Feb 10, 2020
Today we celebrate the man who suggested naming the Twinflower
for Linnaeus and the botanist who gave Meriwether Lewis a crash
course in botany.
We'll learn about the English writer who wrote, that, "God once
loved a garden we learn in holy writ and seeing gardens in the
spring, I well can credit it."
And we also tip our hats to the British botanist who loved the
common spotted orchid.
Today's Unearthed Words feature words about the white stuff
covering our gardens right now: snow.
We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about a family who settled
in the Florida frontier. The book was honored as the "Most
Outstanding Florida Historical Novel."
I'll talk about a tool that will help you spruce up a number of
items in your garden (I love these things!)
and then we'll wrap things up with a pioneer naturalist who wrote
books that became a beloved part of many modern childhoods.
But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.
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Curated Articles
Alan Titchmarsh: The
stunning midwinter trees whose bark is better than their bite -
Country Life
Here's a great post by Alan Titchmarsh in Country Life about the
fabulous book Winter
Gardens by Cedric Pollet.
Pollet is a shutterbug who captures plants in their dormancy: "the
best varieties of dogwoods, willows, maples, and birches, plus a
smattering of brambles and bamboos."
"We are none of us too old to discover new plants and new ways of
using them."
Plant health resolutions:
Pippa Greenwood
Botanist and broadcaster @PippaGreenwood wants to see more funding
for research into pests and pathogens, and the breeding of plants
better able to resist new diseases.
"You could say that plant health is the most
important thing – we, as the human race, cannot survive long-term
without plants; in fact, we couldn't survive for long at all.
Plants are fundamentally important to everything. Increased
movement of people, food, and other goods has played a significant
part in the spread of pests and pathogens, often with a very
serious impact on plant health. Quite simply, we have to take steps
to ensure plant health is seen as a top priority."
Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for
yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it
with the Listener Community in the
Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener
Community.
There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time
you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request
to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.
Important Events
1686 Today is the birthday of the Dutch botanist
Jan Gronovius.
Gronovius's story is inextricably bound to the Virginia botanist
John Clayton.
Clayton botanized Virginia. In the early 1700s, Clayton sent
specimens to Gronovius both directly and indirectly through the
English naturalist Mark Catesby.
Gronovius was a little in over his head as he attempted to make
sense of the overwhelming amount of specimens from Clayton. So, he
did what most of us would do; he asked for help - and he got it
from Carl Linnaeus.
In a brazen move, Gronovius used Clayton's specimens and
documentation to put together a Flora of Virginia in 1739. He
published the work without notifying Clayton, and he certainly
didn't seek his permission before he started the endeavor.
Other than the Clayton situation, Gronovius is remembered for the
many plants that he named.
After seeing the Twinflower, it was Gronovius who suggested naming
the plant after Linnaeus. Without Gronovius, Linnaeus probably
wouldn't have had a plant named for him during his lifetime;
Linnaeus was very modest.
And, bless his heart, Gronovius was sensitive to Linnaeus's need to
keep the honorary naming low key. So Gronovius wrote that,
"[The Twinflower was] "a plant of Lapland; lowly, insignificant,
disregarded, flowering but for a brief space - after Linnaeus who
resembles it."
Thus, the Twinflower is the only plant named for the Father of
Taxonomy, Linnaeus, and has the botanical name is Linnea
Borealis.
Another plant that Gronovius named was the genus Gerbera which was
named after the German botanist Traugott Gerber.
Finally, in 1739, It was Gronovius, who combined the words for
water and jug - hydro and angeion; put them together, and you get
hydrangea, which translates to water jug.
1766 Today is the birthday of the American
botanist, naturalist, and physician Benjamin Smith Barton.
Barton worked as a professor of natural history and botany at the
University of Pennsylvania, where he authored the very first
textbook on American botany. In 1803, Barton tutored Meriwether
Lewis to get him ready for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Lewis
had little knowledge of natural history and plants. Barton's
expertise made it possible for him to be quite effective on the
expedition.
Barton was supposed to create a book describing all of the plants
that were found on the expedition. But, for some reason, he never
began writing. The job ultimately fell to Barton's assistant,
Frederick Pursh, who ended up having a falling out with Barton.
Pursh took copies of the specimens and went to England, where he
found a patron and published his Flora of North America — much to
the chagrin of Benjamin Smith Barton and other botanists.
And, there's a fun story that came out last year, in February,
about this time. And, it was about a little yellow butterfly that
was found pressed between the pages of a Barton manuscript - his
Flora Virginica - from 1812. It turns out that this little yellow
creature was found by a library fellow named E. Bennett Jones at
the American Philosophical Society as he was looking through the
book. Butterfly experts felt the placement was purposeful since the
butterfly was found in between the pages listed "plants beloved by
pollinators - such as Monarda."
After the discovery, the Barton butterfly was carefully removed and
preserved in a suspended container. In a touching result, the
manuscript will forever bear a butterfly-shaped stain - marking the
spot where the little butterfly was pressed between its pages for
over 200 years before it was discovered.
1882 Today is the birthday of the English writer
Winifred Mary Letts. Gardeners love her quote on spring:
That God once loved a garden, we learn in Holy writ.
And seeing gardens in the Spring, I well can credit it.
Winifred also wrote a poem about spring called "Spring the Cheat."
This is one of many poems Winifred wrote about the Great War - WWI.
Winifred wrote "Spring the Cheat" to remind people that they were
not alone in their suffering. Her poem illustrates how pointless
existence seems during wartime. Winifred contrasts the season of
rebirth - spring (which is cyclical), with a war-induced season of
loss (which usually spreads across many seasons and is especially
at odds during spring).
