Juan Ponce de León and the Naming of La Florida: A Festival of Flowers

Juan Ponce de León thumbnail image

Festival of Flowers Juan Ponce de León claims new land for Spain. He names his discovery La Florida; in a nod to the Easter Season, which the Spaniards called Pascua Florida (Festival of Flowers).   This post was featured onThe Daily Gardener podcast: helping gardeners find their roots, one story at a time Juan Ponce…

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The Ice Cream Vine: Colonel Johnston’s Tropical Wonderland

Colonel Henry Wallace Johnston

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 9, 1926 On this day, dear readers, the Green Bay Press-Gazette regaled its readers with a most extraordinary tale titled “Ice Cream Grown on Vine in the yard of Former Kentuckian.” One…

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