Finding Heaven in the Sky – Alfred Sisley’s Garden Wisdom

Alfred Sisley, March 1863

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 30, 1839 Today, we find inspiration in the words of Impressionist painter Alfred Sisley, born on this day in Paris. Though primarily known for his landscapes, Sisley’s artistic philosophy offers profound wisdom…

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A Home in Bloom by Christie Purifoy

A Home in Bloom by Christie Purifoy

As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast: This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. A Home in Bloom by Christie Purifoy This book came out in April 2023, and the subtitle is Four Enchanted Seasons with Flowers. My dear garden…

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Life in the Garden By Bunny Williams

Life in the Garden by Bunny Williams

As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast: This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. Life in the Garden by Bunny Williams And now, my dear garden enthusiasts, let us turn to today’s book recommendation, one that I believe deserves a…

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Mark Twain’s Literary Garden: Where Wit Bloomed in an Octagonal Shed

Mark Twain portrait

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 30, 1835 On this day, dear readers and fellow gardeners, a most extraordinary seed was planted in the fertile soil of American literature. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, destined to bloom into the incomparable…

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October’s Son: Thomas Wolfe and the Poetry of Homecoming

Thomas Wolfe, Portrait by Carl Van Vechten, 1937

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 3, 1900 On this day, dear readers, we celebrate the birth of a literary luminary whose words have the power to transport us to the very heart of autumn’s melancholic beauty. Thomas…

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Sowing Seeds of Solace: Monty Don’s Gardening Philosophy

Monty Don

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 8, 1955 On this day, dear garden enthusiasts, we celebrate the birth of a true horticultural luminary – the incomparable Monty Don. Born in the green and pleasant land of England, Monty…

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Whitman’s Wild Garden: A Poet’s Ode to Nature’s Bounty

Walt Whitman, 1887

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 31, 1819 On this day, dear readers, we celebrate the birth of that most American of poets, Walt Whitman. A humanist and wordsmith extraordinaire, Whitman’s free verse has long been the soundtrack…

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Novels and Nature: Elizabeth Gaskell’s Flowering World

Elizabeth Gaskell miniature by William John Thomson, 1832. She loved the dog rose

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 29, 1810 Today we celebrate that most earnest observer of gardens and humanity, Elizabeth Gaskell, whose pen moved as deftly between social commentary and nature’s beauty as she moved between her writing…

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The Garden’s Secret Language: Francis Palgrave’s Floral Poetry

Francis Turner Palgrave, 1872

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 28, 1824 On this autumn day, when garden conversations turn to seasonal farewells, we celebrate the birth of Francis Turner Palgrave, whose poetic vision captured the mysterious dialogues that unfold daily in…

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September’s Philosopher: Henri Frederic Amiel’s Garden Wisdom

Henri Frederic Amiel in his 30s

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 27, 1821 My dearest gardening friends, as autumn’s gentle touch begins to paint our gardens in amber and gold, how fitting it is to recall the birth of Henri Frederic Amiel on…

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Mary Elizabeth Coleridge: A Gardener’s Poet in September’s Embrace

Mary Coleridge, 1883

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 23, 1861 Dearest garden loves, as autumn’s gentle touch begins to paint our gardens in shades of amber and gold, we find ourselves drawn to contemplate the poetic nature of this transitional…

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Southern Gardens in Literary Bloom: The World of Fannie Flagg

Fannie Flagg, 1972

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 21, 1944 My dearest garden enthusiasts, on this day, we celebrate the birth of a most delightful chronicler of Southern life, one whose words capture the intoxicating beauty of garden-scented Southern nights…

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Strange Flowers and Time Machines: H.G. Wells’ Garden Connection

H.G. Wells by George Charles Beresford, 1920

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 21, 1866 Dearest garden enthusiasts, today we celebrate the birth of a most peculiar and fascinating soul – one Herbert George Wells, who wrote as H. G. Wells. His connection to gardens…

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Stevie Smith’s Garden Wisdom: The Dual Nature of Lilacs

Stevie Smith at her desk

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 20, 1902 My dearest garden enthusiasts, on this day we find ourselves contemplating the fascinating intersection of poetry and horticulture through the lens of one of England’s most distinctive voices. Today marks…

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