Therese of Bavaria: The Princess Who Found Freedom in Flowers

Princess Therese of Bavaria (sketch is colorized & enhanced), 1810

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…

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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…

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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…

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

Hippolyte François Jaubert (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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Mountains of Wonder: Patrick Synge’s Botanical Adventures

Patrick Synge's 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…

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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…

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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…

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George Yatskievych Finds Endangered Plant in His Own Backyard

Running Buffalo Clover

“You spend all this time and effort looking for this in nature…. (The discovery) was so unexpected.” January 27, 1994 On this day, The South Bend Tribune, out of South Bend, Indiana, shared an article by Doug Glass called “Botanist Finds Endangered Plant in His Garden.” “For someone who makes his living studying plants, George Yatskievych…

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James McBride: From Orphan’s Cradle to Botanical Immortality

Macbridea alba

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 17, 1784 On this day, dear readers, we commemorate the birth of James McBride, a physician and botanist whose life story reads like a testament to the power of human perseverance and…

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