The Daily Gardener

Merriam-Webster gives the following synonyms for the word perennial: abiding, enduring, perpetual, undying Those terms can give gardeners unrealistic expectations for their perennials. They're not eternal. They will eventually part ways with your garden. But, for as long as they can, your perennials will make a go of it. Returning to the garden after their season of die back and rest. Ready to grow. Ready for you to see them, and love them, all over again. Brevities #OTD It's the birthday of botanist who was a petite, fearless, and indefatigable person: Agnes Chase, bornon this day in 1869. Chase was anagrostologist—a studier of grass. A self-taught botanist, her first position was as an illustrator at the USDA's Bureau of Plant Industry in Washington, D.C. In this position, Chase worked as an assistant to the botanist Albert Spear Hitchcock. When Hitchcock applied for funding to go on expeditions, authorities approved the assignment for Hitchcock, but would not support Chase - saying the job should belong to "real research men." Undeterred, Chase raised her own funding to go on the expeditions. She cleverly partnered with missionaries in Latin America to arrange for accommodations with host families. She shrewdly observed, "The missionaries travel everywhere, and like botanists do it on as little money as possible. They gave me information that saved me much time and trouble." During a climb of one of the highest Mountains in Brazil, Chase returned to camp with a "skirt filled with plant specimens." One of her major works, the "First Book of Grasses," was translated into Spanish and Portuguese. It taught generations of Latin American botanists who recognized Chase's contributions long before their American counterparts. When Hitchcock retired, Chase was his backfill. When Chase reached retirement age, she ignored the rite of passage altogether and refused to be put out to pasture. She kept going to work - six days a week - overseeing the largest collection of grasses in the world in her office under the red towers at her beloved Smithsonian Institution. When Chase was 89, she became the eighth person to become an honorary fellow of the Smithsonian. A reporter covering the event said, Dr. Chase looked impatient, as if she were muttering to her self, "This may be well and good, but it isn't getting any grass classified, sonny." #OTD On this day in 1924 it was Cornelia Vanderbilt's wedding day. When the Vanderbilt heiress married British nobility, the diplomat John Cecil, the wedding flowers had been ordered from a florist in New York. However, the train to Asheville, North Carolina had been delayed and would not arrive in time. Biltmore's Floral Displays Manager Lizzie Borchers said that, "Biltmore's gardeners came to the rescue, clipping forsythia, tulips, dogwood, quince, and other flowers and wiring them together. They were quite large compositions, twiggy, open, and very beautiful." If you look up this lavish, classic roaring 20's wedding on social media, the pictures show that the bouquets held by the wedding party were indeed very large - they look to be about two feet in diameter! I'll share the images in our Facebook Group The Daily Gardener Community. In 2001, the Biltmore commemorated the 75th anniversary of the wedding with a month long celebration among 2,500 blooming roses during the month of June. #OTD On this day in 1980 Alfred Hitchcock died. On social media, you can see images of a very young Alfred Hitchcock in Italy, on the set of what many believed to be his first feature-length silent film, The Pleasure Garden (1925). He filmed an extravagant "Garden Party" scene in his 1950 film Stage Frightstaring Jane Wyman and Alastair Sim. Then in 1989, the first three reels of Alfred Hitchcock's 1923 silent film "The White Shadow" was discovered in Jack Murtagh's garden shed in Hastings, New Zealand. The film was long thought to be lost. It was Alfred Hitchcock who said, "Places' are the real stars of my films: the Psycho house, the house in Rebecca, the Covent Garden market in Frenzy" #OTD On this day in 2017 The New YorkTimes tweeted that the Brooklyn Botanic Garden cherry blossom festival was set for today and tomorrow, regardless of when nature [decided] to push play. #OTD On this day in 2017, Ron MacBain owner of The Plantsman floral shop in Tucson died - just a few days short of his 90th birthday. MacBain was a floral force majeure. One article I read about MacBain began simply, "Ron McBain did the flowers. It's a refrain heard more and more frequently in Tucson. Whether the event is an elegant party or a posh charity ball; whether the bouquet cost $25 and was sent to grandma on Mother's Day or cost $100..." After selling his shop of 25 years in 1999, MacBain turned his to Winterhaven - a home he shared with his longtime partner Gustavo Carrasco, who died in 2011. The garden at Winterhaven was a destination spot for