Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux: The Critic’s Garden at Auteuil

Boileau by Jean Baptiste Santerre c. 1678

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 1, 1636 Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (pronounced “nee-koh-LAH bwah-LOH day-pray-OH”) was born on this day in Paris. Boileau was a French poet and critic whose garden became a sanctuary for some of the greatest…

Read More

In Praise of Fallen Leaves: Cyril Connolly’s Garden Wisdom

Cyril Connolly

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 10, 1903 On this day, dear readers of the garden and admirers of literary wit, we celebrate the birth of Cyril Connolly, whose sharp pen and keener eye would forever change how…

Read More

Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Poet of Nature and Romantic Vision

Samuel Taylor Coleridge thumbnail image

Youth and Age Today is the birthday of the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who was born on this day in 1772. Along with his friend, William Wordsworth, Coleridge started the Romantic Movement and was a member of the Lake Poets, a group of English poets who lived in the Lake District of England during…

Read More