The Daily Gardener

Today we celebrate a wealthy vineyardist who came up with the idea for a raisin coop and the willow expert raised in beautiful gardens. We'll learn about the botanist who was murdered thanks to miscommunication and the oldest tree in New Orleans. We'll hear a garden poem about being shut out of the garden. We Grow That Garden Library with an oldie but goodie about a favorite of many gardeners: alliums. I'll talk about a practical but essential garden gift and then we'll wrap things up with a sweet story about the impressionist painter whose friend made sure his coffin wasn't draped in black. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Today's Curated Articles: An Economic History of the English Garden by Roderick Floud review – finance and flowers | Books | The Guardian An Economic History of the English Garden by Roderick Floud: "Filled with fascinating and often surprising details – a rhododendron would set you back the equivalent of more than £1,000 in the 1770s – the book reveals the economic context to our love of gardening and shows that "the history of English gardens is, in many senses, the history of England". "Spending money on gardens has been one of the greatest, and certainly most conspicuous, forms of expenditure on luxury in England since the 17th century or earlier." Bee exhibit creates a buzz at Museum of the Earth | Cornell Chronicle Excellent post about bees from @cornellento "People don't conserve what they don't know anything about... People hear a lot about honeybees, & they hear a little about bumblebees, but the other 96% of Bees on Earth don't get much press coverage... One of these, Wallace's giant bee (Megachile pluto) – the world's largest bee, with a wingspan of 2.5 inches – was thought to be extinct but was rediscovered in Indonesia in 1981. But these bees fetch thousands of dollars on eBay, which spurs collectors to catch them, further threatening the species' survival. " Stinging nettles, a troublesome but useful weed | Jack Wallington Garden Design, Clapham in London Great Common Sense Post from @JackWallington on Stinging Nettles: "Although it's hard to control like mint, it's SO useful for homemade fertilizer, and in nutritious teas and soups and also for wildlife. Every garden deserves a little nettle!" You get a nettle! And you get a nettle! And you get a nettle! 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. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the California oilman, vineyardist, and attorney Henry Welsh who was born on this day in 1856. In 1912, California raisin growers, including Welsh, decided to band together to sell their raisins as a group. The plan was to create a million-dollar corporation and the concept drove Welsh to set up an innovative coop that paired investors with raisin growers. Unlike other coops of the time, the raisin coop was unique in that it bound the growers to deliver their entire crop for a guaranteed price - and they were locked in for three years. The coop was known as the California Associated Raisin Company and it quickly became known as the Sun-Maid Raisin Growers Association. The first president of the Association was none other than Henry H. Welsh. One little piece of trivia about Welsh was his deep love for the Fresno area. He loved the climate and his vineyard so much that, in 1941, Welsh bragged that he had not left the area for more than 40 years - not even to take a vacation. #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Ohio-born botanist and Willow Expert Michael Schuck Bebb who died on this day in 1895. In 1896, Walter Deane wrote a biography of Bebb's life in the Botanical Gazette. The biography included a fantastic photo of Bebb who had sideburns that extended below his shoulders. One of the most charming details was Bebb's description of his childhood garden: "The garden was laid out in old-fashioned geometric style; the borders well filled with rare shrubs and perennials, Holland bulbs, and, I am happy to add, native plants as well." If we add to this a well-stocked greenhouse, twenty by one hundred and fifty feet in dimensions, we can readily understand how Michael early acquired a passion for the study of the plants about him." Later, after Michael's father retired from serving as the Governor of Ohio, his dad purchased a large estate 100 miles Northwest of Chicago he called Fountaindale. When Michael recalled the rolling prairie on the estate, he wrote: "Ah! That was lovely beyond description and a perfect paradise for the out-of-doors botanist." #OTD Today is the anniversary of the tragic death of the Canadian botanist Charles Budd Robinson who died on this day in 1913. After receiving his doctorate, Charles had spent five years working at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). His time at the Botanic Garden gave him the experience necessary to become an economic botanist with the Bureau of Science in Manila. On this day in 1913, Charles left on an expedition to modern-day Ambon - an island in Indonesia. Setting out alone, Robinson spied a boy in a tree gathering coconuts and he followed him to his village. The boy was alarmed to see a strangely dressed and ominous-looking European alone on the island and the villagers were worried that Charles was a headhunter - a danger they had heard about through rumors but couldn't verify. Overcome by the fear that they were about to be beheaded, five members of the village, including the chief, killed Robinson and weighed his body down in the sea. Robinson's death was a shock to the island nation who had managed to make some connections in more populated areas as "Doctor Flower." His death serves as a reminder to us of the dangers faced by Plant Explorers who often had to overcome language barriers and cultural misunderstandings. #OTD On this day in 2012, tree number 5,000 was planted at City Park in New Orleans following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. As a point of reference, tree number one or the oldest tree in New Orleans City Park is likely the famed McDonogh Oak lovingly called the Grandmother Tree by locals which is estimated to be approximately 800 years old. The tree is supported with wooden 'crutches' that hold the impressive large old branches. There is also a plaque near the bottom of the tree trunk which tells that the tree is named in honor of John McDonogh who donated the park's original 100 acres in 1854. In 1850, McDonogh left half of his fortune, $1.5 million, to the cities of Baltimore, New Orleans and McDonoghville for the express purpose of helping children which is why so many schools were named in his honor. The final withdrawal from the fund was made in 2002. During his Lifetime, McDonogh accumulated land after making his fortune in brick making and shipping. He wore the same old suit and reportedly looked like a bum in order to save as much money as he could so that he could acquire more land for the children. One of the pieces of land that McDonogh acquired included the old grove at New Orleans which is the home of some of the oldest trees in the country - including the McDonogh Oak. The old grove has survived so long because it sits on high ground. As a result, these ancient trees didn't experience the devastating flooding from Hurricane Katrina. Unearthed Words Today is the birthday of two wonderful writers that drew Inspiration from the garden: Christina Rossetti and Frances Theodora Parsons. Here's a poem from Rossetti called Shut Out in which she describes looking at her garden through the bars of a closed gate. When she asks a guard to give her some clippings, he doesn' t respond but instead builds a wall around the garden. After she is shut out of her garden, she sits beside a bed of violets but she can't love it because her heart is lost to her original garden. This poem is especially poignant for gardeners who have lost gardens due to a move, illness, or time. Sometimes the gardens we love the most are gardens that are no longer accessible to us, yet they remain in our hearts. Shut Out by Christina Rossetti who was born on this day in 1830. The door was shut. I looked between It's iron bars; and saw it lie, My garden, mine, beneath the sky, Pied with all flowers bedewed and green: From bough to bough the song-birds crossed, From flower to flower the moths and bees; With all its nests and stately trees It had been mine, and it was lost. A shadowless spirit kept the gate, Blank and unchanging like the grave. I peering through said: 'Let me have Some buds to cheer my outcast state.' He answered not. 'Or give me, then, But one small twig from shrub or tree; And bid my home remember me Until I come to it again.' The spirit was silent, but he took Mortar and stone to build a wall; He left no loophole great or small Through which my straining eyes might look: So now I sit here quite alone Blinded with tears; nor grieve for that, For naught is left worth looking at Since my delightful land is gone. A violet bed is budding near, Wherein a lark has made her nest: And good they are, but not the best; And dear they are, but not so dear. It's Time to Grow That Garden Library with Today's Book: Garlic, Onion, and Other Alliums by Ellen Spector Platt Ellen Spector Platt started out as a psychologist before becoming a flower farmer at Meadow Lark Flower & Herb Farm. Garlic, Onion, & Other Alliums was her 10th book. In one of her earlier books, Platt explained, "At first, the garden was simply a part of my personal stress management program, then It became an exciting new part-time business. But the pull of farming finally seduced me to close my practice ... to spend all of my working hours at the Meadow Lark." It's fitting that Platt was inspired to write a handbook on the alliums, including garlic, onions, chives, leeks, and shallots because they are a successful first venture for so many gardeners. Platt offers directions on growing and harvesting each plant, along with ideas for the garden, crafts, and cooking. And she includes step-by-step instructions for arrangements, garlands, and wreaths, as well as recipes for soups, sides, and entrees. This book came out in 2003. Best of all, you can get a used copy and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $5. 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You can get a box of these staples or stakes and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for whatever pricepoint works for you. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today is the 96th anniversary of the death of the impressionist painter Claude Monet who died on this day in 1926 at the age of 86. Monet had insisted on a simple funeral and as such his coffin was draped with plain black cloth. His long-time friend Georges Clemenceau (pronounced kle-mon-so) removed it, stating, "No! No black for Monet!" He replaced it with a beautiful flower-patterned fabric. Gardeners love Stephen Gwynn's 1934 book Claude Monet and his Garden. In 1883 Monet purchased a property and he immediately set about creating a hidden water garden fashioned out of waste marshland. Monet made sure his lily pond was surrounded by trees and plants, incorporating poplars, willows, bamboo, and iris. And, Monet's favorite plant and painting subject were, no doubt, his water lilies. Monet said, "'I am following Nature without being able to grasp her. I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." Monet painted his garden over the span of 40 years. In 1914, Monet began his most impressive work - a series of large panels that offered a 360-degree view of the pond. Monet worked on the panels all through the first World War. It's was Monet who wrote: "When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, a field, or whatever. Merely think here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape." And it was Monet who said, "My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece." and "I must have flowers, always, and always." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate one of the first botanists to explore South Carolina and a German botanist who met his end during the 1841 Expedition to Niger. We'll learn about the man who discovered why the sky is blue, and one of Australia's top garden designers, in addition to the monument to one of Australia's greatest botanical collectors. We'll hear some thoughts on the birds of winter and, we Grow That Garden Library with a book that helps us become a seed starting and saving champion. I'll talk about my favorite brand for wooden plant labels (the come in a pack of 60!) and then we'll end today with a garden club story out of Davenport Iowa. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Today's curated articles: Branching Out: The Arborists Behind (and in) Central Park's Trees - The Official Website of Central Park NYC I think that I shall never see... a team as lovely as @centralparknyc Arborists! Bookmark this Great Post w/ A+ Video ~ Meeting the Arborists Behind (and IN) Central Park's Trees! As we talk to kids about careers, Arborist needs to be on the list! Dahlias -Overwintering Dilemmas | Bramble Garden Hi Dahlings! Here's a great behind-the-scenes post with advice and tips from @kgimson on Dahlias: "I'll take basal softwood cuttings when shoots are 1″ tall...Cuttings will make good size tubers and will flower in one season." Plantlife: Mission to save gin plant Juniper a recipe for success | @Love_plants This is great news for Junipers and a fascinating post. "No wonder the English 'gin plant' is under threat - the battle really begins at birth. Juniper seeds require two winters before they even germinate and seedlings then require very specific conditions to grow. If they survive childhood, it takes another 10 years or more before these 'teenagers' mature and begin producing those lovely gin-flavored berries." I'll never look at gin the same way! 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. Brevities #OTD On this day in 1788, Andre Michaux made his way from Georgia into South Carolina by crossing the Tugalo River. In his journal, Michaux wrote: "At dawn, I went to look at the banks of the river and I recognized the yellow root, [a new species of rhododendron], mountain laurel, hydrangea, [and] hemlock spruce. . . ."

Harvard's Charles Sprague Sargent concluded this moment was significant because it was the first time that Michaux laid eyes on the Rhododendron minus. Rhododendron minus grows naturally in Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama along streams and rocky ridges. Four years after first seeing it, Andre Michaux described the Rhododendron minus in detail. He called it the minus meaning smaller, due to the size of its leaves as compared to Rhododendron maximum.

