The $5.5 Million Garden Album: Empress Josephine’s Botanical Treasure

Pierre-Joseph Redouté

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 15, 1985 On this day, a phenomenal piece of botanical history changed hands at Sotheby’s auction house: Empress Josephine’s personal copy of Pierre-Joseph Redouté’s (pee-AIR zho-ZEFF reh-doo-TAY) botanical watercolors for “Les Liliacées”…

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John Bradby Blake: The Young Botanist Who Bridged East and West

John Bradby Blake

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 4, 1745 On this day, we celebrate the birth of the English botanist John Bradby Blake [BRAD-bee BLAKE].  Though he lived a tragically short life – dying at just twelve days after…

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Dawn with the Iris King: Remembering William Rickatson Dykes

William Rickatson Dykes

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 4, 1877 Today we celebrate the birth of William Rickatson Dykes [RICK-et-sun DYKES], born in Bayswater, London. Though he began his career as a classics teacher at Charterhouse School, it was his…

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Midnight at Versailles: The Moonlit Challenge of Pierre-Joseph Redouté

Pierre-Joseph Redouté

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 10, 1825 On this day, my cherished garden enthusiasts, I find myself compelled to share a tale of extraordinary artistic achievement that should set every gardener’s heart aflutter. French King Charles X,…

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January 26, 2021 Five Secrets of Front-Yard Landscaping, Nikolai Vavilov, Eloise Ray, Katharine White on Bulbs in Pots, The Joy of Botanical Drawing by Wendy Hollender, and National Seed Swap Day the Pandemic Way

20200101 The Daily Gardener Album Cover

Today we celebrate the Russian botanist who sought to end world hunger and created a seed bank. We’ll also learn about a Landscape Architect known for her delicate illustrations and her love of realistic sculpture. We’ll hear some thoughts on growing bulbs in pots by one of my favorite gardeners. We Grow That Garden Libraryâ„¢…

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The Mosses and the Muse: Eliza Sullivant’s Botanical Legacy

Eliza Sullivant

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 23, 1850 My dearest garden companions, today we mark with solemn hearts the anniversary of the passing of that extraordinary botanical soul, Eliza Sullivant. What a marvelous romance blossomed between the Sullivants!…

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Brushstrokes of Botany: Magnus Hallman’s Portraits of Linnaeus

Hallman's most popular portrait of Carl Linnaeus

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 16, 1745 On this day, dear horticultural enthusiasts, we find ourselves transported to the lush landscapes of Östergötland County, Sweden. For it was on this very date that Magnus Hallman, a painter…

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Wildflower Whisperer The Botanical Legacy of Edgar Denison: Missouri’s

Edgar Walter Denison

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 14, 1993 Oh, my darling petal-pushers! Today marks the anniversary of the departure of that most magnificent botanical soul, Edgar Walter Denison, who enchanted Missouri with his wildflower wisdom. Our beloved plant…

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A Gardener’s Legacy: Sir William Hooker’s Final Day at Kew

Sir William Jackson Hooker

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 12, 1865 Darling garden enthusiasts, it is with a heavy heart that I must report the passing of one of our botanical luminaries. On this day in 1865, Sir William Jackson Hooker,…

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Ellis Rowan: Australia’s Brilliant Botanical Rebel

Ellis Rowan

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 30, 1922 On this day, we honor Ellis Rowan, that most remarkable Australian artist and botanical illustrator, born in 1848, whose life blazed across the canvas of botanical art like a brilliant,…

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A Botanist Silenced: The Tragic End of Eva Reed

Eva Reed

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 8, 1901 On this day, dear readers, the gardening world lost one of its unsung heroines when Eva Reed, a botanist of considerable talent, met her untimely end beneath the wheels of…

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