June Archives

Leonhard Rauwolf

The Town of Tripoli June 21, 1535 Today is the birthday of the German physician, botanist, and traveler Leonhard Rauwolf. For two years, between 1573 and 1575, he made a trip through the Near east to search for new herbal medicines. When he returned, he published a book with new botanical descriptions for his herbarium,…

Donald Culross Peattie

A Popular Nature Writer June 21, 1898 Today is the birthday of American botanist, naturalist, and author, Donald Culross Peattie. During his lifetime, Donald was regarded as the most read nature writer in America. He wrote about plants and nature. His book, Flowering Earth, was written for the layperson – explaining concepts like chlorophyll and protoplasm…

Thomas Hardy

The Hardy Tree June 2, 1840 Today is the birthday of the English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy. A Victorian realist like George Eliot, Thomas Hardy was a product of provincial England. A fan of John Milton, the Romanticism of William Wordsworth influenced his writing. He’s most remembered for his novels set in rural Wessex, Far…

Minnie Aumônier

Sugar Sweet Poetry June 2, 1865 Today is the birthday of the artist, costume designer, poet, and writer Minnie Aumônier (“o·mo·nyé”). Over the years, Minnie’s life story has passed into obscurity, although we know she was born into an artistic family. In 1876, her father, William, founded an architectural sculpture firm in London known as…

Richard Irwin Lynch

The Book of the Iris June 1, 1850 Today is the birthday of the gardener and author Richard Irwin Lynch. Richard learned to garden from his father, who was classically trained at Kew. By the time he was seventeen, Richard had followed in his father’s footsteps and worked at Kew – starting with herbaceous perennials…

Edith Wharton

Old Garden Magic June 1, 1937 On this day, the American writer and gardener Edith Wharton had a heart attack while staying at the country estate of her friend and co-author of The Decoration of Houses, the architect Ogden Codman. This event was the first of three heart attacks for Edith. She died on August 11…

All in June

by William Henry Davies A week ago I had a fire To warm my feet, my hands, and face; Cold winds, that never make a friend, Crept in and out of every place. Today the fields are rich in grass, And buttercups in thousands grow; I’ll show the world where I have been– With gold-dust…

A Review of Henry Austin Dobson’s Rose Poem: Beauty, Time, and the Fallacy of the Ephemeral

“For the roses, life with the gardener is a constant. They emerge in the spring, thrive in the summer, and go dormant as fall changes to winter – all under the care of Fontenelle.” October 24, 1885 On this day, a little poem about a rose by the English poet Henry Austin Dobson appeared in…

I Have Never Seen a Fairy

by Cicily Mary Barker I have drawn all the plants and flowers carefully, from real ones, but I have never seen a fairy… Note: Barker loved wildflowers, but she didn’t believe in fairies. Barker wrote the quote above in the foreword to Flower Fairies of the Wayside. As featured onThe Daily Gardener podcast:…

White Clover Fairy

by Cicily Mary Barker I’m little White Clover, kind and clean; Look at my threefold leaves so green; Hark to the buzzing of hungry bees: “Give us your honey, Clover, please!” Yes, little bees, and welcome, too! My honey is good, and meant for you! Note: Barker loved wildflowers, but she didn’t believe…

Forget-Me-Not Fairy

by Cicily Mary Barker So small, so blue, in grassy places My flowers raise Their tiny faces. By streams, my bigger sisters grow, And smile in gardens, In a row. I’ve never seen a garden plot; But though I’m small Forget me not! Note: Barker loved wildflowers, but she didn’t believe in…

Harry V. Harlan

Traveling Botanist It was on this day in 1924 that botanist Harry V. Harlan gave a presentation to the Science Club at Kansas State University about his Plant Exploration and travels in North Africa. Harlan made the trip by mule caravan over 59 days. In some villages, Harlan was the first English-speaking person ever to…

Dr. Henry Nehrling

The Land of Flowers It was on this day in 1974 that the Panama City News out of Panama City, Florida published a story about one of Florida’s most outstanding horticulturists: Dr. Henry Nehrling, who was an ornithologist, botanist, and plant breeder. It’s been said that during his lifetime, “Every plant lover in Florida knew…

The Glory of the Garden

by Rudyard Kipling Our England is a garden that is full of stately views, Of borders, beds and shrubberies and lawns and avenues, With statues on terraces the and peacocks strutting by; But the Glory of the Garden lies in more than meets the eye. For where the thick laurels grow, along the thin red…