Benjamin Franklin Archives

John Bartram: Father of American Botany and Pioneer of the First U.S. Botanical Garden

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. March 23, 1699 Dearest reader, On this day, we celebrate the birth of John Bartram, a true pioneer of American botany and exploration who laid the very roots of botanical science in the…

Jan Ingenhousz and the Discovery of Photosynthesis

Discovery of Photosynthesis December 8, 1730 Today is the birthday of the Dutch physician, physiologist, and botanist Jan Ingenhousz (“ENG-in-house”). Jan made one of the most significant botanical discoveries in history: photosynthesis. Jan served as the personal physician to the royal Habsburg family in Austria. In 1771, Jan traveled to England with a group that…

William Shenstone: The Poet Who Pioneered the Landscape Garden

Ornamented Farms November 18, 1714 Today is the birthday of the poet and Landscape gardener William Shenstone, who was born on this day in 1714. In the early 1740s, William inherited his family’s dairy farm, which he transformed into the Leasowes (“LEZ-zoes”). The transfer of ownership lit a fire under William, and he immediately started…

Franklinia: The Lost Tree Named for Benjamin Franklin

The Franklinia The Belvedere Daily Republican, out of Belvedere Illinois, published a small article about a tree named for Benjamin Franklin. Here’s what it said: “About 200 years ago, John Bartram, an eminent botanist, discovered a strange flowering tree in a Georgia forest and named it “Franklinia” in honor of his fellow Philadelphian, Benjamin Franklin.”…

William Shenstone: Poet and Creator of the Ornamented Farm at Leasowes

Ornamented Farm Today is the anniversary of the death of poet and landscape gardener William Shenstone In the early 1740s, Shenstone inherited his family’s dairy farm, which he transformed into the Leasowes (pronounced ‘lezzoes’). The transfer of ownership lit a fire under Shenstone, and he immediately started changing the land into a wild landscape -…

William Shenstone: The Poet Who Invented the Ornamented Farm at Leasowes

Going Against Garden “Norms” Today is the birthday of the poet and Landscape gardener William Shenstone, who was born on this day in 1714. In the early 1740s, Shenstone inherited his family’s dairy farm, which he transformed into the Leasowes (pronounced ‘lezzoes’). The transfer of ownership lit a fire under Shenstone, and he immediately started…

The Last Wild Franklinia: How America’s First Botanists Saved a Species

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 2, 1938 On this day, dear garden friends, while the rest of the world fretted over European politics and the lingering effects of economic depression, a small newspaper in Belvedere, Illinois concerned…