The Daily Gardener

William Kent wrote: "A garden is to be a world unto itself, it had better make room for the darker shades of feeling as well as the sunny ones." I've usually think about my garden as my happy place. It's a natural mood changer for me. But I remember one time when I was out in the garden with feelings of a definite darker shade. I was very pregnant with John and I was wearing a hideous, striped, maternity tank top. It was super hot out and I looked like an absolute mess. I wasn't out there long before I realized my new neighbor kept trying to catch my attention; I didn't want to meet him looking such a fright. I kept my eyes down on my plants. But, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed he kept coming out of his house to stand on his deck - expecting me to acknowledge him. Finally, an older man joined him and, together, they approached the back fence. I walked over to say hello. Here it was my old principal from middle school and his son-in-law; my new neighbor. So much for my garden being a world unto itself. Brevities #OTD On This Day in 1823, botanist Allan Cunningham departs Bathurst to find an easier route to the Liverpool Plains. Born in Wimbledon, England, Cunningham came to Australia with tuberculosis and happily discovered Australia's climate helped him feel better. #OTD It's the birthday of George Harrison Shull who was born on this day in 1874. An American botanist, he is regarded as the "father of hybrid corn." #OTD, It's the birthday of Francis Hallé born today in 1938. He is a French botanist and biologist and his specialty is tropical rainforests and tree architecture. Atlas Obscura wrote an article about Halle called, "The Botanist Who Made Fantastical Sketches of Rain Forest Flora". It's true. Halle's work in his book, "The Atlas of Poetic Botany" is other worldly - possessing an almost Seussical charm. Of equatorial forests, Halle says they are full of magical allure and little marvels. Check out this passage from the Atlas Obscura piece, "On Robinson Crusoe Island, part of an archipelago off the coast of Chile, he found Gunnera peltata, which looks like a rhubarb plant so enormous that it dwarfs whoever stands below its wide, veined leaves. Analyzing it was a thrilling challenge. "Normally, a scalpel is used for dissecting plants," Hallé writes. "This time, I had to wield a meat cleaver!" A photo would convey the size and the "nest of ruby-red fibers," but the author eschews snapshots. "I cannot think of a better way to present it than with a drawing." #OTD It's the death day of Alexander Garden, of Charleston, South Carolina, who was a steady and delightful writer of letters to other eminent botanists of his day. The Gardenia flower is named for him. His letters provide a glimpse into his life; one of which is to John Bartram, the botanist: "Think that I am here, confined to the sandy streets of Charleston, where the ox, where the ass, and where man, as stupid as either, fill up the vacant space, while you range the green fields of Florida." Here's a letter he wrote to John Ellis : "I know that every letter which I receive not only revives the little botanic spark in my breast, but even increases its quantity and flaming force." When the Revolutionary War began, Garden sided with the British, even though he sympathized with the colonists. When the war was over, his property was confiscated and he had to leave South Carolina. After losing everything, he and his family went to live in London where he became vice-president of the Royal Society. He died of tuberculosis, at age 61, on this day in 1791. There's a sad little aside to the Alexander Garden biography: "He had a little granddaughter, named appropriately 'Gardenia.' Her father, Alexander, Garden's only son, joined Lee's legion against the British (so going against his father) and was never forgiven ; nor was the little girl, his granddaughter with the flower name, ever received into her Grandfather's house. Unearthed Words Here's a little known poem for today about springtime called "Nothing Perfect on Earth" by Francis Quarles Even as the soil (which April's gentle showers Have filled with sweetness and enriched with flowers) Rears up her sucking plants, still shooting forth The tender blossoms of her timely birth ; But if denied the beams of cheerly May, They hang their withered heads, and fade away. Today's book recommendation The Atlas of Poetic Botany by Francis Hallé This Atlas invites the reader to tour the farthest reaches of the rainforest in search of exotic―poetic―plant life. Guided in these botanical encounters by Francis Hallé, who has spent forty years in