The Dangerous World of Rare Orchids: A Tale of Beauty and Deception

Orchids in bloom

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 13, 1989 On this day, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune published a story that lifted the veil on the shadowy world of rare orchid trading. The article focused on Limerick Inc. and an alleged…

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

Warren H Manning

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…

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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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John Bradby Blake: The Young Botanist Who Bridged East and West

John Bradby Blake

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 4, 1745 On this day, we celebrate the birth of the English botanist John Bradby Blake [BRAD-bee BLAKE].  Though he lived a tragically short life – dying at just twelve days after…

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A Gardener’s Last Spring: Remembering Edward Ward

St Mary's church, Troston

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 31, 1804 On this day, gardener Edward Ward laid down his trowel for the last time. He was 92. Edward wasn’t just any gardener – he was part of an extraordinary lineage…

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The Explorer’s Rose: John Cabot’s Lasting (and Thorny) Impact

John Cabot on the Matthew

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 2, 1497 On this day, John Cabot, the intrepid Canadian Explorer, set sail from Bristol, England, on his ship, Matthew. Little did he know that his quest for a westward route would…

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

Hulda Klager

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…

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A Life Among Leaves: The Botanical Journey of Ethel Zoe Bailey

Ethel Zoe Bailey and her father, L. H. Bailey

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 17, 1889 On this day, a most remarkable woman entered the world, one whose life would become as intertwined with botany as the most tenacious of climbing vines. Ethel Zoe Bailey, daughter…

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Tulip Time Machine: From Joseph Breck’s Garden to Ours

Joseph Breck, colorized

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 20, 1858 On this day, dear readers, we find ourselves transported to the mid-19th century, where Joseph Breck, in his seminal work The Flower Garden, Or Breck’s Book of Flowers, shares his…

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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…

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The Garden Revolutionary: Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell’s Natural Legacy

Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell by Clemens Zimmermann, after 1808

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 13, 1750 On this day, my dearest fellow gardening enthusiasts, we celebrate the birth of a true revolutionary in the art of landscape design – Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell. And what a…

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From Yangtze to Your Garden: The Extraordinary Life of Frank Nicholas Meyer

Frank N Meyer and the Meyer Lemon

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 28, 1918 On this day, the intrepid Dutch-American botanist and USDA Plant Explorer, Frank Nicholas Meyer, embarked upon his final journey. With a heavy heart and weary bones, Frank boarded a steamer…

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