19th century gardens Archives

Geraniums and Gothic Tales: Hawthorne’s Horticultural Horror Story

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 19, 1864 On this day, dear readers, we mark the passing of Nathaniel Hawthorne (books about this person), the American novelist and short-story writer whose pen brought us such classics as The…

Lincoln’s Garden of Play: Tad, His Doll Jack, and a Presidential Pardon

Thomas Tad Lincoln wearing a military-style uniform, c. 1864

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 14, 1862 Dearest reader, On this day, President Abraham Lincoln—already bowed beneath the weight of a nation at war—set down his pen to compose a most curious request. He wrote to Navy…

The Brontë Sisters’ Garden: Currant Bushes, Poetry, and Hidden Green Spaces

The Brontë sisters: Anne Brontë, Emily Brontë, and Charlotte Brontë.

Currer, Ellia, and Acton Bell May 7, 1846 The first printed copies of “Poems” by Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë were published under the pseudonym of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Just two copies were sold. To avoid prejudice as female writers, the sisters kept the first letter of their first names: Charlotte was Currer…

Eliza Ridgely: The Gardener of Hampton and Her Victorian Carpet Bedding Legacy

A portrait painting titled "Lady with a Harp: Eliza Ridgely" by Thomas Sully, created in 1818. The painting depicts Eliza Ridgely at the age of c. 15, portrayed in an idealized manner with a harp, which symbolizes her social status and intellectual pursuits.

The Hampton House Garden January 8, 1828 On this day, Eliza Ridgely married her fifth cousin and son of a Maryland Governor, John Carnan Ridgely. The couple lived on the Hampton Plantation built by John’s great-uncle Charles Ridgely III in 1790. After construction, it was the largest private residence in the United States. Eliza was…

Measuring Wealth by Bedding Plants: Jane Powers on Victorian Gardening

Bedding Plants as a Function of Royal Status November 13, 2010 It was on this day that Jane Powers wrote an excellent botanical history piece for the Irish Times. I especially loved this article because Jane correlated the number of bedding plants a person ordered during the middle of the 19th century and their corresponding…

Gilbert Laing Meason: The Originator of ‘Landscape Architecture’

The Landscape Architecture of the Great Painters by Gilbert Laing Meason

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 3, 1796 Dearest reader, On this day, we celebrate the birth of a man whose very name may evoke gentle echoes in the corridors of garden history, yet whose legacy is as…

Edith Wharton’s Garden Magic: The Mount and Timeless Design

Gardens: A Series of Outdoor Rooms Today is the birthday of the American novelist, short story writer, playwright, and designer Edith Wharton. In 1904, Edith wrote Italian Villas and Their Gardens. Edith thought gardens should be a series of outdoor rooms and she wrote, “…In the blending of different elements, the subtle transition from the…

Emily Dickinson: The Poet Who Let Her Flowers Roam Free

Charles III William (German: Karl III. Wilhelm; 27 January [O.S. 17 January] 1679-12 May 1738) was Margrave of Baden-Durlach between 1709 and 1738. He was the son of Margrave.

A Poet and A Gardener Today is the birthday of Emily Dickenson who was born on this day in 1830. The Dickinson Author Judith Farr, reminds us that during her lifetime, Emily Dickinson was “known more widely as a gardener,… than as a poet.” Emily grew up gardening. She would help her mother with their…

Robert Buist: The Edinburgh Gardener Who Brought Poinsettias to America

Robert Buist (1805-1880), a Scottish-born nurseryman and seedsman who became a prominent figure in American horticulture.

The Lemon Hill Gardener Today is the birthday of the botanist Robert Buist who was born on this day in 1805. Robert Buist came to America from Edinburgh “Edinburgh,” where his dad was a professional gardener. He had trained at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and immigrated to Philadelphia when he was 23 years old.…

Elizabeth Agassiz: The Garden Lover Behind Radcliffe’s Founding and Louis Agassiz’s Biography

The Life of Agassiz On this day in 1877, Elizabeth Agassiz, the wife of the naturalist and famous Harvard Professor Louis Agassiz, met with Longfellow to get his opinion on the first couple of chapters of the Life of Agassiz; her biography of her husband. In Louise Hall Tharp’s book about the family, a memory…

James Arnold: The Quaker Benefactor Behind Harvard’s First Arboretum

The Arnold Arboretum Today is the birthday of James Arnold, who was born on this day in 1781 and who was the namesake for Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum. The Arnold Arboretum was the very first arboretum in the United States. Arnold was born to a Quaker family in Providence, Rhode, Island. In 1807, Arnold married Sarah…