Posts Tagged ‘Plant Explorer’
David Fairchild: The Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed America’s Gardens and Diets
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 7, 1869 Dearest reader, On this day, we commemorate the birth of a true pioneer of plant exploration, David Fairchild, whose tireless curiosity and daring spirit transformed American gardens and tables alike.…
Read MoreWilliam Baldwin: The Quaker Physician and Botanist Who Explored the American Southeast
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. March 29, 1779 Dearest reader, On this day, we remember the birth of William Baldwin, a pioneering American physician and botanist whose adventurous spirit led him into the verdant wilds of Georgia, Florida, Latin…
Read MoreJoseph Rock: The Adventurous Botanist Who Mapped China’s Botanical Treasures
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. February 24, 1963 Dearest reader, On this day, The Anniston Star of Alabama published a touching retrospective on the life and adventures of Joseph Rock, the great Austrian-American botanist and explorer, who had…
Read MoreThe Prince of Alpine Gardeners: Reginald Farrer’s Life of Exploration and Rock Gardening
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. February 17, 1880 Dearest reader, On this day, the earth welcomed Reginald Farrer — the legendary English rock and alpine gardener, plant explorer, nurseryman, writer, painter, and, dare I say, one of the…
Read MoreFrom Mangroves to Mountains: The Keen Eyes of Glenn Leiper
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 1, 2019 Dearest reader, On this day, the verdant stage of Australian botany saw one of its most devoted amateurs crowned with high honor. Glenn Leiper, a man whose eyes seem more…
Read MoreFrancesco Franceschi: California’s Pioneer of Exotic Plants and Mediterranean Gardens
Channel Island Challenges March 12, 1843 Today is the birthday of the Italian-American horticulturist Francesco Franceschi (“fran-CHESS-ko fran-CHESS-key”). Born in Italy, Francesco changed his name after coming to America and settling in Santa Barbara, California. With a temperate Mediterranean climate, Santa Barbara became a haven for plant lovers in the 1800s. Francesco’s work elevated him…
Read MoreAndré Michaux: The French Botanist Who Brought Camellias to America
Long-Live Love and Loyalty March 8, 1746 Today is the birthday of the French botanist and explorer André Michaux. Most people think of André Michaux as the accomplished old botanist, but I always prefer to recall the beginning of his story because that’s what set him on his course. André grew up on a royal…
Read MoreFebruary 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
Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Curated News The Gardening Doctor | Words and Herbs Botanical History On This Day 1819 Birth of John Ruskin, the Victorian English art critic, thinker, and philanthropist.…
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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