February 5, 2021 Carnation History, John Lindley, Karl Theodor Hartweg, Botanists Getting Home Alive, Cadwallader Colden by Seymour Schwartz, and Celebrating Friedrich Welwitsch
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Carnation – A Little History and Some Growing Instructions | Harvesting History
Botanical History On This Day
1799 Birth of John Lindley, British botanist, pomologist, orchidologist, and flower show organizer. Beginning life in his father’s nursery, John rose to prominence through connections with William Jackson Hooker and Sir Joseph Banks.
Notably, he saved Kew Gardens from closure by rallying public support. Author of numerous botanical works, he is especially beloved for his expertise on orchids. His legacy includes over 200 species named after him, as well as the renowned Lindley Library.
1848 On this day, botanist Karl Theodor Hartweg sailed home from a plant-collecting expedition in California, where he sought prized specimens like the Bristlecone Fir.
Hartweg's extensive New World orchid collection remains one of the most comprehensive of the 19th century. After his travels, he served the Duke of Baden, tending gardens until his death in 1871.
Unearthed Words
Today's excerpt is from The Plant Hunters and tells the story of English botanist W.E.P. Giles. In 1874, Giles faced challenges in Australia’s desert, losing precious water when a horse bit into a leaking water bag, showing the hazards plant hunters overcame to collect specimens in harsh landscapes.
Grow That Garden Library™
Read my review of Cadwallader Colden by Seymour Schwartz, which offers the first full biography of the colonial American botanist, public health pioneer, and New York’s longest-serving Lieutenant Governor. Colden, a true Renaissance man, authored America’s first scientific paper and was father to Jane Colden, the country’s first female botanist.
Buy the book on Amazon: Cadwallader Colden by Seymour Schwartz
Today's Botanic Spark
1806 The birthday of Friedrich Welwitsch, the Austrian botanist and explorer who discovered the astonishing Welwitschia mirabilis in the Namib Desert—a plant that lives for over 1500 years with only two ever-growing leaves. Described as “the ugliest yet most botanically magnificent plant in the world,” Welwitschia’s discovery astounded the botanical world and remains a symbol of desert resilience.
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