November 18, 2019 The National Trust Cover Photo, The Feminine History of Botany, William Shenstone, Leo Lesquereux, Asa Gray, Kim Wilde, Margaret Atwood, Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life by Marta McDowell, Boot Tray reboot and Cranberry Frenzy in 1843

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Today we celebrate the gardener who turned his farm into a picturesque wonder and the Swiss botanist who survived a fall from a mountaintop that foreshadowed a life of highs and lows. We’ll learn about the American botanist Darwin confided in two years before he shared his theory with the rest of the world and…

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Asa Gray

Asa Gray

A Confidential Concept Today, in 1857, Harvard botanist Asa Gray received a confidential letter from Charles Darwin. In the letter, Darwin wrote: “I will enclose the briefest abstract of my notions on the means by which nature makes her species…I ask you not to mention my doctrine.” Two years later, Darwin revealed his concept of…

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September 5, 2019 Growing Cucumbers, Michel Sarrazin, Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Katherine Warington, Andrew Marvell, Tussie-Mussies by Geraldine Laufer, the Case for Coleus, and the Suffolk Tombstone of gardener Edward Ward

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If you have struggled to grow tomatoes successfully, maybe it’s time to give cucumbers a try. They are much easier to grow than tomatoes. Just add some organic matter to the soil and mulch around the base of the plant. Cucumbers benefit from support, so install a trellis for the vines to climb. That’s it.…

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Asa Gray

Asa Gray

The Harvard Man On this day in 1842, Asa Gray arrived at Harvard. He didn’t have to start teaching until the following spring. Gray wasn’t a great speaker, but he was respected by his peers and his students for his knowledge.     This post was featured onThe Daily Gardener podcast: helping gardeners find their…

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July 22, 2019 Drying Flowers, Asa Gray, Hugh Algernon Weddell, Cornelius Herman (“Neil”) Muller, Louise Klein Miller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Secret Gardens of the Cotswolds by Victoria Summerley, Preparing a Spot for Flower Drying, and the San Jose scale

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Have you ever tried drying flowers? Successfully drying one of your favorite flowers is such a joy. Some flowers look even better when they are dried. There are many options for drying flowers; air drying is the simplest. Then, of course, there’s pressing. If you’ve never tried sand drying a bloom, you should give it…

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Asa Gray

Asa Gray

The Harvard Botanist On this day in 1838, the botanist Asa Gray resigned from the Wilkes Expedition.  Gray was frustrated by all of the delays. He also disagreed with Captain Charles Wilkes. Gray and Wilkes disagreed about the Latin descriptions of the new taxa. In addition, Wilkes wanted to work with Americans only. Gray recognized…

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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

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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…

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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

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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…

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