Therese of Bavaria: The Princess Who Found Freedom in Flowers

Princess Therese of Bavaria sketch c. 1810 (colorized and enhanced).

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 12, 1850 On this day, Princess Therese of Bavaria (teh-RAY-zuh of buh-VAIR-ee-uh), was born.  This remarkable woman found her true calling not in the gilded halls of Bavaria’s royal palaces but in…

Read More

The Lady of Lucy’s Wood – Evelyn Mary Booth

Evelyn Wood in Lucy's Wood photo credit Lady Rosemary FitzGerald

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 30, 1897 On this day, Evelyn Mary Booth was born at Annamoe [AN-ah-moh], County Wicklow, Ireland. Her story is a beautiful reminder that it’s never too late to find your true calling…

Read More

The Walking Botanist: Celebrating Charles Wright

Charles Wright botanist

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 29, 1811 Today we celebrate the birthday of Charles Wright born on this day in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Wright embodied the spirit of botanical exploration in early America, becoming one of the most…

Read More

A Count’s Legacy: The Botanical Adventures of Hippolyte François Jaubert

Hippolyte François Jaubert c. 1860

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 28, 1798 Today we celebrate Count Hippolyte François Jaubert [ee-po-LEET frahn-SWAH zho-BEAR], a fascinating figure who bridged the worlds of politics and botany in 19th century France. Though his heart yearned for…

Read More

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

Basil Christian and wife at their home on the Ewanrigg Aloe Gardens c. 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

Marianne North: The Victorian Artist Who Painted the World’s Flora

Marianne North at her home in Ceylon in customary attire for women of the time.

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 24, 1830 And it was on this day, my dear friend, that one of the most extraordinary botanical artists ever to wield a brush drew her first breath in Hastings, England. I…

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

From mantle to mountainside: The botanical journey of Marcus E. Jones

Marcus E. Jones

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 25, 1852 Dearest reader, On this day, we celebrate the birth of Marcus E. Jones, a man whose life story unfurls like a grand botanical romance, blending the rugged adventure of the…

Read More

Mountains of Wonder: Patrick Synge’s Botanical Adventures

Patrick Synges tombstone

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 17, 1910 Dearest garden enthusiasts, today we celebrate the birth of Patrick Millington Synge, a British botanist whose adventures in African plant hunting and subsequent leadership at the Royal Horticultural Society would…

Read More

The Plant Hunter’s Tale: Engelbert Kaempfer’s Botanical Legacy

Engelbert Kaempfer

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 16, 1651 My dearest garden enthusiasts, on this most remarkable day, we turn our attention to a true pioneer of botanical exploration, whose legacy blooms eternal in gardens across the globe. On…

Read More

First Lady of Mount Kinabalu: The Remarkable Legacy of Lilian Gibbs

Lilian Gibbs Plant Explorer

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 10, 1870 On this day in horticultural history, we find ourselves transported to an era when botanical discovery required more than merely consulting The Garden magazine or ordering from the latest nursery…

Read More