Marianne North: The Victorian Artist Who Painted the World’s Flora

Marianne North at her home in Ceylon in customary attire for women of the time

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 24, 1830 And it was on this day, my dear friend, that one of the most extraordinary botanical artists ever to wield a brush drew her first breath in Hastings, England. I…

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From Christmas Trees to Kew: Queen Charlotte’s Botanical Revolution

Princess Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, by Johann George Ziesenis, c.1761

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 17, 1818 On this day, England bid farewell to Queen Charlotte, the devoted wife of George III and a woman whose passion for horticulture left an indelible mark on the nation’s gardens.…

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Crimson, Scarlet, and Inky Blue: The Vibrant World of 1906 Tulips

Crimson Tulip

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 19, 1906 On this day, dear readers, we find ourselves transported to the verdant gardens of Edwardian England, courtesy of a delightful update on the tulip season from Country Life magazine. Prepare…

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The Kew Gardens Bicentenary: A Look Back

Kew Gardens

The Royal Botanic Gardens November 27, 1959   On this day, the Edmonton Journal wrote a little article about the Bicentenary at Kew: “Less than ten miles from the heart of London lies an area of nearly three hundred acres in which color, fragrance, and birdsong are the companions of research, learning, and economics. Here…

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A Gardener’s Legacy: Sir William Hooker’s Final Day at Kew

Sir William Jackson Hooker

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 12, 1865 Darling garden enthusiasts, it is with a heavy heart that I must report the passing of one of our botanical luminaries. On this day in 1865, Sir William Jackson Hooker,…

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Quinine, Quarrels, and Quiet Dignity: The Life of Botanist David Prain

David Prain

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 11, 1857 On this day in the quaint Scottish village of Fettercairn, a certain David Prain drew his first breath—a seemingly unremarkable event that would, in time, prove to be anything but.…

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Sir Joseph Banks: The Gentleman Who Preferred Plants to People

Joseph Banks

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 19, 1820 It was on this day in 1820 that Sir Joseph Banks, that most indomitable of botanical adventurers, departed this mortal garden for the great greenhouse beyond. One cannot help but…

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Trouser Cuffs and Taxonomy: The Remarkable Life of Sir Edward Salisbury

Sir Edward Salisbury

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 16, 1886 Today marks the birth of Sir Edward Salisbury, a botanist whose passion for plants would transform him from a curious child into one of Britain’s most distinguished botanical minds of…

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