Posts Tagged ‘Botanist’
February 18, 2022 Valerius Cordus, André Robert Breton, Toni Morrison, The Secrets of the Great Botanists by Matthew Biggs, and Antoine Nicolas Duchesne
Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter Facebook Group The next time you’re on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you’d search for a friend and request to join. Botanical History 1515 Birth of Valerius Cordus,…
Read MoreRemembering English Loyalist and Botanist Alexander Garden: the Gardenia is his Namesake
“Botanic Sparks are sweet stories to close the show that draw gardeners closer to gardening, as John Ellis’ letters inspired Alexander Garden. April 15, 1791 Today is the anniversary of the death of the English botanist Alexander Garden. Alexander’s story is fascinating, starting with the fact that he had the perfect last name for a…
Read MoreRemembering Florida Botanist Alvan Wentworth Chapman: an Apalachicola Naturalist and Namesake of the Chapman Botanical Garden
“If [you are] really anxious to make [plant] discoveries… buckle on your knapsack and make a tour of Florida.” April 6, 1899 Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist and physician Alvan Wentworth Chapman. Alvan spent the last fifty years in Apalachicola, in territorial Florida. Alvan adored botany and devoted all his…
Read MoreRemembering Linnaeus’s Favorite Student: Swedish Botanist Pehr Loefling aka The Vulture
“Pehr was just 27 years old when he died of malaria on the banks of the Caroní River at a Mission outpost on this day in 1756. He was buried beneath an orange tree.” February 22, 1756 Today is the anniversary of the death of the handsome and tall Swedish botanist – and a favorite…
Read MoreFebruary 16, 2021 Plant Selfishness, Townshend Stithe Brandegee, the New Jersey State Flower, Duck Hill Journal by Page Dickey, and the Remarkable Josephine S. Margetts
Today we celebrate a botanist of the American West and the husband of Kate Brandegee. We’ll also learn about the woman who created the legislation for the New Jersey State Flower, the Violet. We hear some words about the role of the botanist from one of our horticultural greats. We Grow That Garden Library™ with…
Read MoreBotanist Spies Blunder: New Canadian Currency Features a Norway Maple – Not a Sugar Maple
“They should have drawn it differently… because the Maple that they’ve drawn is quite clearly a Norway Maple.” January 18, 2013 On this day, Reuters published an article about the new Canadian twenty dollar bill. The article, by Randall Palmer, was called “Canada Put ‘Wrong’ Maple Leaf on New Canadian 20-dollar Bill.” Here’s an excerpt:…
Read MoreRemembering Fern Specialist and Botanist Warren “Herb” Wagner, Jr.
“Deer in the winter are nature’s closest thing to actual zombies.” January 8, 2000 Today is the anniversary of the death of a leading botanist in the study of ferns, Warren “Herb” Wagner, Jr. Herb was the founder of modern systematics for plants and animals. Biologists still use “Wagner trees” to classify plants and animals…
Read MoreArt for Gardeners: American painter and illustrator Maxfield Parrish’s Iconic Print Called The Botanist
“In his raised right hand, he is holding a plant, and in his left hand, he is clutching a magnifying glass.” July 18, 1908 On this day, a Maxfield Parrish Print called The Botanist appeared on the cover of Collier’s magazine. The iconic image shows a full-length profile of a man wearing a long…
Read MoreThe Biography of Indiana Botanist Charles Clemon Deam by Robert Kriebel
“Suddenly, Charlie quickly opened the drawer, pulled out the gun, and fired two or three shots through the open window, making some disparaging comments about the “canine ancestry of a rabbit,” which had been terrorizing his garden.” July 16, 1987 On this day, The Indianapolis Star announced that the biography of Charles Clemon Deam, the…
Read MoreCelebrating the Botanist Clarence Henry Dennesen: Wartime Sailor, Shipwreck Survivor, Botany Teacher to Royalty
“After the adventurous days of the soldier and sailor, he became a professor at the Copenhagen School of Botany, and among his pupils was a little princess who later became Queen Alexandria, mother of King George of England, and a little prince who later became King Constantine of Greece.” July 11, 1936 On this day,…
Read MoreA Botanical Marvel Villain: Samuel Smithers a.k.a. Plantman
“In his final storyline, Plantman transformed into a giant plant monster and attacked the city of Los Angeles in retaliation for humans polluting the world.” July 9, 1963 On this day, the Marvel comic botanist Samuel Smithers became Plantman when lightning struck his plant ray gun, giving it the power to control and animate all…
Read MoreThe Viral 1930s Article Featuring Plant Explorer Frank Kingdon-Ward and his Botanical Adventures
“On another of his Tibetan expeditions, he discovered the blue poppy, a flower sought by all horticulturists in this country and obtained by few.” July 1, 1932 On this day, newspapers worldwide ran a fascinating article about the botanist Frank Kingdon-Ward titled “Plant Explorer Finds Adventure.” Here’s what the Altoona Mirror out of Altoona, Pennsylvania,…
Read MoreThe Beloved Alien Botanist: E.T.
“E.T. has unknown abilities but gives a glimpse of his powers by reviving dead chrysanthemums.” June 11, 1982 On this day, a little movie about a botanist was released. The movie was E.T. The premise was that alien botanists secretly visited Earth one night to gather plant specimens in a California forest. When government…
Read MoreRemembering Irish Botanist Charlotte Grace O’Brien
“I will puzzle the botanists of another generation, and when my bones are dust and my good spade rust…” June 3, 1909 On this day, the Irish immigration reformer Charlotte Grace O’Brien died. After a life devoted to improving the lives of others, Charlotte devoted her leisure time to writing and studying plant life. Charlotte…
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