#OTD On this day in 1841, the German botanist Theodore Vogel was laid low with dysentery. Vogel was botanizing in Niger ("nee-ZHER") after joining the Niger expedition in May of that year. By August, Vogel recorded the hardships of traveling by naval warship in his journal: "As soon as I got on board the Wilberforce, my first care was to shift my entire collection, especially the plants gathered since we arrived at Cape Coast Castle. But though I had taken all possible care, much was spoilt and almost everything in a bad state. It has been my lot ... that after endless labor, I could only get together ill-conditioned plants; for dampness and want of room are obstacles impossible to be overcome... I mention this, on purpose, that in case my collection comes into other hands, I may not be accused of negligence. I have sacrificed every convenience to gain room, and spared no trouble to overcome the dampness of the ship and of the atmosphere, but without success. The general arrangements of a man-of-war do not give much opportunity for such experiments. When will the time arrive, that expeditions, whose result must depend on the observations of naturalists, will afford them, from the outset, the appropriate and necessary support? At present, the vessels are fitted up for other purposes, and it is left to chance, to discover a little nook for the philosopher. I was now obliged to devote the two days remaining which we spent at Accra, to the drying of my collection, that all might not be lost." When Vogel became sick on this day in 1841, his friend and fellow German, the mineralogist, Charles Gottfried Roscher, tended to him for thirteen days and never left his bedside. On December 17th, about mid-day, Vogel asked his friend if everything was ready for their excursion and then a few minutes later, he peacefully passed away.

#OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Irish experimental physicist John Tyndall who died on this day in 1893. Tyndall made many discoveries in the field of infrared radiation, including discovering the link between atmospheric CO2 and what is now known as the Greenhouse effect in 1859. Today, we know that a female scientist named Eunice Foote was actually the first to discover the effect - three years before Tyndall in 1856. That said, Tyndall is best known for learning why the sky is blue. It turns out that light scattering through molecules suspended in the atmosphere creates the color which is sometimes referred to as Tyndall Blue. As all gardeners know, there is nothing more beautiful than the garden set against the backdrop of a brilliant blue sky. John Tyndall was one of Ireland's most successful scientists and educators.

#OTD Today is the birthday of the charismatic Australian gardener, designer & writer Edna Walling who was born on this day in 1896. Edna created some gorgeous gardens in Australia. She is remembered for her wonderful books on gardening & landscaping. Edna worked nonstop for four decades between the 1920s and 1960s; creating over 300 gardens. Many Australians regard her as the greatest landscape designer that Australia has ever known. Her books and garden designs continue to be an inspiration. Edna was a conservationist at heart. And, Edna was ahead of her time. She advocated for the use of native plants which were naturally drought-hardy - a must for the harsh climate of Australia. And, given her pragmatism, Edna naturally preferred perennials over annuals. She wrote about the backlash that she received from a friend in November 1941: "[I got] a letter from a friend the other day who addressed me "Dear Anti-annual!" Oooooh, what have I said? Something rude about Iceland poppies or asters? How narrow-minded of me. "If you can't grow them yourself you needn't be snippy about them", she thinks." It was Edna Walling who said, "Nature is our greatest teacher." Edna's work and legacy were brought to light by Peter Watts who wrote about Edna as part of his thesis in college. The paper became the basis for a book published by the National Trust and it fueled Peter's love for historic gardens. In an article for ThePlantHunter.com by Georgina Reid, Watts said that, "Walling would be regarded now as a bit old-fashioned. She was a gardener's designer – a brilliant plantswoman who understood the subtleties of gardening and design... [and that Edna] always thought gardens should be just a bit bigger than they needed so that you couldn't control them entirely." #OTD On this day in 1897, executors for the botanist Baron von Mueller's estate posted a request for donations in newspapers. The plan was to raise money for a monument over von Mueller's grave in the St. Hilda Cemetery in Melbourne. Four years later, by the end of November in 1901, newspapers announced that the monument was unveiled at a small ceremony with friends and government officials. The effort to establish the monument was led by Mueller's friend, Reverand Potter. Potter recalled that Mueller had "expressly desired that only wildflowers and grasses should grow upon his grave until such time as a worthy monument could be erected." Mueller's monument is a tall stone obelisk topped with an urn. A copper medallion shows his profile and the inscription on the monument ends with these words by Friedrich Schiller, the Baron's favorite poet: "Despair not! There are still noble hearts that glow for the august and sublime." Unearthed Words The American naturalist, Edwin Way Teale has given us some marvelous prose about birds and winter in his books. During World War II, Teale's son, David, was killed in Germany. Teale and his wife began traveling across the country by automobile. The trips helped them cope with their grief and became an integral part of Teale's writing. Their 1947 journey, covering 17,000 miles in a black Buick and following the unfolding spring, led to Teale's book North with the Spring. Additional road trips lead to more books: Journey Into Summer, Autumn Across America, and Wandering Through Winter. Wandering Through Winter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1966. Here are some of Teale's thoughts on winter and birds: "The "dead of winter" ----- how much more dead it would be each year without the birds!" "On the roughest days of winter, when life seems overwhelmed by storm and cold, watch a chickadee, observe in good cheer and take heart." "Bluebird blue....one of the loveliest manifestations of the color blue." My favorite Edwin Way Teale quote honors his thoughts about life. They are especially poignant when one thinks that he wrote them after losing his son: "How strangely inaccurate it is to measure the length of living by length of life! The space between your birth and death is often far from a true measure of your days of living." It's Time to Grow That Garden Library with Today's Book: Starting & Saving Seeds by Julie Thompson Adolf The subtitle to this book is Grow the Perfect Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Flowers for Your Garden. Julie's book is a great gift for anyone who wants to start growing plants from seed. It's a whole 'nother world and it can be scary for gardeners to attempt starting & saving seeds on their own. I get it. Well, here's why Julie's book is a great guide: she gets it. She totally relates to the newbie seed starter anxieties and questions around this topic. Best of all, she is 100% approachable. As she says in the introduction to her book: "Think of me as your new friend or the neighbor next door who loves to garden. Together we'll banish any fears of failure and create a beautiful, healthy, delicious, self-sufficient garden - from seed." Yay! So, now that intimidation is off the table, let Julie walk you through how to handle bigger challenges like dealing with seeds that are stubborn germinators - seeds that I call the "Terminator Germinators." Even better, Julie recognizes that not everyone wants to set up shop indoors. If you don't want to grow lights or have limited space, let Julie teach you how to seed outdoors - because direct sowing couldn't be simpler. Did someone say zinnias? Better yet, as your confidence grows, let Julie convince you of the many benefits of starting plants from seeds - the cost savings, the increased variety options, and the appreciation factor. When you start a plant from seed - you really appreciate the entire life cycle of the plant and that deepens your understanding. Today's Recommended Holiday Gift for Gardeners: HOMENOTE 60pcs Bamboo Plant Labels (6 x 10 cm) with Bonus a Pen Vegetable Garden Markers T-Type Plant Tags for Plants $12.99

• Great Value Pack. Compared to other brands, the HOMENOTE plant labels include 60 pieces and bonus a marking pen for you, which could help you mark sorts of plants, seeds, or vegetables with the garden markers.
• Eco-friendly Material. The garden markers are made by 100% natural bamboo that does not harm the earth like plastic plant labels, which is an eco-friendly and renewable resource to the environment.
• Easy to write, not Easy to Wash Off. The plant labels are so easy to write on the smooth surface with this bonus permanent marking pen, and please don't worry at all about the ink in the plant tags wash off in the rain or fade in the sunshine.
• Perfect Design and Size. Measuring in at 4" tall x 2.36" wide on top (1.4" tall on the top part), these T-type plant markers have enough room to label more than just the plant's names on them. Each marker is 1/16" thick rendering them very durable and standing the test of time.
• Great Gift for Gardener. These bamboo plant tags will add charm to your garden while letting you know exactly what the plants are or their grow situation. Personalize the plant tags with a short message/wording whatever you like is the perfect finishing touch to your potted garden. A good choice of gift for your friends, colleagues, lovers and family members who love gardening.

