Posts Tagged ‘plant expeditions’
From Altar to Arbor: The Fruitful Union of David and Marian Fairchild
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 25, 1905 On this most auspicious day, dear garden enthusiasts, we celebrate the union of two extraordinary souls: the eminent botanist David Fairchild and his beloved Marian Graham Bell, daughter of the…
Read MoreAgnes Chase: The Fearless Grass Botanist Who Held the Earth Together
The Grass Studier April 29, 1869 Today is the birthday of a botanist who was a petite, fearless, and indefatigable person: Agnes Chase. Agnes was an agrostologist—a studier of grass. A self-taught botanist, her first position was as an illustrator at the USDA’s Bureau of Plant Industry in Washington, D.C. In this position, Agnes…
Read MoreAven Nelson: Father of Wyoming Botany and the Yellowstone Expedition
The Father of Wyoming Botany March 24, 1859 Today is the birthday of the American botanist, who specialized in the Rocky Mountains, Aven Nelson. In 1899, Aven led a 14-week botanical expedition through Yellowstone. Aven had hired a student named Leslie Goodding to be the chore boy for $10 per month. The group assembled at…
Read MoreHoward Scott Gentry: The Elder Statesman of Agaves
Agave Man November 13, 1982 On this day newspaper shared a great story about the author of “Agaves of Continental North America,” Howard Scott Gentry: “This elder statesman of the botanical world [is] a first-class charmer when you get …. to his subject;… his love for the wilds of Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico, …the…
Read MoreCharles Budd Robinson: The Tragic Tale of a Dedicated Plant Explorer
Doctor Flower Today is the anniversary of the tragic death of the Canadian botanist Charles Budd Robinson who died on this day in 1913. After receiving his doctorate, Charles had spent five years working at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). His time at the Botanic Garden gave him the experience necessary to become an…
Read MoreBill Burtt: The Botanical Champion Who Brought African Violets to Our Homes
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 27, My dearest garden confidantes, on this most auspicious day, we celebrate the birth of that remarkable English botanist, Brian Lawrence “Bill” Burtt – a man whose green thumbs worked wonders that…
Read MoreFrom Riches to Ruins: Ellen Willmott’s Horticultural Legacy
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 19, 1858 Today is the birthday of Ellen Ann Willmott, that formidable English horticulturalist born in 1858, my darling green-thumbed confidants. A woman after my own heart, though perhaps with sharper thorns…
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