photographers, painters and garden lovers. In a charming twist, when he could no longer garden, MacBain picked up painting. He said, "I [imagine] I'm in the flower shop... and arrange on canvas the way I would in a vase... The joy [I get] fills me so much, I wouldn't want to do anything else." Finally, tonight at 7pm CT the world is reborn on PBS with their presentation of "Nature: American Spring LIVE," the Emmy- and Peabody-award winning series and it will air three nights starting tonight (April 29) through May 1. Spring is one of nature's greatest performances – a time of rebirth, renewed energy and dramatic transformations. I'm so looking forward to this. In the three-night event, you can join scientists as they make real-time observations in the field from iconic locations from across America - in ecosystems ranging from the Rockies to the Everglades, from inner-city parks to remote wilderness preserves. The series will include a mix of live and pre-taped footage highlighting some of the most pivotal events in nature's calendar. Nature executive producer Fred Kaufman says, "Nature throws a party every year, and it's called spring. It is the most active time in the natural world for plants and animals, from birth and rebirth to migrations to pollination... In addition to witnessing incredible wonders, the goal... is to inspire people to go outside and get involved with science. Everyone can play a part in our natural world." #AmericanSpringLivePBS Unearthed Words Here's a beloved poem about Botany Bay from Australian Mary Gilmore (1865 – 1962). #OTD On this day in 1770, Captain James Cook sailed into a large harbor on the coast of what would become known as Sydney, Australia; he named it Botany Bay. In Mary's poem, you'll hear the words 'knotted hands' – meaning the imprisoned hands of convicts who were made to work for Australia. Old Botany Bay "I'm old Botany Bay; stiff in the joints, little to say. I am he who paved the way, that you might walk at your ease to-day; I was the conscript sent to hell to make in the desert the living well; I bore the heat, I blazed the track- furrowed and bloody upon my back. I split the rock; I felled the tree: The nation was- Because of me! Old Botany Bay Taking the sun from day to day… shame on the mouth that would deny the knotted hands that set us high! And, here's another poem from Gilmore about the founders of Australia: Even the old, long roads will remember and say, "Hither came they!" And the rain shall run in the ruts like tears; And the sun shine on them all the years, Saying, "These are the roads they trod" — They who are away with God. Last year, the Australian government announced they were budgeting $50 million to redevelop Cook's 1770 landing place. The plans include turning the area into a major tourist attraction and include the addition of a $3 million statue of Cook himself. Australia Treasurer Scott Morrison said it would be "a place of commemoration, recognition and understanding of two cultures and the incredible Captain Cook". The redevelopment is slated to be built by 2020, in time to mark the 250th anniversary of the landing. Today's book recommendation Here's a lovely conversational style gardener's dictionary - Garden-pedia: An A-to-Z Guide to Gardening Terms by Pamela Bennett and Maria Zampini. With more than 200 garden and landscape terms, Garden-pedia is meant to teach, to provide perspectives on terms, and to answer commonly-asked questions. The idea for the book started with Maria Zampini needing to explain basic terms and practices to new hires in the nursery industry and was expanded by Master Gardener Pam Bennett's experiences with teaching home gardeners. Today's Garden Chore I'll never forget talking to Peggy Anne Montgomery (The Still Growing Podcast Episode 553). One of her personal garden sayings that she shared with me later is, "Nothing green or brown leaves the property". I've since adopted the same mantra - using all green or brown matter for compost. You don't need to export your nutrient rich leaves and brush to the curb for pickup. Start simply with a chop and drop approach to winter cleanup. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart While I was researching Agnes Chase, I came across this little article in The St. Louis Star and Times. Chase gave one of her books on grass a biblical title, The Meek That Inherit the Earth. The article pointed out that, "Mrs. Chase began her study of grass by reading about it in the Bible. In the very first chapter of Genesis, ...the first living thing the Creator made was grass. ...In order to understand grass one needs an outlook as broad as all creation, for grass is fundamental to life, from Abraham, the herdsman, to the Western cattleman; from drought in Egypt to the dust bowl of Colorado; from corn, a grass given to Hiawatha because in time of famine he prayed not for renown but for the good of his people, to the tall corn of Iowa. And to [Chase], as she said, "Grass is what holds the, earth together. Grass made it possible for the human race to abandon his cave life and follow herds. Civilization was based on grass, everywhere in the world." This significance, says this rare scientist... still holds." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