You can get the HOMENOTE Plant Labels and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $13. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart On this day in 1930, the Quad-City Times shared a sweet little update from the garden department of the Davenport Woman's club. "[The group] added a special holiday gesture to its December program this morning at the Davenport Municipal Art Gallery, when the seed and bulb committee composed of E. A. Johnson and Mrs. R. E. Albrecht, presented each member with a dainty Christmas package in bright-hued Christmas wrappings, containing seeds for next spring's sowing. Fifty seed packages and ten sacks of dahlia bulbs went to the women who attended." But that's not all. Their education program was spot on: "Mrs. Charles Irwin spoke on the Arnold Arboretum at Cambridge, Mass., and its former keeper, the late E. H. Wilson, who passed away in October, and who was known as "Chinese" Wilson from his travels and long residence in China. Mrs. P. T. Burrows suggested that the department send to the new keeper and ask for seeds from rare plants to be used in Davenport gardens and public park as experimental plantings on this Mississippi Valley region." "[Then,] Mrs. Mathilde P. Koehler spoke on "Famous Gardens." Mrs. Koehler [who] has traveled extensively told of the wonderful gardens one finds in different parts of the United States... She also paid a tribute to the late John Temple, a well-known florist of Davenport and told of the lilac tree which he had planted in her garden, this being one of [only] a few in [this] city." "[Finally,] Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Cassling gave songs to the accompaniment of Miss Lois McDermott at the piano. [And] decorations were of prettily trimmed Christmas trees." Now that's a meeting! Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate a diary entry made by Columbus as well as the man who introduced the potato to England. We'll learn about the Botanical Painter, who served botanists and French Royalty and the garden writer who inspired many with his Lancashire garden diary. We'll hear some amusing garden prose. We Grow That Garden Library with a book that helps you make your vegetable gardens more beautiful by strategically adding cut flowers. I'll talk about the kind of coal gardeners will want in their stockings this Christmas, and then we'll wrap things up with some thoughts on flowers by the Impressionist painter we lost 100 years ago today. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Grounding in the Garden: Fall Gardening Tips | LearningHerbs @learningherbs Great post from @learningherbs with five herbs that are great to start from seed or cuttings for your winter apothecary: rosemary, horehound, mullein, ground cherries, and common sage. The Grateful Tree – A Thanksgiving story | @wwediting Ya'll need to stop and read this. There are still some sacred parts of nature that remain untouched by us - this is a story about that. Thanks for writing it @wwediting. It's a lovely read. The Grateful Tree – A Thanksgiving story A Visit to Jupiterartland | @EllenMaryGarden Ellen Mary tweeted "Today I visited @jupiterartland in Edinburgh for a private tour of which I'm super thankful I've never been to a garden that has floored me quite like it! A mix of awe & terror, inspiration & confusion...the artwork & sculptures are quite something#art #landscape #garden https://pic.twitter.com/kE0rs2ARSY" I replied: "Now THAT's a garden visit. It will be interesting to hear what your thoughts are about this place over time. It's always fascinating to me how a garden speaks to us long after a visit. Sometimes first impressions are shadows of a more profound understanding that comes later." Now, if you'd like to check out these curated items 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. Brevities #OTD On this day in 1492, Christopher Columbus notes in his diary: "I climbed a mountain and came to level ground, which was sown with many different crops and with gourds." The gourds Columbus was referring to were squashes that were used for more than food. After the skin had been cleaned and dried, the skins were used as utensils. #OTD On this Day in 1586, Sir Thomas Herriot introduced Colombian potatoes to England. Over fifty years earlier, the Spanish had been the first to discover potatoes - but Herriot's potatoes were the first to reach England. Harriot had spent time in Sir Walter Raleigh's English colony on Roanoke Island in modern-day North Carolina. There, he studied not only wildlife but also potatoes from Columbia. Herriot was also an astronomer. In July of 1609, he created a drawing of the moon through a telescope over four months before Galileo. #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the French botanical painter for King Louis the XIV and XV, Claude Aubriet, who died on this day in 1742. When Aubriet was appointed "Painter to the King" after the death of his master Jean Joubert in 1707, he technically didn't have the right credentials because he didn't belong to the Academy of painting and sculpture. But, the King approved Aubriet's appointment anyway, and he lived at the Royal Garden until he died. Aubriet was sponsored by the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort to create over a thousand illustrations for his acclaimed book - Elements of Botany. Other botanists, including Sebastien Vaillant and Antoine Jussieu also hired Aubriet to do their illustrations. During his time at court, Aubriet painted twenty-four miniatures a year for 35 years resulting in nearly 600 vellums for the royal collection. Today, they are preserved at the Museum national d'Histoire Naturelle of Paris. What distinguishes Aubriet's work was his desire to paint all the known species in both the animal and plant kingdoms. Aubriet painted fish and insects and birds and mammals - in addition to plants. In 1722, Aubriet changed his will. His most prized possession was a cabinet he had inherited from his former master Jean Joubert. Aubriet left the cabinet to his friend, the botanist Bernard Jussieu. The cabinet was described this way: "In a wood veneer, exquisite paintings of parrots... ornamented the panels ... with their golden border." As you might have already suspected, the genus Aubrieta ("Aubreesha") was named for Claude Aubriet by the French Botanist Michel Adanson. Aubrieta is an ornamental plant, and it grows well in rock gardens. The leaves resemble succulents, and after flowering, a light clip will encourage new shoots. #OTD On this day in 1873, the gardener and writer Henry Arthur Bright began a diary, which would become known as the book "A Year in a Lancashire Garden" - one of the most beloved garden biographies of the nineteenth century. Bright's book would inspire future garden writers like Eleanor Vere Gorden Boyle, Henry Nicholson Ellacombe, Maria Theresa Earle, and Elizabeth Lawrence. Here are some excerpts from Bright's journal entry for this day in 1873. At the very end, he talks about making a potent tincture with petals from a Madonna Lily: "These notes are written for those who love gardens as I do... and they are written ... to convey to others some little of the delight, which grows (more certainly than any bud or flower) from the possession and management of a garden. Lancashire is not the best possible place for a garden, and to be within five miles of a large town is certainly no advantage. We get smoke on one side, and salt breezes on another, and, worst of all, there comes down upon us every now and then a blast, laden with heavy chemical odors, which is more deadly than either smoke or salt. Still, we are tolerably open, and in the country. These are certainly what the American poet Bryant calls "the melancholy days, the saddest in the year." The late autumn flowers are over; —the early spring ones are still buried under the soil. I could only find this morning a single blighted monthly Rose, a Wallflower or two, an uneasy-looking Polyanthus, and some yellow Jasmine against the house—and that was all. Two days of early frost had killed the rest. Lastly, the Chrysanthemums are in flower. The Chrysanthemum has three merits above almost every flower. It comes in the shortest and darkest days; it blooms abundantly in the smoke of the largest cities; it lasts longer than any flower when cut and put into water. If flowers have virtues, the virtue of the Chrysanthemum is its unselfish kindliness. In the hybrid beds, I shall plant a number of roots of the Lilium candidum—the dear old white Lily of cottage gardens. And as I write I am told of a recipe [using] the firm white petals. You must gather them while still fresh, place them unbroken in a wide-necked bottle, packed closely and firmly together, and then pour in what brandy there is room for. In case of cut or bruise, no remedy is more efficacious and certainly none more simple." Unearthed Words "There are many in this old world of ours who hold that things break about even for all of us. I have observed, for example, that we all get the same amount of ice. The rich get it in the summertime, and the poor get it in the winter." - Bat Masterson - who had a Daylily named in his honor "An onion can make people cry, but there's never been a vegetable that can make people laugh." - Will Rogers It's Time to Grow That Garden Library with Today's Book: Vegetables Love Flowers by Lisa Mason Ziegler The subtitle for this book is Companion Planting for Beauty and Bounty. As the description of this book reminds us, "Planting vegetables and flowers together is one of the oldest ways to create a healthy, bountiful garden, but there's more to the method than you might think. Vegetables Love Flowers will walk you through the ins and outs of companion planting, from how it works to which plants go together and how to grow the best garden for your climate." Lisa provides excellent guidance on how to incorporate flowers into a vegetable garden. She offers helpful tips and ideas for stunning vegetable gardens that are full of color - btw, the images in this book are beautiful. If you've ever wondered how you can enjoy a year of beauty in your garden - growing both healthy veggies and gorgeous flowers to boot, this book will be an Inspiration. Today's Recommended Holiday Gift for Gardeners: Hoffman 17502 Charcoal Soil Conditioner, 24-Ounce $5.99

• Charcoal soil conditioner
• Improves drainage and absorbs impurities
• Horticultural charcoal is an additional item recommended by garden writers for custom mixing potting
• Will not burn releases nitrogen slowly, feeding plants over a long period, pelletized for easy application

This is the kind of coal a gardener would love to find in their stocking. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today is the 100th anniversary of the death of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir who died on this day in 1919. There's a little-known story about Renoir. For many years, he hung a sign on his garden gate which read, "No Renoirs sold here. Beware the dog." Pierre-Auguste Renoir said, when he was painting flowers, he was able to paint "freely and boldly without the mental effort he made with a model." He said "If you paint the leaf on a tree without using a model, your imagination will only supply you with a few leaves," he said. "But Nature offers you millions, all on the same tree. … The artist who paints only what is in his mind must very soon repeat himself." It was Renoir who said, "The pain passes but the beauty remains." "What seems most significant to me about our movement [Impressionism] is that we have freed painting from the importance of the subject. I am at liberty to paint flowers and call them flowers, without their needing to tell a story." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate the German reformer who added the cultivation of Mulberries and silkworms as part of his schools and the man who started the Linnean Society.

We'll learn about the Salem Botanist, who was a friend of Thoreau and Emerson and the man known as the Father of Texas Botany.

We'll hear the poem that takes us through the months of the year - ending with "And the night is long, And cold is strong, In bleak December." We Grow That Garden Library with one of the best books of the year, and it takes us on a tour of the world's best gardens. I start my new segment for Holiday Gardener Gift Recommendations, and then we wrap things up with the birth flower for December. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.

Most young scientists will not study plant science. So why did I? | @talkplant

Chicago Residence by Dirk Denison Architects | HomeAdore @HomeAdore shared this incredible home where there is a whole lot of green going on - garden terraces, outdoor landscaping, an adjacent park, terrariums, and integrated aquariums with aquatic plants galore. Me want!

Cheesy Acorn Squash Recipe - Allrecipes.com

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 track down articles - 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.

Brevities

#OTD Today is the birthday of the German theologian and educator, Johann Julius Hecker, who was born on this day in 1707.

Hecker recognized that a classical education didn't work for everyone, and so he founded secondary schools that prepared students for practical jobs and callings.

Hecker referred to his schools as, "the seed-beds of the state, from which the young, like trees from a nursery, could be transplanted in their proper places."

#OTD Today is the birthday of James Edward Smith, who was born on this day in 1759.

In 1784, on the recommendation of Joseph Banks, Smith purchased the entire collection of Carl Linnaeus.

When the King of Sweden learned of the purchase, he attempted to intercept the ship before it reached London. But he was too late.

With the collection securely in his possession, Smith founded the Linnean Society, and he also served as the first President.

The Linnean Society is the oldest biological society in the world. During the 18th and 19th century, the society was an important hub for scientific progress.

#OTD Today is the birthday of the Salem Massachusetts Unitarian minister and American botanist, John Lewis Russell, who was born on this day in 1808.

Russell attended Harvard along with his classmate of Charles Chauncy Emerson, whose big brother was Ralph Waldo Emerson. He graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1831 and served as a minister until 1854.

While he served his various congregations, Russell pursued his passion for botany.

In 1874, the Reverend Edmund B. Willson wrote a "Memoir of John Lewis Russell," and he observed:

"Wherever this man went to fill a pulpit, the lovers of nature gravitated toward him, and he made them his allies. They attended him to the fields and ranged with him the steep hills and the miry swamps. His animated talk and moist, kindling eyes as he described the graces of the ferns and the glories of the grasses and the lichens quickened the love of beauty in them. He imparted stimulating knowledge of the secrets of the meadows and woods, and ... had an ear for the mysteries of the sea, [and] the forests, [and] the moss-coated rocks."

In late September of 1838, Russell visited Ralph Waldo Emerson, and they spent some time botanizing together. Emerson wrote about the visit in his journal:

"A good woodland day or two with John Lewis Russell who came here, & showed me mushrooms, lichens, & mosses. A man in whose mind things stand in the order of cause & effect & not in the order of a shop or even of a cabinet."

Almost twenty years later, Russell went to Concord and spent three days with Henry David Thoreau. It would not be the last time they spent together.

Thoreau showed him around town and asked Russell all of his botanical questions. He specifically sought help with plant identifications. For Russell, the trip was made special by finding the climbing fern during one of their walks. Russell had a particular life-long interest in cryptograms like ferns (plants that reproduce using spores).

As Russell's life was ending, he sent many charming letters to his younger family members. In a letter to his nephew, he wrote:

#OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Father of Texas Botany and legend, Ferdinand Jakob Lindheimer, who died on this day in 1879.

Lindheimer immigrated from Frankfurt, Germany, and spent more than a decade searching the wilds of Central and Southeast Texas for new species of plants.

The botanist George Engelmann was a friend and fellow immigrant from Frankfurt. Engelmann introduced him to other botanists from around the world, and he helped Lindheimer process and identify his numerous specimens.

In January of 1842, Lindheimer wrote Engelmann:

"Herewith I am sending you 180 species of plants, most of which I collected in the spring of 1840... Send me the names soon - so that I don't have to keep creating nicknames such as I have been using as an aid... especially for the grasses; for instance, narrow ear, panicle ear, long ear, twin ear…"

While botanizing in Texas, Lindheimer discovered several hundred new plant species, and many now bear his name. Over his lifetime, Lindheimer collected close to 100,000 plant specimens in Texas.

There are many incredible stories of Lindheimer's botanizing. Once he came across an Indian war party and ended up in a staring competition with the chief. Lindheimer won.

Another time, Lindheimer had become friends with the Comanche chief Santana who wanted to trade Lindheimer two mules and a Mexican girl for his blue-eyed, blonde-haired grandson. Lindheimer politely declined the offer.

Unearthed Words

"January cold and desolate; February dripping wet; March wind ranges; April changes; Birds sing in tune To flowers of May, And sunny June Brings longest day; In scorched July The storm-clouds fly, Lightning-torn; August bears corn, September fruit; In rough October Earth must disrobe her; Stars fall and shoot In keen November; And night is long And cold is strong In bleak December." - Christina Giorgina Rossetti, The Months

Today's book recommendation: Gardenlust by Christopher Woods

The subtitle to this book is A Botanical Tour of the World's Best New Gardens, and it is a fascinating and glorious armchair read to the most incredible gardens of our lifetime.

The cover of this 416-page book shows a garden that's at the Golden Rock Inn in Nevis. Miami-based designer Raymond Jungles designed the gardens under the stewardship of New York artists Helen and Brice Marden, the owners of Golden Rock.

After a long career in public horticulture, Chris Woods spent three years traveling the world seeking out contemporary gardens, and he found fifty of the best. His book is a botanical tour of the world's best new gardens - public, private, and corporate. Chris focuses on the gardens around the world that had been created or significantly altered -this century, the 21st century.

Chris views the gardens through a variety of themes, including beauty, conservation, architecture - plant and landscape, as well as urban spaces. Chris's book was published in late September, and it's such a great reminder for us to get out of our own gardens and see and learn from other gardens - especially public gardens.

Gardens Illustrated called this book,

"An extraordinary collection of 21st-century gardens that will arouse wanderlust… Whether you are a garden globetrotter or an armchair explorer, this book is definitely one to add to your collection. With wit and humor, Chris describes the most arresting features in public parks in exotic locations like New Delhi and Dubai, mission-redefining botanic gardens in Chile and Australia, and the most enviable details of lavish private estates and gemlike city yards. Throughout, he reveals the fascinating people, plants, and stories that make these gardens so lust-worthy."

