Orchid Archives

Celebrating National Orchid Day with Orchid Lovers

“Orchids were not made by an ideal engineer; they are jury-rigged from a limited set of available components.” Today is National Orchid Day. It has been observed annually on April 16th since 2015. Orchids are my new go-to order from the florist. If I need to give a gift, I’ll send an orchid because…

April 6, 2021 The ‘Plant for Peace, Johann Zinn, California Poppy Day, North With the Spring, Happy Orchid by Sara Rittershausen, and the Florida botanist Alvan Chapman

Hi there, and Welcome to the Daily Gardener – a show about gardening, botanical history, and literature. Today we celebrate the man who is remembered with the much-loved Zinnia We’ll also learn about the California Poppy and California Poppy Day, which is celebrated today. We hear one of my favorite passages about springtime. We Grow…

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 12, 2021 The Perfect Cup of Herbal Tea, Jean Jules Linden, Edred John Henry Corner, Linneas’s Stark Funeral Instructions, A Rum Affair by Karl Sabbagh, and James Henry Salisbury’s War on Fruit and Vegetables

Today we celebrate a descriptive rare orchid hunter who changed the way orchids were cared for. We’ll also learn about the man who was held as a prisoner at the Singapore Botanical Garden during WWII. We’ll hear about the stark funeral instructions left by Carl Linnaeus. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about…

Gilbert L. Campbell

Floral Cartoucherist November 12, 1972 On this day The Greenville News shared an article called Orchidist Finds Hobby Versatile. The orchidologist was Gilbert L. Campbell. During six years of collecting, Gilbert amassed more than 300 plants – in addition to a library of orchid reference materials. Orchid lovers can grow orchids all year long indoors in their…

November 12, 2020 Arthur Shurcliff, Gilbert Campbell, Mavis Batey, Hyacinth by Saadi, The Seed Garden by Lee Buttala, Shanyn Siegel, and Henry Clay Mitchell

Today we celebrate the Landscape Architect who had an affinity for boxwoods. We’ll also learn about a passionate orchidologist who shared some advice back in 1972. We salute the English WWII code breaker who became a one-woman force for garden conservation and restoration. We’ll hear a verse about the Hyacinth – one of my favorite…

Orchid Modern by Marc Hachadourian

As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast: Today’s book recommendation: Orchid Modern by Marc Hachadourian Marc Hachadourian is the senior curator of the incredible orchid collection at the New York Botanical Garden, and his book, Modern Orchids, is outstanding. The subtitle for the book is Living and Designing with the World’s Most Elegant Houseplants – so true,…

How an Agave Changed Benedict Roezl’s Life Forever and Spurred Him to Become the World’s Top Orchid Hunter

“Even though Benedict was 6’2″ tall and used an imposing iron hook for a hand, Benedict was robbed 17 times and once even attacked by a jaguar while he hunted for orchids.” November 4, 2019 On today’s show, the Plant Explorer and orchidologist Benedict Roezl’s plant collecting was featured in a story about the Arizona…

The Orchid Hunter by Leif Bersweden

As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast: The Orchid Hunter by Leif Bersweden This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle of the book is A Young Botanist’s Search for Happiness. Bersweden was 12 years old when he asked his mom about plants. He’s continued to learn about them ever since. At 19,…

The Viral 1930s Article Featuring Plant Explorer Frank Kingdon-Ward and his Botanical Adventures

“On another of his Tibetan expeditions, he discovered the blue poppy, a flower sought by all horticulturists in this country and obtained by few.” July 1, 1932 On this day, newspapers worldwide ran a fascinating article about the botanist Frank Kingdon-Ward titled “Plant Explorer Finds Adventure.” Here’s what the Altoona Mirror out of Altoona, Pennsylvania,…

The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean

As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast: The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean This book came out in 1998, and the subtitle is A True Story of Beauty and Obsession. Imagine, darling reader, a tale spun with the luminescence of orchids and the madness of explorers! Susan Orlean, a writer of keen wit, invites us…