Mar 4, 2021
Today we celebrate a man who wrote the book on growing and
selling orchids.
We'll also learn about a very special Arbor Day to honor Luther
Burbank.
We hear a touching excerpt about the final days of an incredible
gardener, teacher, and friend.
We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about the beautiful
flowers of Japan.
And then we’ll wrap things up with a sweet little advertisement
about the Gladiolus and Dahlias - two beautiful flowers that most
gardeners are ordering and shopping for this month (if they haven’t
already).
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Important Events
March 4, 1847
Today is the birthday of the German-English orchidologist and
nurseryman Henry Frederick Conrad Sander.
As a young man of 20 years old, Conrad met the Czech plant
collector Benedict Roezl. Benedict’s heart lay in exploration and
acquisition; he did not enjoy the marketing and sales aspects of
plant hunting. Instead, these skills were Conrad’s strengths. The
two men struck up a business plan that left Benedict free to
explore and collect and Conrad to sell, sell, sell.
Conrad set up shop in St. Albans, and Benedict was soon sending
shipments of orchids from Central and South America.
Benedict collected for Sander for 40 years. Even though Benedict
was 6'2" tall and had that imposing iron hook for a hand, Benedict
was robbed 17 times and, once, even attacked by a jaguar during his
collecting days.
After his quick success with Benedict, Conrad expanded his
operations. Soon Conrad was managing inventory from over twenty
collectors, growing orchids in over sixty greenhouses, and
entertaining visitors that included Europe’s top collectors and
even royalty. As a result of his business success acquiring,
breeding, and selling orchids, Conrad became known as the King of
Orchids.
Leveraging his incredible expertise, Conrad wrote a masterpiece in
two volumes on every variety of orchid. The book was folio-sized,
with text in three languages - English, French, and German - and
the botanical drawing of orchids were life-sized. As a sign of
great respect, Conrad named his book Reichenbachia in honor of the
legendary orchidologist Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach. Reichenbach
had named more orchids than any other person, and in his will, he
asked that his herbarium be closed for 25 years to protect his work
with orchids from his competitors.
In turn, in 1882, Heinrich honored Sanders by naming the “Queen of
Philippine Orchids” after Sanders - naming it the Vanda Sanderiana,
which the locals called the waling-waling orchid. The waling-waling
is considered one of the rarest, most beautiful, and most expensive
orchid, and it is also one of the largest species of orchids in the
world.
Orchids are some of the world’s oldest flowering plants, producing
the world’s tiniest seeds. A single Orchid seedpod can contain
three million seeds! Orchids are also the largest family of
flowering plants in the world. With over 25,000 species, Orchids
represent about ten percent of all plant species on earth, and
there are more orchids on earth than mammals and birds!
Now, once they are germinated, Orchids can take five to seven years
to produce a flower. And if you look at the orchid bloom closely,
you’ll see that the blossom, like the human face, is perfectly
symmetrical, which only adds to their visual beauty. And, by the
time you are buying that Orchid at Trader Joe’s, it is likely
already decades old. But never fear, Orchids are long-lived and can
reach their 100th birthday.
The vastness and complexity of orchids can be frustrating. Charles
Darwin grew so discouraged writing his book about orchids that he
wrote to a friend,
“I am very poorly today and very stupid and hate everybody and
everything.”
March 4, 1949
On this day, the Santa Cruz Sentinel out of
Santa Cruz, California, published a lovely story about the
upcoming Arbor
Day celebration.
The story featured a wonderful photo of a tree being pruned with
the caption,
“Santa Rosa Citizens To Plant Trees In Commemoration Of Birth
Of Famed Luther Burbank: Nurseryman Joe Badger, who in his youth
used to steal fruit from Luther Burbank's trees, prunes a flowering
plum tree as Burbank's widow looks on. On Arbor Day, which this
year will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the
great horticulturist, this tree will be planted in Mrs. Burbank's
garden at Santa Rosa, Calif, near the spot where her husband is
buried. ”
Burbank’s widow said,
“No, there will be no wreath-laying on Luther Burbank's
grave... Laying a wreath is only a ceremony... It doesn't make
things grow." she said.