Today's Recommended Holiday Gift for Gardeners

Crabtree & Evelyn's GARDENERS HAND CREAM - 25ML - $10 Buttery texture. Rich moisture. Botanical goodness.

For hands that are always on the go, press pause and treat them to our Gardeners Hand Cream. • The nature-inspired formula, rich in herbal extracts. • Super-hydrators macadamia seed oil and shea butter help replenish lost moisture. • Created with lovers of the great outdoors in mind. • The signature Gardeners fragrance inspired by summer memories of freshly-cut grass on a sunny day.

Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart

In 1836, English newspapers reported:

"Poinsettia Pulcherrima, the bracts which surround the numerous flowers, are of the most brilliant rosy-crimson color, the splendor of which is quite dazzling. Few, if any of the most highly valued beauties of our gardens, can vie with this.

Indeed, when we take into consideration the profuse manner in which it flowers, the luxuriance of its foliage, and the long duration of the bracts, we are not aware that there is any plant more deserving of a place in all select collections than this lovely and highly prized stranger."

Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate the man who discovered that plants have circadian rhythms. We'll learn about the 20-acre estate that had the very first lawn mowed by a lawnmower in the United States. We'll hear some truly lovely and a little melancholy poetry about November. We Grow That Garden Library with a book about the official national tree of America - the mighty oak. I'll talk about making Thanksgiving Time Capsules, and then we'll wrap things up with a sweet story about an Olive tree on the movie set for Samson and Delilah back in 1949. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. How To Make A DIY Herbal-Infused Broth | Herbal Academy @herbalacademyne @HeatherSaba It's just so easy to incorporate herbs into your everyday cooking. "An herbal-infused broth is a tasty way to enjoy herbs & add a nutritious boost to your meals all year long. Herbal-infused broths can be used into soups & other dishes or enjoyed on their own as a savory sipping broth on a crisp, cool day. This blog offers a great how-to and gives a list of herbs to consider. " Leave your leaves, garden experts say | CTV News Atlantic @AmystoodleyCTV If you haven't gotten around to raking - "There's a new campaign called 'Leave the Leaves,' and it encourages homeowners to leave the leaves on their lawn," said gardening expert @NikiJabbour "Leaves are just garden gold for the gardener." 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 track articles down - 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. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan, who was born on this day in 1678. Mairan was a French chronobiologist - a job one rarely hears about these days. In 1729, da Mairan put together an experiment showing the existence of a circadian rhythm in plants. Essentially, he took a mimosa pudica plant - the heliotrope - and he put it in constant darkness in a cupboard. All the while, he recorded the plant's behavior. And what do you know? The plant had a natural rhythm of opening and closing its leaves - even if it couldn't absorb sunlight. Now, de Mairan didn't think that the plant had an internal clock, but he DID think that it could attune itself to the sun - even if it was blocked from it. No matter the accuracy of Mairan's conclusions, his work was on to something, and it established the foundation for chronobiology or the internal circadian clock. #OTD Today is the birthday of Henry Winthrop Sargent, who was born on this day in 1810. Henry Winthrop was born into American royalty. The Sargent family was fabulously wealthy, and Henry's dad was the Boston artist Henry Sargent. Like most of the men in his family, Henry Winthrop went to Harvard, where he studied law. Before he turned 30, he married Caroline Olmsted of New York, and shortly after that, Henry Winthrop retired to pursue his true calling: a country life. A little over a year after marrying Caroline, Henry Winthrop bought a twenty-acre estate that overlooked the Hudson River. He christened it Wodenethe - a marriage of two old Saxon terms Woden (pronounced Woe-den) and ethe, which stands for woody promontory ( promontory is a point of high land that juts out into the sea or a large lake; a headland.) Almost two decades later, the unusual name caused one newspaper reporter to write that it was a beautiful property with a wretched bad name. Wodenethe was a massive undertaking for Henry. He had unsightly buildings neighboring his property that he needed to hide, and he needed to learn what would grow in the extremes of the Northeast. Although Henry traveled to many different European gardens, his most considerable influence was much closer to home: Andrew Jackson Downing. In fact, one history of the area said, "Had there been no Downing there would have been no Wodeneth." Downing was a renowned landscape designer, horticulturist, and writer, and his botanic garden was just across the river from Wodenethe. Downing and Henry Winthrop formed an immediate friendship. And, even though Downing's work and writings played a significant role in his approach, Henry Winthrop ultimately took matters into his own hands as he designed the Landscape at Wodenethe. Henry Winthrop clearly had vision and courage - two characteristics that are often found in master Landscape Designers. One of his first acts at Wodenethe was to remove trees and foliage that obstructed scenic vistas. As a lover of trees, Henry Winthrop was strategic and exacting when it came to framing a vista. This skill in framing a scene was Henry Winthrop's superpower, and he even created windows for his home that were shaped to maximize the view to the outside. One story about Henry Winthrop's exceptional ability to create a view involves his son, Winthrop. One time a woman visited the Sargents, and when she looked out the window, she noticed little Winthrop out on the lawn. Henry Winthrop had created the view to look like the lawn extended out to the Hudson, creating a sense that there was a sharp dropoff - almost like the lawn ran out to the edge of a cliff. Concerned for Winthrop, the lady visitor commented something to the effect of how SHE wouldn't let her own children play so close to that dropoff. Well, after that visit, Henry Winthrop would often have little Winthrop go out to the lawn with a fishing pole and pretend to fish off the edge. In reality, he was sitting a good mile away from the water's edge - quite safe on the flat earth. But, Henry Winthrop's masterful vista created an artful and beautiful illusion. Henry Winthrop's major life accomplishment, aside from Wodenethe, was taking Downing's book simply called Landscape Gardening and revising it for the fourth edition. This extensive re-write included details on the creation of Wodenethe in detail in addition to the Italien garden of Horatio Hollis Hunnewell in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Hunnewell had married Henry Winthrop's cousin, Isabelle. And, keep in mind that Henry Winthrop's father was a painter when you listen to his words on Landscape Gardening: "Landscape Gardening is just as much a picture, though a living one, made by trees, as a painted landscape is made by the pencil or brush; both require long years of study, artistic perceptions, and a knowledge of how to handle the tools." One of the most charming quotes I found about Henry Winthrop is regarding his early days at Wodenethe. After forty years of work, he reflected: "For the ten years [I] did everything wrong, and for the next five,[my] time was occupied in correcting [my] mistake[s]." The epilogue for Wodenethe is unfortunate. Henry Winthrop died there. He and Caroline were buried there. Wodenethe was serially passed along to children and surviving spouses until in 1921 when a Dr. Clarence Slocum opened a sanatorium at Wodenethe making it America's first privately licensed psychiatric hospital. In fact, some of the Wodenethe patients ended up living in Henry Winthrop's Wodenethe mansion. After Dr. Slocum died, his son sold the property to a developer, and the first thing they did was to carry out a controlled burn that destroyed the mansion and the entire garden. The place once called "The most artistic twenty-acre place in America" was gone. A year later, in 1955, the land turned into a housing development mainly for employees of Texaco. And there is yet one more little known and sad footnote to the Wodenethe story. The sanatorium gatehouse at Wodenethe was turned into a one-bedroom, one-bath cottage for a particular patient who occupied it pretty much in solitary confinement all through the 1940s: Rosemary Kennedy, JFK's disabled sister. Their father, Joseph Kennedy, made the arrangments for Rosemary to live at Wodenethe without every sharing the location with the rest of the family. Consequently, she never had any visitors. Today, Wodenethe is memorialized by the street name Wodenethe Drive which intersects with Sargent Avenue in Beacon, New York. Unearthed Words On this bleary white afternoon, are there fires lit up in heaven against such faking of quickness and light, such windy discoursing? While November numbly collapses, this beech tree, heavy as death on the lawn, braces for throat- cutting ice, bandaging snow. - Edwin Honig, November Through a Giant Copper Beech No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, No comfortable feel in any member - No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds - November! - Thomas Hood, No! Today's book recommendation: Oak by William Bryant Logan As a professional arborist and award-winning nature writer, Logan captures the reciprocal relationship between humans and oak trees for centuries. Oak is a fascinating book, and Logan's prose sometimes reads almost like poetry. In the book, Logan even writes about the mighty acorn and its little known use as an edible. Logan tries to make acorn jelly and acorn flour, and he writes that the acorn has a unique characteristic as an edible; it makes you feel full for hours after eating it. Logan says, "There is some basic sympathy between oaks and humans. We invented a whole way of living out of their fruit and their wood, and by that token, they too invented us." Logan is the author of the simply-titled books Dirt, Oak, Air, and Sprout Lands. This book was written in 2006. You can get a used copy and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $6. Today's Garden Chore Create a Thanksgiving Time Capsule. Gather leaves and specimens from your garden. Put it all together in a mason jar. Then, create a journal entry about this year's Thanksgiving: who was gathered together, who did you miss, record the weather, maybe jot down a poem or prayer, record some thoughts on your November garden. Then tear out the entry and roll it up and tie it with a piece of twin and tuck it in your mason jar. You'll have a lovely way to store your memories as well as a beautiful display from your 2019 November garden. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart On this day in 1948, the Ponca City News out of Ponca, Oklahoma, shared a story about the famous director Cecil B. DeMille. I'll paraphrase it for you: During the filming of Samson and Delilah, Demille wanted to film a scene under an olive tree. He quickly called for the film's nurseryman and instructed him: Hang another olive branch from that limb. It's pretty bare there." In short order, the nurseryman appeared with a leafy branch and set about attaching it. DeMille shouted, "Just a minute. THAT's not an olive branch!" The nurseryman was a little taken aback, but managed to reply, "I'm sure it is, sir." DeMille snapped back, "I'm sure it's NOT. Why, a four-year-old kid could tell you that's not from an olive tree. Where did you get it?" To which, the nurseryman humbly replied, "I just clipped it from the [backside] of this olive tree." Suddenly there was complete silence from DeMille. After a few seconds, he said, "I don't suppose I am in a position to say this is not an olive tree." "No sir," said the nurseryman... and the scene went on. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate the Spaniard who brought the pineapple and coffee to Hawaii. We'll learn about the man who gardened at Monks House so much it would cause fights with his wife. We'll honor the Japanese American Landscape Architect, who designed many of our Modern Urban Public Spaces and the man who came up with a new kind of berry in the heart of Napa Vally in the 1920s. We'll hear some thoughts about the end of Fall from various poets and writers. We Grow That Garden Library with one of the most beautiful and sophisticated books on our favorite houseplant: the orchid. I'll talk about the five microgreens you should grow for the Holidays to impress your guests, and then we'll add things up with some charming advice on starting a Walking Club from 1890. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Vote For the Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights | USA Today | @USATODAY It's time to vote for your favorite - The Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights @USATODAY Readers' Choice Awards. During the winter season, a different kind of color lights up botanical gardens across the United States. Instead of spring flowers, visitors find twinkling holiday lights, often accompanied by a range of other holiday activities and events. Which botanical garden puts on the best seasonal lights show? You decide by voting once per day until polls close on Monday, December 2at noon ET. The ten winning gardens will be announced on 10Best.com on Friday, December 13 The current standings are: 1. A Longwood Christmas - Longwood Gardens - Kennett Square, Penn. 2. Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights - Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden - Richmond, Va. 3. Gardens Aglow - Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens - Boothbay, Maine 4. Nights of a Thousand Candles - Brookgreen Gardens - Murrells Inlet, S.C. 5. Million Bulb Walk/Dominion Energy Garden of Lights - Norfolk Botanical Garden - Va. 6. Illumination: Tree Lights - Morton Arboretum - Chicago 7. Lights in Bloom - Marie Selby Botanical Gardens - Sarasota, Fla. 8. River of Lights - ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden - Albuquerque 9. Fantasy in Lights - Callaway Gardens - Pine Mountain, Ga 10. Illuminations - Botanica - Wichita, Kan. Vancouver's Seawall Proves Strong Infrastructure Can Be Pretty, Too | CityLab @CityLab @zachmortice Zach Mortice wrote this great article in City Lab about an artistic seawall barrier. Gardeners can be inspired by taking the functional and making it so much more. Fencing, borders, raised beds, etc. don't need to be eyesores. 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 track down 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. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the Spanish adventurer and botanist known as Hawaii's Original Farmer, Francisco de Paula Marín, who was born on this day in 1774. 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. In 1813, Marin grew the first pineapple in Honolulu - the Hawaiian word for pineapple translates to "foreign fruit." Two years later, 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. #OTD Today is the birthday of the man who designed Monks House garden Leonard Sidney Woolf who was born on this day in 1880. Woolf was the husband of Virginia Woolf. Leonard was the primary gardener and garden designer of Monks House - although Virginia helped him. Virginia and Leonard lived at the house from the time they first purchased it in 1919 until their deaths. The garden at Monks Hosue was a retreat and a place that they could both escape from the chaos of London. Leonard loved to be in the garden gardening. He hated tea roses and floribunda roses. But, he loved fruit trees like apple and pears, and he sold the fruits to make money. Leonard's devotion to the garden was a source of consternation for Virginia. Leonard spent so most of his time and his money on the garden. Virginia famously complained, "We are watering the earth with our money!" Leonard recorded all of his Monks House garden income and expenditures in a gorgeous dark green and pink ledger book. The first line in the book is dated August 26th, 1919, and he recorded the first gardening work performed by gardener William Dedman. Virginia described Monks House as "the pride of our hearts.'" In July of 1919, she wrote that gardening or weeding produced "a queer sort of enthusiasm which made me say this is happiness." When Virginia suffered bouts of depression, the garden at Monks House was the place she went to recover and heal. Since both Virginia and Leonard kept diaries, the garden was a frequent topic. On September 29, 1919, Virginia wrote: "A week ago, Leonard's wrist & arm broke into a rash. The Dr called it eczema. Then Mrs. Dedman brushed this aside & diagnosed sunflower poisoning. [Leonard] had been uprooting them with bare hands. We have accepted her judgment." One of Virginia's favorite places to write was in the garden at Monks House. She had a small converted shed that she called her writing lodge. Every morning on her way to the lodge, Virginia walked through the garden. The Monks House garden was THE place where she wrote some of her most famous works. One story is often shared to illustrate Leonard's devotion to gardening. In 1939, as the second world war approached, Virginia called for him to come inside to listen to "the lunatic" Hitler on the radio. But Leonard was in the middle of tending to his Iris, and he shouted back: "I shan't come. I am planting iris, and they will be flowering long after he is dead." After Virginia's tragic suicide, Leonard wrote: "I know that V. will not come across the garden from the Lodge, and yet I look in that direction for her. I know that she is drowned, and yet I listen for her to come in at the door." At Monks House garden, there were two Elm trees that the Woolf's had sweetly named after themselves, "Virginia and Leonard." Leonard buried Virginia's ashes under one of those Elms and installed a stone tablet with the last lines from her novel The Waves: "Against you, I fling myself, unvanquished and unyielding, O Death! The waves crashed on the shore." #OTD Today is the birthday of the Japanese-American landscape architect who designed some of the country's best-known industrial parks, urban spaces, and campuses, Hideo Sasaki, who was born on this day in 1919. Sasaki was born in Reedley, Calif., and grew up on his family's truck farm in the San Joaquin Valley. During WWII, Sasaki and his family suffered at an internment camp in Arizona, where Sasaki worked in beet fields. As a very bright student, Sasaki went on to study at the University of Illinois and Harvard Graduate School of Design. Sasaki lived in the Boston area, where he taught at Harvard for more than 20 years, chairing its landscape architecture department from 1958 to 1968, and he founded his Sasaki Associates firm. By 1993, more than a third of all landscape architecture professors had been trained by Sasaki. Sasaki created industrial parks for big companies like John Deere and Upjohn. He also designed urban spaces like Boston's Copley Square, New York's Washington Square Village and the St. Louis Gateway Mall. In 1971, Sasaki became the first recipient of the American Society of Landscape Architects medal. Sasaki died of cancer back in August of 2000. #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the plant hybridizer Rudolph Boysen who died on this day in 1950. In the 1910s and '20s, Boysen had been playing around with plant genetics. He worked on an 18-acre farm owned by John Lubbens in Napa Valley. On one June morning, Boysen took a walk along a creek bank to inspect some of his new berry creations. Boysen was astonished when he saw that one of the vines bore fruit that was almost two inches long. The fruit would become known to the world as the Boysenberry. Boysenberries are similar to blackberries but have a larger, juicier, and sweeter fruit. The Boysenberry is a cross between the loganberry, the raspberry, and the blackberry. In 1927, Boysen advertised them as "the sensation of the 20th Century." The grower, Walter Knott, had been looking for new varieties of berries, and when he got some of Boysen's plants, he knew it was the berry he had been looking for over the past decade. Knott gave Boysen credit by naming the plant in his honor. But, Knott managed to make an empire for himself with the proceeds - establishing the world-renown Knotts Berry Farm. As for Boysen, he never earned a dime from the Boysenberry. Unearthed Words "The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year, Of wailing winds, and naked woods, and meadows brown and sear." - William Cullen Bryant "She calls it "stick season," this slow disrobing of summer, leaf by leaf, till the bores of tall trees, rattle and scrape in the wind." - Eric Pinder, Author "November comes And November goes, With the last red berries And the first white snows. With night coming early, And dawn coming late, And ice in the bucket And frost by the gate. The fires burn And the kettles sing, And earth sinks to rest Until next spring." - Elizabeth Coatsworth Today's book recommendation: Orchid Modern by Marc Hachadourian Marc Hachadourian is the senior curator of the incredible orchid collection at the New York Botanical Garden, and his book Modern Orchidsis outstanding. The subtitle for the book is Living and Designing with the World's Most Elegant Houseplants - so true, Marc. You can read for yourself in Marc's book about the history of orchids and all the different types of orchids, but most of us simply want to know the answer to one or two questions like 'how do I keep my orchids happy and healthy?' and/or 'how do I get them to rebloom?' To Marc, the answer to those questions is pretty straightforward. In general, we simply need to understand the growing conditions that orchids prefer. Marc teaches us what orchids like by asking us the following six questions: Does the location have natural sunlight? How strong is the sunlight? How long does the location, receive natural light each day? What temperatures will there be throughout the year? In the daytime? In the night? Is the air constantly dry or doesn't have some moisture And finally, how often will I water and care for the plants? If you have an orchid lover in your family, this is the book for them. It would make a lovely Christmas present. In addition to learning how to care for the orchids, you will get Marc's top picks for orchids, and he has 120 of them. And, Marc also shares some pretty amazing projects that will add to the decor of your home, including terrariums, a wreath, and a kokedama. There's also a project that teaches us to make an orchid bonsai tree that is absolutely stunning. All of Marc's crafts and projects are a level up from something you would typically see in a gardening book. Marc provides a level of sophistication and elegance with his work that I just have not seen in a garden book in some time. When I can look at a project and learn something - whether it's a new tool or new product that I can source for working with my own floral arrangements - I'm so appreciative. So, hats off to Marc for tackling a subject that most of us feel we could use more help with (orchids) and by not dumbing it down. Overall, Marc shares super-helpful pro-insights and modern options for incorporating our most beloved houseplant: orchids. Today's Garden Chore Start sowing some microgreens for the holiday season. There is nothing like a microgreens garden to satisfy your winter gardening needs and at that same time, growing those fresh, nutrient-dense, garden to table greens that you can grow in the comfort of your own home. For most gardeners, I think the biggest challenge with growing microgreens is learning what dishes can be enhanced with them. Btw, microgreens are just the little seedlings that pop up after you plant the seeds. So, what five microgreens will I be planting in time for Christmas?

