Posts Tagged ‘Alexander Von Humboldt’
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…
Read MoreMay 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…
Read MoreJanuary 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…
Read MoreAimé Chile Bonpland: The Explorer Who Discovered Plants and Peppers
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 28, 1773 On this day, my precious petal-tenders and botanical confidantes, the remarkable French explorer and botanist Aimé Bonpland drew his first breath in this glorious world of ours in 1773. How…
Read MoreThe Day Nature Lost Its Most Devoted Scholar: Remembering Alexander Von Humboldt
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 5, 1859 On this day, the illustrious Alexander Von Humboldt departed this mortal coil at the dignified age of 89. One cannot help but note when the botanical world lost one of…
Read MoreThe Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf
As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast: The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf This book came out in 2015, and the subtitle is Alexander von Humboldt’s New World. Oh, my dear reader, let us embark on a journey through time and space to a world where a man of extraordinary vision was unraveling the…
Read MoreMay 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…
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