September Archives

Arthur Shurcliff

Engineer to Architect Today is the birthday of the Landscape Architect Arthur Shurcliff who was born on this day in 1870. Shurcliff’s path to Landscape Architecture was not clear cut. His dad had been a successful businessman. Arthur was supposed to follow in his dad’s footsteps and become a Mechanical Engineer. But after receiving his…

Dr. Ernest H. Wilson

The Joys of Gardening Today, in 1930, Dr. Ernest H. Wilson, also known as “Chinese” Wilson, spoke at a banquet room at the Hotel Bond as part of the Connecticut Horticultural Exposition. Wilson’s speech drew loud applause when he predicted that people would have more and more spare time on their hands in the future.…

Daniel Cady Eaton

America’s First Pteridologist Today is the birthday of America’s first pteridologist, Daniel Cady Eaton, who was born on this day in 1834. A pteridologist is a person who studies ferns. The botanist Charles Frost told a charming story about how Eaton had fallen in love with ferns after going on a walk with his fiancé.…

Agatha Christie

Greenway Gardens On this day in 1959, The Illustrated London Newsshared a fantastic image of Agatha Christie and her gardener holding large trophies for their entries at the Brixham Horticultural Flower Show. In the photo, Christie’s gardener is grasping three trophies, and Agatha, wearing a bright floral dress, looks pleased as punch to be holding…

The Design a Gardener Imposes

by Beverley Nichols The design [a gardener] imposes must be constantly modified and sometimes totally transformed by a hand stronger than his own— the hand of Nature. Maybe the art of gardening is simply the knowledge of how to hold that hand, and how to clasp it in friendship. Note: All week long, The…

José Celestino Mutis

The Flora of Granada Today is the anniversary of the death of the Spanish priest, botanist, physician, and naturalist José Celestino Mutis who spent almost 50 years in Columbia, where he is regarded as a national treasure for his scientific work. In the 18th century, Columbia and the area around it was known as New…

Lyman Bradford Smith

The Biking Botanist Today is the birthday of the Harvard and Smithsonian botanist, taxonomist and plant collector Lyman Bradford Smith who was born on this day in 1904. Although his mother homeschooled him, it was his mother’s Aunt Cora that nurtured his love of horticulture. He went to college and pursued botany at Harvard, where…

Rudolph Jacob Camerarius

Discovery of Sexes in Plants Today is the anniversary of the death of Rudolph Jacob Camerarius, the botanist who demonstrated the existence of sexes in plants. He died in 1721. Camerarius was born in Germany. He was a professor of natural philosophy. He identified and defined the male parts of the flower as the anther,…

September 11, 2019 Roadside Chicory, Rudolph Jacob Camerarius, José Mutis, Lyman Bradford Smith, Beverley Nichols, Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening by Matt Mattus, Cold Frame Prep, and September Asters

If, throughout the summer, you found yourself driving down the road and spying a little electric blue blossom by the side of the road, chances are, you are looking at chicory. Listener Danny Perkins shared a post at the end of August sharing beautiful photos of chicory. A few years ago, I used to drive…

A Poem for the Aster: September’s Birth Flower

“Who longs for May-time blossoms? Who cares for roses sweet? When all September’s Asters Are flowering at our feet.” September 11, 2019 September’s birth flower is the Aster. Asters offer that happy yellow face encircled with rayed petals. Asters are part of the sunflower or daisy family. The Aster is named from the Greek word…

People Who do Not Like Geraniums

by Beverley Nichols Long experience has taught me that people who do not like geraniums have something morally unsound about them. Sooner or later, you will find them out; you will discover that they drink, or steal books, or speak sharply to cats. Never trust a man or a woman who is not passionately devoted…

A Small, Sad, Neglected-Looking Pink or Peony

by Beverley Nichols If you are picking a bunch of mixed flowers, and if you happen to see, over in a corner, a small, sad, neglected-looking pink or peony that is all by itself and has obviously never had a chance in life, you have not the heart to pass it by, to leave it…

David Hosack

Doctor to Alexander Hamilton Today, in 1806, the botanist David Hosack wrote to Thomas Jefferson about Lewis and Clark. If his note brings a smile, it’s because Hosack sounds just like every gardener through the ages. Here’s what he wrote: “If sir the gentlemen who are at present on their travels to the Missouri discover…

Richard Spruce

The Underdogs of the Plant World Today is the birthday of the amateur English botanist who was obsessed with tiny and seemingly unexciting plants like mosses and liverworts, Richard Spruce, who was born on this day in 1817. After attracting the attention of Sir Joseph Hooker and George Bentham, of Kew Gardens, Spruce left England…