1. Arugula - this is the perfect topping for your Christmas Lasagna or bruschetta — and it offers the same amount of calcium as spinach.
2. Basil - the PERFECT addition to many tart Christmas drinks. Basil is an anti-inflammatory.
3. Radishes - wonderful, fresh addition to salads and even stuffing. As tasty as a full-grown radish. Vitamin C + Protein. If you like radishes, you'll love radish microgreens.
4. Cilantro - for soups and stews. Super easy to grow. Lutein and Beta-Caratein Powerhouse.
5. Pea - excellent for garnishing any egg dish and FANTASTIC for adding to mashed potatoes. 7x Vitamin C of blueberries.
6. Onion Sprouts - use just as you would an onion. The sprouts taste just like an onion.

Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart On this day in 1890, The San Francisco Call shared an article with this headline: Walking Clubs. Lazy People Have No Interest in the Subject. Here's an excerpt: "You may have heard of a hundred kinds of clubs, ... and you may belong half a dozen and yet have never heard of a walking club. If so, you have missed one of the best of all. Autumn is here, and the bracing air makes you feel like exercising briskly. The leaves are turning to gold and scarlet, the nuts are nearly ripe, and the squirrels are scampering through the trees, chattering challenges with saucy eyes. Now is the time to organize walking clubs. A number of bright, boys and girls might get up such a club in an hour, No initiation, no fees. A President perhaps and maybe a Secretary to put down anything wonderful that may happen during the walks. The only business of the club will be to settle where they will walk. No constitution, no by-laws. Take any morning when it does not rain, see that your feet are shod strongly and comfortably, and walk as many miles as you can without fatigue. Hold up your head, throw your chest forward, and walk. Don't mince along or shuffle, but strike a long, swinging step from the hip joints. Have a destination. Select a farmhouse or a country inn three miles out. Manage to get there in time for dinner or supper, and after eating, rest one hour. Then come home by a different route. At night take a bath and go to bed. Take a walk once the first week, twice the second week, and keep that up for six weeks. Then walk three times a week, if the weather permits. Begin with a six-mile walk and lengthen it to ten. Keep up these walks during the autumn and winter — in fact, up to next summer. Get a number to go, and keep on enlisting new members. Seek a new route for every walk, if such a thing is possible. If not, add variety by dividing the club into two detachments, which shall meet at some previously agreed upon place to lunch. Then "swap routes" for the return trip, or return all together by a third route. There are a hundred ways of preventing monotony. Incite members to discover new points of interest and get an amateur botanist or geologist to join you. Study natural history as you walk, discuss, argue, reason, but don't quarrel. This is the way to be healthy and wise. Never mind the wealth— that will come of itself." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate the man who wrote extensively about the history and flora of Germantown and...

We'll learn about the 11-roomed garden created to honor the tobacco magnate James Buchanan Duke.

We'll hear some beautiful thoughts on nature by an English Victorian author who was born on this day in 1819.

We Grow That Garden Library with an adorable old book on topiaries.

I'll talk about foraging for a Yule Log, and then we'll wrap things up with a friendly post about November strawberries from 1843.

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

Gravel Bed Garden Design: Tips On Laying A Gravel Garden | @gardenknowhow

I love gravel beds in gardens. I don't see them very often, but when I do, they definitely get my full attention. I especially love it when they are enhanced with a water feature like an urn fountain or a rain chain.

Becca suggests incorporating:

"Ornamental grasses, herbaceous perennials, and even trees or shrubs may be suitable. Install plants into the soil. Add any hardscape features such as benches, water features, clay pots, or tin planters. Large boulders complement the gravel garden construction."

If you're thinking about installing a gravel bed in your 2020 garden, check out this post.

The Ultimate List of 30 Best Perennials for Landscaping | Richard Spencer @rs_garden_care

Secretsofgardening.com recently updated this comprehensive post.