Instead, she and Nurseryman Joe Badger, who as a youngster
stole plums from the Burbank experimental gardens, will plant a
flowering plum tree adjoining the Redwood highway, where passersby
can enjoy it.
"That is the way he would have wanted it without ceremony. Mr.
Burbank never liked fanfare. His interest was in things alive like
a tree or a plant or a flower. Or a group of school children coming
to sing to him on his birthday."
The flowering plum was developed by her husband. He gained world
fame with his Burbank potato, his spineless cactus, and many other
horticultural achievements.
Her husband now lies buried under a huge Cedar of Lebanon tree in a
simple unmarked grave. Beside him lies his white mongrel dog,
Bonita, who was his constant companion until Burbank died in
1926.
Burbank requested that no marking be placed above his burial place.
Instead, he was buried beneath his Cedar of Lebanon. He, himself,
had planted the seed sent by a friend in Palestine.
He had said,
"When I go, don't raise a monument to me; plant a
tree,"
Unearthed Words
We were not to live and practice with Alan Chadwick again until
eight years later, when he returned to Green Gulch at the end of
his life. Despite the unrelenting grip of his illness, Alan
continued to rage against the dying of the light. He announced with
dignity, “I intend to be in the garden tomorrow.” “We will welcome
you,” I murmured…
Alan never made it to the garden. Instead, we brought the garden to
him. I cut armloads of fresh flowers for him every few days, winter
jonquils and Korean lilac, wind-blown anemones and stiff Coral
Quince that Alan recognized from his original gardens at Green
Gulch, and a single blood-red poppy grown from seed gathered from
the World War II battlefields of Flanders. During these months, the
garden itself upwelled with a rare treasure trove of bloom, and
Allen drank long draughts from the bottomless pool of flowers.
— Wendy Johnson, Gardening at the Dragon’s Gate, Chapter 1: Valley
of the Ancestors
Grow That Garden Library
Flora Japonica by Masumi Yamanaka
This book came out in 2017, and Masumi is an award-winning
botanical artist based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
In this book, Masumi begins by revealing the history of Japanese
botanical illustration with a lovely overview of the influential
botanist and illustrator Tomitaro Makino's work.
Next, Masumi shares beautiful artwork that showcases the indigenous
plants of Japan. Flora Japonica showcases eighty
specially-commissioned paintings from thirty-six of Japan’s best
modern botanical artists. Daily Gardeners will love that each
painting also shares detailed information about the plant’s habitat
and history, as well as a botanical description.
This book is 240 pages of botanical art that highlights Japan’s
glorious and incomparable flora.
You can get a copy of Flora Japonica by Masumi Yamanaka and
support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for
around $4
Today’s Botanic Spark
Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart
March 4, 1956
It was on this day that the Chicago Tribune ran two advertisements
for Gladiolus and Dahlias by R. H. Shumway.
The Gladiolus were being sold as a rainbow mixture. 50 bulbs cost
$1.00, 100 bulbs cost $1.75 and 200 bulbs cost $3.25.
The Dahlias were the New Giant variety, and two bulbs cost 25
cents, and that also covered the cost of postage.
Right about now is the perfect time to order Gladiolus and
Dahlias.
Gladiolus are the official flower of August. Gladiolus's etymology
is Latin and means “little sword” in reference to the shape of the
flowers. The corms have been used medicinally to help extract
slivers or thorns. In cold climates, once you plant your gladiolus
and enjoy their blooms in late summer, you can dig the bulbs up in
the fall and store them until you can plant them again in the
spring.
And I’ll never forget what my friend Joel Karsten, the author of
Straw Bale Gardening, told me about how easy it is to plant
gladiolus in conditioned straw bales. Once the flowers are done
blooming in the fall, you just kick the bale over, and all the
corms fall out for easy gathering.
As for the beautiful Dahlia, it was originally grown as a food
crop. It turns out the tubers are edible and taste a little like
other root vegetables: the potato and the carrot. The Dahlia is
named to honor the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. Dahlias are in the
same family as Common Daisies and Sunflowers. Dahlias come in all
shapes and sizes, and some are as large as dinner plates.
And, here’s a little fun fact about the Dahlia: it’s the official
flower of the city of destiny and goodwill: Seattle.
Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener.
And remember:
"For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."