Ralph Waldo Emerson: The Transcendentalist Who Found Nature’s Language

Ralph Waldo Emerson ca1857 retouched

“Intellectual Declaration of Independence” May 25, 1803 Today is the birthday of the American transcendentalist, essayist, philosopher, and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a son of Boston. By the time he finished his schooling at Harvard, he had decided to go by his middle name, Waldo. He was his class poet, and…

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The Deaf Botanist Who Mastered Mosses: Charles Leo Lesquereux

Leo Lesquereux, a prominent Swiss-American paleobotanist and bryologist.

Living with Nature November 18, 1806 Today is the birthday of a son of Switzerland, Charles Leo Lesquereux, (“le crew”), who was born on this day in 1806.   Leo was born with a naturalist’s heart. A self-described dreamer, Leo loved to go out into the forest, and he collected all kinds of flowers and…

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Charles Leo Lesquereux: Deaf Bryologist and Pioneer of Paleobotany

Charles Leo Lesquereux thumbnail image

The Botanist Born With a Naturalist’s Heart Today is the birthday of a son of Switzerland, Charles Leo Lesquereux, (pronounced “le crew”), who was born on this day in 1806.   Leo was born with a naturalist’s heart. A self-described dreamer, Leo loved to go out into the forest, and he collected all kinds of flowers…

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A Life Among Giants: Joseph Trimble Rothrock and His Beloved Trees

Joseph Trimble Rothrock (1839-1922), an American environmentalist known as the "Father of Forestry" in Pennsylvania.

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 9, 1839 On this day, Joseph Trimble Rothrock made his entrance into the world—a man destined to transform from a sickly child into the formidable “Father of Forestry.” The irony, dear readers,…

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April 9, 2019 Phebe Lankester, James Sowerby, Joseph Trimble Rothrock, Asa Gray, Louis Agassiz, Gardeners Question Time, Charles Baudelaire, Katie Daisy, the Toronto Archives, and Joseph Sauriol

The Daily Gardener Podcast Album Cover with a pot of rosemary - the herb for remembrance - beckoning gardeners to remember to listen to the show. Updated September 2025.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee  Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community Monologue Today’s thought is precisely that: How we think when we garden. Emerson wrote: Blame me not, laborious band, For the idle flowers I brought; Every aster…

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