Loved
Remembering The Shadow: Lady Charlotte Wheeler-Cuffe – Botanical Artist, Plant Collector, Animal Lover, and Gardener
Subtitle March 8, 1963 Today is the anniversary of the death of the little-known, multi-talented, and dauntless plant explorer, plant collector, gardener, and botanical artist Charlotte Wheeler-Cuffe. Born in Wimbledon in 1867, Charlotte was the youngest daughter in her family. Charlotte became very ill at some point in her childhood, and her sickliness caused her…
Read MoreFive Top Perennials for Country Flower Gardens
“In early farms and ranches, the first perennials [were] the stalwart wildflowers of range and prairie.” March 5, 2017 On this day, The Herald-Palladium, out of Saint Joseph, Michigan, shared an article called “Flowers for the Country Border” by Maureen Gilmour. In the article, Maureen shares a glimpse of farm life – a no-nonsense lifestyle where…
Read MoreGladiolus and Dahlias: Fun Facts and Garden History for these August Garden Superstars
“I’ll never forget what my friend Joel Karsten, the author of Straw Bale Gardening, told me about how easy it is to plant Gladiolus in conditioned straw bales. Once the flowers are done blooming in the fall, you kick the straw bale over, and all the corms fall out for easy gathering.” March 4, 1956…
Read MoreDaffodils: the March Birth Flower, Fun Facts, and the Mother of all Daffodil Poems
“All parts of the Daffodil are toxic, and the sap is harmful to other flowers, so you must soak them separately for 24 hours before adding them to a bouquet.” The birth flower for March birthdays is the Daffodil. Daffodils are also the 10th-anniversary flower. A bouquet of Daffodils means happiness and hope, but a…
Read MoreHow a California Art Teacher Named Emma Edwards Green Designed the Idaho State Seal and included the State Flower: the Mock Orange
“The story of how the Mock Orange became the Idaho State Flower is one of luck.” March 2, 1931 On this day, Idaho adopted the Mock Orange as the official State Flower. In the 1800s, the Mock Orange was known as the Syringa. The story of how the Mock Orange became the Idaho State…
Read MoreA Brief History of Roses – Along with Some Surprising Fun Facts
“In the late 1700s, botanists discovered everblooming roses growing in the gardens of the sub-tropics in China. Because of their tea-like fragrance, they became known as Tea Roses. ” March 1, 1979 On this day, The Call-Leader out of Elwood, Indiana, published an article called The Roots Of Roses Go Back Many Years. If you were to trace the…
Read MoreAlfred Robinson’s Lath-House Design for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park
“Where was I? I had entered the Garden of Eden. Palms, ferns, flowering plants, and vines on all sides…” In researching Alfred Robinson, I ran across an article by Richard Amero and published by the San Diego History Center. The article shared Alfred’s grand dream for a large lath house for the Panama-California Exposition. San…
Read MoreAustralians Create a Play to Honor Charismatic Garden Designer Edna Walling called “Edna for the Garden”
“For my part, I love all the things most gardeners abhor – moss in lawns, lichen on trees, more greenery than color – as if green isn’t a color…” February 25, 1989 On this day, The Age out of Melbourne, Australia, reviewed a new play called “Edna for the Garden.” The charismatic Australian gardener, designer,…
Read MoreCelebrating the Virginia State Flower: Dogwood (Cornus florida) – Along with Little-Known Fun Facts
“Dogwood trees have a hard white wood that used to be harvested to make skewers for cooking. So again, this is another neat tieback to the dag or dagger reference. This is also how the Dogwood got one of its ancient common names: The Skewerwood.” February 24, 1957 On this day, The Times-Dispatch out of Richmond, Virginia,…
Read MoreCelebrity Garden Designer Greg Fisk Shares His Top Tips for Creating Dried Flower Arrangements and Flower Drying Pro Tips
“The unique advantage of microwave flower drying is that the delicate natural color of the bloom is preserved because the drying time is a fraction of traditional methods.” February 23, 1991 On this day, the Hartford Courant shared an article written by Anne Farrow called Garden of Everlasting Delights. This fantastic article features Gregg Fisk of Gregg Fisk…
Read MoreRemembering Linnaeus’s Favorite Student: Swedish Botanist Pehr Loefling aka The Vulture
“Pehr was just 27 years old when he died of malaria on the banks of the Caroní River at a Mission outpost on this day in 1756. He was buried beneath an orange tree.” February 22, 1756 Today is the anniversary of the death of the handsome and tall Swedish botanist – and a favorite…
Read MoreUnusual Taxidermic Needlepoint with Scottish Naturalist Eliza Brightwen
“The bones were cleaned, boiled, and dried. They were used as the wings for embroidered insects or leaves for flowers.” February 19, 1974 On this day, The Journal Herald out of Dayton, Ohio, published a little snippet about the naturalist Eliza Brightwen and her unusual needlepoint methods: If you are tired of the same crewel and needlepoint…
Read More1996 Ushered in a New Era Fairchild Tropical Garden: the Debut of the $1M Rare Plant House Conservatory
“Plants will no longer be subjected to chemicals in city water but to rainwater collected in two cisterns that will hold 45,000 gallons.” February 18, 1996 On this day, The Miami Herald shared a story about rebuilding the rare plant house at the Fairchild Botanical Garden. “The born-again rare-plant house at the Fairchild Tropical Garden called Windows…
Read MoreWhy the Little Month of February has TWO Birth Flowers: the Violet and the Primrose; the Surprising Answer Along with Fun Facts
“Napoleon’s followers used the violet to weed out his detractors. They would ask strangers if they liked violets; a positive response was a sign of loyalty.” Even though roses are often associated with February, thanks to Valentine’s Day, February’s birth flower is not the rose. Instead, February has two birth flowers: the Violet and the…
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