rural life Archives

From Muckraker to Garden Maker: Ida Tarbell at Twin Oaks

Ida Tarbell portrait with flowers (colorized and enhanced).

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 5, 1857 On this day, Ida Tarbell was born – a woman who would become known for exposing Standard Oil’s monopolistic practices but who found her greatest peace tending to her beloved…

Simple pleasures in flowers: Mary Russell Mitford’s heartfelt garden reflections

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 22, 1812 Dearest reader, On this day, Mary Russell Mitford—a distinguished English novelist, poet, and playwright known for her vivid sketches of rural life—wrote to Sir William Elford, revealing her heartfelt appreciation…

A Garland for John Clare: Nature’s Eternal Song and Summer’s Busy Choir

John Clare, an English poet known as the "peasant poet".

Today’s Garden Words were featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. Words inspired by the garden are the sweetest, most beautiful words of all. John Clare, an English poet born in 1793. July 13, 2020 Today we remember the English poet John Clare, born on…