May 19, 2022
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Historical Events
1780 It was on this day that much of New
England was shrouded in darkness.
In fact, many feared that Judgment Day had arrived And so this day
became known as The Dark Day.
During this day, the sun rose as per usual. But around 10 o'clock
in the morning, the sky grew dark. So dark that there were reports
of candle-lit lunches, and people stopped what they were doing to
pray.
The blackout spread from Portland, Maine, to New Jersey. Boston
newspapers reported that chickens returned to their roosts after
the darkness began, and animals returned to their places in the
barn - even they knew that something odd was going on.
Even General George Washington wrote about the dark day in his
diary.
The nature poet John Greenleaf Whittier (books
about this person) wrote about the event in a
poem.
Twas on a May-day of the
far-old years
Seventeen hundred eighty,
that there fell
Over the bloom and sweet life
of the spring,
Over the fresh earth, and the
heaven of noon,
A horror of great darkness.'
"Men prayed, and women
wept; all ears grew sharp
To hear the doom-blast of the
trumpet shatter
The black sky.
Instead of Judgment Day, it's now generally believed that the
darkness stemmed from a fire out west.
And the following night, on May 19th in 1780, New England was
treated to a full moon that was said to be as red as blood set
against the night sky - a spring to remember.
1864 Death of Nathaniel
Hawthorne (books
about this person), American novelist, and short-story
writer.
In May 1866, Nathaniel's sister Sophia was writing about The
Wayside landscape in a letter to her friend, Annie Fields.
She wrote:
There is a beauty in May which there is not in July. After
these latter rains, the glory of tender and deep greens
surpasses all words . . . the
walks — the paths look so nice, and there is no knowing what
enormity of sauciness the weeds will arrive at by
July.
In 1843, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a crazy short story that not
many people know about today. The story was about a mad scientist
who becomes obsessed about removing his wife Georgiana's birthmark.
And so the scientist, concocts a remedy for the blemish and creates
a solution using the leaves of geraniums. As his wife drinks this
potion, her birthmark does fade away, but in the process, the
mixture also kills her. Thus, she dies a perfect unblemished woman.
And that's the end of this little known and very bizarre short
story by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
1906 On this day, Country
Life gave an update on the season of tulips.
They wrote,
The writer regards the season of Tulips as one of the brightest
and happiest of the year. Daffodils still flutter in the wind,
the first of the Roses
are bursting their buds, and the whole air is filled with the
scent of wayside of garden flowers. But it is the Tulip that
gives the colour, splashes of crimson,scarlet, yellow, rose, white,
and even black.
A black Tulip is a reality, and is known as The Sultan. It
belongs to the race called Darwin, but we prefer the homely
name of the May or Cottage Tulip. Dusky as the firm,
short segments are, they have weird, strange beauty, which is
as fascinating as the clear crimson of the greatest of all
Tulips, Tulipa gesneriana major, which opens its big goblets
to the sun and discloses a pool of inky blue at the base.
A few years ago the May Tulips were seldom seen, but persistent
reference to them has brought about a revolution: so much so,
that one greets the Tulip with much the same affection as the
Daffodil which precedes it. We believe it was in the Royal
Gardens, Kew, that the Gesner and other Tulips were
first planted in large beds, and the effect of their glorious
colour we shall ever remember, it was a novel sight...
So there you go—an update on tulip season from 1906.
And isn't it interesting to think about how tulips were perceived
compared to the daffodil a little over a hundred years ago?
1934 Birth of Ruskin Bond (books
about this person), Indian author of British
descent.
Ruskin's novels, The Room on the
Roof and Our
Trees Still Grow in
Dehra, received
critical acclaim and he's written hundreds of short stories,
essays, and books for children.
In The Room on
the Roof, Ruskin
wrote,
I don't want to rot like mangoes at the end of the season, or
burnout like the sun at the and of the day.
I cannot live like the gardener, the cook and water-carrier,
doing the same task everyday of my life...
I want to be either somebody or nobody.
I don't want to be anybody.
From Rain
in the Mountains: Notes from the Himalayas,
Ruskin wrote,
Yes, I'd love to have a garden of my own--spacious, and full of
everything that is fragrant and flowering. But if I don't succeed,
never mind--I've still got the dream.
Finally, in his book, A
Book of Simple Living: Brief Notes from the
Hills, Ruskin wrote,
Botanists have done their best to intimidate and confuse the
nature lover. But we should not allow ourselves to be discouraged;
we have as much right to the enjoyment of wild flowers as they. So
I will disregard the botanist and I will go looking for the pretty
flower that I have named Merry Heart. It is always nodding and
dancing in the breeze. It is a happy flower, deserving of a happy,
light name.
Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation
The Modern Cottage Garden by Greg Loades
This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is A Fresh
Approach to a Classic Style.
This book is practical and inspirational - and if you are a fan of
cottage gardens, then this is a book that you will want to have in
your garden library.
I love Greg's approach here because what he has done is come up
with a blend between the New Perennial Movement and Classic Cottage
Style - and he's integrated both of those concepts Into the looks
that you see in real life gardens in this book.
And so, as the reader, what you'll come away with are images of
beautiful color in the garden, the use of grasses and native plants
- in addition to Greg's thoughtful approach. Greg wants these
gardens to be low maintenance and to offer many seasons of
interest, which is the sweet spot for gardens nowadays.
I will walk you through the table of contents, and then I'll give
you a little excerpt from Greg's book.
Greg starts with what he calls the roots of his book, which are
both the traditional Cottage Garden and the New Perennial Garden.
Greg takes you into a deep dive into both approaches.
Then in the next section of his book, he talks about how to create
a Modern Cottage Gardenn which, as I just mentioned, is a blend of
both Classic Cottage Gardening and the New Perennial Garden
Movement.
So with Greg's help, you'll understand how to put together a
gardener's garden - that's what he calls it - and how to maximize
small spaces and incorporate Modern Cottage Gardening into your
containers, which I think is such a hot topic this year.
Now the back half of Greg's book is devoted to the seasons - so he
walks you through Modern Cottage Gardening season by season.
At the end of the book, there are fifty plant profiles, and these
are Greg's go-to plants when it comes to garden design.
But, right at the beginning of Greg's book, he introduces you to
the Modern Cottage Garden.
He writes,
It is difficult to stick to one style in the garden, isn't
it?
Maybe this is because plants are alive, and as they grow, we
get attached to them.
So we can't let go of the plant that has survived three house
moves.
Or the large shrub that started life from a cutting taken from
a friend's garden.
This sounds so familiar. Doesn't it?
He writes,
Plants are memories.
Plants can make us feel proud.
Plants tell stories.
And who can resist choosing new plants for the garden when they
see them in flower in a nursery, even if they don't know where they
will go or whether they are in keeping with what is
there?
I just experienced this exact scenario this morning.
And then Greg writes,
Let's be honest, who has a scale map of their garden, showing
all the gaps, each time they find themselves looking at plants for
sale?
Then as we introduce unlikely plant partners to the border, we
push the boundaries of traditional garden styles, whether by
accident or design.
And here is where Greg helps us get on track.
He writes,
This is, in fact, a good thing. The mixing together of plants
from older garden styles is creating something special indeed: a
new style that combines the best of the Traditional Cottage Garden
and of the gardens of the New Perennial Garden
Movement.
For argument's sake, let's call it the Modern Cottage
Garden.
This is a gardener's garden.
Its generous style is for gardeners who can't resist
plants.
Can I get an Amen?
The spoke is 288 pages of the Modern Cottage Garden — encouraging
you to grow plants that are new to you, try new combinations or new
communities of plants, and enjoy the process of experimenting in
your garden.
You can get a copy of The Modern Cottage Garden by Greg
Loades and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show
notes for around $9.
Botanic Spark
1899 On this day, Lou Andreas
Salomé (books
about this person), the first female psychoanalyst and
writer, and Rainer Maria Rilke (books
about this person), the Austrian poet and writer,
visited Leo Tolstoy (books
about this person) in Russia.
Now this entire trip was Lou's idea. She hoped that Tolstoy would
be a mentor to her friend and lover, Rainer ("Rye-nur") Maria
Rilke.
Lou Andreas Salomé was a bit of a muse to Rainer Maria Rilke. Early
in their friendship, Lou was the one who encouraged him to change
his first name from René to Rainer. She also encouraged him to
learn Russian and to read Tolstoy.
And so that sets the stage for their meeting with Leo Tolstoy in
his garden on this day, May 19th in, 1899.
One account of the meeting goes like this:
We no longer looked about us, but at him absorbing this
landscape.
Bending down from time to time to pluck, forget me nots with a
quick motion of his cup tanned as if to snatch up the odor
from the stem.
He would then hold them close to his face and breathe
them.
Intensely consume them as it were.
And then let them fall to the ground.
Well, it seems Leo was more interested in his garden than in
becoming a mentor to Rainer Maria Rilke.
But the story doesn't end there. Rainer Maria Rilke fell in love
with Russia - and for a brief period with Lou Andreas Salomé.
And it was during his time in Russia, Rainer wrote one of his
masterpieces: a trilogy of timeless poetry called The
Book of Hours.
Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener
And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every
day.