pursuit of the strange and beautiful plant specimens of the rainforest, the reader discovers a plant with just one solitary, monumental leaf; an invasive hyacinth; a tree that walks; a parasitic laurel; and a dancing vine. Further explorations reveal the Rafflesia arnoldii, the biggest flower in the world, with a crown of stamens and pistils the color of rotten meat that exude the stench of garbage in the summer sun; underground trees with leaves that form a carpet on the ground above them; and the biggest tree in Africa, which can reach seventy meters (more than 200 feet) in height, with a four-meter (about 13 feet) diameter. Hallé's drawings, many in color, provide a witty accompaniment. Like any good tour guide, Hallé tells stories to illustrate his facts. Readers learn about, among other things, Queen Victoria's rubber tree; legends of the moabi tree (for example, that powder from the bark confers invisibility); a flower that absorbs energy from a tree; plants that imitate other plants; a tree that rains; and a fern that clones itself. Hallé's drawings represent an investment in time that returns a dividend of wonder more satisfying than the ephemeral thrill afforded by the photograph. The Atlas of Poetic Botany allows us to be amazed by forms of life that seem as strange as visitors from another planet. Today's Garden Chore I can't let tax day pass us by without suggesting you get with your significant other and negotiate your budget for the garden this season. Pick a number and try to stick to it; Base your number on reality so you get honest about what you spend on the garden. It can't be good karma to bring shame about overspending on plants into the garden. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart #OTD Here's a fascinating post from the Hartford, Courant newspaper published on this day in 1977: Headline: Doctor Used Moss To Bandage Wounds Sphagnum moss, used by florists to keep seedlings and stems moist, was used during the Revolutionary War to bandage wounds; and as recently as World I. Acidulous preservative water runs from the moss when squeezed and, no matter how often it is squeezed - it never becomes dry. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

I was looking at the cute brass plant labels on the Target website the other day - I was trying to find the link to that adorable garden tote I was telling you about and I thought about the evolution of a gardener when it comes to using plant tags. First you start out needing the labels - is that dill? What does basil look like again? Then you label only the newcomers or the look alike parsley or cilantro - who can tell without smell? Sometimes a new gardener will visit. Or you'll have people tour your garden. Folks appreciate knowing what they are looking at. Pretty soon, you realize you're labeling as a kindness to your garden guests. If you're like me, no matter how long you've been gardening, cute or clever plant labels are always a lovely find. Brevities #OTD Today is National Licorice Day. The botanical name for licorice means "sweet root" and in Dutch name, it's zoethout, ("Zoot-Howt") which means "sweet wood." The secret to the flavor (which is 50 times sweeter than sugar) is hidden in the very long roots and rhizomes of the plant. Thus, children who grew up chewing on licorice root would suck out the sweet sugars and spit out the pulp. The licorice plant is actually a perennial shrub in the legume or pea family. Don't confuse it with the annual trailing dusky licorice plant that gets popped in containers. The glycyrrhetinic acid in licorice causes the body to hold salt and water. Throughout history, armies would give licorice to soldiers and horses when water was in short supply. Licorice is used as a remedy for coughing - Hippocrates used it that way. It regulates digestion - Napoleon used it for tummy troubles. #OTD It's the birthday of Zina Pitcher (April 12, 1797, in Sandy Hill, New York – April 5, 1872, in Detroit). He managed to pack a lot of living and incredible relationships into his 75 year life. He established the Detroit public school system. He taught at West Point. He was Michigan's most prominent doctor and became a president of the American Medical Association He was mayor of Detroit; twice. He was a tireless member of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan and was praised as the longest serving and hardest working of the 12 original regents. As regent, it was Pitcher's vision that made him an early advocate of acquiring John J. Audobon's"The Birds of America"for the U-M Library. An amateur botanist, Pitcher had discovered plant species, including a thistle - now called Pitcher's Thistle (Carduus Pitcheri or Cirsium Pitcheri) in his honor. The white-to-pale-pink flowering thistle is familiar to beachcombers throughout the Great Lakes. While he was a regent, his love of horticulture came in handy when it was time to hire professors. The name Asa Gray floated to the top of their list. Gray was mentored by the nation's top botanist: John Torrey. When Gray arrived in Michigan, his first stop was at Pitcher's home in Detroit. Accepting the job, Gray needed to push back his start date by one year to finish his studies in Europe. This would give the University time to get building facilities on campus. In the meantime, the regents asked Gray to buy books for the school while he was abroad. How fun! Gray shopped his bachelor buttons off; shipping over 3,700 books back to Ann Arbor. Sadly, when his year in Europe was over, Gray never made it to Michigan. Harvard stole him away. But his ties to the University and all those books he bought helped create the school library and a fine reputation to attract young scholars. Today, the street, Zina Pitcher Place in Ann Arbor is named in his honor OTD, 1810, Thomas Nuttal, just 24 years old, left Philadelphia by coach.He had recently immigrated from England, and Professor Benjamin Smith Barton of the University of Philadelphia wanted him to spend the next two years studying the flora of the Northwest. Given a salary of $8 per month plus expenses, Nuttal set about collecting and writing detailed accounts of the flora he discovered. By July 29, he jumped in a birch bark canoe with Aaron Greely, the deputy surveyor of the territory of Michigan, and they paddled to Mackinac Island arriving two weeks later on August 12. Nuttal spent several days on Mackinac - He was the first true botanist to explore at the flora of Michigan, and certainly of Mackinac Island. He documented about sixty species - about twenty were previously unknown. One the new Mackinac discoveries was the dwarf lake iris(Iris lucustris), which became the state wildflower of Michigan. Unearthed Words #OTD On this day in 1748 William Kent (Books By This Author)died. A pioneer of the English landscape garden, it was William Kent who said, Nature abhors a straight line. All gardening is landscape painting. Garden as though you will live forever. A garden is to be a world unto itself, it had better make room for the darker shades of feeling as well as the sunny ones. William Kent wrote a cute little ditty about the origin of the Inigo Jones gateway and how it came to be moved to Chiswick. The story goes that in 1621, the arch was created for Beaufort House. When his friend Hans Sloane was demolishing the house, Lord Burlingtonspied the arch and wanted it for himself. Ho! Gate, how came ye here? I came fro' Chelsea the last yere Inigo Jones there put me together Then was I dropping by wind and weather Sir Hannes Sloane Let me alone But Burlington brought me hither This architecton-ical Gate Inigo Jon-ical Was late Hans Slon-ical And now Burlington-ical Today's book recommendation If you are interested in other early naturalists of Michigan, there is a terrific book by Dr. Edward G. Voss entitled "Botanical Beachcombers and Explorers: Pioneers of the 19th Century in the Upper Great Lakes," published in 1978 by University of Michigan Herbarium. Today's Garden Chore You can grow plants with hints of licorice scent in your garden by growing: Anise(it tastes just like licorice) and Little Adder Anise or Hysso is a charming plant with beautiful flowers. In fact, when there's no licorice available, anise oil can be used as a substitute. Purple Ruffles basil is fun to grow, offers rich color contrast, and adds a hint of licorice to the sweet basil flavor. Another herb, fennel, has a mild licorice flavor. You can think slice fennel and add it to salads. The stems can be made into a pesto. Something new to try this season. Finally, chervil offers that licorice or aniseed flavor and is perfect for damp, cool spots in the garden. It is best in spring and fall. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart In the early 1840s, a boy with a badly broken arm had been brought to Detroit from northern Michigan. Untreated, his condition had grown so grave that the doctor he saw prepared to amputate. At the last minute, when the boy was strapped down for surgery, Dr. Zina Pitcher was consulted. After a careful examination, he asked if he might try to save the arm. Pitcher's intervention succeeded. The boy, Peter White, grew up to be a regent of U-M himself, and long afterward, he saw to it that Zina Pitcher's grave in Detroit was planted with blossoming flowers every spring. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

