When Williamsburg Bloomed: John Custis’s Garden Vision

John Custis IV, by Charles Bridges, 1725

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 14, 1749 On this day, John Custis IV, an American planter, politician, government official, and military officer, died. His garden legacy has recently captured headlines as archaeologists uncover what was once colonial…

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From Amazon to Windsor: The Water Lily Tale

Water lily pads form a floating community

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 13, 1849 On this day, a most extraordinary presentation took place at Windsor Castle. Queen Victoria, known for her love of botanical wonders, was about to encounter her magnificent namesake – the…

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Never Against Nature: Thomas Hanbury’s La Mortola

Thomas Hanbury and La Mortola

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 2, 1867 On this day, Thomas Hanbury, a man of discerning taste and boundless ambition, purchased a property that would become a testament to his love of nature and his desire to…

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From Altar to Arbor: The Fruitful Union of David and Marian Fairchild

David (holding bouquet) and Marian after their wedding 1905

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 25, 1905 On this most auspicious day, dear garden enthusiasts, we celebrate the union of two extraordinary souls: the eminent botanist David Fairchild and his beloved Marian Graham Bell, daughter of the…

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Georgia O’Keeffe: The Modernist Gardener of Canvas

O'Keeffe in 1932, photograph by Alfred Stieglitz

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 15, 1887 On this day, dear readers and fellow admirers of nature’s beauty, we celebrate the birth of a true American treasure: Georgia O’Keeffe, the modernist artist whose brush strokes forever changed…

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Fulham’s Floral Paradise: Bishop Henry Compton’s Exotic Eden

Bishop Henry Compton, Portrait by Godfrey Kneller (1712)

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 7, 1713 On this day, dear readers, we bid farewell to Henry Compton, Bishop of London from 1675 to 1713. While his role in English political and religious circles was indeed significant,…

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Winter: The Man Who Democratized Exotic Gardening Ludwig

Ludwig Winter

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 9, 1846 My darling green-thumbed companions, it was on this day that the German botanist and internationally-regarded landscape architect Ludwig Winter was born. A visionary, if I may be so bold to…

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