Connecticut Archives

January 26, 2021 Five Secrets of Front-Yard Landscaping, Nikolai Vavilov, Eloise Ray, Katharine White on Bulbs in Pots, The Joy of Botanical Drawing by Wendy Hollender, and National Seed Swap Day the Pandemic Way

Today we celebrate the Russian botanist who sought to end world hunger and created a seed bank. We’ll also learn about a Landscape Architect known for her delicate illustrations and her love of realistic sculpture. We’ll hear some thoughts on growing bulbs in pots by one of my favorite gardeners. We Grow That Garden Library™…

January 18, 2021 Say No Thanks to Garden Shortcuts, Alan Alexander Milne, Rudyard Kipling, Thoughts on Thistles, A Year at Kew by Rupert Smith, and the Maple on the Canadian Dollar Bill

Today we celebrate the man who bought a forested property and wrote Winnie the Pooh. We’ll also learn about the poet who found fame and then gardening on a grand scale. We’ll hear some wonderful words about thistles. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a behind-the-scenes look at one of the World’s top gardens. And…

January 15, 2021 How to Grow and Care for Spirea Shrubs, the British Museum, Richard Buxton, Identifying Wildlife in the Winter Garden, A Year at Brandywine Cottage by David Culp, and The Garden of a Commuters Wife: Mabel Osgood Wright

Today we celebrate living virtually – we can tour one of the world’s greatest museums – which opened on this day in 1759. We’ll also learn about a man who endeared himself to his countrymen when he published a book about the plant life found within sixteen miles of his hometown. We’ll hear some thoughts…

The Dandelion in Connecticut

by Jack Sanders To many homeowners, the dandelion is little more than a prolific, pesky weed. However, this abundant yellow-flowering plant provides not only beauty but also food, drink, medicine, and even inspiration for poetry. Perhaps no one has praised the dandelion better than Wallace Nutting, the noted turn-of-the-century photographer and author. “The dandelion is…

January 14, 2021 The Transformation of a Yorkshire Garden, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, Marie-Anne Libert, Appreciating the Dandelion, A Taste for Nightshade by Martine Bailey and the Louisiana Garden Expert: Joe White

Today we celebrate one of my favorite botanical painters. We’ll also learn about a botanist who was one of the first female plant pathologists. We’ll hear some thoughts on the humble dandelion. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a fun fiction book that incorporates masterful recipes, mystery, secrets, conflict, and the garden. And then we’ll…

December 14, 2020 New Apple Variety in Wiltshire, John Claudius Loudon, Richard Hale Goodwin, John Bannister Tabb, Alchemy of Herbs by Rosalee De La Foret and the State Flower of Alabama

Today we celebrate the English garden writer who fell in love with one of the world’s first science fiction writers – and she turned out to be a woman. We’ll also learn about the Connecticut botanist and conservations who created a new undergraduate degree program he called Human Ecology. We’ll hear a delightful interview with…