How much do you care for your garden? Does your time and attention stay pretty constant throughout the season? If not, why not? What would your garden look like in August if you loved it then as much as you do now? What do you need to do to sustain a high level of care for your garden all season long? Fewer tomato or pepper plants? More raised beds? Getting regular garden time committed on the calendar? Removing high maintenance plants? Brevities #OTD Luther Burbank died today in 1926 (Books By This Author). His friend, Yogi Yogananda wroteAutobiography of a Yogi- a book many people find inspiring including Andrew Weil, George Harrison, and Steve Jobs - who read it annually. Yogananda later dedicated the entire book to "Luther Burbank, an American Saint", and he wrote about Luther's death, saying: In tears I thought, "Oh, I would gladly walk all the way from here to Santa Rosa for one more glimpse of him! Locking myself away from secretaries and visitors, I spent the next twenty-four hours in seclusion." #OTD Today we celebrate the birthday of a South African who had many botanical triumphs; Botanist Elsie Elizabeth Esterhuysen.She's been described as "the most outstanding collector ever of South African Flora", collecting 36,000 herbarium species. A botanist at the Bolus Herbarium in Cape Town, Elsie was beyond humble. She would never be publish the results of her work under her own name. There are 56 species and two genera named after her. The saying, "if you want to be immortal collect good herbarium specimens" is certainly reflected in Elsie Esterhuysen's botanical legacy. After Elsie died, over 200 people gathered at her memorial gathering - which featured three tributes from her botanical family. Botanist John Rourke recalled, "Elsie returned to Cape Town in 1938. It was here that her real career began when she joined the Bolus Herbarium (Figure 2) under another formidable woman. Dr Louisa Bolus. […] It's an astonishing fact that for the first 18 years of her employment she received no proper salary and was paid out of petty cash at a rate not much better than a laborer. She did not collect randomly; Elsie was above all an intelligent collector, seeking range extensions, local variants, or even new species, filling voids in the Bolus Herbarium's records, often returning months later to collect seeds or fruits that were of diagnostic importance. […] Always self-deprecating, one of her favorite comments was 'I'm only filling in gaps'." Botanist Peter Linder said, "She was what I thought a botanist was supposed to be. She was in the mountains every weekend, and came back with big black plastic bags full of plants, that she sorted and passed to Gert Syster to press. She was the one person who could put names on plants that defeated my attempts. And she had little time for academic niceties—for her the important things were plants in the mountains, their welfare, their relationships. She was immersed in plants and mountains." "Elsie taught me that each species has an essence, a character—that it liked some habitats but not others and that it flowered at a particular time. She was curious about the plants, not because they informed her about some theory or other, but she was interested in the plants themselves—she cared about them." Botanist Ted Oliver remembered, "Her mode of transport was the bicycle (we have her latest model here today). She rode to the University of Cape Town up that dreadful steep road every day for a lifetime, come sunshine or rain, heat or cold. Now one knows why she was so fit and could outstrip any poor unsuspecting younger botanist in the mountains! Every day she would come up and park her bicycle behind the Bolus Herbarium building and then often jump through the window in the preparation section rather than walk all the way around to the front door." A newspaper cutting found among her personal effects after her death showed a side of Elsie that none of her coworkers knew existed. It was from the local Kimberleynewspaper (undated) and reported on a Reading on life and works of Franz Schubertat a meeting of the Kimberley Philharmonic Society. The lecture was given by Miss E. Esterhuysen. It was preceded by another describing Burchell'stravels in South Africa during Schubert's time and was followed by "a delightful short program of the composer's music played as piano solos by Miss Esterhuysen". #OTDHappy birthday to the eminent Dutch botanist and geneticist born in Dordrecht John Paulus Lotsy (April 11, 1867), author of "Some Euphorbiaceae from Guatemala" (1895)." He spent two