I love how Richard starts this post out:

"When choosing plants for your yard for the first time, it can be overwhelming without a lot of experience to try to find the best perennials for landscaping and the ones that give the highest value for your money. As we are visual creatures, we tend to pay at first more attention to external things, and that's not always the right way to go."

This is where advice from a seasoned expert comes in handy, and Richard's list is an excellent place to start.

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 track down 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.

Brevities

#OTD Today is the birthday of the Germantown historian, botanist, and writer Edwin Jellett who was born on this day in 1860.

The town of Germantown owes such a debt of gratitude to Edwin Jellett, who devoted himself to capturing the history and the flora of the area now part of Northwest Philadelphia. He was a font of knowledge about the area, and he was beyond generous with his research and time, happy to help anyone with a question or a mystery about Germantown.

Edwin had a column in the local paper that appeared for forty weeks during the year 1903. It was charming, and it was pretty extensive, and it covered his minute and astute observations and thoughts his two main passions: history and botany. Every entry concluded with a list of all the plants shared in the post, along with both the Latin and common names. Often, those lists featured upwards of 30 to 40 different species.

Recently, the Awbury Arboretum republished Edwin's entries online in honor of its centennial in 2016.

Here's what the Chair of the Awbury Arboretum Association, Mark Sellers, wrote about Edwin's final entry, which was published on December 4th, 1903. I think Mark perfectly captures Edwin's love for the area.

"To trace his path in this last article is to watch as a magician pulls one improbable thing after another from a hat that appears too small to hold them...

Hemlock boughs bend under the weight of the snow and ice, and as Edwin stops to inspect a bird's nest that was occupied during his last visit, but now only contains snow.

It is apparent Edwin knew this was his last column. He reached as far into his memory and his understanding of what was beautiful around him...

While Edwin's observations have significant historical and botanical value to the student of horticulture in Philadelphia, what makes them interesting reading is his joy. Joy at seeing and knowing, joy from watching the seasons change and seeing the landscape and recognizing its significance.

"On rocks or on exposed banks, speedwell - never in a hurry - waits, and in thickets, green ropy runners of smilax, and the more refined bittersweet may be seen climbing over banks...

On trunks of trees nearby, are alabaster projecting seats fit for elves or fairies... Lichens, liver worts and mosses which escaped us earlier become conspicuous, the greater volume of light admitted to the woods exposing their hidden retreats.

On hills and dry banks club mosses... prominently appear, and on damp rocks, where water trickles, marchantia, an exceeding odd plant, will be found carpeting many an exposure, and, like all hepaticaae, bearing unique flowers.

Keen as may be the interest in summer stars, far greater is the interest of winter ones, because of the presence of a number of planets, and the enhanced brilliancy of the heavens.

So the never-ceasing procession continues, and forever when day departs or seasons die galaxies of stars, constellations of indescribable beauty, and a moon whose splendor we can never fully know, course before us for observation and wonder."

#OTD On this day in 1900, an article ran in The Indianapolis News called Science and Flowers: Study of the One Does Not Destroy the Love of the Other.

"Can people dip at all deeply into the real science of botany, and yet enjoy flowers because of their beauty, because of the delight of finding them in lovely spots on lovely summer days, and because of their dear associations?

Must the scientific sense blunt the aesthetic one?

Often, ... this will be the case. Pistils and stamens, nectaries, and receptacles - these things will not always go well with artless talk about sweet blooms and bright berries, or even with the simple, very English names given by the unlearned to flowers.

But on the other hand, there are many lovers of nature and field naturalists ... will still care for the flower because of Its beauty, because It grows in the best places at the best time of year, because It vividly recalls to them the glad, sorrowful days of childhood, or the tender passages - of true love.

Flowers, apart from the science of botany, are inextricably woven about human life. When will the artist be tired of painting the children in the meadows with their laps full of cowslips or celandine?

Let the botanist classify and name,... but let him be careful not to do anything to bring into contempt the love of flowers,... lest we rightly call him dry-as-dust and blind to beauty.

Finally, let him help to keep up the old names as well as the new ones. We must always have our Sweet William, Kingcup (Marsh Marigold), Sweet Cicely, Loosestrife, Heartsease (Wild Pansy), Codlins-and-Creams (Hairy Willowherb), and Feverfew. All [these] names [have] stories and meanings, whose loss would be a loss to the language; their very mention turns our thoughts to the gardens and, the pasture lands of summer gone but coming again."

#OTD Today is the birthday of the billionaire tobacco heiress and philanthropist Doris Duke who was born on this day in 1912.

When Duke was 46, Duke created an exotic public-display garden called Duke Gardens to honor her father, James Buchanan Duke. Drawing inspiration from DuPont's Longwood Gardens, the eleven interconnected gardens followed various themes focusing on a particular country or period.

Duke Gardens took visitors into an Italian courtyard, which featured a replica of Antonio Canova's sculpture, The Three Graces. Next came the Colonial Garden of the American South featuring camellias, azaleas, magnolia, and crepe myrtle. Then came the ferns and orchids of the Edwardian Garden, followed by the French and English gardens.

There was an exceptional Elizabethan knot garden, an American Desert, a Chinese Garden, A Japanese Garden as well as an Indo-Persian Garden which featured a Persian rose garden. The final gardens were Tropical and Semi-Tropical featuring vines, papyrus, and Bird of Paradise.

Clearly, Duke used what she had seen from her travels to design the elements in her displays, and Duke personally designed and installed the garden - sometimes working up to 16 hours a day. She donated the property to the Duke Foundation in 1960.

In 2008, sentiments about the gardens changed as some folks felt that the gardens "[perpetuated] the Duke family history of personal passions and conspicuous consumption."

The gardens remained open until May 25th, and then they were dismantled. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation said that,

"The day of the display garden is past. [The gardens] consume an inordinate share of financial and staff resources, they would require a very expensive modernization, and they no longer reflect the vision of Duke Farm's future. A video record has been made for archival purposes."

With the closure of Duke Gardens, another arm of the Duke family legacy, the Duke Farms Foundation created new indoor and outdoor display gardens as part of Duke Farms, which opened to the public on May 19, 2012.

#OTD On this day in 1963, Japan's Emperor Hirohito, an accomplished amateur botanist and zoologist, published his fourth book.

The book was a 24-page supplement to "The Plants of Nasu (pronounced "Na-soo"), a book he had published in the previous year.

Unearthed Words

Today's book recommendation: Herb Topiaries by Sally Gallo

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

Today's Garden Chore

Forage for a Yule Log for your Thanksgiving table.

I'm speaking about this little idea on an upcoming local TV segment for the American Heart Association. It's a great way to connect with nature and reduce stress, which can be a contributor to heart disease and stroke because it increases blood pressure. At the same time, you can enjoy a tradition that is centuries old.

In the early 1600s, the yule log was a symbolic pillar meant to sweep away mischief and ensure a happy new year. People would go out and forage for a simple pine log. Often, the log was selected up to two to three years before it was used, so that on the big day, the yule log would undoubtedly burn "long and brightly."

And it was essential to save a piece of the log to light next year's Yule log - it was considered bad luck not to do so. During the Elizabethan times, people didn't have Christmas trees. Instead, they followed the Scandinavian tradition of a Yule Log.

Robert Herrick wrote:

Kindle the Christmas brand, and then Till sunset let it burn; Which quench'd, then lay it up again Till Christmas next return. Part must be kept wherewith to tend The Christmas log next year, And where 'tis safely kept, the fiend Can do no mischief there.

Once you start reading about it, there are so many charming traditions behind the Yule Log. After you find a specimen that fits your table, you can decorate it - using the yule log as a base for evergreens, florals, natural elements, dried fruit, spices, and fragrant oils.

Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart

On this day in 1843, the New England Farmer out of Boston shared a little update called Strawberries in November.

It highlighted a little friendly competition between two strawberry growers: Mr. Brandegree of New London and Simeon Marble of Boston.

Here's what it said:

"The New London Advocate noticed the fact that strawberries had been picked from the garden of Mr Brandegree and asked, "Who can beat this ?"

[But then] Mr Simeon Marble yesterday presented us a bunch of ripe strawberries, just plucked from the vines in his garden, in this city. They were of two varieties, red and white.

The New London folks will please to consider themselves beaten."

Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate the botanist who named the very first plant for his mentor Carl Linnaeus, and we celebrate the 160th birthday of one of the country's wealthiest orchidologists and the founder of the Amerian Orchid Society. We'll hear some garden poetry on leaves and November. We Grow That Garden Library with a book from one of my all-time favorite authors who wrote a history of vegetables. I'll talk about tidying up after the garden dies back, and we'll celebrate a sweet story about the very first TV gardening show that debuted on BBC 83 years ago today.

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

Dancing with bees | Bridget Strawbridge Howard @b_strawbridge Bridget Strawbridge Howard has written a new book that is truly lovely.

Here is the origin story for it:

"Brigit Strawbridge Howard was shocked the day she realized she knew more about the French Revolution than she did about her native trees. The thought stopped her—quite literally—in her tracks. But that day was also the start of a journey, one filled with silver birches and hairy-footed flower bees, skylarks, and rosebay willow herb, and the joy that comes with deepening one's relationship with place. Dancing with Bees is Strawbridge Howard's charming and eloquent account of a return to noticing, to rediscovering a perspective on the world that had somehow been lost to her for decades and to reconnecting with the natural world. With special care and attention to the plight of pollinators, including honeybees, bumblebees, and solitary bees, and what we can do to help them, Strawbridge Howard shares fascinating details of the lives of flora and fauna that have filled her days with ever-increasing wonder and delight."

Your Garden "Still Works" in the Winter - Neighborhood Greening | Mike Nowak @mikenow

"Many species of native bees lay their eggs in the cavities of stems or rotting wood: some excavate pith-filled stems while others make their home in pre-existing cavities in rotting wood. According to Heather Holm, in her excellent book Bees, An Identification, and Native Plant Forage Guide, it is important to leave the garden alone in the fall and throughout winter. And because some native bees reuse these cavities in the spring, they should remain intact year-round. Holm explains, "Then in the spring, cut off the top of the old stems about 15″ above the ground, leaving flower stalk stubble. No further maintenance is required. Within a few weeks, new growth from the perennials hides the dry stems, and within a year or two, the stems naturally breakdown." 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 track down 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.

Brevities

#OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Dutch botanist Jan Frederik Gronovius who died on this day in 1762.

Gronovius's story is inextricably bound to the Virginia botanist John Clayton.

Clayton botanized Virginia. In the early 1700s, Clayton sent specimens to Gronovius both directly and indirectly through the English naturalist Mark Catesby.

Gronovius was a little in over his head as he attempted to make sense of the overwhelm ing amount of specimens from Clayton. So, he did what most of us would do. He asked for help - and he got it from Carl Linnaeus.

In a brazen move, Gronovius used Clayton's specimens and documentation to put together a Flora of Virginia in 1739. He published the work without notifying Clayton, and he certainly didn't see his permission before he started the endeavor.

Other than the Clayton situation, Gronovius is remembered for the many plants that he named.

After seeing the twinflower, it was Gronovius who suggested naming the plant after Linneus. Without Gronovius, Linnaeus probably wouldn't have a plant named for him during his lifetime - he was very modest about it. And, bless his heart, Gronovius was sensitive to Linnaeus's need to keep the honorary naming low key. So Gronovius wrote that,

"[The Twinflower was] "a plant of #Lapland, lowly, insignificant, disregarded, flowering but for a brief space - after Linnaeus who resembles it."

Thus, the Twinflower is the only plant named for the Father of Taxonomy and has the botanical name is Linnea Borealis.

Another plant that Gronovius named was the genus Gerbera which was named after the German botanist Traugott Gerber.

Finally, In 1739, It was Gronovius Who combined the words for water and jug - hydro and angeion. Put them together, and you get hydrangea (or water jug).

