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…

Read More

The Extraordinary Garden of Mahdi Obeidi: The Bomb Beneath the Lotus Tree

Dr. Mahdi Obeidi

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 2, 2003 On this day, dear garden enthusiasts, we find ourselves transported to a rose garden in Iraq, where a tale of intrigue and horticulture intertwines like the most tenacious of vines.…

Read More