Danske Dandridge: The Gardener-Poet of Rose Brake

Danske Dandridge

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 19, 1854 On this day, Danske [“DAN-sker”] Dandridge, poet, historian, and garden writer, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her story begins with a diplomatic posting—her father, Henry Bedinger, served as President James…

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

Beatrix Farrand

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…

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The $5.5 Million Garden Album: Empress Josephine’s Botanical Treasure

Pierre-Joseph Redouté

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 15, 1985 On this day, a phenomenal piece of botanical history changed hands at Sotheby’s auction house: Empress Josephine’s personal copy of Pierre-Joseph Redouté’s (pee-AIR zho-ZEFF reh-doo-TAY) botanical watercolors for “Les Liliacées”…

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William Wordsworth Landscape Designer: A Winter Garden Made with Poetry

William Wordsworth

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 15, 1806 On this day, William Wordsworth received a life-changing invitation from Lady Margaret Willes Beaumont to design and build a winter garden at her estate in an old gravel quarry. This…

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From Amazon to Windsor: The Water Lily Tale

Water lily pads form a floating community

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 13, 1849 On this day, a most extraordinary presentation took place at Windsor Castle. Queen Victoria, known for her love of botanical wonders, was about to encounter her magnificent namesake – the…

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Friends, Foes, and Foreign Trees: America’s Great Cherry Blossom Debate

Cherry Trees around the basin

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 13, 1909 On this day, Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson (WIL-sun) sent what seemed like a routine notification to the plant industry office in Seattle. Little did anyone know this simple message…

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Beyond The Thinker: Auguste Rodin’s Horticultural Haven

Auguste Rodin

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 12, 1840 On this day, Auguste Rodin (oh-GOOST roh-DAN), the great French sculptor, was born. A man who found the divine in both marble and flowers – Auguste Rodin would ultimately earn…

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A Gentle Voice from the Garden: Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald

Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 8, 1922 On this day, as the last mountain ash berries gleam against pewter skies, we remember Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald, whose poetic voice still echoes through the gardens of Maritime Canada. Today…

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The Father of American Dendrology: Remembering Humphry Marshall

Depiction of Humphry Marshall by Adrian Martinez, 2016

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 5, 1801 On this day, America lost one of its pioneering botanists, Humphry Marshall. His legacy as the “Father of American Dendrology” continues to influence our understanding of native trees and shrubs…

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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…

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Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux: The Critic’s Garden at Auteuil

Boileau by Jean-Baptiste Santerre, 1678

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 1, 1636 Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (pronounced “nee-koh-LAH bwah-LOH day-pray-OH”) was born on this day in Paris. Boileau was a French poet and critic whose garden became a sanctuary for some of the greatest…

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A Poet’s Garden: Celebrating John Keats’ Natural World Legacy

John Keats by William Hilton

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 31, 1795 On this day, John Keats was born into a world he would later capture through some of the most vivid botanical imagery in English poetry. Though his life was tragically…

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The Gardener’s Pen: Remembering Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

Mary E. Wilkins at her home (colorized and enhanced) from the inside cover of The people of our neighborhood (1898)

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 31, 1852 On this day, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, one of America’s most remarkable chroniclers of New England garden life, was born in Randolph, Massachusetts. ]Though primarily known for her fiction, Freeman’s…

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