December 5, 2019 An Economic History of Gardening, Bee Exhibit, Stinging Nettles, Henry Welsh, Michael Bebb, Charles Robinson, McDonogh Tree, Garlic, Onion, and Other Alliums by Ellen Spector Platt, Garden Stakes, and Monet
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Curated News
An Economic History of the English Garden by Roderick Floud:
"Filled with fascinating and often surprising details – a rhododendron would set you back the equivalent of more than £1,000 in the 1770s – the book reveals the economic context to our love of gardening and shows that “the history of English gardens is, in many senses, the history of England”.
“Spending money on gardens has been one of the greatest, and certainly most conspicuous, forms of expenditure on luxury in England since the 17th century or earlier.”
Bee exhibit creates a buzz at Museum of the Earth | Cornell Chronicle
Excellent post about bees from @cornellento
"People don’t conserve what they don’t know anything about...
People hear a lot about honeybees, & they hear a little about bumblebees, but the other 96% of Bees on Earth don’t get much press coverage...
One of these, Wallace’s giant bee (Megachile pluto) – the world’s largest bee, with a wingspan of 2.5 inches – was thought to be extinct but was rediscovered in Indonesia in 1981. But these bees fetch thousands of dollars on eBay, which spurs collectors to catch them, further threatening the species’ survival. "
Stinging nettles, a troublesome but useful weed | Jack Wallington Garden Design, Clapham in London
Great Common Sense Post from @JackWallington on Stinging Nettles:
"Although it’s hard to control like mint, it’s SO useful for homemade fertilizer, and in nutritious teas and soups and also for wildlife. Every garden deserves a little nettle!"
You get a nettle! And you get a nettle! And you get a nettle!
Botanical History On This Day
1856 Henry Welsh, California oilman, attorney, and vineyardist who became the first president of the California Associated Raisin Company—soon known as Sun-Maid—and so adored Fresno that he claimed not to have left it for over forty years, was born.
1895 Michael Schuck Bebb, Ohio-born botanist, willow expert, and founder of the Philadelphia Botanical Club who grew up with a geometric, shrub-filled childhood garden and later called the rolling prairie of Fountaindale “a perfect paradise for the out-of-doors botanist,” died.
1913 Charles Budd Robinson, Canadian botanist nicknamed “Doctor Flower,” was tragically killed on an expedition in Indonesia after fearful villagers mistook the lone, plant-hunting stranger for a headhunter.
2012 Tree No. 5,000 in New Orleans City Park was planted after Hurricane Katrina, joining ancient live oaks like the beloved McDonogh Oak—“the Grandmother Tree”—which survives on higher ground first donated for children by philanthropist John McDonogh.
Unearthed Words
Today’s Unearthed Words mark the shared birthday of Christina Rossetti and Frances Theodora Parsons, featuring Rossetti’s poignant poem “Shut Out” about losing a beloved garden and never quite loving another plot the same way again.
“Shut Out” by Christina Rossetti
Grow That Garden Library™
Read The Daily Gardener review of Garlic, Onion, and Other Alliums by Ellen Spector Platt
Buy the book on Amazon: Garlic, Onion, and Other Alliums by Ellen Spector Platt
Great Gifts for Gardeners
Ashman Galvanized Garden Stakes / Landscape Staples (Various Pack Sizes)
Today's Botanic Spark
Claude Monet’s Final Farewell in Flowers, remembering the impressionist who called his garden his “most beautiful masterpiece,” painted his water-lily pond for decades, and was honored at his funeral when Georges Clemenceau whisked away the black pall with a fabric of blossoms—“No black for Monet!”
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