Danske Dandridge: The Gardener-Poet of Rose Brake

Danske Dandridge

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 19, 1854 On this day, Danske [“DAN-sker”] Dandridge, poet, historian, and garden writer, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her story begins with a diplomatic posting—her father, Henry Bedinger, served as President James…

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A Gentle Voice from the Garden: Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald

Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 8, 1922 On this day, as the last mountain ash berries gleam against pewter skies, we remember Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald, whose poetic voice still echoes through the gardens of Maritime Canada. Today…

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The Gardener’s Pen: Remembering Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

Mary E. Wilkins at her home (colorized and enhanced) from the inside cover of The people of our neighborhood (1898)

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 31, 1852 On this day, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, one of America’s most remarkable chroniclers of New England garden life, was born in Randolph, Massachusetts. ]Though primarily known for her fiction, Freeman’s…

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Potatoes and Prose: The Wit and Wisdom of Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 29, 1832 On this day, a literary blossom unfurled in the gardens of New England – Louisa May Alcott, destined to become one of America’s most beloved writers and poets, drew her…

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Rose by Any Other Name: The Many Facets of Rosamund Marriott Watson

Rosamund Marriott Watson

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 6, 1860 On this day, dear readers, we celebrate the birth of a most remarkable soul, Rosamund Marriott Watson, an English poet, nature writer, and critic of extraordinary talent. Known affectionately as…

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The Activist’s Garden: Frances Harper and the Poetry of Growth

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, 1893

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 24, 1825 Devoted cultivators of both gardens and justice, today we honor the birth of one whose pen planted seeds of change across our nation – Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, whose legacy…

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Literary Gardens: How Edith Wharton Designed with Words and Flowers

A very proper Edith Wharton with Miza and Mimi, 1895

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 1, 1937 My dear readers, on this most peculiar day, the eminent American authoress Edith Wharton suffered a rather inconvenient heart attack while gracing the country estate of her friend and co-author…

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