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The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community

Curated News

The Wardian case: Botany game-changer | Kew

It's incredible to think that the Wardian case was invented by British doctor and amateur naturalist Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward in 1829 by complete accident...

Gardens: Winning ways for winter

Oodles of great tips for designing a Winter Garden from Anglesey’s assistant head gardener David Jordan:

One of Jordan’s favorite combinations is the shaggy-barked paperbark maple teamed with the variegated evergreen shrub Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaiety’ and the pink, scented blossoms of Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn.’ At Anglesey, the euonymus is cloud-pruned in summer to create a sinuous shape, but as Jordan points out, “It has adventitious roots, so you could grow it up the walls of a house and have it as a backdrop.”

Jordan also recommends the crab apple tree Malus ‘Evereste’ as a centerpiece to a winter border. “You get long, persistent fruit, and you can underplant with dogwood in red or orange that works with the color of the fruit. Underplant with snowdrops, then daffodils, and this takes you through to May when you get the flowers – that gives you a long window of interest.”

The winter garden recipe runs something like this: a tree with colorful or tactile bark – try Tibetan cherry (Prunus serrula), paperbark maple (Acer griseum) or Arbutus unedo, the strawberry tree – acts as an anchor for the rest of the planting; then add a mid-level shrub with scented flowers, colored stems or attractive leaves (dogwoods, euonymus, daphnes, viburnums or sarcococcas); finally, there’s the option of a low-growing ground cover (snowdrops and hardy cyclamen, or foliage such as bergenias or pulmonarias).

Botanical History On This Day

1561 Francis Bacon, English philosopher and statesman, was born; his famous essay “Of Gardens” imagined a garden for every month of the year, and he introduced fashionable “Garden Walks” at Gray’s Inn.

1785 Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American Lutheran pastor, botanist, and namesake of the airy, jewel-toned Muhly grasses (Muhlenbergia), was elected to the American Philosophical Society.

1818 Caspar Wistar, Philadelphia physician, Sunday-night salon host, and the man for whom the vine Wisteria was named, died after a life spent gathering great minds and great plants.

1985 Florida’s Citrus Freeze, a record-breaking cold wave that destroyed up to 90% of the state’s orange and grapefruit crop and ended many growers’ careers, gripped the 760,000-acre Citrus Belt.

Unearthed Words

Reflections on the lessons of winter from Yoko Ono, Anton Chekhov, John Steinbeck, Japanese proverbs, and more—short, sharp reminders that perseverance, kindness, and contrast give the seasons their meaning.
Check out this collection of poems offering Winter Lessons in a Few Good Lines.

Grow That Garden Library™

Read The Daily Gardener review of By Pen & by Spade by David Wheeler

Buy the book on Amazon: By Pen & by Spade by David Wheeler

Great Gifts for Gardeners

Esschert Design Garden Tool Belt, Gray & Green – a sturdy, adjustable garden tool apron with deep pockets and compartments for markers, making it easy to keep pruners, twine, and tags close at hand.

• Durable gray and green canvas construction
• Deep pockets for tools and essentials
• Adjustable belt with plastic clasps for a comfortable fit

Today's Botanic Spark

1917 Ellsworth Jerome Hill, Presbyterian minister, writer, and botanist who first studied flowers while lame and crawling to his orchard, died; with the help of his wife, Milancy, he became a tireless collector whose determination in the field inspired tributes from botanists like Agnes Chase.

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