Botanical History
William Copeland McCalla: Pioneer of Alberta Botany and Botanical Photography
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 8, 1872 On this day, William Copeland McCalla was born Born into a family where his father ran a conservatory in St. Catharines, Ontario, McCalla developed twin passions that would define his…
Read MoreFrom Wild Gardens to City Planning: Warren Manning’s Living Legacy
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 7, 1860 Today, we celebrate Warren H. Manning, a visionary landscape architect whose birth was commemorated by his father with the planting of an elm tree – a fitting tribute for a…
Read MoreThe Colonial Garden Heritage at Rockingham
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 7, 1783 On this day, General George Washington penned his historic Farewell Address to his troops at Rockingham, marking a pivotal moment in American history. Today, this historic site continues to tell…
Read MoreFrank Kingdon-Ward: The Last of the Great Plant Hunters
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 6, 1885 On this day, the renowned British botanist and explorer Frank Kingdon-Ward was born in Manchester, England. The son of a distinguished botanist, Frank seemed destined to follow in his father’s…
Read MoreGarden Writer Alice Lounsberry: A Life Devoted to Flowers and Friendship
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 6, 1868 On this day, the botanist and garden writer Alice Lounsberry was born in New York City. From a young age, Alice developed a deep love for the natural world, exploring…
Read MoreBreaking Ground: Ellen Biddle Shipman’s Garden Legacy
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 5, 1869 Today we celebrate the birth of Ellen Biddle Shipman, a woman who found her voice in the whispers of flowers and her strength in the structure of garden walls. Ellen…
Read MoreThe Father of American Dendrology: Remembering Humphry Marshall
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 5, 1801 On this day, America lost one of its pioneering botanists, Humphry Marshall. His legacy as the “Father of American Dendrology” continues to influence our understanding of native trees and shrubs…
Read MoreJohn Bradby Blake: The Young Botanist Who Bridged East and West
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 4, 1745 On this day, we celebrate the birth of the English botanist John Bradby Blake [BRAD-bee BLAKE]. Though he lived a tragically short life – dying at just twelve days after…
Read MoreDawn with the Iris King: Remembering William Rickatson Dykes
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 4, 1877 Today we celebrate the birth of William Rickatson Dykes [RICK-et-sun DYKES], born in Bayswater, London. Though he began his career as a classics teacher at Charterhouse School, it was his…
Read MorePlowing New Ground: The Legacy of Harry Ferguson
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 4, 1884 Today we celebrate Harry Ferguson [FUR-guh-sun], born on this day near Dromara [droh-MAR-ah] in County Down, Ireland. While we often think of gardening in terms of hand tools and intimate…
Read MoreJohn Joly: The Poet-Scientist Who Understood Plant Magic
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 1, 1857 John Joly (pronounced “JOLLY”) was born on this day in Hollywood House near the village of Bracknagh (pronounced “BRACK-nuh”) in County Offaly, Ireland. Joly was an Irish polymath whose profound…
Read MoreNicolas Boileau-Despréaux: The Critic’s Garden at Auteuil
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 1, 1636 Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (pronounced “nee-koh-LAH bwah-LOH day-pray-OH”) was born on this day in Paris. Boileau was a French poet and critic whose garden became a sanctuary for some of the greatest…
Read MoreA Poet’s Garden: Celebrating John Keats’ Natural World Legacy
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 31, 1795 On this day, John Keats was born into a world he would later capture through some of the most vivid botanical imagery in English poetry. Though his life was tragically…
Read MoreThe Gardener’s Pen: Remembering Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 31, 1852 On this day, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, one of America’s most remarkable chroniclers of New England garden life, was born in Randolph, Massachusetts. ]Though primarily known for her fiction, Freeman’s…
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