June 18, 2019 Little Free Herbary, Karl Theodor Hartweg, Edgar Shannon Anderson, Professor H.Y. Mohan Ram, Carol Klein, Great British Gardens, Vita Sackville-West, The Names of Plants by David Gledhill, Doyle’s Thornless Blackberry, and Jumpin Jack Flash

Have you heard of the Little Free Library that some thoughtful people put up out by their sidewalks?

Well, a few weeks ago, I saw a post by Hylton Jolliffe about his Little Free Herbary...

It takes obvious inspiration from the little free library movement, and it aims to help us share and connect with neighbors and others who might need herbs for cooking medicinal remedies fragrances, etc.

The idea takes obvious inspiration from the wonderful Little Free Library movement, and it aims to help us share and connect with neighbors and others who might need herbs for cooking, medicinal remedies, fragrances, etc.

Anyway, I loved Hylton's idea; I think it's just as cute as all get out.

Hylton also has a Facebook group that you can go to to find out more information. Just search for "Little Free Herbary the next time you're on Facebook.

 

 


Brevities

#OTD It was on this day, in 1812, the botanist Karl Theodor Hartweg was born.

He'd started in Paris, working for the botanical garden there, and then ended up going to the Chiswick garden in London. He was eager to travel and go on expeditions. He was sent to the Americas for the first time in 1836.

He was supposed to be there for a three-year project, but you know how plans go astray...

He ended up being there're seven years.

During Hartweg's time, native plants from Mexico, like dahlias and cacti, were all the rage.

Hartweg's particular specialty was orchids. According to Merle Reinkka, the author of A History of the Orchid, Hartweg collected,

"The most variable and comprehensive collection of New World Orchids made by a single individual in the first half of the [19th] century."

During his time in America, Vera Cruz (Mexico) became something of a mecca for Plant Explorers. Hartweg once commented,

“All the way from London just to look after weeds.”

 

 


#OTD It's the anniversary of the 1969 death of Edgar Shannon Anderson.

Anderson was an American botanist, and his 1949 book Introgressive Hybridization was a significant step forward in botanical genetics.

While he was at Harvard, Anderson went on to work at the Bussey Institute, a biological arm of the University.

It was there that he met Dorothy Moore, a fellow botanist. Dorothy was always by his side, going on hikes and collecting plant specimens. They were married in 1923.

Anderson became the director of the Missouri Botanical Garden. After three years of administrative work, he went back to his passions of teaching and research.

In 1952, Anderson published Plants, Man and Life.

In the book, Anderson shared his methods of research and his perspective on life. It is a favorite among botanists. It contains not only scientific knowledge, but also folklore, some of Anderson's insight on early herbalists, and a little bit of philosophy.

There's a fascinating account of Leonard Fuchs, a German physician and botanist.

When Anderson wrote about him, he said,

"He was a big, broad-shouldered Henry VIII sort of man; with handsome clothes and a general air of getting things done."

 

 


#OTD It's the first anniversary of the death of the beloved botanist Professor Holenarasipur Yoganarasimham Mohan Ram (H.Y. Mohan Ram).

Mohan Ram Left a tremendous legacy of the faculty and students of the botany department at Delhi University.

He had Published over 240 research papers get guided 32 Ph.D. students, and his research included studies in floral biology, plant physiology, insectivorous plants, and the river weed family.

In one of his autobiographies, Mohan Ram said,

"I wish I could be like a tree; deep rooted and firmly fixed, bearing a lofty bole and a broad canopy, continuously absorbing, synthesizing and renewing, bearing fragrant flowers and delicious fruits, unmindful of stresses and insults, resilient to changes and perpetually giving and not coveting. To this I must add tenacity, based on the remarkable example of a gingko tree, almost at the epicenter of the 1945 Hiroshima nuclear explosion, that sprouted from the root after its trunk had been completely demolished along with everything around it.”

 

 


#OTD This month, the English gardening expert, Carol Klein, is hosting a brand-new television program called Great British Gardens.

Carol's program has four parts, and it explores four of the country's most distinctive gardens. Today's episode features Gravetye Manor at 9 PM. William Robinson created the gardens at Gravetye Manor; One of England's most distinguished gardeners.

 

 


Unearthed Words

Here are some thoughts on June from Vita Sackville-West:

"It always seemed to me that the herbaceous peony is the very epitome of June. Larger than any rose, it has something of the cabbage rose's voluminous quality; and when it finally drops from the vase, it sheds its petticoats with a bump on the table, all in an intact heap, much as a rose will suddenly fall, making us look up from our book or conversation, to notice for one moment the death of what had still appeared to be a living beauty."

 

 

 


Today's book recommendation: The Names of Plants by David Gledhill

This book is a fantastic reference for gardeners. The first section botanical history. The second section shares a glossary of generic and specific plant names, along with detailed explanations of Botanical Nomenclature.

 

 

 


Today's Garden Chore

Plant some of Doyle's Thornless Blackberry.

'Doyle's Thornless Blackberry' produces 10 to 20 gallons of berries per plant per year. (That's ten times a standard bush.)

 

 

 


Something Sweet

Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart

It was on this day 1968 that the Rolling Stones had No.1 single: Jumpin Jack Flash.

Keith Richards said that he & Jagger wrote it after staying at Richards' house.

They were awakened one morning by the gardener.

Jagger asked what the noise?

Richards said, "that's jumpin' Jack."

 

 

 


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

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2 Comments

  1. Theodor Hartweg on July 18, 2021 at 4:37 am

    I am the great grandson of Carl Theodor Hartweg. How you see, is his correctly christian-name CarlTheodor and not Karl Theodor or Karl. The name of the inventor of the automobile is also Carl Benz and not Karl Benz. In english speaking countries he was often called only Theodore. But there are also a lot of other mistakes in your article. The man on your picture is also not my great grandfather. I myself own the only photograph of him.

  2. The Daily Gardener on October 4, 2023 at 10:21 pm

    You are correct. Most of the textbooks and online references refer to him as Karl Theodor and not CarlTheodor – which was his Christian name.
    I understand your frustration as I have many ancestors with Christian names that were lost to time.

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