Posts Tagged ‘Plant Explorer’
February 8, 2021 The Gardening Doctor, John Ruskin, Henry Walter Bates, Winter Gardening Attire, Concrete Garden Projects by Camilla Arvidsson and Malin Nilsson and Jane Austen’s 1807 Letter to Her Sister Cassandra
Today we celebrate an English critic who wrote some of our most beautiful quotes about gardens, nature, and flowers. We’ll also learn about a dedicated English naturalist who lived in the Rainforest for eleven years and provided ample proof of Darwin’s theory of evolution. We hear words from a gardener and nursery owner about gardening…
Read MoreWilliam Ernest Powell Giles
by Anita Silvey In 1874, the English botanist WEP Giles (William Ernest Powell) explored the vast deserts of central Australia. Setting out with his hunting partner from a base camp at Fort McKellar, he discovered a leak in one of his large water bags. The two men decided to continue, even though the temperature had…
Read MoreHow 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…
Read MoreThe Boy and the Plant Explorers: The Power of Faith in the Pursuit of Plants
“Upon reaching the party of botanists the boy turned to the man who had made the proposal and said, ‘Sir, this is my father. I’ll go into the valley, if you’ll let mv father hold the rope!'” October 7, 1930 On this day, the newspaper in Union, Missouri, published a short story called “Unique Loyalty”…
Read MoreThe 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,…
Read MoreThe Young Plant Explorer Ludwig Leichhardt and his Doomed Trip to the Australian Wilderness
“Botanical and geological specimens thus abandoned-how disappointing! From four to five thousand plants were thus sacrificed…” May 20, 1846 On this day, the German botanist Ludwig Leichhardt wrote a letter to his botanist contact and friend, Gaetano Leone Durando, in Paris. Ludwig’s letter conveys the extreme difficulties and dangers faced by the early plant explorers.…
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