Henry Clay Mitchell Archives

Remembering Henry Clay Mitchell Garden Writer and Dog Lover

Earthman November 12, 1993 Today is the anniversary of the death of Washington Post columnist and gardener Henry Clay Mitchell. Henry wrote mainly about gardening and miscellaneous aspects of his daily Washington life. Pragmatic and humorous, Henry’s garden advice struck a chord with his readers. His weekly garden advice was compiled into two bestsellers named…

November 12, 2020 Arthur Shurcliff, Gilbert Campbell, Mavis Batey, Hyacinth by Saadi, The Seed Garden by Lee Buttala, Shanyn Siegel, and Henry Clay Mitchell

Today we celebrate the Landscape Architect who had an affinity for boxwoods. We’ll also learn about a passionate orchidologist who shared some advice back in 1972. We salute the English WWII code breaker who became a one-woman force for garden conservation and restoration. We’ll hear a verse about the Hyacinth – one of my favorite…

January 7, 2020 Blue in the Garden for 2020, Paris in Bloom, George Clifford III, Mary Somerset, David Landreth, Ignatz Urban, January Rhymes, The Essential Earthman by Henry Clay Mitchell, S-Hooks, and Eliza Amy Hodgson

Today we celebrate the wealthy Dutch banker who bought enough plants to fill a book for a young Carl Linnaeus and a royal gardener who is an ancestor of Princess Diana. We’ll learn about the man who started the first seed company in America and the German botanist buried in the Botanical Garden he curated…