March 15, 2021 The Rule of 3 For Pollinator Plants, Archibald Menzies, Liberty Hyde Bailey, Roy Lancaster Remembers a Snow Gum Tree, Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway, and the Indiana State Flower

20200101 The Daily Gardener Album Cover

Today we celebrate the man who introduced Europe to the Piggyback Plant – it’s now a popular houseplant. We’ll also learn about the man who was an early evangelist for gardening and working with Mother Nature. We hear an excerpt from a book by a celebrated plantsman as he discusses a beloved snow gum tree.…

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Roy Lancaster

Roy Lancaster

Orchid Smugglers On this day, British plant explorer Roy Lancaster revealed that a thriving black market for plants was threatening rare Chinese orchids. In the same way, an art collector might buy stolen works of art underground; elite plant collectors are the wealthy clients of orchid smugglers. Lancaster shared the plight of Paphiopedilum armeniacum (“paff-ee-oh-PED-ih-lum…

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July 10, 2020 The Berries Migratory Birds Prefer, Favorite Garden Blogs, Parsley & Shade Trees, Asa Gray, Melville Thurston Cook, Elvin McDonald, Spiranthes parksii, Roy Lancaster, Summer Poetry, The Flower-Powered Garden by Andy Vernon, and Peruvian Black Rose Sickness

20200101 The Daily Gardener Album Cover

Today we celebrate the man who established the science of botany in America. We’ll also learn about the botanist who survived a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness – an incredible story. We celebrate a presentation from 1977 that encouraged, “Take a pill if you will; I say take a plant to cope with everyday…

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Roy Lancaster

Roy Lancaster

A Black Market for Plants In 1988, British plant explorer Roy Lancaster revealed that a thriving black market for plants was threatening rare Chinese orchids. In the same way, an art collector might buy stolen works of art underground; elite plant collectors are the wealthy clients of orchid smugglers. Lancaster shared the plight of Paphiopedilum…

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July 10, 2019 Parsley, Asa Gray, Melville T. Cook, Elvin McDonald, Spiranthes parksii, Roy Lancaster, Theodore Roethke, Perennial Garden Plants by Graham Stuart Thomas, Planting Shade Trees, and Bewitched

20200101 The Daily Gardener Album Cover

Are you growing parsley? I am. But I generally only plant the flat-leaf variety – since the curly leaf parsley is used mainly as a garnish. Parsley is a member of the Umbelliferae family, which also includes celery, carrots, dill, cilantro, caraway, cumin, and the poisonous hemlock.     Brevities #OTD On this day in…

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