How close are your earliest bloomers to your front door? Your crocus, snowdrops, iris, daffodils, tulips, forsythia, daphnes, and magnolias. When I redid my front garden last year, the designer had put all my earliest bloomers right near the front porch and walk. When I asked her reasoning, she reminded me of our long winters. Her advice was spot on: When spring finally arrives, it's much more pleasurable to have those earliest blooms where you can see them first thing. Brevities #OTD It's the birthday of Eugene Delacroix born on this day in 1798. Delacroix is widely considered as one of the last great history painters. A son of France, he received his artistic training in Paris and was a major figure among the French Romance painters of the 19th century. His striking 'A Vase of Flowers' (1833) shows a crystal vase filled mostly with dahlias. It is his earliest surviving flower painting. #OTD American physicist Charles Townes sat on a park bench on this day in 1951 and came up with the theory that would lead to the laser. He recalled, "I woke up early in the morning and sat in the park. It was a beautiful day and the flowers were blooming." #OTD It's the birthday of Irma Franzen-Heinrichsdorff, a German-born landscape architect. In 1913, she attended the Elmwood School of Gardening. In the 1980's she recounted the experience in ten handwritten pages. Here's an excerpt: At 10:15 we went outside and did the currently necessary work in the fruit, vegetable or flower garden. Every kind of vegetable was cultivated. Countless flowers were multiplied through seeds, cuttings, etc. to be sold in the spring or fall. The morning hours passed quickly. At 1 o'clock we stopped work. At 1:30 we had lunch, and at 2:30 we went back to work until 4:30. We then drank tea and at 7 o'clock we appeared in festive evening dress for dinner. In the summer we had the same hours of work except for an extra hour in our greenhouse from 7 to 8 o'clock to water and spray our thirsty plants. But I must add, even if it means praising ourselves, that we did not content ourselves with the times I indicated. We were often found in the garden at 6 o'clock if not at 5 o'clock or even earlier. Also in the evenings we preferred to be active outside. Miss Wheeler had never had students as eager as we were. #OTD John James Audubon was born in Haiti on this day in 1785. Audobon said, "A true conservationist…knows the world is not given by his fathers but borrowed from his children" A naturalist and a lover of birds, The Ottowa Daily Republic published a charming story about his burial. "John J. Audobon, the naturalist and bird lover, is buried in Trinity, cemetery. There has been erected over his grave an Iona cross; the arms of which are connected by a circular band of stone, making apertures of the four corners at the intersection. In one of these, (apertures) robins built a nest last month. This fell under the eye of a caretaker, who got a pole and dislodged the nest. The birds flew about disconsolately for a time, then went away. So far as any one knows, Audubon did not turn over in his grave, neither did any of the carved birds on the [cross] cry out." #OTD in 1822 visionary 19th century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted is born. He was born to a prosperous family in Hartford, Connecticut. Aside from his legacy as a landscape architect, Olmsted dedicated his entire life to social reform. In many ways, his designs for public spaces played an important role in his social work. His vision for Central Park was an ordered oasis for all of the city's social classes; where everyone could come together and enjoy nature. Dubbed the Nation's Foremost Parkmaker, Olmsted designed Boston's Emerald Necklace, Forest Park in Springfield, Massachusetts and and Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. Considered the father of American landscape architecture, he situated his design firm in Brookline and named it Fairsted - a likely nod to his family's ancestral home in England. In 1893 he helped design the Chicago World's Fair. It was Frederick Law Olmsted who said, "The enjoyment of scenery employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it; tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it." "The root of all my good work is an early respect for, regard and enjoyment of scenery." Unearthed Words Every April, one should read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's words on Spring. This passage is from his "Kavanagh" written in 1849. It's a lovely reminder to appreciate spring's unfolding. "Ah, how wonderful is the advent of the Spring!