June 4, 2019 Ground Cover Roses, King George III, Nathanial Bagshaw Ward, Katherine Esau, Sarah Martha Baker, Ruth Kassinger, Paradise Under Glass, Planting Peony, and Esau’s Fables

Subscribe

Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart

Support The Daily Gardener

Buy Me A Coffee 

Connect for FREE!

The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community

Monologue

I recently had someone ask me about ground cover roses. They are fantastic for a rose with a low, spreading habit. But they are not really vigorous ground cover, as they won't completely crowd out weeds.

I used to grow this low spreading rose called "The Fairy," which is pink. It blooms all summer long, and it would amble over this brick garden wall that I had, and I absolutely loved it. It sent out these long, octopus-like arms, and all the way down the branches were these beautiful pink blooms. It's a great rose with tons of thorns, but it didn't stop the Canadian thistle or any other weed that decided to make its home among the branches.

Botanical History On This Day

1738 King George III was born. He later appointed Capability Brown as royal gardener and oversaw the transformation of Richmond Gardens and Kew into landscapes that reshaped English garden design.

1868 Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, physician and accidental horticultural revolutionary, died. His invention of the Wardian case forever changed plant exploration by allowing living plants to survive long sea voyages.

1997 Katherine Esau, one of the greatest plant anatomists of the twentieth century, died. Her precise, elegant work continues to shape botanists' understanding of plant structure and disease.

Unearthed Words

Sarah Martha Baker, botanist, ecologist, and artist, offers words that remind us the natural world is always singing — if only we learn how to listen.

Grow That Garden Library™

Read The Daily Gardener review of Paradise Under Glass by Ruth Kassinger

Buy the book on Amazon: Paradise Under Glass by Ruth Kassinger

Today's Garden Chore

Plant peonies high.
Set roots just two to three inches below the soil surface — peonies need winter chill near the surface to form flower buds, and planting too deeply is the most common reason they refuse to bloom.

Today's Botanic Spark

Plant anatomist Katherine Esau enchanted generations of students by beginning her lectures with fairy-tale flair — turning viruses, nuclei, and cells into unforgettable botanical fables.

Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener

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