South Africa Archives

February 15, 2021 Pioneer Trees for the Forest Garden, Archibald Menzies, Ernest Henry Wilson, The Gardener-Botanists of the 1927 South Africa Expedition, Dried Flowers by Morgane Illes, and Garden Design Tips from David Stevens

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.

December 23, 2020 Six Great Perennials for Design, John Jay, Francis Masson, Ann Batten Cristall, The Grow Your Own Food Handbook by Monte Burch, and Mystical Mistletoe Is Historical Sprig

Hormones in Birth Control Pill Spur Plant Growth

The image displays Mentha pulegium, commonly known as Pennyroyal.

“South African botanists have discovered that a birth control pill pushed into the soil next to a plant stem can produce dramatic effects on growth and improve foliage.” September 10, 1981 On this day, the Lancaster New Era out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, published this news from Cape Town: South African botanists have discovered that a…

The Botanical Queen: Bertha Stoneman’s South African Legacy

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 30, 1943 On this day, the botanical world lost one of its most illustrious figures when Bertha Stoneman, that remarkable American transplant who took root and flourished in African soil, breathed her…

Jumping Through Windows: The Extraordinary Life of South Africa’s Great Plant Collector Elsie Elizabeth Esterhuysen

Colorized photo of Elsie Elizabeth Esterhuysen with one of her namesake flowers in the background

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 11, 1912 On this day, the botanical world received a gift it scarcely deserved—the birth of Elsie Elizabeth Esterhuysen, a South African treasure who would go on to become what modest society…