Planting Legacy: Luther Burbank’s Blossoming Tribute of Trees and Gardens
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
March 4, 1949
Dearest reader,
On this day, the Santa Cruz Sentinel shared a touching story of hope and remembrance—an Arbor Day celebration that would honor the great horticulturist Luther Burbank not with cold granite, but with living, breathing trees.
In a gesture both tender and wise, Nurseryman Joe Badger planted a flowering plum tree in Mrs. Burbank’s garden at Santa Rosa, California, near the resting place of her late husband.
Mrs. Burbank’s words resonate with the true spirit of a gardener’s memorial:
“No, there will be no wreath-laying on Luther Burbank's grave...
Laying a wreath is only a ceremony... It doesn't make things grow.”
How profound is that—expressing a belief far more accurate than any stone inscription!
Instead, the tree Joe Badger planted —a flowering plum developed by Luther himself —will grace the Redwood Highway, offering a yearly spectacle for passersby to enjoy and cherish.
A little history blooms here, dear reader. Luther Burbank, famed for creations like the Burbank potato and spineless cactus, now lies quietly in an unmarked grave beneath a towering Cedar of Lebanon tree—an enduring symbol he planted himself from a seed sent from Palestine. Beside him rests Bonita, his faithful white dog, who never left his side until Burbank’s passing in 1926.
Burbank’s request was simple and heartfelt:
“When I go, don't raise a monument to me; plant a tree.”
A plea to the earth itself, reminding us that life and remembrance are best celebrated with growth, renewal, and the soft whisper of leaves.
Gardeners, what might this teaching inspire?
Should not each of us cultivate memorials rooted in life and beauty, rather than cold, hard stone?
What tree might you plant to honor those you cherish—one that will bloom and grow with the seasons, reminding all who pass of love that never withers?
There is no finer tribute than a tree whose blossoms dance with the breeze, forever celebrating a legacy as vibrant as the petals themselves. And Vita Sackville-West would surely agree—monuments to nature’s cycles outshine any marble statue.
So, dear reader, next Arbor Day, spare a thought for Joe Badger’s plum tree and the humble yet profound promise it holds—that from earth, memory, and care, new life always springs.