years from 1893 to 1895 at Johns Hopkins University and presented his entire Herberium to the Baltimore Women's College. The collection was started when Lotsy was a boy and Lotsy himself gathered every specimen personally. Before leaving for an appointment as botanist to the Dutch Botanical Gardens in Java(known as the Garden of the East), Lotsy gifted his entire herbarium - which contained about six thousand species, being especially rich in the flowering plants of Europe, in the desert Hora of Algiers, in algae, lichens, cryptogams, mosses, seeds and water plants. Dr. Goucher, of Johns Hopkins, acknowledged, "The special value of the herbarium, is that it is collected by an eminent botanist not merely to contain as many species as possible, but to afford illustration of the principles of vegetable morphology and of adaptation of plants to peculiar conditions of environment." John Paulus Lotsy died in Amsterdam at the age of 64. Unearthed Words Always Marry An April Girl by Ogden Nash (Books By This Author) Praise the spells and bless the charms, I found April in my arms. April golden, April cloudy, Gracious, cruel, tender, rowdy; April soft in flowered languor, April cold with sudden anger, Ever changing, ever true -- I love April, I love you. Today's book recommendation In honor of the work of botanist Elsie Elizabeth Esterhuysen, today's book recommendation is: Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver (Kingsolver has a background in biology). Although it's a fictional book, it features naturalist Mary Treat, who corresponds with Darwin and a character who risks his job to teach evolution. In real life, Treat actually exchanged letters with Darwin& Asa Gray. She is referenced in Darwin's book Insectivorous Plants. She published 5 books and over 70 articles; there are four species named after her. She studied insects, carnivorous plants, and general botany. Treat put spiders in candy jars filled with moss and plants - "so that my nervous lady friends may admire the plants without being shocked with the knowledge that each of these jars is the home of a spider." Treat talked to all living things; she was an amazing woman who helped establish our understanding of carnivorous plants. Today's Garden Chore Feel spiffy. Buy a new garden tote. I like the new one at Target from Smith and Hawken. It's the 18.7" x 14" Canvas Garden Tool Tote Green - Smith & Hawken™ Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart As part of Clark Botanic Garden's 50th Anniversary in Albertson NY, the Town is hosting a photo exhibit featuring photos by residents and visitors of the garden. There will be a reception for the opening of the exhibit on tonight at 6 p.m. There's a link in the show notes to view the photos online: https://bit.ly/2EzgU2R. Don't forget to join them for "Sundays in the Garden" year-long lecture series of presentations to commemorate the big 5-0!Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Just when you thought you had winter beat… You thought wrong. Surprise. Unpredictable weather. Dicey temperatures. Gardeners need resilience. If Spring's arrival is dashing your hope, start to look for the survivors in your garden. In your neighborhood. In your city. On your social media feed. Every Spring - no matter the conditions, there are successes. Hardy Daffodils. Forsythia. Lungwart. Snowdrops. Magnolias. Look for the plants that survive and thrive despite the challenges of Spring. Plant more of those plants. Find joy in those plants. Improve your resiliency by mirroring the resilience of your garden. Brevities #OTD Born today in 1854, the extraordinary floral still life painter and teacher Mary Hiester Reid (Books By This Author). Born in Pennsylvania, Mary Augusta Hiester met George Reid(who was six years younger than her) at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts during school sketching trips. George later recalled that the trips were not only great for art's sake, but they also gave him the chance to be with, "the beautiful Mary Hiester on their expeditions". After that, they often worked together and that winter, Mary invited George to accompany her back home for a weekend of sketching on the Schuykill ("Sk-ooh-kill") River. Their fates were sealed together when they married in 1885. The Reids spent every summer from 1891 to 1916 at Onteora("Aunty Aura"), a private literary and artistic club founded by American artist Candace Wheeler in the Catskill Mountains near Tannersville, N.Y. They had a house and a studio, both designed on arts and crafts principles by George. They spent their time painting and teaching, their studio having accommodation