—the great annual miracle…. which no force can stay, no violence restrain, like love, that wins its way and cannot be withstood by any human power, because itself is divine power. If Spring came but once in a century, instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake, and not in silence, what wonder and expectation would there be in all hearts to behold the miraculous change!… We are like children who are astonished and delighted only by the second-hand of the clock, not by the hour-hand." Today's book recommendation Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted by Justin Martin In addition to his marvelous professional legacy, this book offers an intimate look at the personal life of Frederick Law Olmsted. His momentous career was shadowed by a tragic personal life, also fully portrayed here. Today's Garden Chore It's another Photo Friday. Today take photos of the edges of your beds. Evaluate the lines. Your plant choices. Consider incorporating edibles like onions or garlic to the edges of your borders where they are easy to harvest. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart On this week, in 1897, a woman named Anna Eliza Reed Woodcock took some branches off her flowering apple tree and brought via wheelbarrow down Capitol Avenue to the Michigan Statehouse. While at the Statehouse, Woodcock adorned the office of the Speaker of the House with the blooming branches. Woodcock had been looking out her kitchen window and had seen her apple trees in bloom. She thought it would make a great state flower. Knowing that the Legislature was going to be voting on a state flower, she hoped her Apple Blossom branches would have some influence... and they did. Woodcock's victory with the Legislature sparked a passion for apple blossoms. She said, "I feel my apple blossoms have taken me to the top of the world." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today I learned how botanists used to say "hello" to each other. In the 1800's and 1900's, a common way for botanists to introduce themselves, often from the other side of the world, was to send each other plant specimens as the foundation for developing a relationship. When it comes to friendship, plants are icebreakers, communicators, and binding ties all rolled into one. Brevities There are many delightful anniversaries today. Today is National Zucchini Bread Day. Zucchini was discovered in the Americas. Explorers brought it back to Europe where, in Italy, was called "zucchino". #OTD On this day in 1958, President Truman planted a sugar maple in New York in honor of Arbor Day. #OTD On this day in 1981, The Native Plant Society of Texas(NPSOT) was founded at Texas Women's University. #OTD On this day in 2007 Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota held its second Linnaeus Symposium. The event, titled "Linnaeus @ 300," honored the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist for whom the Gustavus arboretum is named. #OTD On this day in 1852, botanist Marcus Jones was born. His mom loved plants and sent Marcus to gather fresh flowers every day to display on the family's mantle. This daily chore was the beginning of his passion for botany. He won national recognition for his work as a prominent botanist of the American West and in 1923 he sold his personal herbarium for $25,000 - an impressive amount at the time. His collection represents the largest archive of plants from Utah. Jones died in 1934 in San Bernardino, California. He was returning from a plant collecting trip to Lake Arrowhead at the age of 81 when his car was hit by another driver. Seatbelts had wouldn't be invented for another 25 years; Jones was ejected from his vehicle and died from a skull fracture. Jones columbine, Aquilegia jonesii, is named for Marcus Jones. It is rare and does not transplant well. Plants and seeds are sold by select nurseries. #OTD On this day in 1912, author and botanist Julia Francis McHugh Morton was born. A Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, Julia Morton was a popular expert and lecturer on plants and especially plant medicine and toxicity. Known as the poison-plant lady, Morton worked to education the public through letters and phone calls, lectures and posters designed for hospital emergency rooms. Among the many ER calls she received was one from a doctor in Scotland. A patient, back from a Jamaican holiday was gravely ill. Morton deduced that a noxious castor bean from a souvenir necklace had been ingested. Over the years Morton has been the subject of many newspaper articles. Clever headlines showcase Morton's expertise, "She gets to the root of problems" and "She leaves no leaf unturned". In 1988, the Miami News published an article about Morton's help with a murder case of a teen-age girl. The girl's car was found in the Dadeland Mall parking lot, after the girl had disappeared. Police brought Morton a half-Inch blade