May 6, 2019 Warm Night Temperatures, Jean Senebier, Lomatium, Alexander Von Humboldt, Temperate House, Massachusetts Hort Society, Andrea Wulf, The Invention of Nature, Mother’s Day Flowers, and the Hudson Garden Club

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Monologue

We are on the cusp of consecutive warm nights.

Warm soil temps will take a few more weeks.

Recently, I had a gardener ask me about their hearty hibiscus, planted last year. They were worried it wasn't coming back.

In Minnesota, gardeners often start to freak out a bit if they don't see signs of life during these first sunny days in May.

But remember, warmer-weather plants won't start to do their thing until soil temperatures warm up. The soil temperature has about a 2-3 week lag on the nighttime air temperature.

Botanical History On This Day

1742 Jean Senebier, Swiss pastor and botanist, was born, later revealing that leaves consume carbon dioxide and release oxygen, a discovery that finally explained how plants make food and sustain life.

1806 Lewis and Clark discovered nine-leaf lomatium along Idaho’s Clearwater River, adding another western native to their growing botanical record.

1859 Alexander von Humboldt died at age eighty-nine, leaving behind a vision of nature as an interconnected web and influencing generations of scientists, artists, and conservationists.

2018 Kew’s Temperate House reopened after a five-year restoration, reclaiming its place as the world’s largest Victorian glasshouse and a sanctuary for rare plants.

Unearthed Words

1946 The Massachusetts Horticultural Society reflected on the postwar surge in home gardening, noting renewed interest in ornamental plants, small gardens, and peaceful pursuits.

Grow That Garden Library™

Read The Daily Gardener’s review of The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf

Buy the book on Amazon:
The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf

Today's Botanic Spark

2018 The Hudson, Massachusetts Garden Club celebrated fifty years of friendship, flowers, and civic beauty, proving that gardening flourishes best when shared.

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And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.