June Archives

Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz

A Teacher at Heart Anniversary of the death of Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz. Agassiz was an American naturalist, an educator, and the first president of Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She grew up in an intellectual family. In 1856, she married the Swiss naturalist, Louis Agassi. She became an intimate part of his life and…

Thomas Say

The Father of Entomology It was on this day in 1787 that the naturalist Thomas Say was born. Say was born to a Quaker family and was a relative of the Bartrams. Say grew up making frequent visits to their botanic garden on the banks of the Schuylkill River Say was one…

June Was Made for Happiness

by Annette Wynne Why was June made? Can you guess? June was made for happiness! Even the trees Know this, and the breeze That loves to play Outside all day, And never is too bold or rough, Like March’s wind, but just a tiny blow’s enough; And all the fields know This is so— June…

Dr. Charles Christopher Perry

Perry and Pine It was on this day in 1880, that the Chicago Tribune wrote an article about the herbarium of Dr. Charles Christopher Perry; it contained 15,000 species and it was being presented to the Davenport Academy of Sciences. Thirty years earlier, in 1850, Perry had written to the botanist John Torrey,…

Margaret Morse Nice

A Close Bond with Nature And it’s the anniversary of the death of the ornithologist, Margaret Morse Nice, who died on this day in 1974. Nice developed a close bond with nature, especially birds; it was deepened with her hobby of gardening and frequent walks. In 1939 nice wrote these words in the…

Charles Newbold

Inventor of the Cast-iron Plow It was on this day in 1797, that Charles Newbold patented the first cast-iron plow. Farmers were worried that the iron would negatively affect the soil. This post was featured onThe Daily Gardener podcast: helping gardeners find their roots, one story at a time Charles Newbold

Beauty is meaningless

by George Orwell So often like this, in lonely places in the forest, he would come upon something — bird, flower, tree — beautiful beyond all words, if there had been a soul with whom to share it. Beauty is meaningless until it is shared. As featured onThe Daily Gardener podcast: Words inspired by the…

The Thing I Care Most About

by George Orwell Outside my work, the thing I care most about is gardening, especially vegetable gardening. As featured onThe Daily Gardener podcast: Words inspired by the garden are the sweetest, most beautiful words of all. George Orwell

The Plant is Blind

by George Orwell The plant is blind but it knows enough to keep pushing upwards towards the light, and it will continue to do this in the face of endless discouragements. As featured onThe Daily Gardener podcast: Words inspired by the garden are the sweetest, most beautiful words of all. George Orwell

William Robert Guilfoyle

Architect of the World’s Greatest Botanical Landscape Today is the anniversary of the death of the landscape gardener and botanist William Robert Guilfoyle, who died on this day in 1912. Guilfoyle was the architect of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. It took Guilfoyle over 35 years to transform the Botanic Gardens into…

Nathaniel Lord Britton

Inspired by the Kew Gardens It’s the anniversary of the death of Nathaniel Lord Britton; an American botanist and taxonomist who died on this day in 1934. Britton married the famous bryologist Elizabeth Gertrude Knight. Together, they used Kew Gardens in London as their inspiration for the New York Botanical Garden. Britain and…

George Orwell

A Breath of Fresh Air And it was on this day in 1903 that the author George Orwell was born. Over the past few decades, Orwell’s diaries have been made public. Across from his entry for October 3, 1946, there is a map for a fruit and vegetable garden. Orwell hoped to set up…

David Douglas

Exploring Identification It was on this day in 1799, the Scottish botanist David Douglas was born. Douglas was responsible for the identification of over 200 new plant species in North America including the famous Douglas-fir. Douglas never received a formal education, and he was primarily a plant collector rather than a published scientist.…

Locked Into its Roots

by John Ciardi Every word has a history. Every word has an image locked into its roots. Note: Today is the birthday of the poet John Ciardi who was born on this day in 1916. As featured onThe Daily Gardener podcast: Words inspired by the garden are the sweetest, most beautiful words of…