Posts Tagged ‘Mock Orange’
A Writer’s Eden: Virginia Woolf’s Day of Gardening Bliss
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 31, 1920 On this day, dear gardening enthusiasts, we find ourselves transported to a quaint corner of England, where a 37-year-old Virginia Woolf, that luminary of literature, found herself elbow-deep in the…
Read MoreHow a California Art Teacher Named Emma Edwards Green Designed the Idaho State Seal and included the State Flower: the Mock Orange
“The story of how the Mock Orange became the Idaho State Flower is one of luck.” March 2, 1931 On this day, Idaho adopted the Mock Orange as the official State Flower. In the 1800s, the Mock Orange was known as the Syringa. The story of how the Mock Orange became the Idaho State…
Read MoreGarden Writer Tovah Martin Beats the Winter Doldrums with Scented Plants
“One word of caution: One person’s perfume is another’s stench.” January 29, 1998 On this day, The Courier-Journal out of Louisville, Kentucky, ran an article by Tovah Martin called “Winter is the Best Time for Scented Plants.” Here’s an excerpt: “In spring, there are violets, but who wants to crawl around sniffing flowers 2 inches…
Read MoreVictor Lemoine: The Master Breeder Who Gave Us Lilacs, Peonies, and Garden Beauty
Lemoine and the Lilac Today is the birthday of the French flower breeder Victor Lemoine, who was born on this day in 1823. We owe a debt of gratitude to Lemoine for enhancing the beauty of so many flowers in our gardens: lilacs, mock-oranges, phlox, peonies, gladiolus, tuberous begonias, geraniums, and deutzias. Around the year…
Read MoreLiterary Hands in Garden Soil: Virginia Woolf’s “Pure Joy”
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 31, 1920 On this day, dear readers, while society’s attention was undoubtedly scattered among the frivolities of late spring, Virginia Woolf found herself engaged in that most noble and grounding of pursuits—gardening.…
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