Kew Archives

An Excerpt from Kew Horticulturist Carlos Magdalena’s Book: The Plant Messiah

The Plant Messiah by Carlos Magdalena (Paperback)

“I was shown into a small greenhouse with thirty numbered plant samples. I had to identify them all, sharing their genus species, family (if known), and common name.” On this day, in 2019, another fantastic book was published: The Plant Messiah by Carlos Magdalena. This is one of my favorite books because it gives us…

February 5, 2021 Carnation History, John Lindley, Karl Theodor Hartweg, Botanists Getting Home Alive, Cadwallader Colden by Seymour Schwartz, and Celebrating Friedrich Welwitsch

Today we celebrate a botanist and orchidologist who saved Kew, We’ll also learn about an orchid hunter who collected plants on behalf of the London Horticultural Society. We hear some words about the challenging experience of a botanist in 1874. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about one of America’s earliest botanists and…

January 13, 2021 Gardening Trends for 2021, John Gilbert Baker, Joseph Francis Rock, Holly, and Ivy with Beth Chatto, A Small Porch by Wendell Berry, and Helen Morgenthau Fox on Garden Cinderellas

Today we celebrate a man who was regarded as the most revered British field-botanist of his time. We’ll also learn about the botanist who considered China to be his real home. We’ll hear thoughts on holly and ivy from one of my favorite gardeners. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book of Sunday poems…

December 23, 2020 Six Great Perennials for Design, John Jay, Francis Masson, Ann Batten Cristall, The Grow Your Own Food Handbook by Monte Burch, and Mystical Mistletoe Is Historical Sprig

Today we celebrate a gardener who was also a Founding Father and a Governor of New York. We’ll also learn about a botanist who brought back the Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae “strel-IT-zee-ah REJ-in-ee”) as well as a plant that is now the oldest living potted plant at Kew. We hear a charming poem that…

November 27, 2020 Plant Seed Spacing, Albert Etter, Karl Foerster, Phebe Ann Holder, The Vegetable Garden Cookbook by Tobias Rauschenberger and Oliver Brachat, and the Bicentenary at Kew

Today we celebrate a one of a kind American plantsman and breeder who gave us the red-fleshed Pink Pearl apple. We’ll also learn about the German nurseryman and breeder who we know from a ubiquitous feather-reed grass. We’ll hear some lovely botanical poems from a New England poet. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a…

Charles Sumner Lambie

The Rare Orchid Breeder On this day, the Amarillo Daily News ran an article featuring Charles Sumner Lambie, who was a Denver area civil engineer by day and a rare orchid breeder by night. Charles grew up in Pittsburgh, tending the family garden. He later married Margaret McCandless, and together they raised nine children. As…

Leonard Cockayne

The Kiwi Botanist Today is the anniversary of the death of the great English-Kiwi botanist Leonard Cockayne. Leonard died when he was 79 years old. Today he is regarded as New Zealand’s most celebrated botanist. Leonard was born in England and was raised to explore and appreciate the natural world. As a child, Leonard loved…

Sir William Jackson Hooker

Tour in Iceland Today is the birthday of the great Sir William Jackson Hooker. Hooker was both a botanist and a botanical illustrator, and he was a great friend of Joseph Banks. Thanks to his inheritance, Hooker was wealthy; he didn’t need a patron to fund his work or expeditions. Hooker’s first expedition was to…

The Kew Gardener’s Guide to Growing House Plants by Kay Maguire

As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast: Today’s Book Recommendation: The Kew Gardener’s Guide to Growing House Plants: The art and science to grow your own house plants by Kay Maguire Which are delicate and which are indestructable? – We show how to find the right home for your plants and the right plants for…