Charles Joseph Sauriol Archives

Charles Joseph Sauriol: Moving, Memory, and the Moonlit Valley

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 14, 1938 Dearest readers, Let us journey together into the quiet, moonlit world of Charles Joseph Sauriol—Canada’s treasured naturalist, author, and the tireless “Mr. Conservation” whose life’s work was preserving the wild…

April 4, 2022 Dorothea Lynde Dix, Maya Angelou, James A. Duke, Bucharest Botanical Garden, The Graphic Garden by Keith Williams, and Charles Joseph Sauriol

The Daily Gardener Podcast Album Cover with a pot of rosemary - the herb for remembrance - beckoning gardeners to remember to listen to the show. Updated September 2025.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1802 Birth of Dorothea Lynde Dix, Boston activist who revolutionized mental health care. Inspired by English “moral treatment” gardens, she championed humane…

Charles Joseph Sauriol: The Quiet Dawn of Spring’s Wildflowers

Charles Sauriol, a notable Canadian naturalist known for his significant contributions to conservation in Ontario and across Canada.

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 4, 1938 Dearest garden reader, On this day, the Canadian naturalist Charles Joseph Sauriol quietly recorded a moment of connection with the subtle dawn of spring in his wildflower garden. In the…

May 14, 2021 Sloping Garden Ideas, George Cooper, Charles Joseph Sauriol, Lilacs for Lincoln, Healing in the Garden, Nature into Art by Thomas Christopher and James Mease

The Steward of Toronto’s Don Valley: Charles Joseph Sauriol’s Conservation Legacy

The Don River Valley Naturalist May 3, 1904 Today is the birthday of the naturalist and conservationist Charles Joseph Sauriol. An esteemed son of Toronto, Charles worked to preserve natural areas in Canada. He was primarily devoted to the forests and waterways of Ontario, including his beloved Don River Valley – where his family had…

May 3, 2021 Five Agrotourism Hotspots, Charles Joseph Sauriol, May Sarton, Seasonal Inspiration, Half Baked Harvest Super Simple by Tieghan Gerard, and the Victor Cicansky Gazebo

A Gentle Steward of Toronto’s Wilds: Charles Joseph Sauriol

Charles Joseph Sauriol (1904-1995), a notable Canadian naturalist.

The Don River Valley Naturalist March 19, 1938 It was on this day that the Canadian Naturalist Charles Joseph Sauriol (“Sar-ee-all”) jotted down a sweet diary entry, and it was shared bythe Toronto Archiveson their fabulous twitter feed – which is a wonderful thing to follow. Charles wrote: “We have a visitor. A long winding…

March 19, 2021 Hunting Century Oaks for Notre Dame, Stella Ross-Craig, Charles Joseph Sauriol, The Art of Outdoor Living, Garden Secrets of Bunny Mellon by Linda Holden, and The Plant Messiah

Charles Sauriol’s Garden Toad Companion

Garden Toad On this day, the Canadian Naturalist Charles Joseph Sauriol (“Sar-ee-all”) wrote about sharing his garden with a toad. He wrote, “One particular toad has taken quite a fancy to the Wild Flower garden. His den is alongside the Hepatica plant. There he sits half-buried, and blinks up at me while I shower water…

July 25, 2020 L.A. Music Producer Mark Redito, Cleome, Oxford Botanic Garden, William Forsyth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Joseph Sauriol, Elizabeth Lawrence, Walt Whitman, Weeds by Richard Mabey, and A Case of Floral Offerings

Charles Joseph Sauriol and His Enchanted Pansy Garden

Enchanting Pansies On this day Canadian Naturalist Charles Joseph Sauriol (“Sar-ee-all”) wrote in his diary: “I find it hard to come in from the flower borders. My Pansies are a garden of enchantment in themselves. People who love Pansies should grow them from seed. I took the advice and I have never had such a…

July 11, 2020 Drying Flowers & Herbs, National Rainier Cherry Day, David Prain, Charles Joseph Sauriol, Charles Sumner Lambie, Hamilton Traub, Linden Tree Poetry, Kathryn at Home by Kathryn M Ireland and Clarence Henry Dennesen

September 4, 2019 The Must Go Container, Henry Wise, George London, Alfred Rehder, Isabella Preston, Willa Cather, Geoffrey Hill, Gardener’s Guide to Compact Plants by Jessica Walliser, Ordering Spring Bulbs, Charles Joseph Sauriol, and Plants Growing Together

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Monologue I had to chuckle the other day as I was putting together my fall containers. The first thing I do when I transition from one season…

Naturalist Lets his Plants, Like his Interests, Intertwine

“My studies converge so why not the plants?” September 4, 1938 On this day, naturalist Charles Joseph Sauriol wrote in his journal about a common occurrence in gardens: plants growing together. He wrote: I set out plantations of Thyme, Rosemary, Tarragon, Mint, Caraway, in the Wild Flower garden which now becomes a herb garden as…