Erwin Frink Smith Archives

Erwin Frink Smith

Peach Yellows January 21, 1854 Today is the birthday of the Washington DC-based USDA botanist Erwin Frink Smith. Erwin had attempted to solve the problem of the peach yellows – a disease caused by a microorganism called a phytoplasma, and it was affecting Peach Orchards. It was called the Peach Yellows disease because the main…

January 21, 2021 Hillside Landscaping Ideas, Erwin Frink Smith, Rae Selling Berry, Rosemary Verey’s Thoughts on Patterns, American Grown by Michelle Obama, and Going Nuts on National Squirrel Appreciation Day

Today we celebrate one of my favorite botanists and his personal story of love and love of poetry and nature. We’ll also learn about an extraordinary gardener who could grow anything – and I mean anything. We’ll hear Rosemary Verey’s thoughts on patterns. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a behind-the-scenes look at the 2009…

The Sentimental Botanist: Erwin Frink Smith

“Erwin may not have solved the peach yellows problem, but he was a peach of a guy. In researching Erwin, I discovered a rare combination of kindness and intellect.” January 21, 1854 On this day, the Washington DC-based USDA botanist Erwin Frink Smith was born. Erwin had attempted to solve the problem of the peach…

January 21, 2020 The Winter Greenhouse, Ten Unusual Veggies to Grow, John Frémont, Robert Thornton, Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan, National Squirrel Appreciation Day, Snow Riddle, The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Plastic Saucers, and Erwin Frink Smith

Today we celebrate a man known as “The Pathfinder” and the birthday of a man who impoverished himself writing a book in tribute to Carl Linnaeus. We’ll learn about the woman who was as passionate about botany as she was assisting with the war effort and today’s National Day that celebrates a garden creature. (Hint:…

May 9, 2019 Your Impact on Your Garden, Alexandre Cassini, Lewis and Clark and Le Page, the Delaware State Flower, Hewett Watson, A Nation in Bloom, Matthew Biggs, Prune Time, and Erwin Frink Smith

Take two gardeners. Have them grow up learning to garden from the same person. Have them read the same books on gardening. Have them go to the same gardening workshops. Have them tour the same public gardens. Yet, their gardens will look different from each other. Unique. Gardens are art. They are personal. Remember…

Botanist Erwin Frink Smith’s Memories of His Dear Wife Charlotte

“Had she cared for classification, which she did not, and been willing to make careful records, she might have become an expert naturalist.” May 9, 1888 On this day, the Peach Blossom was voted in as the Delaware State Flower. Peach blossoms are beautiful. The fruit is botanically known as a drupe. By 1875, Delaware…