of grass that was stuck to the door handle of the car, and some pieces of leaves that were wedged inside the door. Morton Identified the grass as Giant Burma Reed. Then, she spread the leaves out in water and determined that they were the undeveloped leaflets of Spanish Needles. Morton's conclusion was that somewhere a short distance from the Dadeland Mall, (perhaps off Galloway Road near a nursery in a tall patch of Burma Reed) police might find the body of the girl. And, she predicted that there were two killers. Morton correctly assumed that one had wet hands and had left Burma Reed on the driver's door; while the other had closed the passenger door so quickly that it caught the Spanish Needles in the frame. The next morning, policemen found an area that matched Morton's description and solved their case. It was Julia Morton who said, "Plants are always up to something. So I don't take a vacation. I operate on solar energy. I can only stay indoors a certain length of time." Like Marcus E. Jones, Julia Morton died from injuries sustained in a car accident in 1996. She was 84. #OTD On this day in 1949, botanical illustrator Alice R. Tangerini was born. Tangerini was hired as a staff illustrator for the Department of Botany at the National Museum of Natural History by American botanist Lyman Bradford Smithin 1972. As of March 9, 2017, Tangerini remains the only botanical illustrator ever hired by the Smithsonian. In 2005, Tangerini lost sight in her right eye due to an injury, and she has diplopiadue to a subsequent surgery. She has received the "Distinguished Service Award" from Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and the "Excellence in Scientific Botanical Art" award from the American Society of Botanical Artists. Unearthed Words It's National Poem in Your Pocket Day. Today you can share the joy that poems bring by carrying one in your pocket and sharing it throughout the day with others. Here's a brief one from Agnes Falconercalled Windflowers. (Windflowers is the common name for anemones) "So frail are we, pale are we, Mist-thin, ghost-white — Hark o'er us, spring's chorus Trills all life's delight! And no leaf stirs in all the wood Yet see! our blossoms quiver! Dance these not in thy solitude — For ever!" Today's book recommendation A Region of Astonishing Beauty: The Botanical Exploration of the Rocky Mountains by Roger L. Williams Williams follows the expeditions of over a dozen explorers who "botanized" the Rocky Mountains. These intrepid explores felt Western Flora was special and unique. The title of the book comes from a quote by botanist Edwin James who said in 1820 as he emerged above timberline in Colorado to come upon "a region of astonishing beauty." Today's Garden Chore Today's garden chore is a great indoors project; replace the montage of labels in your garden by making new ones to give your garden a unified and cleanup look. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart If you're a lover of daffodils, you will get a kick out of this story. Today is the birthday of Reverend George Herbert Engleheart. Back in 1889, Engleheart began breeding daffodils - some 700 varieties in his lifetime. Fans of 'Beersheba', 'Lucifer', or 'White Lady', owe a debt of gratitude to Reverend Engleheart. Engleheart spent every spare moment breeding and his parishioners would often find a note tacked to the church door saying, "No service today, working with daffodils." Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

I recently had a gardener ask me about the first herb I'd ever grown. That would be chives. Chives, like many herbs, are so easy to grow. Plus, you get the cute purple puffball blossoms. I had a chef friend show me how she liked to cut off the flower. Then, she snipped a little triangle off of the bottom where the bloom comes together (like cutting paper to make a snowflake). By doing this, you basically get "chive-fetti" and you can easily sprinkle the little chive blossom over salads or dishes. Mic drop. Goat cheese and chive blossoms pair very well together. You can serve that at a party or just add it to an omelet. Very decorative. Very pretty. Something anyone can do. Brevities #OTD Today, Japan celebrates "Botany Day". Held annually on April 24, the celebration honors the Father of Japanese Botany, Tomitaro Makino, on his birthday. Makino was born in 1862. His dad was a successful brewer of the Japanese national drink, sake. Sadly, by the time he was six, his father, mother, and grandfather had died. He was raised by his grandmother. Makino became fascinated with plants as a boy. He loved to collect specimens. Every spare minute, until he became bedridden before his death, he would roam the countryside adding to his personal herbarium which would ultimately max out at over 400,000 specimens. (The University of Tokyo is now home to the Makino herbarium). Makino adopted Linnaean principles for naming his plants. In 