America’s First Bug Whisperer: The Birth of Thomas Say

Thomas Say

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 27, 1787 On this day, the naturalist Thomas Say drew his first breath in this world – a man destined to revolutionize how Americans understood the crawling, buzzing creatures that shared their…

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June Was Made for Happiness

June Meadow

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…

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The Backyard Scientist: Margaret Morse Nice’s Legacy

Margaret Morse Nice

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 26, 1974 On this day, we remember the departure of a most remarkable woman from our earthly garden – the ornithologist Margaret Morse Nice, who has taken flight to join her beloved…

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Iron Revolution: When Charles Newbold’s Plow Changed Gardening Forever

Charles Newbold

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 26, 1797 On this day, our agricultural history was forever altered when one Charles Newbold, a man of considerable foresight and iron determination, patented the first cast-iron plow. Yes, dear readers, while…

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A Botanist’s Bounty: Dr. Charles Parry’s 15,000 Species Legacy

Dr. Charles Christopher Perry

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 26, 1880 On this day, the Chicago Tribune revealed to its readers the horticultural treasure trove of one Dr. Charles Christopher Parry—a herbarium containing no fewer than 15,000 species, presented with all…

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The Thing I Care Most About

The Thing I Care About Most

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

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The Plant is Blind

George Orwell

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

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Beauty is meaningless

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…

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The Man Who Created Melbourne’s Marvel: Remembering William Robert Guilfoyle

William Robert Guilfoyle

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 25, 1912 Dear readers, gather ’round for a most delicious morsel of horticultural gossip. Today marks the final chapter in the extraordinary life of William Robert Guilfoyle, that masterful manipulator of landscape…

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Nathaniel Britton: The Artist-Botanist Who Drew His Own Path

Nathaniel Lord Britton

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 25, 1934 On this day, we mark the anniversary of the demise of one Nathaniel Lord Britton, an American botanist and taxonomist who shuffled off this mortal coil. While the scientific community…

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The Secret Garden of George Orwell

George Orwell

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 25, 1903 On this day, the incomparable George Orwell made his entrance into our world – a man whose pen would later carve truths into the collective consciousness of society with such…

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The Remarkable Rise and Tragic Fall of Botanist David Douglas

David Douglas

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 25, 1799 It was on this day in 1799 that the Scottish botanist David Douglas graced our world with his arrival – a man destined to transform our gardens while possessing neither…

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