April 27, 2022 Charles MacKay, Alice Morse Earle, Thomas Dolliver Church, Cecil Day-Lewis, The Food Forest Handbook by Darrell Frey and Michelle Czolba, Edwin George Morgan,

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Historical Events

1814 Birth of Charles MacKay, Scottish poet, writer, and songwriter.

In The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay, Charles wrote a song about the Meadow Sweet:

Rose! We love thee for thy splendor,
Lily! For thy queenly grace!
Violet! For thy lowly merit,
Peeping from thy shady place!

But mine airy, woodland fairy,
Scattering odors at thy feet,
No one knows thy modest beauty,
No one loves thee, Meadow-Sweet!

 

1851 Birth of Alice Morse Earle (books by this author), American historian and author.

Alice wrote two garden books: Old Time Gardens (1901) and Sun Dials and Roses of Yesterday (1902).

Alice wrote,

Farm children have little love for nature and are surprisingly ignorant about wildflowers save a few varieties. The child who is garden bred has a happier start in life, a greater love and knowledge of nature.

On the peony, Alice wrote:

[She] always looks like a well-dressed, well-shod, well-gloved girl of birth, breeding, and of equal good taste and good health; a girl who can swim, and skate, and ride, and play golf.

 

1902 Birth of Thomas “Tommy” Dolliver Church (books by this author), California landscape architect.

Tommy pioneered the modern California Style design style. In 1955, Tommy wrote,

When your garden is finished I hope it will be more beautiful than you anticipated, require less care than you expected, and have cost only a little more than you had planned.

Unlike people, gardens never strive for perpetual youth—they want to look old from the day they were born. Their greatest glory comes with maturity.

 

1904 Birth of Cecil Day-Lewis (books by this author), Irish-born British poet. He used the pen name Nicholas Black for his mystery stories.

Cecil was the Poet Laureate for four years before his death in 1972. He was also the father of actor Sir Daniel Day-Lewis.

In Cecil's Overtures to Death and Other Poems (1938),

In June we picked the clover,
And sea-shells in July:
There was no silence at the door,
No word from the sky.

A hand came out of August
And flicked his life away:
We had not time to bargain, mope,
Moralize, or pray.

 

Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation

The Food Forest Handbook by Darrell Frey and Michelle Czolba

This book came out in 2017, and the subtitle is Design and Manage a Home-Scale Perennial Polyculture Garden.

Before I even get started with my review, I have to say that this book gets high praise on Amazon; it's a five-star book.

The authors are passionate about growing food year-round - without fossil fuels - and increasing biodiversity on the land and wild market gardening.

In the introduction to their book, Darryl and Michelle point out that the food forest is one of the oldest ways to garden.

It's the edges of the forest that were the most fruitful places for both hunting and gathering. And today, food forests are making a comeback.

Now you might be asking yourself, what is a food forest?

Well, a food forest is simply a food-producing garden that's built around trees and perennials. I've been a passionate fan of orchards and mini orchards for the past couple of years. I'm installing one up at my cabin, planting even more trees this spring.

Darryl and Michelle point out that,

A well-managed food forest is an integrated system and it includes all kinds of plants, fruits, vegetables, herbs, medicinal plants, and plantings that promote beneficial insects and balanced nutrients.

And in case you're starting to feel a little overwhelmed. Don't be. Because these food forests can be simple and include only a few species, or they can contain a myriad of plants.

The bottom line here is that Darryl and Michelle will help you feel confident and inspired to create your own food forest, whether on a small or grand scale in your backyard, front yard, patio, or allotment.

This book is 256 pages of planning, designing, and managing your very own food forest.

You can get a copy of The Food Forest Handbook by Darrell Frey and Michelle Czolba and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $20.

 

Botanic Spark

1920 Birth of Edwin George Morgan (books by this author), Scottish poet and translator associated with the Scottish Renaissance.

He is remembered as one of the foremost Scottish poets of the 20th century. In 1999, Edwin became the first Glasgow Poet Laureate. 

In 1968, Edwin wrote,

Yes, it is too cold in Scotland for flower people; in any case
who would be handed a thistle?

 

Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener

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