1940, he published the Illustrated Flora of Japan - an exhaustive work that details more than 6,000 plants. (I ordered myself a first edition online from Abe Books for the fine price of $67.) The Makino Botanical Garden was built in his hometown of Kochi City after he died in 1957 at the age of 94. Tomitaro Makino, Japanese botanist said, "Plants can survive without humans; but humans can't survive without plants". #OTD Today is the birthday of french botanist Lucien Plantefol (1891-1983). He developed his owntheory to explain how leaves are arranged on the stems of plants. He served in the first World War. Modern chemical warfare began in his home country, France; on April 22, 1915 German soldiers attacked the French by using chlorine gas. Plantefol was wounded during the war, but he went on to serve his country by working on a team at a national defense laboratory that developed the gas mask. #OTD On this day in 2017, Botanist, Vancouver's highly acclaimed new restaurant inside the Fairmont Pacific Rimhotel, officially opened... they started their first day with breakfast service. Very on trend, the restaurant boasts pastel tones and loads of houseplants. Divided into quarters Botanist includes: a dining room, cocktail bar and lab, garden, and a champagne lounge. The champagne lounge is surrounded by glass and planters filled with greenery indigenous to British Columbia. The Garden invites guests to chill in a glass-walled space filled with greenery, a trellis and more than 50 different types of plant species that include rare fruit bushes, and edible species such as green tea camellia, cardamom and ginger. #OTD On this day Paul George Russell was born in 1889 inLiverpool, New York. His family moved to DC in 1902 and this became Russell's lifelong home. Russell received his advanced degrees fromGeorge Washington University. He got his first job atthe National Herbarium; Russell would end up working for the government as a botanist for 50 years. Early on, Russell went on collecting trips in northern Mexico with botanists Joseph Nelson Rose and Paul Carpenter Standley. In 1910, during a Mexico trip, the Verbena russellii - a woody flowering plant - was named for Paul George Russell. Later, he accompanied Rose to Argentenia where the Opuntia russellii - a type of prickly pear -was named for him. Back in the States, Russell was a vital part of the team dedicated to creating the living architecture Japanese cherries around the Washington Tidal Basin. As the consulting botanist, he oversaw the planting of all the cherry trees and he authored a 72-page USDA circular called "Oriental flowering cherries" in March 1934. It was Russell's most impressive work and it provided facts on cultivation and historical details about varieties of ornamental cherries grown in the United States, introducing visitors to the magnificent cherry trees growing around the tidal basin in Washington, D.C. A compiler of over 40,000 seed vials, Russell honed a unique and rare skill: he could identify plant species by seed alone. After retiring, he began working on a history of USDA seed collection. Sadly, he never finished this endeavor. Russell died at the age of 73 froma fatal heart attack April 3, 1963. The following day, April 4th, Russell had made plans with his daughter to see his beloved cherry blossom trees in bloom around the tidal basin. Unearthed Words Here's a little verse from Fisherman's Luck by Henry Van Dyke in 1899. "The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month." Today's book recommendation #OTD In honor of Charles Sprague Sargent's birthday (He was born on this day in 1841), today's featured book is Stephanne Barry Sutton's biography called Charles Sprague Sargent and the Arnold Arboretum. This book was commissioned by the Arboretum to celebrate its centennial. It is both a biography of Sargent and a history of the Arnold Arboretum. In 1872, Sargent was given the responsibility of creating the arboretum for Harvard and he did it all from scratch; there were no arboreta in America to model. His enduring vision for the Arboretum was of such perfection that subsequent directors have followed it with few variations. Today's Garden Chore Clean your windows. When Romeo said, "But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?" He was on to something. Light needs to break through that glass; but that's hard to do if your windows are dirty. When I spoke with The Houseplant Guru, Lisa Eldred Steinkopf (The Still Growing Podcast Episode 598), she brought up this very point - cleaning your windows is a great chore to do for your indoor plants. