Alexander Von Humboldt Archives

Alexander Von Humboldt

The Polymath and Pragmatist May 6, 1859 Today is the anniversary of the death of the naturalist and botanist Alexander Von Humboldt. He was 89 years old. When it came to his expeditions, Alexander didn’t travel alone. In 1799, Alexander was accompanied by the French botanist Aimé Bonplant. In 1806, Friedrich Georg Weitsch painted his…

May 6, 2021 A Farmer Chef’s New Perspectives on Vegetables, Jean Senebier, Alexander von Humboldt, Gardener Philosophers, Eating from the Ground Up by Alana Chernila, and the 1917 Raisin Day Parade

Today we celebrate the botanist who discovered the function of leaves. We’ll also learn about a visionary German naturalist and polymath who recognized the power and complexity of nature as he explored Central and South America. We hear an excerpt about the power of gardening to turn a gardener into a philosopher. We Grow That…

January 16, 2020 Planting Hope, Marks Hall Arboretum, Antonio José Cavanilles, Wine Bricks, Carole Lombard, Louisa Yeomans King, January Poems, Murder Most Florid by Mark Spencer, Tree Branch Hooks, and Lengthening Days by Vita Sackville-West

Today we celebrate the Spanish Enlightenment priest and botanist who named the Dahlia and the glamorous movie star who traded in her star sapphire collection for a tractor. We’ll learn about the item vintners were selling during prohibition and the woman who became the most widely read American Garden author in the United States. Today’s…

Alexander Von Humboldt

Discoverer of Central and South America On this day in 1859, the naturalist and botanist Alexander Von Humboldt died; he was 89 years old. In 1806, Friedrich Georg Weitsch painted his portrait; two years after he returned from his five-year research trip through Central and South America. Humboldt didn’t go alone; he was accompanied by…

The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World by Andrea Wulf

As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast: Today’s book recommendation: The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World by Andrea Wulf “The Invention of Nature” reveals the extraordinary life of the visionary German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and how he created the way we understand nature today. Though almost forgotten today, his name lingers everywhere…

May 6, 2019 Warm Night Temperatures, Jean Senebier, Lomatium, Alexander Von Humboldt, Temperate House, Massachusetts Hort Society, Andrea Wulf, The Invention of Nature, Mother’s Day Flowers, and the Hudson Garden Club

We are on the cusp of consecutive warm nights. Warm soil temps will take a few more weeks. Recently, I had a gardener ask me about their hearty hibiscus that was planted last year. They were worried it wasn’t coming back. In Minnesota, gardeners often start to freak out a bit if they don’t see…