for ten students, some of whom came from as far away as Toronto. "A self-adopted Canadian who loved Canada", Mary was very humble. In 1910, a reviewer wrote in The Globe, "Nothing can tempt her to talk about her pictures." Mary was one of the first women accepted into the Ontario Society of Artistsand the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Her painting, Hollyhocks, is a personal favorite. Reid was the preeminent female artist of Canada when she died. She was celebrated for her, "study and interpretation of Nature in those aspects that appealed most to her...glimpses of spring and autumn woodland, moonlit vistas, gorgeously colorful gardens, lovely skies, divinely tinted ends of evening, and the countless flowers of the fields…." In 1922, a year after her death, Reid was the first female to be featured with a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Toronto She willed her husband to her friend and rival - the younger painter and printmaker (24 years her junior) Mary Evelyn Wrinch. It's the birthday of landscape architect David Darrell. A semi-retired Harford County landscape architect. Darrell was born and raised in Claymont, Delaware, and was raised on his family's farm. Some of his commissions included the prayer garden at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, the Largo Animal Preserve in Prince George's County, and Little Lithuania Park near Hollins Market among others. He also designed courtyards and tennis courts. His wife Edna said "David came into my life in August 2006; I was looking for someone to create a new garden. I looked in the Yellow Pages and five people came to interview. There was something about him. He studied the plants with big, gentle hands, he trimmed and shaped them. He was hired on the spot." David Darrel died of brain cancer in 2015. Unearthed Words Here's a memorial poem for Mary Hiester Ried written by Canadian newspaperman and a native son of Scotland, Duncan Sutherland Macorquodale - reprinted in the 9th Volume of The Canadian Theosophist (Toronto) November 15, 1921 Vol 9. There's a reference to Wychwood; the Reid's house, Upland Cottage, was located in Wychwood Park - an artist's enclave of 60 homes tucked away in a private ravine setting atop the rolling wooded hills of the Davenport Ridge in Toronto. MARY HIESTER REID Obit. Oct. 4, 1921. Free from the thrall called life, Palette and brush laid down; Off with achievement's strife, Donned the immortal's crown; Yet hovers she near 'neath the Wychwoodtree, This, the roses she painted, tell to me. Knelt not to gods of dress, Knew naught of gossip's blight, Lived she to work and bless; This was her heart's delight. And the smile of welcome to all she gave, Would fashion a knight from the meanest slave. Why mourn we our loved, laid low? We also our time abide. Are they lost because they go? Nay! for they have not died. The body rests, but the soul is free To charm as of old with it's melody. Queen, both of roses and hearts, Her mortal course well run; Her's 'both the good and the better parts; Martha, and Mary, in one. Still reigns she here, while there her body lies. The good, the pure, the noble, never dies. Today's book recommendation The Garden Awakening: Designs to Nurture Our Land and Ourselves By Mary Reynolds An award-winning garden designer's practical how-to book with stories and philosophy. The Garden Awakeningis a step-by-step manual to help create a garden in harmony with the life force in the earth; addressing not only what the people in charge of the land want but also asking what the land wants to become. Mary Reynolds demonstrates how to create a groundbreaking garden that is not simply a solitary space but an expanding, living, interconnected ecosystem. Drawing on old Irish ways and methods of working with the land, this beautiful book is both art and inspiration for any garden lover seeking to create a positive, natural space. Today's Garden Chore April is the perfect time to prune grape vines. Remove dead vines. Guide vines along trellis, arbors, or fences. Now is a great time to repair support structures as well. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart #OTD The first Arbor Day in the US was observed in "treeless Nebraska" on April 10, 1872. It was established for the state of Nebraska by the Honorable J. Sterling Mortonof Nebraska - later secretary of agriculture. The most memorable stat from that first Arbor Day is that around a million trees were planted in Nebraska on this day in 1872 – the first Arbor Dayin America. Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: for a happy, healthy life - garden every day.

