The Colonial Garden Heritage at Rockingham

Rockingham Historic House and Gardens

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…

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A Child of the Forest – Heinrich Cotta’s Legacy

Heinrich Cotta

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 30, 1763 It was on this day that Heinrich Cotta [HINE-rick COT-ah] was born beneath the open sky of Kleine Zillbach [KLINE-eh TSIL-bock], Germany. His personal account of his origin story reads…

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The Secret Garden Life of Patrick Neill: Edinburgh’s Horticultural Hero

Patrick Neill (1776-1851), FRSE, courtesy The Royal Socicty of Edinburgh

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 25, 1776 It was on this day, dear listeners, that one of gardening’s most intriguing figures made his entrance into our world. Patrick Neill [PAT-rick NEEL] (October 25, 1776 – September 3,…

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Seeds of Wisdom: Martha Ballard’s 19th Century Garden Journal

Martha Ballard

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 16, 1809 On this day, Martha Ballard, the remarkable herbalist and midwife of Hallowell, Maine, recorded her work in her meticulously kept journal. Oh, my dear gardeners, I know how much you…

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The Botanical Brilliance of Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 2, 1519 On this day, the world bid farewell to Leonardo da Vinci, the mathematician, scientist, painter, and botanist. Ah, Leonardo, a true Renaissance man, a master of all trades. Like a…

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From Seeds to Stories: Henry Field’s Book of a Thousand Gardens

Henry Field with Display Garden in the Background

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 25, 1911 On this day in the annals of gardening history, a most remarkable exchange took place between two devoted horticulturists. Harry Radlund, a persistent gardener from Kilbourn, Wisconsin, shared his triumphant…

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Captain Phillip’s Persistent Plantings: The Birth of Australian Viticulture

Captain Arthur Phillip, 1786, by Francis Wheatley, oil painting, State Library of New South Wales

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 15, 1791 On this day, dear readers and fellow cultivators of the vine, we celebrate a most auspicious occasion in the annals of Australian horticulture: the planting of the continent’s first thriving…

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The Sweltering Summer of ’57: Horace Walpole’s Garden Woes

Horace Walpole by Rosalba Carriera, 1741

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 10, 1757 On this day, dear readers, we find ourselves transported to a time of sweltering heat and wilting gardens. The year is 1757, and the esteemed Horace Walpole, that prolific letter…

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The Tomato Chronicles: Mrs. Griggs’ Garden Triumph

Tomato Plants

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 8, 1912 On this day, dear readers and fellow garden enthusiasts, we find ourselves transported to the quaint town of Raymond, Nebraska, where a most remarkable tale of horticultural tenacity unfolds. Allow…

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A Simpling We Shall Go: Elias Ashmole’s Botanical Adventure

Elias Ashmole, 1688

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 6, 1648 On this day, dear readers, we find ourselves transported to a time when the pursuit of botanical knowledge was as thrilling as any modern-day adventure. Picture, if you will, the…

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The Lexicographer’s Garden: Noah Webster’s Verdant Vocabulary

Noah Webster

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 1, 1785 On this day, dear readers, we find ourselves in the company of one Noah Webster (a veritable library awaits the curious), a man whose name has become synonymous with the…

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Thomas Jefferson’s Floral Ballet: A Letter from Monticello

Thomas Jefferson

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 26, 1811 On this day, dear readers and fellow gardeners, we find ourselves privy to a most charming correspondence between the esteemed Thomas Jefferson and his granddaughter, Anne. As we delve into…

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Kate Lancaster Brewster: Cultivating Gardens and Communities

Kate Lancaster Brewster

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 26, 1921 On this day, dear garden enthusiasts, we find ourselves witness to a pivotal moment in the annals of horticultural history. Kate Lancaster Brewster, a veritable doyenne of the gardening world,…

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