Posts Tagged ‘botanical curiosities’
Rafflesia arnoldii: The giant flower of Sumatra that reigns supreme in size and mystery
On this day in 1919, the Chattanooga news reported this little question and answer: “Q. What is the largest flower in the world? A. Arnold’s rafflesia Is the giant of the flower kingdom. It was discovered In 1818 on the island of Sumatra by Joseph Arnold, a noted English botanist. The entire flower measures about…
Read MoreA Toast to National Pumpkin Seed Day
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 5, 2022 Today we lift our teacups (or, more fittingly, our well-worn garden trugs) to the humblest of autumn treasures: the pumpkin seed. How slyly it hides its virtue—tucked in a lantern…
Read MoreIce, Onions, and Odd Truths from the Garden of Wit
Today’s Garden Words were featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. Words inspired by the garden are the sweetest, most beautiful words of all. Onions in the garden. December 3, 2019 On this day, as the last golden asters bow their heads to frost and…
Read MoreLespedeza’s botanical twist: The story behind a name born of historical error
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 20, 1933 Dearest reader, On this day, the Knoxville Journal reported a deliciously peculiar twist in botanical history under the headline, “Department Botanists Agree Too Late to Change — Lespedeza was named…
Read MoreMarianne North: The Fearless Flower Painter of the World
The Marianne North Today is the birthday of the intrepid traveler and botanical artist Marianne North who was born on this day in 1830. Marianne’s father was friends with Darwin and Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, who was the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. When she was 25 years old, Marianne’s mother died, and…
Read MoreThe Ice Cream Vine: Colonel Johnston’s Tropical Wonderland
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 9, 1926 On this day, dear readers, the Green Bay Press-Gazette regaled its readers with a most extraordinary tale titled “Ice Cream Grown on Vine in the yard of Former Kentuckian.” One…
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