Danske Dandridge: The Gardener-Poet of Rose Brake

Danske Dandridge

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 19, 1854 On this day, Danske [“DAN-sker”] Dandridge, poet, historian, and garden writer, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her story begins with a diplomatic posting—her father, Henry Bedinger, served as President James…

Read More

Archibald Menzies’ Santa Barbara Sojourn: A Botanical Milestone

Archibald Menzies

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 18, 1793 On this day, Archibald Menzies (MEN-zeez), the Scottish surgeon-botanist, reluctantly departed Santa Barbara aboard the HMS Discovery during Vancouver’s expedition. Menzies had spent several productive days exploring the Santa Barbara…

Read More

William Wordsworth Landscape Designer: A Winter Garden Made with Poetry

William Wordsworth

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 15, 1806 On this day, William Wordsworth received a life-changing invitation from Lady Margaret Willes Beaumont to design and build a winter garden at her estate in an old gravel quarry. This…

Read More

How Nell Gwyn Won Bestwood Park: A Garden History Tale

Unknown woman thought to be Nell Gwynn by Peter Lely

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 14, 1687 Today in garden history, we remember Eleanor “Nell” Gwyn, who died at the age of 37 in her Pall Mall house in London. Known as “pretty, witty Nell” by diarist…

Read More

From Amazon to Windsor: The Water Lily Tale

Water lily pads form a floating community

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 13, 1849 On this day, a most extraordinary presentation took place at Windsor Castle. Queen Victoria, known for her love of botanical wonders, was about to encounter her magnificent namesake – the…

Read More

Beyond The Thinker: Auguste Rodin’s Horticultural Haven

Auguste Rodin

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 12, 1840 On this day, Auguste Rodin (oh-GOOST roh-DAN), the great French sculptor, was born. A man who found the divine in both marble and flowers – Auguste Rodin would ultimately earn…

Read More

The Colonial Garden Heritage at Rockingham

Rockingham Historic House and Gardens

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 More

The Father of American Dendrology: Remembering Humphry Marshall

Depiction of Humphry Marshall by Adrian Martinez, 2016

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 More

John Bradby Blake: The Young Botanist Who Bridged East and West

John Bradby Blake

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 More

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux: The Critic’s Garden at Auteuil

Boileau by Jean-Baptiste Santerre, 1678

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 More

A Poet’s Garden: Celebrating John Keats’ Natural World Legacy

John Keats by William Hilton

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 More

A Child of the Forest – Heinrich Cotta’s Legacy

Heinrich Cotta

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 30, 1763 It was on this day that Heinrich Cotta [HINE-rick COT-ah] was born beneath the open sky of Kleine Zillbach [KLINE-eh TSIL-bock], Germany. His personal account of his origin story reads…

Read More