Posts Tagged ‘botanical inspiration’
Beyond The Thinker: Auguste Rodin’s Horticultural Haven
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 12, 1840 On this day, Auguste Rodin (oh-GOOST roh-DAN), the great French sculptor, was born. A man who found the divine in both marble and flowers – Auguste Rodin would ultimately earn…
Read MoreRuth Pitter: The Gardener-Poet of Hainault Forest
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 7, 1897 Today in botanical history, we celebrate Ruth Pitter [PIT-er] (1897-1992), a remarkable British poet whose deep connection to nature, primarily through her beloved Hainault Forest, shaped her literary legacy. Pitter’s…
Read MoreMy Favorite Plant by Jamaica Kincaid
As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast: This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. My Favorite Plant by Jamaica Kincaid This book came out in 1998, and the subtitle is Writers and Gardeners on the Plants They Love. In this…
Read MoreA Poet’s Garden: Celebrating John Keats’ Natural World Legacy
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 31, 1795 On this day, John Keats was born into a world he would later capture through some of the most vivid botanical imagery in English poetry. Though his life was tragically…
Read MoreThe Gardener’s Pen: Remembering Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 31, 1852 On this day, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, one of America’s most remarkable chroniclers of New England garden life, was born in Randolph, Massachusetts. ]Though primarily known for her fiction, Freeman’s…
Read MoreFinding Heaven in the Sky – Alfred Sisley’s Garden Wisdom
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 30, 1839 Today, we find inspiration in the words of Impressionist painter Alfred Sisley, born on this day in Paris. Though primarily known for his landscapes, Sisley’s artistic philosophy offers profound wisdom…
Read MoreThe Healing Horticulture of Oliver Sacks
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 11, 1933 On this day, dear readers, we celebrate the birth of a most remarkable individual, Dr. Oliver Sacks – neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer extraordinaire. While his contributions to…
Read MoreWaldo in Bloom: The Botanical Journey of Ralph Waldo Emerson
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 25, 1803 On this day, dear readers, we celebrate the birth of a man whose words have blossomed through the ages, much like the flowers he so adored — Ralph Waldo Emerson.…
Read MoreChristopher Morley: The Poet of Spring and Wit
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: May 5, 1890 The American journalist, novelist, essayist, and poet Christopher Morley was born. Morley was a man of boundless curiosity — producing plays, giving lectures, and publishing essays by the dozen. Yet it is his sparkling wit and tender reflections on life that…
Read MoreBetty Ford Alpine Gardens: A Living Tribute to a Trailblazing First Lady and Garden Lover
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 8, 1918 Dearest reader, On this day, we celebrate the birth of Betty Ford, a trailblazing woman who defied the odds with grace and candor. Known for her openness about personal struggles…
Read MorePenelope Lively’s Life in the Garden: Time, Memory, and the Joy of Growing
Life in the Garden March 17, 1933 Today is the birthday of the great British writer of fiction for both children and adults, Dame Penelope Margaret Lively – so that makes her 88 years young today. Happy birthday, Penelope. Penelope wrote one of my favorite garden books. It’s called life in the garden, and I…
Read MoreRobert Burns: The Poet Who Planted Words Like Flowers
Burns Night January 25, 1759 Today is the birthday of the Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns. Widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and celebrated worldwide, tonight is Burns Night. Each year Burns Night commemorates Robert, the beloved poet born into a poor Scottish family of farmers. A typical Burns Night includes live…
Read MoreRobert Dick: The Baker Botanist of Thurso and His Moss Box Legacy
Dunnet Head Lighthouse December 24, 1866 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Scottish geologist, botanist, and baker Robert Dick. The artist Joanne B. Kaar recently created a replica of Robert’s moss box to honor his work. This was a little box that Robert used to carry moss back to his bakery. Now…
Read MoreThe garden year in verse: Sara Coleridge’s twelve months of nature
by Sara Coleridge January brings the snow, Makes our feet and fingers glow. February brings the rain, Thaws the frozen lake again. March brings breezes, loud and shrill, To stir the dancing daffodil. April brings the primrose sweet, Scatters daisies at our feet. May brings flocks of pretty lambs Skipping by their fleecy dams. June…
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