A farewell among the flowers: William Barnes’s garden elegy

Portrait of William Barnes (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. February 22, 1801 Dearest reader, On this day, we honor the birth of William Barnes, an English polymath whose life was a splendid tapestry woven with words, inventions, and a love for languages—over…

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Thomas Hardy’s Garden of Words: Literature, Landscapes, and Legacy

Thomas Hardy with the Hardy Tree 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. June 2, 1840: the English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy was born. Thomas Hardy, the Victorian realist whose novels and poems continue to captivate readers, was a product of provincial England, his imagination…

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June 2, 2021 Thirty Days Wild, Thomas Hardy, Minnie Aumônier, Secret Gardens of Paris by Alexandra D’Arnoux and Bruno De Laubadere, Norton Juster, a Spelling Bee, and Botanical Latin

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.

How to bring more nature into your day and take part in 30 Days Wild | CountryFile Botanical History On This Day 1840 Birth of Thomas Hardy, the celebrated English poet and novelist. Inspired by rural Wessex, Hardy’s writings often drew on the cycles of nature and garden imagery—his home and gardens, preserved by the National…

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