garden preservation Archives

Beatrix Farrand’s 1916 Vision for the NYBG’s Rose Garden

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 18, 1916 On this day, renowned landscape architect Beatrix Farrand (FAIR-rand) created a visionary rose garden plan for the New York Botanical Garden. This garden would become one of the most significant…

How Nell Gwyn Won Bestwood Park: A Garden History Tale

Unknown woman thought to be Nell Gwynn by Peter Lely

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 14, 1687 Today in garden history, we remember Eleanor “Nell” Gwyn, who died at the age of 37 in her Pall Mall house in London. Known as “pretty, witty Nell” by diarist…

Remembering Margaret Mitchell and the Botanical Aspects of Gone With the Wind

Margaret Mitchell arrives at the film premiere of Gone With The Wind in Atlanta, December 1939.

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 8, 1900 Margaret Mitchell, the American southern writer of Gone with the Wind, is born. Her friends and family called her Peggy. Margaret grew up in Georgia, surrounded by relatives who had…

The Colonial Garden Heritage at Rockingham

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 7, 1783 On this day, General George Washington penned his historic Farewell Address to his troops at Rockingham, marking a pivotal moment in American history. Today, this historic site continues to tell…

From Wild Gardens to City Planning: Warren Manning’s Living Legacy

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 7, 1860 Today, we celebrate Warren H. Manning, a visionary landscape architect whose birth was commemorated by his father with the planting of an elm tree – a fitting tribute for a…

Breaking Ground: Ellen Biddle Shipman’s Garden Legacy

Ellen Shipman (colorized), 1890, Streeter collection

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 5, 1869 Today we celebrate the birth of Ellen Biddle Shipman, a woman who found her voice in the whispers of flowers and her strength in the structure of garden walls. Ellen…

Saving Summer: The Indoor Garden Encore

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 4, 1994 On this day, garden writer Barbara Pleasant finished writing her article about extending summer’s joy through winter by bringing our beloved bedding plants indoors. The article appeared in the Montgomery…

The Pink Lady of Woodhills: Cora Older’s Legacy

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 24, 1875 And it was on this day in 1875, my dear friend, that a remarkable woman who would come to be known as “The Pink Lady” was born in Clyde, New…

The Lilac Days of 1928: Hulda Klager’s Floral Phenomenon

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 2, 1928 On this day, a horticultural marvel unfolded as folks lined up to see the lilacs bloom at Hulda Klager’s place in Woodland, Washington. The air was thick with the intoxicating…

Mount Vernon’s Green-Thumbed Guardians: The MVLA Story

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 2, 1874 On this day, dear gardening enthusiasts, we find ourselves transported to a moment of great significance in the preservation of America’s horticultural heritage. It was on this very date that…

Beauty Without Bounds: The Democratic Garden Vision of Annette Hoyt Flanders

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 16, 1887 Dearest garden enthusiasts, today we celebrate the birth of a remarkable woman who championed both the grand and humble garden with equal passion. Born in Milwaukee, Annette Hoyt Flanders was…

The Quiet Revolutionary: Marian Coffin’s Garden Legacy

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 16, 1876 Dearest garden enthusiasts, while suffragettes and revolutionaries may not trumpet her name, today we celebrate a quiet revolutionary who transformed American landscape architecture through sheer determination and artistic brilliance. Young…

Behind the Walls: Susan Campbell’s Kitchen Garden Legacy

Susan Campbell, founder of Walled Kitchen Garden Network

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 14, 1931 On this day, we find ourselves transported back to when the horticultural world welcomed Susan Campbell (née Benson) – a remarkable figure whose passion for walled kitchen gardens would transform…