American naturalists Archives

William Bartram’s May Diary: A Window into Early American Nature

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 13, 1823 On this day, William Bartram, American botanist, ornithologist, natural historian, and explorer, penned an entry in his diary that transports us to a spring day nearly two centuries ago. Can…

Nature’s Chronicler: How Grief Transformed Edwin Way Teale’s Work

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 1, 1923 On this day, dear garden friends, the botanist Edwin Way Teale joined hands in matrimony with his beloved Nelly Imogene Donovan, a union that would prove as enduring as the…

America’s First Bug Whisperer: The Birth of Thomas Say

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 27, 1787 On this day, the naturalist Thomas Say drew his first breath in this world – a man destined to revolutionize how Americans understood the crawling, buzzing creatures that shared their…