Spring Archives

May 1, 2023 May Day, Karl Friedrich von Gaertner, Phebe Holder, Thomas Hoy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily’s Fresh Kitchen by Emily Maxson, and Calvin Fletcher

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1772 Karl Friedrich von Gaertner, German botanist, is born. 1890 Phebe Holder’s poem, A Song of May, appeared in newspapers this month.…

A Victorian Ode to May: Phebe Holder’s Botanical Poetry

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 1, 1890 On this day in horticultural history, the enchanting poem “A Song of May” by the esteemed New England poet and gardener Phebe Holder graced the pages of newspapers, captivating readers…

The Pastor’s Passion: George Herbert Engleheart and His Daffodil Devotion

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 25, 1851 On this day, dear garden enthusiasts, the world welcomed a true horticultural hero into its midst. George Herbert Engleheart, an English pastor with a divine passion for daffodils, drew his…

September 23, 2021 Small Flowering Shrubs, Horace Walpole, Mary Coleridge, Dayton University Botanical Park, the National Nlower, Alice Hoffman, Will Bonsall, and Edgar Lee Masters

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an English earl, an English poet, a forgotten garden, and a national floral emblem. We hear a floral excerpt from a best-selling fiction book – it’s a little love story about an extraordinary woman who gave birth to a painter who became the Father of Impressionism. We Grow That…

May 12, 2021 Garden Therapy for Dementia, Florence Nightingale, Manitoba’s Prairie Crocus, Spring at Green Gables, Natural Affairs by Peter Bernhardt, and National Limerick Day

Today we celebrate a woman named after Florence, Italy, and who loved flowers her entire life. We’ll learn about the Floral Emblem of Manitoba. We hear an excerpt about spring at Green Gables. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about the relationship between people and plants. And then we’ll wrap things up with…

April 30, 2021 Goodbye April, Alice B. Toklas, Édouard Manet, A Perfect Spring Day, Liquid Gold by Roger Morgan-Grenville, and the Adirondack Botanical Society

Today we celebrate the woman who was the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein – and we’ll hear all about their wonderful garden at Bilignin. We’ll also learn about the French modernist painter known for his peonies and peony art. We’ll hear an excerpt about a perfect spring day. We Grow That Garden Library™…

April 29, 2021 Forsythia, Hunter’s Home Diary, Agnes Chase, Toni Morrison on spring, Life Among the Texas Flora by Minetta Altgelt Goyne, and Cornelia Vanderbilt

Today we celebrate the botanical pastimes of two young women in Oklahoma back in 1850. We’ll also learn about a female botanical pioneer who specialized in grasses. We’ll hear some thoughts on spring from a beloved American author. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book featuring the letters from a Texas pioneer botanist. And…

Honoring Flora – the Goddess of Flowers and Spring – in Lore and History

“Today, carpology studies fruits and seeds, and carp is the fruiting body of a fungus. The Latin term Carpe diem or Seize the day could also be considered Make the day fruitful.” On this day, April 27, the Romans honored Flora – the goddess of flowers and spring. Today, the word flora is a…

April 27, 2021 Groundcover Options, Thomas Church, Tulip Clusiana, The First Fine Spring Days, Lawn Gone! by Pam Penick, and Flora the Goddess of Spring

Today we celebrate a 20th-Century Landscape Architect who focused on his client’s desires and needs. This effort to personalize his work made him incredibly successful. We’ll also learn about a species Tulip praised for its hardiness and peppermint candy appearance. We’ll hear some thoughts about the first fine spring days. We Grow That Garden Library™…

April 23, 2021 Isabel Bannerman on Scented Plants, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Simple Flowers, Kitchen Garden Revival by Nicole Johnsey Burke, and English Bluebells for St. George

Today we celebrate the birthday of the greatest playwright who ever lived – and he incorporated over 200 seeds, flowers, fruits, herbs, grasses, and trees into his large body of work. We’ll also learn about Wordsworth’s favorite flower – lesser celandine (“sell-ANN-dine”). We’ll hear some words about the flowers we often fall in love with…

April 21, 2021 Seven Top Indoor Herbs, John Muir, Benjamin Maund, Spring in Paris, Kinship of Clover by Ellen Meeropol, and Frances Perry on Ferns

Today we celebrate a man who found all the answers to life in nature, and we still learn from his profound observations today. We’ll also learn about a botanist and publisher who found fame and forged meaningful connections with top botanical illustrators and horticulturists of his time. We’ll hear an excerpt about spring in Paris…

April 16, 2021 Robbie Hart in the Himalayas, Ellen “Nelly” Thayer Fisher, Sir Edward James Salisbury, Amy Seidl on spring, Japanese Garden Design by Marc Peter Keane, and National Orchid Day

Today we celebrate a botanical artist who learned to paint from her famous younger brother. We’ll also learn about a botanist who was fascinated with seed dispersion and weeds. We’ll hear a little snippet about spring from an author and ecologist. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about the cultural significance behind Japanese…

April 15, 2021 Propagating Your Favorite Herbs, Elisabeth Christina von Linné, Francis Hallé, Christina Rossetti, A Wilder Life by Celestine Maddy, and Alexander Garden

Today we celebrate a Swedish botanist with a famous father who observed flashes of light emitting from her nasturtiums. We’ll also learn about a modern-day forest advocate and conservationist on a mission to create something he calls a primary forest in France. We’ll hear a poem about spring from the charming Christina Georgina Rossetti. We…

April 13, 2021 The Arts and Crafts Movement, Eudora Welty, Mary Strong Clemens, The Rush of Spring, Imperial Nature by Jim Endersby, and International Plant Appreciation Day

Today we celebrate a writer and avid gardener who, as an adult, gardened beside her mother for decades. We’ll also learn about a botanist and prolific plant collector who traveled along with her minister husband as he worked in the Philippines. We hear some thoughts about how quickly spring goes by. We Grow That Garden…