The Father of American Dendrology: Remembering Humphry Marshall

Depiction of Humphry Marshall by Adrian Martinez, 2016

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 5, 1801 On this day, America lost one of its pioneering botanists, Humphry Marshall. His legacy as the “Father of American Dendrology” continues to influence our understanding of native trees and shrubs…

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The Tree That Kept Time: Ludwig Leichhardt’s Last Garden

Ludwig Leichhardt

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 23, 1813 It was on this day in 1813, as autumn leaves were turning in Prussia, that Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt was born. And oh, what a reminder his story is of…

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Chlorophyll, Gravity, and the Invisible Forces: Henri Dutrochet’s Legacy

Henri Dutrochet

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 14, 1776 On this day, dear readers and fellow admirers of nature’s mysteries, we celebrate the birth of a true luminary in the realm of botanical science: Henri Dutrochet, the French physician,…

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George Bentham: The Lawyer Who Revolutionized Botany

George Bentham

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 22, 1800 My dearest garden friends, on this day, we celebrate the birth of George Bentham, a man whose decision to abandon law for botany would alter not only his own destiny…

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Seeds of Discord: How Asa Gray’s Exit Bloomed Into Botanical Greatness

Asa Gray, circa 1870s

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 10, 1838 On this day, dear readers, the esteemed botanist Asa Gray resigned from the Wilkes Expedition, a decision that would alter the course of American botanical history as surely as a…

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Granite and Greenery: Berlin Honors Botanist Alexander Braun

Alexander Braun

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 17, 1879 It was on this day that the botanical world paid homage to one of its fallen luminaries, when at the Botanical Gardens of Berlin, a monument to the late eminent…

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Seussical Botany: Celebrating Francis Hallé’s Artistic Science

Francis Hallé

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 15, 1938 Oh, dear readers, gather ’round! On this most auspicious day, the botanical world received one of its most extraordinary minds – Francis Hallé, born April 15, 1938, whose hands would…

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