Abraham Lincoln Archives

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…

May 14, 2021 Sloping Garden Ideas, George Cooper, Charles Joseph Sauriol, Lilacs for Lincoln, Healing in the Garden, Nature into Art by Thomas Christopher and James Mease

The Daily Gardener Podcast Album Cover with a pot of rosemary - the herb for remembrance - beckoning gardeners to remember to listen to the show. Updated September 2025.

February 3, 2021 Jellicoe’s Shute House Masterpiece, Carl Ludwig Blume, the Huckleberry, White Snakeroot, Both by Douglas Crase, and Celebrating Sidney Lanier

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Curated News Drawing on History, Philosophy, Psychology & Art, The Gardens of Shute House are Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe’s Masterpiece | House & Garden Botanical History On This…

Milk Sickness and Loss: The Tragic Death of Nancy Hanks Lincoln by Amy Stewart

One of the most famous victims of milk sickness was Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of Abraham Lincoln. She fought the disease for a week but finally succumbed, as did her aunt and uncle and several other people in the small town of Little Pigeon Creek, Indiana. She died in 1818 at the age of thirty-four,…

William Saunders: From Gettysburg’s Cemetery to California’s Navel Oranges

William Saunders (1822-1900), a prominent Scottish-American horticulturist, landscape designer, and nurseryman.

Navel Oranges December 7, 1822 Today is the birthday of the English-American botanist, nurseryman, landscape gardener, and landscape designer William Saunders. William served as the first horticulturist and superintendent of the experimental gardens at the newly created U.S. Department of Agriculture. During his professional career, William enjoyed many successes, but two stand out above the…

Toxic Plant Spotlight: Wild or White Snakeroot; the Plant that Killed Abraham Lincoln’s Mother

“Wild or White snakeroot is a problem for livestock if they consume it. All parts of the plant are toxic. Transferring the toxin through cow’s milk is a concern for humans, known as milk sickness.” July 7, 1965 On this day, The Vincennes Sun-Commercial out of Vincennes, Indiana, reported: It was about 140 years ago that…