Louisa Yeomans King: Planning August’s Glory in May’s Splendor

On This Day
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:

Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode.

May 23, 1905

On this day, Louisa Yeomans King (books about this person) recorded an entry in her garden diary, which later blossomed into her book, The Flower Garden Day By Day.

Let us peek into her horticultural musings for this day, shall we?

MAY 23.

Sow seed now of the beautiful pale yellow oenothera ("ee-nah-THAIR-ah") (Evening-primrose), Afterglow, at the back of the border near Physostegia ("fy-sah-STEE-jee-ah ver-jin-ee-AYE-nah")(Obedient plant).

A group of these two with Artemesia lactiflora (White Mugwort) and the little annual sunflower known as Primrose Stella, will make August well worth waiting for.

Oh, what a delightful vision Mrs. King paints for us!

Can you imagine the scene she describes?

Picture, if you will, the soft yellow blooms of the evening primrose, their petals unfurling as dusk approaches, nestled behind the tall, sturdy stems of the obedient plant. The white plumes of the Artemesia lactiflora sway gently in the late summer breeze, while the cheerful faces of Primrose Stella sunflowers turn towards the fading light.

How thoughtful of Mrs. King to plan for August's beauty in the midst of May's exuberance!

Her careful consideration of plant combinations and bloom times reminds us that a truly successful garden is not just a collection of individual plants, but a carefully orchestrated symphony of color, texture, and form.

Isn't it fascinating how she provides the pronunciation for the more challenging plant names?

It's a gentle reminder that gardening is as much about learning and sharing knowledge as it is about digging in the soil.

As we plan our own gardens today, let us take a leaf from Louisa Yeomans King's book.

May we look beyond the immediate pleasures of spring and early summer, and cast our horticultural imaginations forward to the dog days of August.

What delights can we plant now that will reward us with beauty when the season begins to wane?

Louisa Yeomans King, aka Mrs. Francis King
Louisa Yeomans King, aka Mrs. Francis King
Louisa Yeomans King, portrait
Louisa Yeomans King, portrait
Louisa Yeomans King at her typewriter
Louisa Yeomans King at her typewriter
Marker honoring Louisa Yeomans King at the National Arboretum Dogwood Collection
Marker honoring Louisa Yeomans King at the National Arboretum Dogwood Collection
Louisa Yeomans King, Color Scheme Plan for Front Yard Flowers, 1937
Louisa Yeomans King, Color Scheme Plan for Front Yard Flowers, 1937
"The Little Garden should be in millions of homes all over America"
"The Little Garden should be in millions of homes all over America"
The Little Garden by Mrs. Francis King
The Little Garden by Mrs. Francis King
Chronicles of the Garden by Mrs. Francis King
Chronicles of the Garden by Mrs. Francis King
The Well-Considered Garden by Mrs. Francis King
The Well-Considered Garden by Mrs. Francis King
The Flower Garden Day by Day by Mrs. Francis King
The Flower Garden Day by Day by Mrs. Francis King

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