Charles Darwin Archives

Asa Gray: The Birth of American Botany’s Greatest Voice

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 18, 1810 On this day, Asa Gray (1810-1888) was born. He was a figure who would become America’s preeminent botanist and one of the most influential scientists of the 19th century. Born…

From Harvard to Herbarium: The Blooming Legacy of Asa Gray

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 18, 1810 On this day, the botanical world welcomed a true titan of the field – Asa Gray, whose birth heralded a new era in the study of plant life and the…

Xavier Bichat: The Botanist Who Saw Beauty in Diversity

Portrait of Xavier Bichat by Pierre-Maximilien Delafontaine, 1799

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: November 14, 1771 On this day, dear readers and fellow admirers of nature’s intricate tapestry, we celebrate the birth of a most remarkable individual: Xavier Bichat, the French anatomist, botanist, and pathologist whose keen eye and brilliant mind would forever change our understanding of…

A Look Back at the Massive Funeral for Charles Darwin

An engraving of Darwin's funeral from the cover of The Graphic

“Darwin was buried at the Abbey next to the eminent scientist Sir John Herschel and just a few feet away from Sir Isaac Newton.” April 26, 1882 On this day, thousands of people attended the funeral of Charles Darwin, which was held at noon sharp at Westminster Abbey. On his deathbed, at Down House,…

April 26, 2021 Zen Garden Ideas, John J. Audubon, Norah Lindsey, Carolina Growing Seasons, The Resilient Farm and Homestead by Ben Falk, and Charles Darwin’s Funeral

Today we celebrate a man who is remembered for his contributions to art and ornithology. We’ll also learn about a socialite, gardener, and garden designer whose story has been largely unappreciated. We’ll hear some thoughts on gardening in the Carolinas. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about resilient homesteading that incorporates an innovative…

Darwin’s Most Wonderful Plants by Ken Thompson

As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast: Darwin’s Most Wonderful Plants by Ken Thompson This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is Darwin’s Botany Today. In this book, Ken helps us understand Darwin as a botanist. After his famous voyage on The Beagle, Darwin experimented with and observed growing plants at his home in…

February 11, 2021 Gardening for Health, Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, Should Botany Be Taught In Schools, Saving the Sakura, Darwin’s Most Wonderful Plants by Ken Thompson, and Garden-Inspired Verses About Love

Today we celebrate a woman who was insatiable when it came to plants, and she is remembered forever with the Portland Rose. We’ll also learn about a famous speech given at a Vermont botanical club about why botany wasn’t taught in schools – and the reasons were pretty spot on. We hear a story about…

Charles Darwin

Darwin’s Orchid January 25, 1862 On this day, the English naturalist, geologist, and biologist Charles Darwin received a box of Orchids. Now after sorting through all of the flowers, one Orchid, in particular, caught Charles’ attention: the Angraecum sesquipedale (“ang-GRAY-kum ses-kwah-puh-doll-lee”), commonly called Darwin’s Orchid, the Christmas Orchid, the Star of Bethlehem Orchid, or the…

January 25, 2021 How to Grow Chillies, Robert Burns, the Star of Bethlehem Orchid, the Vegetable History of Neeps and Tatties, Botanica Magnifica by Jonathan Singer, and the Garden’s Three R’s of Renovation

Today we celebrate a poet who loved flowers and became the beloved poet-son of a country that celebrates him still today. We’ll also learn about an orchid that inspired a fabled true story about Charles Darwin. We’ll hear about some fascinating vegetable history that is celebrated every year on this day. We Grow That Garden…

Charles Darwin

The Origin of Species November 24, 1859 On this day, Charles Darwin’s the Origin of Species reached bookstores. Over twenty years had passed since Charles departed on the HMS Beagle for a five-year voyage around the world. On this revelatory trip, Charles discovered the building blocks to his evolutionary theory in the fossils and diverse…

November 24, 2020 The Zen Garden Chaise Lounge, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Charles Darwin, Arlington Heights Garden Club, Vita Sackville West, The Beautiful Edible Garden by Leslie Bennett and Stefani Bittner, and Mosquitoes in November

Today we celebrate a prolific writer who loved violets and wrote about a secret garden. We’ll also learn about the best-selling book that hit bookstores today back in 1859, and it changed the world forever. We’ll look back at some timeless garden advice from 1966 courtesy of the Arlington Heights Garden Club. We’ll hear some…

July 27, 2020 Piet Oudolf Finds Solace in the Garden, Jeanne Baret, Horatio Hollis Hunnewell, Benjamin Lincoln Robinson, Hewett Cottrell Watson, William T. Hutchins, Silly Garden Poems, Rustic Garden Projects by Marianne Svärd Häggvik, and Bernadette Cozart.

Today we remember the first woman to have circumnavigated the world. We’ll also learn about the wealthy horticulturist who built a magnificent estate on the shores of Lake Waban. We celebrate the botanist who was the first editor of Rhodora, the New England Botanical Club’s journal. We also salute the father of British plant geography.…

Charles Darwin

Galapagos Islands Adventure On this day, Charles Darwin wrote a letter to his friend John Stevens Henslow. He wrote: “In a few days time the Beagle will sail for the Galapagos Islands. I look forward with joy and interest to this, both as being somewhat nearer to England and for the sake of having a…

July 12, 2020 A Garden at Maturity, the Water Lily, Henry David Thoreau, David Douglas, Charles Darwin, Ynes Mexia, Fern Poem, The Gardener & the Grill by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig, and Yerba Buena

Today we celebrate the man who inspired National Simplicity Day (It’s dedicated every July 12th). We’ll also learn about the tragic death of a Scottish botanist and prolific plant collector. We celebrate the friendship between Charles Darwin and his mentor. And, we also celebrate a woman who started botanizing late in life, yet made a…