September 9, 2019 The Miracle Tomato, Flowers of the Forest, Georg Ehret, James Arnold, Beverley Nichols, The Proven Winners Garden Book by Ruth Rogers Clausen and Thomas Christopher, Plants for Next Year, and Red Carnation Day
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Monologue
I thought I'd start today's show off with a quote by Beverley Nichols from his book, Sunlight on the Lawn:
“Why do insurance companies, when they want to describe an act of God, invariably pick on something which sounds much more like an act of the Devil?
One would think that God was exclusively concerned in making hurricanes, smallpox, thunderbolts, and dry rot.
They seem to forget that He also manufactures rainbows, apple-blossom, and Siamese kittens.
However, that is, perhaps, a diversion.”
This quote by Nichols came to mind when I heard the wondrous story about the little tomato plant that had sprouted on a piling by the Brooklyn Bridge. It made Nightly News after the story was first published by the New York Times on Wednesday, along with a photo taken by a passerby, Matthew Frey.
Paddle-boarding between Pier 1 and 2 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, Frey saw the leaves first. His incredible image of a lone tomato plant growing straight up with no supports and with one perfectly red little tomato was heartwarming. It reminded me of the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree but with only one red ornament hanging proudly in the middle of the plant. Frey, who is 54, told The Times:
“I’m used to seeing things grow here, but nothing as special as that... Things like that just make me happy.”
Beverley Nichols would have loved seeing the little tomato plant that could. To him, it would have been heaven-sent. A small gift for us all to enjoy from above.
Botanical History On This Day
1513 James IV of Scotland was killed at the Battle of Flodden, which resulted in an English victory organized under Katherine of Aragon. He is mourned in the haunting refrain of “The Flowers of the Forest.”
1770 Georg Dionysius Ehret, the incomparable German botanical illustrator who helped define the Linnaean style, died. He left luminous magnolias, meticulous dissections, and a legacy coveted by collectors to this day.
1781 James Arnold, Quaker merchant and benefactor, was born. His gift later made possible the founding of America’s first arboretum: Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum.
Unearthed Words
This week begins a special tribute to garden writer Beverley Nichols, born on this day in 1898. From Down the Garden Path, Nichols delivers his signature blend of glamour, catastrophe, and revelation—those delicious early days when a novice gardener discovers the “first taste of blood.”
Grow That Garden Library™
Read The Daily Gardener review of The Proven Winners Garden Book by Ruth Rogers Clausen and Thomas Christopher
Buy the book on Amazon:
The Proven Winners Garden Book by Ruth Rogers Clausen and Thomas Christopher
Today's Garden Chore
Save seeds and take cuttings from your best plants. Choose your top performers (and your sentimental favorites) now, while the garden still has something splendid to offer, and carry that brilliance forward into next year.
Today's Botanic Spark
1903 An Ohio paper announced “Red Carnation Day,” urging citizens to wear President McKinley’s favorite flower in remembrance—proof that a single bloom can become both emblem and elegy.
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And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.
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