April 16, 2019 Truly Lovely Aprils, Robert Frost, Sir Hans Sloane, William Stearn, Ellen Nellie Thayer Fisher, Mary Gibson Henry, Sir Edward Salisbury, Aphra Behn, Penny Colman, and William Austin Dickinson
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“The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.”~ Robert Frost
April can be a challenging time in the garden.
How many truly lovely Aprils does one get in a lifetime?
I’d venture to say maybe five or six.
Often, the gardens are too wet to get into, even if you could get to them. Even with the rain, the snow hasn’t completely melted away.
It’s too cold to turn the spigots on, so you’ll have the thrill of trooping through the residue of a long winter: grit and grime, salt, and mush.
Until it dries up, there’s really no sense going out.
Content yourself with planning or growing seeds indoors.
Unless you’re having a once-in-a-decade kind of April…
Then pinch yourself and get going.
Botanical History On This Day
1660 Sir Hans Sloane was born, the great collector whose vast bequest of 71,000 objects gave rise to the British Museum, the British Library, and the Natural History Museum in London.
1911 William Stearn was born, the self-taught botanist and librarian whose Botanical Latin remains essential reading for anyone who names, studies, or gardens with plants.
1847 Ellen “Nelly” Thayer Fisher was born, an American botanical illustrator whose paintings reached wide audiences through chromolithographs and correspondence lessons.
1967 Mary Gibson Henry died while collecting plants, a tireless American plantswoman whose expeditions reshaped horticulture and honored difficulty as the price of beauty.
1886 Sir Edward Salisbury was born, director of Kew during wartime and a botanist devoted to plants in their habitats, famous for his blunt opinions and deep ecological insight.
Unearthed Words
Virginia Woolf remembered Aphra Behn, the first professional woman writer in Britain, whose burial in Westminster Abbey marked a turning point for women’s voices in literature.
Grow That Garden Library™
Read The Daily Gardener’s review of
Adventurous Women by Penny Colman
Buy the book on Amazon:
Adventurous Women by Penny_Colman
Today’s Garden Chore
Prepare for direct sowing by readying beds for radishes, turnips, and parsnips, the quiet beginning of spring abundance.
Today’s Botanic Spark
1829 Emily Dickinson’s brother, Austin, was born. He is remembered today through her affectionate letters, where even apples seem eager to harvest themselves under a loving eye.
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And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.
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