Posts Tagged ‘Missouri Botanical Garden’
The Geodesic Genius: Celebrating R. Buckminster Fuller
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 12, 1895 On this day, dear readers, we celebrate the birth of a most extraordinary individual, one Richard Buckminster Fuller. An American polymath of the highest order, Fuller graced this world with…
Read MoreThe Plant List: How Missouri Botanical Garden Led a Global Effort to Standardize Plant Names
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. March 30, 2003 Dearest reader, On this day, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram brought to light a challenge as vast and intricate as a sprawling hedge maze: the monumental task of naming every plant…
Read MoreOmar Khayyam: The Poet of Roses, Stars, and Eternal Gardens
The Persian Poet May 18, 1048 Today is the birthday of the Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet Omar Khayyam (“Ky-yem”). In 1859, the British writer Edward FitzGerald translated and published Omar’s signature work, The Rubáiyát (“Rue-By-yat”). In The Rubáiyát, Omar wrote some beautiful garden verses: “I sometimes think that never blooms so red The rose that grows where some…
Read MoreAbel Aken Hunter: The Orchid Hunter of Panama’s Jungles
An Extraordinary Orchid Collection May 11, 1928 On this day, Abel Aken Hunter shared some of his orchid collection at the Third Annual National Orchid Show held at Madison Square Garden. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported: “A mile of orchids, representing every known variety and worth more than $1,000,000 may be seen in the exhibit.” Abel…
Read MoreJanuary 4, 2021 Invasive Garlic Mustard, Stephen Hales, Johanna Weterdijk, Eleanor Perenyi, Winter Garden Thoughts, A Life in Shadow by Stephen Bell, and Garden Trivia for National Trivia Day
Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Curated News Invasive Species Spotlight: Garlic Mustard | Washington Gardener | Jacqueline Hyman Botanical History On This Day 1761 Death of Stephen Hales, English clergyman–botanist who proved…
Read MoreAugust Henry Kramer: The Fire Lookout Who Painted Botanical Masterpieces
“Buried Blossoms” November 20, 1989 On this day in 1989, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch shared an incredible story called Buried Blossoms by Patricia Rice, which shared the story of the long lost work of the botanist August Henry Kramer. Here’s what it said: “After 40 years in basements, [Kramer’s] collection of 493 botanical watercolors…
Read MoreAlwyn Howard Gentry: The Botanist Who Collected 70,000 Plants in the Amazon
The Tropical Botanist Today is the anniversary of the death of the American botanist Alwyn Howard Gentry. The year was 1993 when Alwyn’s life was tragically cut short when his plane crashed in fog into a forested mountain during a treetop survey in Ecuador. At the time, Alwyn was just 48 years old and at…
Read MoreHenry Shaw: Founder and Philanthropist Behind Missouri Botanical Gardens
Shaw’s Garden It’s the birthday of the man who created the Missouri Botanical Gardens, also known as “Shaw’s Garden,” or “Hank’s Garden” – the great horticulturist and botanical philanthropist Henry Shaw. Henry is celebrated on the St. Louis Walk of Fame with this epitaph: “Henry Shaw, only 18 when he came to St. Louis, was…
Read MoreThe Philadelphia Botanical Club’s First Pilgrimage to Bartram’s Garden
A Horticultural Landmark Today the Philadelphia Botanical Club took their very first field trip to Bartram’s Garden. In 1850, Andrew McCalla Eastwick (1806-1879), an engineer and the inventor of the steam shovel, bought the 46-acre Bartram estate from John Bartram’s granddaughter, Ann Bartram Carr. Eastwick had banked a personal mint after building railroads for Czar…
Read MoreGeorge Engelmann: Founding Botanist of Missouri Botanical Garden and Savior of the French Wine Industry
The Savior of French Wine January 29, 1879 On this day, the physician and botanist George Engelmann lost his wife, Dorothea. Dorothea was also his cousin, and the couple married in their native Germany before immigrating to the United States. Engelmann had settled in St Louis, Missouri. George and Dorothea had one son, George Jr -…
Read MoreAlwyn Howard Gentry: The Botanist Who Collected 70,000 Plants in the Rainforest
70,000 Plant Collection Today is the 75th birthday of the American botanist Alwyn Howard Gentry. Gentry’s life was tragically cut short when his plane crashed in fog into a forested mountain during a treetop survey in Ecuador. At the time, Gentry was just 48 years old, and he was at the peak of his career.…
Read MoreAugust Henry Kramer: The Forgotten Fire Lookout Whose Botanical Art Took Breath Away
Watercolor Flowers On this day in 1989, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch shared an incredible story called Buried Blossoms by Patricia Rice, which shared the story of the long lost work of the botanist August Henry Kramer. “After 40 years in basements, [Kramer’s] collection of 493 botanical watercolors was scrutinized by two local art appraisers. You…
Read MoreWildflower Whisperer The Botanical Legacy of Edgar Denison: Missouri’s
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 14, 1993 Oh, my darling petal-pushers! Today marks the anniversary of the departure of that most magnificent botanical soul, Edgar Walter Denison, who enchanted Missouri with his wildflower wisdom. Our beloved plant…
Read MoreGreen Legacy: How Henry Shaw’s “Little Ones” Transformed American Gardens
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 24, 1800 On this day, the illustrious Henry Shaw drew his first breath upon this mortal coil – a man whose green thumbs would later transform the botanical landscape of America with…
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