Sir Jean Chardin: Unearthing the Secret Language of Persian Tulips

Sir Jean Chardin

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 16, 1643 On this day, dear readers, we celebrate the birth of Sir Jean Chardin, a French jeweler whose life sparkled with adventure and whose pen captured the essence of distant lands.…

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May 20, 2022 National Pick Strawberries Day, Ludwig Leichhardt, Tulips by Joseph Breck, Pi Beta Ph spring party, Cuke Season in Blackville, Garden Maker by Christie Purifoy, and Dahlia Facts

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.

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 National Pick Strawberries Day Strawberries—our strewn berries—wear their seeds on the outside (about 200 each), belong to the rose family, and fuel…

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May 19, 2022 The Dark Day, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Tulips, Ruskin Bond, The Modern Cottage Garden by Greg Loades, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Leo Tolstoy

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.

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 1780 The Dark Day dimmed New England by late morning—candles at lunch, animals to roost, prayers said—later recalled in Whittier’s verse and…

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The Dreamlike Bouquets of Jan Davidsz. de Heem

Jan Davidsz. de Heem

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 26, 1684 On this day, the Dutch master of still-life, Jan Davidsz. de Heem, slipped quietly from this world. His brush, however, continues to stir the senses with blossoms that never truly…

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Jim Salyards and the Silent Spring at Filoli During COVID-19

Jim Salyards

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. March 25, 2020 Dearest reader, On this day, Jim Salyards, the dedicated Director of Horticulture at the grand Filoli Center, found himself wandering a silent paradise. The famed estate and its 16-acre formal…

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How Cornelia Vanderbilt’s Wedding Day was Saved by Biltmore’s Gardeners

Cornelia Vanderbilt walking the aisle

“In 2001, the Biltmore commemorated the 75th anniversary of the wedding with a month-long celebration among 2,500 blooming roses in June.” April 29, 1924 Today is the wedding day of Cornelia Vanderbilt. This year (2021) marks her 95th wedding anniversary.   When Cornelia married British nobility, the diplomat John Cecil, the wedding flowers had been…

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A Garden of Innocence and Virtue: Ann Taylor’s Blossoms in Verse

Ann Taylor (1782-1866), a notable English poet and children's author. She is best known for her collaborations with her sister Jane Taylor, particularly on influential collections of poetry like Original Poems for Infant Minds and Rhymes for the Nursery.

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. A portrait of Ann Taylor (later Ann Gilbert), a notable English poet and literary critic, best known for her contributions to…

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Tulipomania by Mike Dash

Tulipomania by Mike Dash

As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast: Tulipomania by Mike Dash This book came out in 2000, and the subtitle is The Story of the World’s Most Coveted Flower and the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused. Tulipomania by Mike Dash isn’t your average history book. It’s a captivating tale of tulips, obsession, and the world’s first…

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