Today's thought is exactly that: How we think when we garden. Emerson wrote: Blame me not, laborious band, For the idle flowers I brought; Every aster in my hand Comes back laden with a thought. How wonderful our gardens are for thinking. Creatively. Therapeutically. Soulfully. Every bloom can be a vessel for an idea, a hurt, a solution. I had a fight with my daughter the other day. We were getting no where. Exasperated and just plain tired, I had her help me with the houseplants. In case you're wondering, we were spring cleaning all the greens - even the fake ones! There was no talk. No more disagreement. Just the plants and water and a little soap... and our thoughts. Before we knew it, we were ready to come together. Our welfare and happiness restored by the thoughts knit together in the company of plants. Brevities #OTD British botanist, author, pragmatist and survivor Phebe Lankester (Books By This Author) died today in 1900 and was born tomorrow in 1825. Born Phebe Pope, she married the naturalist Edwin Lankester who was a coroner and medical reformer. They had eleven children. When Phebe was 49, Edwin died; she had to keep producing work to take care of herself and her family. Phebe Lankaster wrote under a number of pseudonyms. Her books were published under the name Mrs. Lankester. She wrote a syndicated column under the signature "Penelope" for 20 years. Her energy and work brought friendships with the celebrities of her day: painters, actors, intellectuals, and writers. In 1895, the painter Herman Herkomer painted a wonderful portrait of Phoebe Lankester - her warmth and wit captured on the canvas. Her work appealed to the masses; she wrote in a friendly and conversational voice. And, she wrote about what she knew: plants, educating children about health, and being financially smart. Her books range from A Plain and Easy Account of the British Ferns (1859) to The National Thrift Reader (1880) It was the widowed Phebe Lankester who said, "Often the most thrifty persons are the most generous, because they can afford to be so." Phebe often partnered with illustrator James Sowerby and other members of the Sowerby family for illustrations in her books. She worked with James on her sweet, little book Wild Flowers Worth Notice; with 108 coloured figures from drawings by James E. Sowerby An advertisement for the book in 1861 noted that Mrs. Lankester herself says in her charming pre-face, "what flowers are not worth notice?" Reviewers were happy with Mrs. Lankester's selections calling them "the special delight of flower-gatherers, as for example, the sun-dew, the mistletoe, the bog pimpernel, the grass of Parnassus, flax, white water-lily, fly orchis, milk-wort, and germauder speedwell, etc. Lankester's pays sweet tributes to her favorite plants, incorporating brevities: folklore, quotes, poems and general Information. For example, in her preface, Lankester quotes Longfellow: Wondrous truths, and manifold as wondrous, God hath written in those stars above; But not less in the bright flowerets under us Stands the revelation of his love. She also quoted Wordsworth: Knowing that Nature never did betray The heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege, Through all the years of this our life, to lead From joy to joy. One review said "Mrs. Lankaster writes so easily and naturally, that no deliberate effort seems to have been made. It is a little book, but teaches a great deal, and in so pleasant a way that to be wearied is impossible." This is in line with the last page of her book where Lancaster confesses she had thought about writing a book like this many times, but lacked the courage because she didn't want to offend. She wrote "Having now gone over the … collection of Wild Flowers, endeavoring to chronicle the chief attractions and virtues of each, I can but feel how little has been said when compared with all that remains unsaid, but felt." #OTD Happy Birthday today Joseph Trimble Rothrock (Books By This Author) born today in 1839. Plagued by sickness as a child, Rothrock felt the call of the great outdoors, "I just had to go to the woods. Throughout my entire life, I have sought the 'out of doors' as a refuge against impending physical ills." Rothrock went to Harvard and worked every day in the private herbarium of Asa Graywho visited Rothrock's hometown to collect botanical specimens. Of Dr. Gray, Rothrock said, "[He] was kindness personified, though a strict disciplinarian and a most merciless critic of a student's work. I owe more to him than to any other man, and I never think of him without veneration." He also studied geology under Louis Agassizwho became his friend. (Agassi's motto was, "study nature, not books") Rothrock suspended his studies at Harvard to fight in the Civil War. His right thigh and hand was wounded at Fredricksburg in 1862 (Burnside's fight), he shook hands with President Lincoln