Danske Dandridge: The Gardener-Poet of Rose Brake

Danske Dandridge

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 19, 1854 On this day, Danske [“DAN-sker”] Dandridge, poet, historian, and garden writer, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her story begins with a diplomatic posting—her father, Henry Bedinger, served as President James…

Read More

Jean Hersey: A Year in a Garden’s Life

Jean Hersey, a prolific American garden writer and author.

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode.   September 29, 1902 Dearest readers, Today, we celebrate the birth of Jean Hersey, an American garden writer whose gentle words and vibrant observations have quietly nurtured readers for decades. Born Jean McKelvey…

Read More

The temperament of trees: Gladys Taber on the nature of seasons

A field of sunflowers, likely the common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) or the giant sunflower (Helianthus giganteus).

by Gladys Taber, American writer and columnist Weather conditions are the same for all of them, one is no more sheltered than another, and they are the same age, judging by their size. I like to think one tree decides to keep summer a bit longer and one impetuously responds to the tide of incoming…

Read More

Katharine White: The Garden Writer Whose Words Bloomed Beyond the Page

Katharine White

Onward and Upward Today is the anniversary of the death of the garden writer Katharine White. Now, Katharine was married to Andy – but most of us probably know him as E.B. White, the author of three beloved children’s books, Stuart Little (1945), Charlotte’s Web (1952), and The Trumpet of the Swan (1970). In the…

Read More