Spring the Cheat
The wych-elm shakes its sequins to the ground,
With every wind, the chestnut blossoms fall:
Down by the stream the willow-warblers sing,
And in the garden to a merry sound
The mown grass flies. The fantail pigeons call
And sidle on the roof; a murmuring
Of bees about the woodbine-covered wall,
A child's sweet chime of laughter — this is spring.
Luminous evenings when the blackbird sways
Upon the rose and tunes his flageolet,
A sea of bluebells down the woodland ways, —
O exquisite spring, all this — and yet — and yet —
Kinder to me the bleak face of December
Who gives no cheating hopes, but says — "Remember."
1920 Happy birthday to British botanist and former
Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Jack Heslop-Harrison.
He was the first Director to resign the position since its creation
in 1822.
In 1957, Jack wrote an article on the hybridization of the common
spotted orchid. Today, at Kew, there is a marker for the spotted
orchid (or the marsh orchid), Dactylorhiza X braunii
("DACK-tie-lo-RYE-zah Brawn-ee-eye); Jack's favorite flower.
Unearthed Words
Here are some poems and quotes about snow:
"To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake, it is necessary to stand
out in the cold."
— Aristotle, Greek philosopher and polymath
"There is no winter without snow, no spring without sunshine, and
no happiness without companions."
— Korean Proverb
Here delicate snow-stars, out of the cloud,
Come floating downward in airy play,
Like spangles dropped from the glistening crowd
That whiten by night the milky way.
— William Cullen Bryant, American Romantic poet, The
Snow-Shower
"There's a silence in a snowy dawn that forces you to look anew at
what has been transformed from the customary landscape of your
day-to-day life. Dogwoods glisten in their silver finery; bowing
fir limbs form a secret cathedral."
— Nancy Hatch Woodward, American writer, Southern
Snow
Grow That Garden Library
A Land Remembered by Patrick D Smith
This book came out in 1996.
A land remembered is a multi-generational saga, and it tells the
story of a family who settled in the Florida Frontier and survived
against all the odds and the land itself.
In the story, the MacIvey family arrive by oxcart in Florida in the
1850s. Settling on the banks of the Kissimmee River, they fight off
mosquitoes, floods, freezes, and rustlers.
In addition to telling the story of the MacIvey family, Smith
writes poignantly about another character: the Florida landscape.
Specifically, Smith tells how Florida looked - when it was pristine
- before the pioneers came and settled the land. Smith highlights
how the Florida landscape has been irrevocably altered by
development and destroyed by greed over the past two centuries.
A land remembered has won many awards as a work of Florida
historical fiction. This best-selling novel has been reprinted
multiple times over the years.
You can get a used copy of A Land Remembered by Patrick D
Smith and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show
Notes for under $5.
Great Gifts for Gardeners
Katzco Furniture Repair Kit Wood Markers - Set of 13 -
Markers and Wax Sticks with Sharpener - for Stains, Scratches,
Floors, Tables, Desks, Carpenters, Bedposts, Touch-Ups, Cover-Ups,
Molding Repair $9.99
Today's Botanic Spark
1957 Today is the anniversary of the death of
Laura Ingalls Wilder.
One of the reasons so many of us have a soft spot in our heart for
the Little House books is because Laura was so descriptive; she was
a natural storyteller. In retrospect, I think you might be
surprised by the amount of material in Laura's books devoted to the
natural world - ma's gardens, the landscapes that Laura and her
family experienced, and her overall reverence for life - plants,
animals, and human - all of it is so cherished by Laura and her
loved ones.
In 2017, the author, Marta McDowell, wrote a book
called The
World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and in it, she
highlights the "Frontier Landscapes that Inspired the Little House
books."
Marta's book sheds light on Laura as a naturalist. In a blog post,
she challenged us by writing:
"I'd like to suggest a thought experiment. Instead of categorizing
Laura Ingalls Wilder as an American children's author, think of her
as a nature writer as well…
Long before she was a writer, Laura Ingalls Wilder was a gardener
and farmer, growing food for the table and raising crops for sale.
Nature was her home, as well as little houses. Through her life and
work, Wilder sowed a deep appreciation for the world outside one's
own door. Her books still inspire budding naturalists to plant,
preserve, and appreciate their own wilder gardens."
Marta and I had a lovely chat that is featured
in Episode 585 of the Still Growing podcast - if you'd like
to check it out.
You can get a used copy of TheWorld of
Laura Ingalls Wilder by Marta McDowell and support
the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under
$4.
In the Missouri Ruralist, Laura wrote,
"The voices of nature do not speak so plainly to us as we grow
older, but I think it is because, in our busy lives, we neglect her
until we grow out of sympathy. Our ears and eyes grow dull, and
beauties are lost to us that we should still enjoy.
Life was not intended to be simply a round of work, no matter how
interesting and important that work may be. A moment's pause to
watch the glory of a sunrise - or a sunset - is so satisfying,
while a bird song will set the steps to music all day long."
In early February 1918, Laura wrote:
"Now is the time to make a garden! Anyone can be a successful
gardener at this time of year, and I know of no pleasanter
occupation these cold, snowy days, then to sit warm and snug by the
fire making a garden with a pencil, and a seed catalog. What
perfect vegetables do we raise in that way, and so many of them!
Our radishes are crisp and sweet, our lettuce tender and our
tomatoes smooth and beautifully colored. Best of all, there is not
a bug or worm in the whole garden, and the work is so easily
done.
In imagination, we see the plants in our spring garden, all in
straight, thrifty rows with the fruit of each plant and vine
numerous and beautiful as the pictures before us. How near the real
garden of next summer approaches the ideal garden of our winter
fancies depends upon how practically we dream and how hard we
work."