Episodes Archives

November 16, 2021 Virtual Herbariums, Laurel Hill, Root Crop Preservation in 1835, Odoardo Beccari, Louise Driscoll, Marsha Mehran, Plant by Phaidon Editors, and Elizabeth Coblentz

Today in botanical history, we celebrate Laurel Hill and Root Crop Preservation in 1835. We’ll also remember the botanist who discovered the Titan arum and a little poem about the November garden by Louise Driscoll. We’ll hear an excerpt from Pomegranate Soup. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a beautiful garden book from 2016. And…

November 15, 2021 NYC Tree Canopy, Nutmeg, Flower Selections for a Box Garden, 1985 New York Spring Flower Show, Ray Bradbury, A House by the Sea by Bunny Williams, and Les Liliacees

Today in botanical history, we celebrate nutmeg, some flower recommendations for a green garden, and the rebirth of the NYC flower show after a ten-year hiatus. We’ll hear an excerpt from some writing by Ray Bradbury. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a beautiful book by Bunny Williams. And then we’ll wrap things up with…

November 3, 2021 Mercy Park Sculptures, William Young, William Cullen Bryant, Sarah Addison Allen, Genealogy for Gardeners by Simon Maughan and Ross Bayton, and Kansas Gardens

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a German-American botanist who reached out to Queen Charlotte, an American poet who found inspiration in nature and the father of ecology. We’ll hear an excerpt from The Sugar Queen – a great fiction book. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that’s part of a wonderfully informative…

November 2, 2021 Happier with Horticulture, Carnegie Cactus, Daniil Andreyev, Potpourri, Tom Perrotta, The Art of the Islamic Garden by Emma Clark, and 1975 Book Recommendations

Today in botanical history, we celebrate the botanical name of the Saguaro Cactus, a Russian writer and mystic, and November potpourri. We’ll hear an excerpt from Tom Perrotta’s best-selling 2011 book. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that celebrates the Islamic Garden. And then we’ll wrap things up with some hip Book Recommendations…

November 1, 2021 Lee Smith, James Sherard, Charles Eliot, Dyed Flowers, Mary Rose O’Reilley, Flora by DK, and Stephen Crane

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a wealthy gardener and apothecary whose garden became his legacy, a pioneering landscape architect who left his mark on the world in his all-too-short life, and the fun that can be had dying flowers – a hobby that’s been around for quite a longe time. We’ll hear an excerpt…

October 15, 2021 Think Like a Landscape Architect, Helen Hunt Jackson, Iowa State College Gardens, George Russell, Thomas Merton, The Scentual Garden By Ken Druse, and Wally Scales

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an American poet and writer, a look back at a one-of-a-kind event at the gardens at Iowa State, and the English gardener who bred phenomenal lupins. We’ll hear an excerpt from Thomas Merton’s diary entry for October. We Grow That Garden Library™ with an award-winning modern book on scent…

October 14, 2021 Ron Kujawski, Tad Lincoln, Katherine Mansfield, Pulp Fiction, Eva Ibbotson, Seeking Eden by Staci Catron and Mary Eaddy, and Masaoka Shiki

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a fun little story from the White House, a New Zealand writer, and a pop culture film that debuted on this day 27 years ago today. We’ll hear an excerpt from an Eva Ibbotson book. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that promotes an awareness of and…

October 13, 2021 Bringing Plants Back Inside, Victor Hugo, Clinton Scollard, Mark Vitosh, G. K. Chesterton, The Flower Recipe Book by Alethea Harampolis and Jill Rizzo, and Sophia Thoreau

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a French writer and poet, an adorable poem called Song of October that’s kind of faded into obscurity, and a Forester’s advice about pine needles. We’ll hear an excerpt from an English writer often called the prince of paradox. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a lovely recipe book…

October 12, 2021 Top Trees For Fall Color, Berthe Hoola van Nooten, George Washington Cable, Cecil Frances Alexander, Terri Irwin, Carving Out a Living on the Land by Emmet Van Driesche, and Beatrix Potter

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Dutch botanical illustrator, a writer from New Orleans, and a hymn writer – who wrote over 400 hymns. We’ll hear an excerpt from Terri Irwin – just fabulous – wife of the late great Steve Irwin. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about Living on the…

October 11, 2021 Bulb Planting Tips, Zaccheus Collins, Hermann Wendland, Arthur William Hill, Helena Rutherford Ely, Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally by Robert Kourik, and Thích Nhất Hạnh

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Philadelphia plant lover who we get to know only through his correspondence to other botanists, we’ll also learn about the German palm expert and the man who became a director at Kew – but not before becoming an expert in the graves of the fallen during WWI. We’ll…

October 8, 2021 Plant Named After 50 Years, John Hay, J. Carter Brown, Faith Ringgold, Deanna Raybourn, Epitaph for a Peach by David M. Masumoto, and Bill’ Vaughan

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an American civil servant and poet, an American art expert, and a Harlem artist and gardener. We’ll hear an excerpt from historical fiction by Deanna Raybourn. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a lyrical book by a peach farmer. And then we’ll wrap things up with the story of…

October 7, 2021 Prairie Strips, James Whitcomb Riley, the Engelmann Botanical Club and Fall Flowers, Thomas Keneally, Karen White, The New Shade Garden by Ken Druse, and Clive James

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a beloved Indiana poet, the Engelmann Botanical Club and their display of fall flowers over 120 years ago, and an Australian author who had asthma as a child. We’ll hear an excerpt from the New York Times bestselling author, Karen White. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a terrific…

October 6, 2021 Garden Border Ideas, Charles Wilkins Short, André Soulié, Levi James Russell, Susan Hill, The Tree Book by Michael Dirr and Keith Warren, and Chris Howell

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Kentucky botanist, a French priest and plant explorer, and a Texas doctor and botanist. We’ll hear an excerpt from Susan Hill’s book, The Magic Apple Tree. We Grow That Garden Library™ with another great book by Michael Dirr. And then we’ll wrap things up with a reminder from…

October 5

Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Flemish Renaissance painter who painted the first landscapes, the American naturalist and artist who saved Prospect Park, and an American botanist who jotted down a little poem on one of the pages in his herbarium – a little known treasure. We’ll hear an October excerpt from Barbara Kingsolver…