April 17, 2019 William Cullen Bryant, Double Take Plants, John Tradescant the Elder, Graham Stuart Thomas, James McBride, Adolph Daniel Edward Elmer, Gilbert White, Mignonette, Sam Postlethwait, and the Celery Bog Nature Area
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Monologue
William Cullen Bryant wrote,
“There is no glory in star or blossom
till looked upon by a loving eye;
There is no fragrance in April breezes
till breathed with joy as they wander by.”
That pretty much sums up what happens with the plants I’ve dubbed "double-takes".
A double-take plant is the one you first ignore or blow off - but then something about them causes you to take another look, to appreciate what you didn’t see the first time around.
Until the first spring I saw Lungwort in bloom, I never looked at it with a loving eye. But then, that very first time I saw it in bloom,
It about knocked me over.
THAT BLOOM
Bluey-purpley-pinky little delicate thing.
It took my breath away; Pulmonaria made me need a Pulmonologist.
I suddenly didn’t mind the speckled foliage.
And now?
Now, I love it.
It’s a classic double-take plant kind of story.
Botanical History On This Day
1638 John Tradescant the Elder was buried in the churchyard of St Mary-at-Lambeth alongside his son, a resting place now known as the Garden Museum.
2003 Graham Stuart Thomas died at age 94, the indefatigable nurseryman and rosarian whose work shaped more than 100 National Trust gardens and a lifetime of purposeful planting.
1784 James McBride was born, a physician and botanist whose brilliance and sacrifice ended at 33 while combating yellow fever in Charleston.
1942 Adolph Daniel Edward Elmer died during the Battle of Bataan, the American botanist whose Philippine collections documented more than 1,500 new species.
Unearthed Words
1789 Gilbert White’s Selborne journal notes cucumbers in bloom, the call of the cuckoo, and seeds sown from Lambeth.
Grow That Garden Library™
Read The Daily Gardener’s review of
Three Gardens by Graham Stuart Thomas
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Three Gardens by Graham Stuart Thomas
Today’s Garden Chore
Grow mignonette, the “little darling” whose vanilla-scented flowers once captivated emperors, pollinators, and generations of gardeners.
Today’s Botanic Spark
2018 Sam Postlethwait at 100 reminds us that a daily walk reveals life beginning, continuing, and ending, a quiet education offered by prairie, woods, and bog alike.
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And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.
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