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart I stumbled on a little story in a 1915 article that highlights the personality differences between the ebullient Muir and the very serious Bostonian: Sargent. On a fall trip to the Southern mountains, Muir and Sargent were climbing the hilltops. Here's what happened according to Muir: "We climbed slope after slope through the trees till we came out on the bare top of Grandfather Mountain. There it all lay in the sun below us, ridge beyond ridge, each with its typical tree-covering and color, all blended with the darker shades of the pines and the green of the deep valleys. . . . I couldn't hold in and began to jump about and sing and glory in it all. Then I happened to look round and catch sight of [Sargent] standing there as cool as a rock, with a half-amused look on his face at me, but never saying a word. Muir asks Sargent, "Why don't you let yourself out at a sight like that?" "I don't wear my heart upon my sleeve," Sargent retorted. "Who cares where you wear your little heart, man?" Muir cried. "There you stand in the face of all Heaven come down on Earth, like a critic of the universe, as if to say. 'Come, Nature, bring on the best you have: I'm from BOSTON!'" Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

There's a soldier's prayer that goes, "Stay with me, God. The night is dark, The night is cold: my little spark Of courage dies. The night is long; Be with me, God, and make me strong. Dark. Cold. Long. It's easy to get so excited about the first nice days of spring. "It was 80 degrees today!" "It's going to be above 70 all next week!" Well, hold your horses. You're forgetting about those nights. Remember? Dark. Cold. Long. No fun for tender transplants. Over in the FB group for listeners of the show, listener Denise Pugh shared an awesome Facebook Live session put on by one of the best: Lisa Mason Ziegler from The Gardener's Workshop. In the video, Lisa mentions the secret to successful transitioning of transplants from indoors to outdoors - the secret is consistent nighttime temps of 60 degrees or higher. She's got a ton of other sage pieces of wisdom as well for growing warm weather crops - so head on over to the Daily Gardener Community on Facebook and check out the replay. In the meantime, remember to curb your enthusiasm about those first lovely warm days of spring. Save the real celebration for the arrival of warm nights. Brevities #OTD On this day in 1863, botanist, physician and member of the U.S. House of Representatives, William Darlington died. Like eminent botanists John Bartram, Humphry Marshall, and William Baldwin, Darlington was born in Pennsylvania as a Quaker. A native of West Chester, he received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. As a student, Benjamin Barton, the author of the first American botany textbook, encouraged his interest in botany. After an appointment as a surgeon for an East India merchant, Darlington traveled to Calcutta. A year later, when he returned from India, he married Catharine Lacey, the daughter of a distinguished Revolutionary War General. An abiding counselor and partner to William, they would be together for forty years; having four sons and four daughters. Their oldest son Benjamin Smith Barton Darlington and their youngest son William Baldwin Darlington were both named in honor of fellow botanists. 1826 was a big year for Darlington. He organized and presided over the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Sciences and he published his first edition of "Florula Cestrica," his catalogue of plants in West Chester. An archivist, Darlington worked to preserve correspondence and documents of Humphry Marshall and John Bartram; he compiled them, along with illustrations of their homes, under the title of "Memorials of Bartram and Marshall." In 1853, the botanist John Torrey named a new and remarkable variety of pitcher-plant found in California for Darlington, calling it Darlingtonia Californica. He had been similarly honored but Augustin de Candolle who named a genus after him. Darlington's large herbarium and works were bequeathed to the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Science. He was buried in the Oaklands Cemetery, near West Chester. An epitaph in Latin is inscribed on his stone marker, written by Darlington some twenty years before his death: "Plantae Cestrienses, quas dilexit atque illustravit, super tumulum ejus semper floreant" or May the plants of Chester, which he loved and documented, forever blossom over his grave. And, Darlington's tombstone is crowned with a relief of Darlingtonia californica. #OTD It's the birthday of Thomas Grant Harbison born in 1862. Harbison was a self-taught in botanist earning advanced degrees including a PhD by correspondence - a fairly novel concept in the late 1800s. In 1886, Harbison and a friend created their own version of Survivor. They followed forest and mountain paths through Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. Cutting themselves off from civilization, they allowed themselves only five items for daily living: a wool en blanket, a rubber poncho, a tin bucket, a bag of wheat, and a tin of brown sugar. Their only other indulgence was a copy of Alphonso