at an army hospital. Later in his life, in a photograph of Rothrock called "The old white pine and the Father of Forestry", he stands in front of the trunk of a huge white pine. With his signature long white beard and kind affect, the gentle expert's right hand is grasping a walking stick. The photo notes say that his right little finger was amputated at Fredricksburg. Rothrock attempted to return to Harvard, but discovered that his professors - including Asa Gray - had formed a military company and wanted to serve in the war. Rothrock insisted that Dr. Gray was too old to serve, took his place in the company, and served for another three months. Rothrock taught botany and went on to become a surgeon. He went on a number of important expeditions and wrote the Flora of Alaska. His passion for forestry ignited when he was named a Michaux Lecturer on Forestry and he took a nine-month sabbatical to study under renowned botanist Anton Debaryat the University of Strasbourg in Germany. In 1893, Rothrock began an expedition to investigate the challenges affecting Pennsylvania's forests or "Penn's woods" as he called them. For two years, Rothrock and his associate engineer, William Shunk, investigated the condition of forests in Pennsylvania. Destructive forest fires were all too common during the logging era, and long before "Smokey the Bear", Rothrock lead the effort to prevent forest fires. Rothrock said that "almost every forest fire is the result of ignorance, carelessness, or crime, and that there is some one to punish for it." Rothrock reported the problems of deforestation; he also educated the public on tree propagation and forest restoration. Facing opposition from farmers and timber barons, Rothrock's relentless focus on forestry aimed at making policy change. In 1901, he wrote, "Twenty years ago I began agitation upon the forestry question, I have kept at it ever since; […] you have no idea of the amount of work it requires to change a generation from tree destroyers to tree restorers; it is something akin to a second birth." In 1909, Rothrock, at age seventy, sold his vast herbarium and library to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The collection reportedly contained 22,207 specimens including specimens named in his honor: Artemisia Rothrockia, Halenia Rothrockii, Nama Rothrockii, Pentstemon Rothrockii, Stachys Rothrockii, Toivnsendia Rothrockii and from Lower California a genus Rothrockia which belongs to the family Asclepiadaceae. Rothrock State Forest in Pennsylvania is also named in his honor and Joseph Trimble Rothrock's birthday - April 9th - is commemorated annually in Pennsylvania schools as Arbor Day. #OTDThe first episode of Gardeners Question Time was broadcast from the Broadoak Hotel in the 'singing room' on April 9th, 1947.Originally named "How Does Your Garden Grow?", it was an offshoot of the war time Dig for Victory campaign. On the first panel were Bill Sowerbutts, Fred Loads, Tom Clark and Dr E. W. Sansome. Over the years, the panelists have changed. But as they told the audience at their 40th anniversary Episode, " times change so do people - but gardening goes on forever". And so do Gardening worries caused by gardening problems. The program is still broadcast today to millions of listeners and has answered over 35000 questions to date. Unearthed Words #OTD Charles Baudelaire (Books By This Author), the French poet, was born on this day in 1821. "A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors." Today's book recommendation The Wildflower's Workbook: A Journal for Self-Discovery in Nature Diary by KatieDaisy (Artist) Brimming with gorgeous artwork from New York Times bestselling author and artist Katie Daisy, this fresh-as-a-daisy guided journal features thoughtful prompts to encourage engagement with the natural world. From bird-spotting advice to camping checklists, each exercise is executed in the artist's lovely signature style. Today's Garden Chore Take Inspiration from Phebe Lankaster and buy some wildflowers for your garden. Chicory. Hepatica. Dutchmen's Breeches. Indian paintbrush. Let their charm flood your garden. Something Sweet Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Here's a sweet diary entry for today by Canadian Naturalist Charles Joseph Sauriol("Sar-ee-all") from 1938 shared by the Toronto Archiveson their fabulous twitter feed - which is a wonderful thing to follow: "There are five frames in all, three are for herbs, the other two are for Wild Flower seeding. The frames are 3 feet by 3 feet… In each section, and prior to planting I can duplicate the exact growing conditions of the subject.....It will be quite possible to fill the spaces with soil, moss, bog, etc., taken from locations where the plants to be seeded are now growing or have been known to grow. Thus, a few frames can represent a whole Wild Flower garden in seed."#Saurioldiaries"