Posts Tagged ‘pleasure gardens’
Remembering Martha Turnbull and her Rosedown Plantation Diary
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 25, 1973 My dear garden friends, let me transport you back exactly 50 years to a charming story that began with a simple newspaper article about two extraordinary plantsmen. “No Garden Should…
Read MoreA Night at Ranelagh: Horace Walpole’s Garden Escapade
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 26, 1742 On this day, dear readers, we find ourselves transported to the world of 18th century London, where the illustrious Horace Walpole penned a most intriguing letter to his friend Horace…
Read MoreThe Eccentric’s Garden: William Beckford’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. September 29, 1760 Today, we celebrate the birthday of William Beckford as we contemplate the complex legacy of his wealth – derived from the unconscionable enslavement of Jamaicans – which funded his passionate…
Read MoreFrancis Bacon’s Garden of Philosophy: Pleasure Walks and Timeless Wisdom
Of Gardens Today is the birthday of the English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon. Francis wrote a splendid essay called “Of Gardens.” The essay contains many quotable thoughts on gardening – although the opening line is the most quoted. “God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures. It…
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