any time and any place - as long as you have wifi.

Thanks for listening to the daily gardener,

and remember:

"For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."