Pollinators Archives

Lobelia’s namesake: Mathias de l’Obel and the botanical tale of beauty and toxicity

An inspired portrait of Mathias de l'Obel (colorized and enhanced based on a sketch)

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. March 3, 1616 Dearest reader, On this day, the botanically inclined world welcomes the arrival of Mathias de l’Obel (“ma-TEE-us dew Lew-bell”), a Flemish physician whose gentle wisdom forever changed our understanding of…

March 2, 2021 Gardens Matter to Pollinators, Joel Roberts Poinsett, John Jacob Mauerer, A Spring Flower Show, Fermented Vegetables by Kirsten and Christopher Shockey and the State Flower of Idaho

The Daily Gardener Podcast Album Cover with a pot of rosemary - the herb for remembrance - beckoning gardeners to remember to listen to the show. Updated September 2025.

Rachel Carson’s Maine Awakening: How One Summer Led to Silent Spring

A Summer in Maine On this day, the environmentalist Rachel Carson arrived in Maine and she promptly fell in love with the state. That summer, she rented a cabin on the Sheepscot River. She wrote: “The only reason I will ever come back is that I don’t have brains enough to figure out a way…