The Dangerous World of Rare Orchids: A Tale of Beauty and Deception

Orchids in bloom

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 13, 1989 On this day, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune published a story that lifted the veil on the shadowy world of rare orchid trading. The article focused on Limerick Inc. and an alleged…

Read More

The Accidental Aloe Enthusiast: Harold Basil Christian’s Botanical Legacy

Basil Christian and wife at their home on the Ewanrigg Aloe Gardens, 1948

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 28, 1871 On this day, Harold Basil Christian [KRIS-tee-un] was born. His journey into botany began with an “unsightly rock” and turned into one of the world’s most important aloe collections. Born…

Read More

The Tree That Kept Time: Ludwig Leichhardt’s Last Garden

Ludwig Leichhardt

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 23, 1813 It was on this day in 1813, as autumn leaves were turning in Prussia, that Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt was born. And oh, what a reminder his story is of…

Read More

Wildflower Whisperer The Botanical Legacy of Edgar Denison: Missouri’s

Edgar Walter Denison

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 More

The Golden Orchid Scandal: How Collectors Devastated a Species

Roy Lancaster

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 10, 1988 On this day, a most scandalous revelation shook the genteel world of horticulture to its very foundations. The esteemed British plant explorer Roy Lancaster—that intrepid adventurer of verdant realms—pulled back…

Read More

The Last Fern: William Williams’ Fatal Passion for Botany

William Williams' tombstone

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 27, 1861 On this day, dear fellow plant enthusiasts, we reflect on a somber tale from the annals of botanical history. The Courier and Argus of Dundee, Scotland, reported the untimely demise…

Read More

The Horticultural Heiress: Enid Haupt’s Blooming Legacy

Enid Annenberg Haupt

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 13, 2006 It’s the birthday of Enid Annenberg Haupt – a woman whose green fingers and even greener wallet transformed the horticultural landscape of America forever. One might say she bloomed rather…

Read More

From Seed to Celebration: National Public Gardens Week Blooms Again

National Public Gardens Week

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 13, 2019 At last, dear horticultural enthusiasts, the time has come to don your finest gardening attire and prepare for a week of verdant festivities! For today marks the commencement of National…

Read More