Wood's Manual of Botany to aid their study the plants. Harbison remembered that, in wartime, Caesar's soldiers ate wheat crushed and turned into a mush. This was their primary source of sustenance - which they would sweeten with the brown sugar and berries picked along the way. It was a formative event for Harbison. This survivalist experience helped Harbison develop his famed skill for finding any particular species in ways few other man could equal. Harbison was part of a corp of botanists hired by the Biltmore Herbarium - the famous Vanderbilt botanical garden at Asheville, North Carolina. As a plant collector for Biltmore, Harbison travelled throughout the United States - specifically searching for tree and shrub specimens. After leaving in 1903, Harbison was the only Biltmore collector who went on to work purely as a botanist. He brought attention to over 100 new or little known tree species as a field representative for Charles Sprague Sargent at Harvard's Arnold Arboretum. When Harbison came to Highlands, North Carolina looking for specimens for Harvard, he found such a treasure of botanical specimens that he made the Highlands his home. Harbison said that he regarded the Highlands a botanical paradise of wild plants which he attributed to the fact that the area had escaped the great glacier movements that formed much of the world. Thomas Harbison died in his sleep at the age of 74. Harvard botany Professor William Chambers Coker said, "Mr. Harbison was a man of the highest character and of warm, human feeling. In his death the University loses notonly a great botanist, but a delightful companion." Today, the Thomas GrantHarbison House is a historic house at 2930 Walhalla Road, just outside Highlands, North Carolina. The trees on the property date back to Harbison and include a grove of hemlock [Tsuga canadensis], white pine [Pinus strobus], and oak [Quercus sp.] trees. Harbison is recorded as planting the group of six Florida nutmeg trees on the east side of the house. It is believed Harbison secured them on one of his collecting expeditions for the Arnold Arboretum. A willow named Falix Har-bisonii (ii = "ee-eye") and a hawthorn named "Crataegus 'Harbosinii (ii = "ee-eye")" native to the country surrounding Nashville, were named to honor Thomas Harbison. Unearthed Words #OTD Today is the birthday of William Shakespeare. He was born on this day in 1564. The Bard's works are loaded with references to plants and gardens. Roses are referred to around a hundred times by Shakespeare, probably influenced to some extent by their link to the Tudor dynasty as well as the flower's own obvious merits. Winter's Garden Act 4 Scene 4 "there's Rosemary and rue: these keep Seeming and savour all winter long" Ophelia from Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5 'There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember. And there is pansies, that's for thoughts.' A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 2, Scene 2 Oberon: I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine: There sleeps Titania sometime of the night The Lenhardt Library at the Chicago Botanic Garden hosts a Shakespeare Day on Oct. 15, featuring Botanical Shakespeare.… Today's book recommendation This week in 1984, the New York Times reviewed eight new gardening books and today's book selection was on that list: ''A Wild Flower Alphabet'' by Elizabeth Cameron. A watercolorist who lives near Moray Firth in Scotland, the author composed this alphabet for her grandchildren. The delightful messages describing the flowers on each page are hand-lettered. The description says it is "just right for a rainy day" and "a delightful picture-book". Today's Garden Chore One of my favorite spring chores is something garden writer Barbara Pleasant (The Still Growing Podcast Episode 584) shared with me a few years ago. In one of the first warm spring rains, bring your houseplants outside for a shower. They'll return to the indoors refreshed and energized - complete with that wonderful spring rain scent. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart When I was researching Thomas Harbison, I came across some wonderful newspaper accounts of summer parties held for the staff - including the nurserymen and landscape department - at Biltmore. Here's one from the 4th of July, 1900. The athletic sports for the employees of the Biltmore estate yesterday afternoon were greatly enjoyed, though the contestants were under a disadvantage owing to the hot weather. The result of the events and the prizes were as follows: 100 yards dash Won by T. G. Harbison, $2; 2d, Hal. Lipe, $1. Tug of war Won by landscape department team, trophy and $1 each man. Broad jump Won by A. T. Davidson, $3, 2d, T. G. Harbison, $1 Running high Jump Won by J. W. Young, $2; 2d, T. G. Harbison, $1. That was a total of $5 in winnings for Thomas Harbison. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."