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The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community

Curated News

I feel as if my garden has finally come of age | Nigel Slater | The Guardian

 

July is the month of the lotus in China.

This reminded me of a video I shared last year in the Facebook Group for the Show from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, which shows Senior Horticulturist Pat Clifford teaching their intern, Hazel, how to remove the older leaves of the Giant Water Lily, so the pond does not get overcrowded.

Using a pitchfork, Pat carefully folds the giant lily pad first in half, then quarters, and then once more.

Then he stabs the large folded pad with the pitchfork, hoists it in the air to let the water drain out, and then flops the beast down on the edge of the pond.

The camera zooms in to reveal the most savage thorns that grow on the underside of the lily pad and all down the stem of the plant. It was so surprising to see how vicious the thorns are - rivaling the thorniest rose.

 

Propagate Pelargoniums Through Cutting

If you've never taken cuttings of your pelargoniums before, you will be delighted with the results. Pelargoniums are also known as cranesbills or hardy geraniums.

All you need to do is snip short lengths of your favorite pelargonium, remove any leaves from the lower part of the stem that will be pushed into your growing medium, dip the stem in rooting powder, and then place it in the pot. Pelargoniums root so quickly - you'll have many new plants in just a few weeks.

Botanical History On This Day

1817 Henry David Thoreau, American essayist and philosopher, whose birthday is honored with National Simplicity Day and whose faith in a single seed still inspires gardeners everywhere.

1834 David Douglas in Hawaii, the indefatigable plant explorer behind the Douglas-fir, met his mysterious and tragic end in a bull pit on the island, after identifying more than 200 North American plant species.

1835 Charles Darwin writes to J. S. Henslow, eagerly anticipating the Beagle’s visit to the Galapagos and deepening the friendship with the botanist who had shaped his path and secured his place on the voyage.

1938 Ynes Mexia, late-blooming botanist and intrepid collector of 150,000 specimens and over 500 new species, died in Berkeley, leaving a legacy still being studied—and a redwood grove named in her honor.

Unearthed Words

A haunting, verdant meditation on ferns, silence, and the world beginning again.
Fern by Ted Hughes

Grow That Garden Library™

Read The Daily Gardener review of The Gardener & the Grill by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig

Buy the book on Amazon: The Gardener & the Grill by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig

Today’s Botanic Spark

1969 Yerba Buena and San Francisco’s “Good Herb”, recalling how the city first bore the Spanish name for a small mint-like plant—proof that many hearts have been left in a place named initially for an herb.

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