#OTD Today is the birthday of the orchidologist Albert Cameron Burrage who was born on this day in 1859.

Burrage had a passion for orchids, exceptionally rare orchids.

In 1922, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society rewarded him with the George R White medal for his outstanding collection of exotic orchid. Three years later, he received the Lindley Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society in England.

And, Burrage was the founding president of the American Orchid Society, where he served for eight years until his health no longer allowed him to work.

Now, growing exotic orchids can be a costly hobby. But, luckily, Burrage was a self-made man, and his story is jaw-dropping.

After getting a law degree from Harvard University, Burrage went to work for the Brookline gaslight company in the early 1890s. In a stroke of genius and probably luck, he discovered a little legal loophole that allowed the company to extend gas lines into the city of Boston. It earned Burrage a windfall - almost $1 million -, and he went on to have a series of successful positions with gaslight companies. His success was life-changing.

Burrage enjoyed his wealth. He lived in a gothic French chateau-style home. The exterior contained nearly fifty gargoyles and over three hundred bibliophiles, dragons, demons, cherubs, chimeras, and snakes in the carved exquisitely into the stonework.

And get this: when you walked into the house, the foyer opened into a large room with mahogany-carved paneled walls, a gold-gilded ceiling, stained glass windows, imposing fireplace, and a huge crystal chandelier.

And, here's the part gardeners will love. Burrage had an Orchid Room. His extraordinary collection lived in a glass-plated conservatory complete with a wall lined entirely with coral. It was an opulent home for his many exotic blooms. By 1922, Burrage had put together the most extensive private collection of tropical orchids in the world—over 1200 plants.

When he died in 1931, Burrage had been president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for ten years.

The longstanding secretary of the Society and garden writer, Edward Irving Farrington, paid tribute to Burrage, saying:

"Probably no other man has done so much to popularize the orchid in America. The present prosperity of the American Orchid Society is due largely to his efforts."

#OTD Today is the birthday of the diplomat Harold Nicolson who was born on this day in 1886.

Unearthed Words

"How silently they tumble down And come to rest upon the ground To lay a carpet, rich and rare, Beneath the trees without a care, Content to sleep, their work well done, Colors gleaming in the sun. At other times, they wildly fly Until they nearly reach the sky. Twisting, turning through the air Till all the trees stand stark and bare. Exhausted, drop to earth below To wait, like children, for the snow." - Elsie N. Brady, Leaves

So dull and dark are the November days.

The lazy mist high up the evening curled, And now the morn quite hides in smoke and haze; The place we occupy seems all the world." - John Clare, November

Today's book recommendation: A Potted History of Vegetables by Lorraine Harrison

My father grew lush fruit and vegetables for a hungry family in our garden during the privations following the Second World War, and ever since I have taken a keen interest in the history, provenance, cultivation, and eating of home-grown food—evenwhenworkinginLondon, where my "garden" was a single north-facing window box—growing, I recall, some excellent French tarragon. Alas, there was no Lorraine Harrison to guide me in those days, but gardeners finding themselves similarly lusting after fresh vegetables will glean much from these pages.

Today's Garden Chore

As your garden dies back, it's time to tidy up.

Right now, your garden is revealing the structures and knick-knacks that have served their time.

You also get a real sense of the bones of your garden.

If you've had a hard time editing some of the items you've placed in your garden over the years, take a moment to do a quick tidy up now. During the gray days of November, items that are sun-faded are easy to spot. So are the broken pieces of pottery or furniture. Are there birdhouses that are beyond saving? Is there a build-up of items that are no longer life-giving to you?

So, if you're thinking of adding structural improvements in the spring, like installing a new path or building a fence, now's the perfect time to cull out the old, worn, or unhappy items that have accumulated in the garden.

Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart

Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate the botanist who started the Botanical Gazette back in 1875 and the incredibly down-to-earth yet inspiring garden designer and writer who turns 90 years old today. We'll learn about the naming error based on the name of an early Governor of Florida and the almost 500 watercolors by a St. Louis botanist that languished undiscovered until the late '80s. We'll hear some relatable thoughts about the garden in prose about November. We Grow That Garden Library with a book that teaches us to turn our carrot stumps, cilantro sprigs, and avocado pits into plants. I'll talk about adding natural elements to your holiday planters, and then we'll wrap things up with a sweet story about the world's smallest rose garden. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. How to protect your crops from winter cold the sustainable way | The Telegraph

Here's a helpful post from @jackwallington

"Horticultural fleece is a veg plot wonder." Yes, it is!

Gardeners should look to move away from plastic cloches to more Sustainable options like glass and fabric. Stay Warm and Keep Gardening!

Horticulture Club buds into Staples – Inklings News @InklingsNews Great Post! Students must deal with increasing amounts of stress. Greenhouses in Schools are seldom used. Put the two together & you have a recipe for success. Bring horticulture into schools - 30 min of gardening = happier people at any age! 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 track down 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.

Brevities

#OTD Today is the birthday of John Merle Coulter, who was born on this day in 1851.

In November 1875, Coulter founded the Botanical Gazette, and a year-long subscription cost $1. The first issue was called the Botanical Bulletin. However, out of respect for the similarly named Torrey Botanical Club Bulletin, Coulter changed the name to the Botanical Gazette for the second issue, and the name stuck.

At first, Coulter edited the Botanical Gazette alongside his brother, Stanley, who was also a botanist. He had a number of co-editors throughout the years.

After twenty years of publication, the University of Chicago Press took control of the Botanical Gazette. Coulter remained an editor of the paper for half a century.

Coulter was a lifelong friend of Asa Gray, who he also considered his most influential mentor. Coulter was a prolific writer on the subject of botany, and he collaborated on a large number of scientific books. His Handbook of Plant Dissection was often referred to as the ABC botany book in honor of the last names of the authors: Joseph Arthur, Charles Barnes, and John Coulter.

Coulter led the Botany department at the University of Chicago, where he was especially impactful and beloved. A few days after his death, his widow received a volume containing testimonials from botanists around the country along with a silver tea set in recognition of her husband's work. Also, his students and peers had established a fellowship in his name in 1928 and had managed to raise over $25,000 to support future botany students. Coulter was alive to learn of these honors, but sadly, he died just days before the scheduled event, which was held in his honor. #OTD Today is the 90th birthday of the garden writer and designer Penelope Hobhouse who was born on this day in 1929. When Penelope visited Tuscany, she was captivated by the villa gardens, and she began teaching herself garden design. In a 2016 article in the New York Times, Penelope was praised for her work as a designer, saying Hobhouse is "a fixture in the minds of gardeners who love rooms and bones – the paths and walls and satisfying verticals that form the skeleton of a garden."

Penelope has designed gardens all over the world; including a garden for Elizabeth the Queen Mother, at Walmer Castle in Kent, an herb garden for the New York Botanical Garden, and an English cottage garden for Steve Jobs' Woodside home.

Gardens Illustrated recently shared a post featuring six of her garden design principles:

"Think about backgrounds Large trees can be used to frame the sky; hedges provide vertical and horizontal lines as well as a background for planting, while small trees with broad, globular, or pyramidal heads act as 'ceilings.' Low continuous hedging can be used to frame pathways.

Create a strong framework I tend to create a strong structure or framework for my gardens, with looser planting within. The architecture can be supplied by buildings, walls, steps, and pergolas, but also by plants.

Don't overuse colors The cardinal rule for planting is to use bright colors sparingly. Form is much more important than color, and flowers are fleeting, so start instead with the shapes and hues of trees, hedges and shrubs, and the leaf form and color of herbaceous plants, the shape they make, and the height they grow to.

Mix plants up Choose plants that will not only do well in any particular spot but will also associate happily with any neighboring indigenous plants.

Repeat, repeat, repeat To help unite the house and garden and create flow, repeat hard or soft features.

Don't forget it's for you Gardens should also provide shade and shelter, seats for contemplation, scents, and solitude, and require just the amount of maintenance to encourage relaxation, because, above all, they are places to be enjoyed." Despite all of her achievements, gardeners find Penelope relatable and personable. In a recent video, she said, "I'm still finding my way." #OTD On this day in 1933, the Knoxville Journal shared a story called "Department Botanists Agree Too Late to Change - Lespedeza was named in Error."

Lespedeza (pronounced "Les-pah-dee-zah") is a genus of around 40 species of flowering plants in the pea family, commonly known as bush clovers.

The article pointed out that the mistaken identity,

"...dates back to 1803 when [the] French botanist, Michaux, ...bestowed the name to honor the governor of Florida, Lespedez who allowed [the botanist André] Michaux to explore Florida as part of his botanizing efforts for France.

[But,] in studying the early history of the plant recently. P. L. Ricker, of the United States Department of Agriculture, ... [couldn't find] a governor by that name in Florida State history.

By checking [the] old histories, records revealed that the governor in 1788 was actually named Cespedes, making it clear that the name as given by Michaux was either an error or a misprint. Botanists of the department agree that it would be a mistake to try to correct the mistake now if for no other reason [than] it would lead to confusion with a family of tropical trees, Cespedesia named in honor of an early professor of botany also named Cespedes."

#OTD On this day in 1989, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch shared an incredible story called Buried Blossoms by Patricia Rice, which shared the story of the long lost work of the botanist August Henry Kramer.

"After 40 years in basements, [Kramer's] collection of 493 botanical watercolors was scrutinized by two local art appraisers. You might Imagine that art appraisers become blase about seeing another beautiful painting. But not Barbara Messing. "They took my breath away," she said. Flowering mint, California poppies, hummingbird sage, wild parsnips, whispering bells, rare alpine flowers seemed almost fresh on the paper. Each had been meticulously painted from live botanical specimens by August Henry Kramer in his spare time as a fire lookout In California and Oregon. Kramer was born ... in south St. Louis but spent his adult life in the Western forests. ...Shortly before his death in the late 1940s, he brought his paintings to his sister in St. Louis, with careful notes detailing the care of the delicate watercolors. Kramer's great-nephew, [Art] Haack, does not know precisely when his great-uncle died or where he was buried. He packed "Uncle Gus' box [of watercolors]" each time he and his ... family moved. "Every once in a while, I would take them out, and we would look at them." A few years ago, Jeanne Haack, (Art's wife) and a volunteer guide at the Missouri Botanical Garden, took her husband to an art exhibit of botanical drawings at the Garden. They immediately reminded [Art] of his uncle's work. He wrote about the paintings to the Garden's [Director] Peter Raven, who sent two staff members to look at Kramer's work. When [the appraiser Barbara] Messing pulled the paintings from their brown paper wrappings, it was the first time they all had been seen outside the family In 40 years. After a couple of hours of looking at them, she felt hot tears flowing down her face. She said, "Each drawing was so beautiful. It made cry."

Unearthed Words

"I prefer winter and fall when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn't show." - Andrew Wyeth, artist

"In the evenings I scrape my fingernails clean, hunt through old catalogues for new seed, oil work boots and shears. This garden is no metaphor -- more a task that swallows you into itself, earth using, as always, everything it can." - Jan Hirshfield, November, Remembering Voltaire

Today's book recommendation: No-Waste Kitchen Gardening by Katie Elzer-Peters

The subtitle to this book is Regrow Your Leftover Greens, Stalks, Seeds, and More.

Katie's book is an excellent reminder to old and young gardeners alike that much of our food is part of a cycle of growth, and thanks to Katie, we can easily tap into that cycle with confidence. It's time to stop tossing your carrot stumps, cilantro sprigs, lettuce and cabbage stalks, apple cores, and avocado pits in the trash. Katie gives you everything you need to know to grow successfully and re-propagate produce from your kitchen scraps. With this book, you can enjoy fresh greens and herbs anytime you want. Best of all, you'll reduce food waste and save time and money. Katie's book is chock full of step-by-step photos and instruction. And, the little gardeners in your home will marvel at the new plants that are created right before their eyes. Today's Garden Chore

Add natural elements to your holiday planters to create layers of interest and texture.

