Alaska Archives

The History and Lore Surrounding the State Flower of Alaska: the Forget-Me-Not

“Professor Dean gave the illustration of a country doctor who in the spring, would carry Forget-me-not seeds which he sprinkled on the waters of the streams he passed. In time, these streams were lined with Forget-me-nots; a memorial when he was gone.” April 28, 1917 On this day, the State Flower of Alaska was adopted:…

April 28, 2021 Plants for Hummingbirds, William Darlington, Frances Bickelhaupt, Wanting Spring, Letters from Yellowstone by Diane Smith, and the State Flower of Alaska

Today we celebrate a Quaker son of Pennsylvania who accomplished so much during his lifetime and left a legacy of botanical information for future generations. We’ll also learn about a woman who, together with her husband, created an impressive arboretum in the middle of Iowa. We’ll hear some thoughts about spring from a Contemporary Turkish…

July 14, 2020 Ideas for a Summer Garden Party, Edwin James, Bastille Day, Rudolph Boysen, John T. White, Rachel Carson, The Butterfly’s Ball and The Grasshopper’s Feast, A Tapestry Garden By Marietta and Ernie O’Bryne, And William Vyvyan’s Night-Blooming Cereus

Today we celebrate the man who established the science of botany in America. We’ll also learn about the botanist who survived a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness – an incredible story. We celebrate a presentation from 1977 that encouraged, “Take a pill if you will; I say take a plant to cope with everyday…

Dr. Melville Thurston Cook

Survival on Eggs On this day, a 79-year-old botanist, Dr. Melville Thurston Cook, his wife, and their pilot were rescued by an Air Force helicopter after a week in the Alaskan wilderness. Cook reported they survived on 90 dozen eggs after their plane was forced down in the rugged Brooks Mountain range. As luck would…

July 10, 2020 The Berries Migratory Birds Prefer, Favorite Garden Blogs, Parsley & Shade Trees, Asa Gray, Melville Thurston Cook, Elvin McDonald, Spiranthes parksii, Roy Lancaster, Summer Poetry, The Flower-Powered Garden by Andy Vernon, and Peruvian Black Rose Sickness

Today we celebrate the man who established the science of botany in America. We’ll also learn about the botanist who survived a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness – an incredible story. We celebrate a presentation from 1977 that encouraged, “Take a pill if you will; I say take a plant to cope with everyday…

January 31, 2020 Calendula Tincture, Growing Artichokes, Melvin Bergeson, the American Iris Society, Isabella Preston, Hazel Schmoll, Horace Hagedorn, Bernard Barton, Life List by Olivia Gentile, Wooden Letters, Prospect Cottage and Derek Jarman

Today we celebrate the man who found a splendid crabapple growing in his nursery and the anniversary of a society that celebrates the flower of the rainbow, We’ll learn about the “Grand Lady of Canadian Horticulture” and a Colorado State botanist who fought to protect the Columbine. Today’s Unearthed Words, we hear simple poems from…

September 25, 2019 Fall Reset, Valerius Cordus, Edward Kemp, the Sequoia National Park, Francis Kingdon-Ward, Felicia Hemans Birthday Garden Poem, Living Decor by Maria Colletti, Cutting Back the Garden, and the September Garden from 1915

If you’re feeling a little glum about the end of the gardening season, here are a few activities that can help you rebalance: First, support your local farmers by shopping at a local farm stand. Often the growers will have insights on plants and practices that apply to your own garden. Get inspired by seeing…

August 13, 2019 Nasturtiums, Peter Kalm, the Snowberry, Edward August Von Regal, Benedict Roezl, John Gould Veitch, Tove Jansson, The Orchid Hunter by Leif Bersweden , Add More Groundcover, Albert Ruth and the Twinflower

Boy, nasturtiums are such wonderful plants, aren’t they? August is a time when your nasturtiums look fabulous, even after a summer of blooming their hearts out. Right about now, your nasturtiums will bloom better if you remove a few of the center leaves. Opening up the plant a little bit will promote airflow – and…

Melville Thurston Cook

Rescue Mission Today, in 1949, a 79-year-old botanist, Dr. Melville Thurston Cook, his wife, and their pilot were rescued by an Air Force helicopter after a week in the Alaskan wilderness. Cook reported they survived on 90 dozen eggs after their plane was forced down in the rugged Brooks Mountain range. As luck would have…

July 10, 2019 Parsley, Asa Gray, Melville T. Cook, Elvin McDonald, Spiranthes parksii, Roy Lancaster, Theodore Roethke, Perennial Garden Plants by Graham Stuart Thomas, Planting Shade Trees, and Bewitched

Are you growing parsley? I am. But I generally only plant the flat-leaf variety – since the curly leaf parsley is used mainly as a garnish. Parsley is a member of the Umbelliferae family, which also includes celery, carrots, dill, cilantro, caraway, cumin, and the poisonous hemlock. Brevities #OTD On this day in…

Joseph Trimble Rothrock

The Chief Agitator Happy Birthday, Joseph Trimble Rothrock (Books By This Author) was born in 1839. Plagued by sickness as a child, Rothrock felt the call of the great outdoors, “I just had to go to the woods. Throughout my entire life, I have sought the ‘out of doors’ as a refuge against impending physical…

April 9, 2019 Phebe Lankester, James Sowerby, Joseph Trimble Rothrock, Asa Gray, Louis Agassiz, Gardeners Question Time, Charles Baudelaire, Katie Daisy, the Toronto Archives, and Joseph Sauriol

Today’s thought is precisely that: How we think when we garden. Emerson wrote: Blame me not, laborious band, For the idle flowers I brought; Every aster in my hand Comes back laden with a thought. How wonderful our gardens are for thinking. Creatively. Therapeutically. Soulfully. Every bloom can be a vessel for an idea, a…