Today I was out chiseling holes into my planters with a long screwdriver so that I could incorporate some permanent stems and seasonal items into my planters.

I was reminded of the importance of adding natural elements like twigs, nests, sticks, and even feathers to my holiday planters to give them a little more pizzaz. Bundling sticks with twine and then tucking them in among the branches looks very homey.

If you can't afford to buy birch cuttings, you can always spraypaint a few larger sticks with some white paint (a little goes a long way). I stumbled on this a few years ago when I decided to give it a shot, and I have to say that from the street, the cuttings definitely pass for birch.

Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today is the anniversary of the death of the Oregon Journal columnist and gardener Richard William Fagan, who died on this day in 1969.

As gardeners, we celebrate Fagan for installing the world's smallest rose park - Mill Ends Park - in Portland on February 23, 1954. The installation coincided with "Rose Planting Week."

The park is 18 inches in diameter and was named after Dick's column, which was also called Mill Ends. The name of the column Mill Ends came from Dick's passion for collecting little brevities and news items about the Pacific Northwest sawmills - thus, Mill Ends.

In fact, the mayor of Portland once commented, "I don't know why you invited me to talk on city affairs. Dick Fagan can tell you more."

Mill Ends Park is really just a small plot in the middle of an empty lamppost-hole on a cement divider on the street at the intersection of SW 1st and Taylor St.

That year, in 1954, the city of Columbus, Ohio, was claiming the title of "The Rose City" - an honor held by Portland for over 50 years. Portland gardeners were incensed and began planting roses all around the city.

Dick got the idea for the park after spying the empty spot in the road divider from his window at the Newspaper building. It consisted of a single rose bush, a little wire fence, and a small wooden marker that said: "Mill Ends Park." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate the co-founder of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a man who maximized his small space garden about 130 years before the rest of us. We'll learn about the man who came to America to work with Andrew Jackson Downing, and then they both ended up dying by drowning 43 years apart from each other. We remember the poet laureate who wrote, "If I had a flower for every time I thought of you..." and the Catholic priest and poet who loved to garden and wrote elegantly about seasons. We Grow That Garden Library with a memoir featuring a gardener was working in naval intelligence in Washington on the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. I'll talk about using place card holders with your houseplants, and then we'll wrap things up with the tale of two botanical brothers at Gettysburg. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from Germany - Gardenista Jawohl! @Gardenista Here's 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from Germany. Verdant Practices include rooftop gardens, wildflowers & gardens, Kleingartenkolonies, the one-of-a-kind Prinzessinnengarten, the incredible work of the florist Ursula Wegener and more... How to care for and reflower your Christmas cactus - MSU Extension (Michigan State University) There is a simple formula for success with Christmas cactus: organic, humus-rich soil, a cute little pot since they like to be pot-bound, regular watering, cool temps, and 14 hours of darkness per day. Done! A Year Gardening the Grave of a Stranger - Atlas Obscura @atlasobscura shared this fascinating post about the kind folks at Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia who beautify gravesites with gardening. The cradle graves are especially poignant for gardeners... https://buff.ly/2Ea1bdC 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 track down 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. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the Landscape Architect Nathan Franklin Barrett, who was born on this day in 1845. Instead of joining his father's dye company, Barrett went his own way. After serving in the Civil War, BarrettLearned about plantsBuyWorking in his brother's nursery. In 1866, the field of landscape architecture was brand new – just a baby - and there is no prescribed coursework or preparation. Like many Landscape Architects, Barrett secured work as a town planner. He laid out the town Dolgeville New York as well as Pullman, Illinois (now located in Chicago). The town of Pullman was named for George R Pullman, who was one of Barrett's closest friends. The planning Barrett carried out in Pullman became one of his proudest achievements. Pullman was the country's first planned industrial town. Gardeners will enjoy hearing about Barrett's personal home garden in New Rochelle. Set on half an acre, Barrett designed his garden in an attempt to show others how to maximize a small space. Listen to the various areas and gardens he managed to install in his modest yard: "[an] old fashioned Colonial garden, Japanese, Roman, and Moorish gardens, and English topiary work. His cellar... opened to the garden level and through which a long vista continued. [Barrett] also created a Normandy peasant's sitting room, a German peasant's kitchen, [and] a Pompeian Court. A little brook at the rear of the property... added picturesque effects, and the garden was replete with pleasant little nooks and surprises at every turn." And, one newspaper shared a description of Barrett's wild planting tendencies: "The Poppy and the Ground Ivy, and Creeping Charlie and Myrtle mingle together; the Aster and Goldenrod feel at home; Ferns and Mosses are used liberally, and while abandon is aimed at, there is 'method in the madness,' and the wild garden and the formal play their part, each enhancing the charm of the other." Barett co-founded the American Society of Landscape Architects and served as its president in 1903. Barrett worked all over the country, and when he retired, he had practiced Landscape Architecture for 50 years. By the time Barrett died in 1919, he had been the oldest living Landscape Architect in the United States. In 1902, Barrett went to Los Angeles to give a speech on Landscape Architecture. Sadly, he caught a cold and lost his voice, so his speech was read for him, and the entire talk was shared in the newspaper. Here's my favorite excerpt - it's where Barrett addresses the spaces where living areas connect with shopping areas, how good Landscaping should mask the sides of ugly buildings, and why maintenance is a vital habit: "The line between the store and the residence is a battle line. As the business increases, the residence is forced back. The only remedy for this in sight is to make the transition as inoffensive as possible. [And] let us ask the object of taking the valuable space In the city for lawns. Is it not to relieve the buildings? I think so. Therefore, we should plant large trees to take away the mass of masonry which must necessarily exist in both house, sidewalk, and street. Bull Street, Savannah, Ga. has always appealed to me, where the walls are covered with Ivy. The old parts of Norfolk, Va., where the Ivy makes a coping two to three feet thick and hangs down over the wall, is excellent. ...[And] the pushcart picking up rubbish is as Important as the trees and flowers. Neatness is as contagious as a new bonnet, and a clean face becomes a habit and is an excellent rivalry to encourage. " #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the Landscape Architect Calvert Vaux ("Vox"), who died on this day in 1895. Vaux was born in England, but he came to the United States at the age of 24 to work on landscape projects with Andrew Jackson Downing. Together, they planned the grounds around the Capitol and the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington. After Downing's untimely death, Vaux named his second son Downing in honor of his partner and friend. Vaux went on to work with many talented people during his career, including Jacob Weidenmann and George Radford. When Calvert Vaux came up with the idea for a public competition to design Central Park, he teamed up with Frederick Law Olmsted, Senior. Together they created a plan they called Greensward, and while they worked on Central Park, Vaux first coined the term landscape architect to describe their profession. And, it was Calvert Vaux who said that his goal for Central Park was to "translate democratic ideas into trees and dirt." Since Olmsted and Vaux worked so well together, after Central Park they designed Prospect Park in Brooklyn, South Park in Chicago, and the New York Reservation at Niagara Falls. By 1895, at the age of 70, Vaux was living with his son in Brooklyn. He had a morning ritual of taking a walk - often going to visit Prospect Park. But, on this day in 1895, the weather was foggy, and Vaux decided to walk the pier along Gravesend Bay. Two days later, after his kids reported him missing, newspapers shared this description: "Missing since Tuesday. Calvert Vaux. Aged seventy years; four feet ten Inches; medium build; gray hair and full beard; ruddy complexion; wore blue overcoat with velvet collar, blue trousers, dark mixed undercoat, no vest, black derby hat; wears gold-rimmed eyeglasses; shirt has name on it." The following day Vaux's body was found in Gravesend Bay. Like his dear friend Downing, Vaux had drowned. At the end of November, the Statesville Record And Landmark out of Statesville, North Carolina ran an anonymous tribute to Vaux that read in part: "Calvert Vaux was in his line one of the most famous men in the world.... Calvert Vaux created Central Park [and] people who have traveled all over the world say that no park in any foreign city is so beautiful. But, the Brooklyn folks say that their own Prospect Park is handsomer. Yet that, too, was "created" by Calvert Vaux. It was he who soothed nature's rough places and touched up and brightened her attractive features. In Prospect Park, however, nature left little for man to do. But Central Park is almost wholly artificial, and it's beautiful vistas of hill and dale, of lake and wood, are largely the work of Mr. Vaux. Probably a statue of him will be erected in Central Park. Certainly, his name ought to be perpetuated in the most enduring of stone." Unearthed Words On this day in 1850, the British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, became the Poet Laureate. "If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever." Today is the anniversary of the death of the American poet and Catholic priest, John Banister Tabb who wrote: Indian Summer Tis said, in death, upon the face Of Age, a momentary trace Of Infancy's returning grace Forestalls decay; And here, in Autumn's dusky reign, A birth of blossom seems again To flush the woodland's fading train With dreams of May. Autumn Gold Earth in the house, and the golden-rod A-bloom in the field! O blossom, how, from the lifeless clod, When the fires are out and the ashes cold, Doth a vein that the miners know not, yield Such wealth of gold? It's time to Grow That Garden Library with today's book: Adventures of a Gardener by Peter Smithers. 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. It was 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." Today's book was the brainchild of the RHS - who asked Smithers to write his gardening memoirs. Thanks to Smither's travels, he had observed gardens in England, Mexico, Central America, and Switzerland. And, Smither's followed certain principals to help ground him as he pursued the hobby of gardening. He wrote: "It shall be a source of pleasure to the owner and his friends, not a burden and anxiety." This book is part-autobiography and part-garden book. Smithers shares 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, "He's as comfortable talking about [his career] as he is in explaining the behavior of wasps in a flower garden." This book came out in 1996. It's considered somewhat rare. You can get a used copy and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for as low as $13. Today's Garden Chore Use place card holders to help you remember the names of your houseplants. If names like Schefflera or Hoya keeps slipping your mind, hop on the labeling bandwagon and use place card holders to label your plants. I used to practice saying the names of my plants as I watered them. When they finally rolled off the tongue, I moved on. Now I use the labels just because I think they're pretty. But, every now and then, when I get a new plant, they still come in handy. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Thomas Meehan who died on this day in 1901. Meehan was born in England to a gardener and his wife and raised on the Isle of Wight. He trained at Kew and then immigrated to Philadelphia. Although Meehan ultimately became known as the Dean of American horticulture, there was a charming little story that took place when Meehan was in his 40's. Drexel University shared itin 2018. When a curatorial assistant at the botany department at Drexel, named Elana Benamy, was digitizing plant images, she came across an image of milkweed - which is pretty common - but what made her take a double-take was the date and location of the plant specimen. The plant was labeled "Battlefield of Gettysburg, August 20, 1863." The battle in Gettysburg had occurred during the first three days of July. So this specimen had been gathered about seven weeks after the battle, and about five weeks after Frederick Law Olmsted had walked the field. Elana asked, "Can you imagine why on earth would someone be out plant collecting [there]?" As it turns out, the reason made perfect sense. The collector was Thomas Meehan. At the time of the civil war, Meehan had worked for Andrew Eastwick, who was the owner of Bartrum's garden in Philadelphia. Afterward, Meehan opened up his own nursery in Germantown. In 1853, Thomas's younger brother, Joseph, had come to the United States from England. The younger Meehan brother was working in the greenhouses for his brother when he enlisted to fight in the Civil War. As the battle of Gettysburg began, the younger Meehan was taken prisoner; but with the defeat of the army, he was given battlefield parole on July 4th. Historians now speculate that Thomas' brother, Joseph, might still have been at Gettysburg, or Thomas might've gone out with him on a botanizing trip there. In either case, 33 years later, Joseph would write a beautiful account of the landscape around Gettysburg in an article for a gardening magazine called Battlefield Flowers: Floral Treasures of Gettysburg. Apparently, both brothers, who had made their homes in the city of brotherly love, had inherited their father's love of plants. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."