May 20, 2022
Subscribe
Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart
Support The Daily Gardener
Buy Me
A Coffee
Connect for FREE!
The Friday
Newsletter | Daily Gardener
Community
Historical Events
National Pick Strawberries Day
Here are a few fun facts about this beloved sweet fruit:
The etymology of the name strawberry (books
about this topic) is likely a corruption of the
phrase "strewn berry." This would reference the way the plant
produced thanks prolifically to runners, resulting in berries
strewn about the ground.
Fragariaphobia is a little-known word and is the fear of
strawberries.
In terms of their uniqueness, strawberries are the only fruit that
wears its seeds on the outside, and the average strawberry has 200
seeds.
Strawberries are perennial and are members of the rose family. The
strawberry flower averages five to seven petals.
In terms of harvesting, strawberry plants are hand-picked about
every three days. A single acre of land can grow almost 50,000
pounds of strawberries.
California produces a billion pounds of strawberries every year
which means that 75% of the American strawberry crop is grown in
California - with Florida and North Carolina in the 2nd and 3rd
place.
As for strawberry quotes, the author Tsugumi
Ohba, Death Note Box Set, wrote,
If you keep my secret, this strawberry is yours.
1846 On this day, the Prussian botanist
Ludwig Leichhardt (books
about this person) wrote a
letter to a fellow botanist about his impressive and arduous
collecting efforts in Australia.
For his part, Ludwig loved Australia. He wrote,
I would find it hard to remain in Germany, or even in Europe,
now. I [prefer] the clear, sunny skies of Australia.
On this day, 1846, Leichhardt wrote a letter to his botanist
contact and friend, the Italian Gaetano Durando, living in Paris.
Ludwig's message conveys the extreme difficulties and dangers faced
by the early plant explorers.
He wrote,
My dear friend,
You have, no doubt, noticed and regretted my long
silence...
But you must bear this in mind, my good friend,
...
it was not my lot to travel all at my ease...
Gladly would I have made drawings of my plants, and noted fully
all particulars of the different species which I saw; and how
valuable would such memoranda have been... [as] four of my
pack-horses having been drowned.
Botanical and geological specimens thus abandoned — how
disappointing! From four to five thousand plants were thus
sacrificed...
In the spring of 1848, Ludwig Leichhardt and a small group of
explorers began what was to be a two- to three-year expedition
across Australia. Shortly after starting the trek, the entire party
vanished with barely a trace.
Still known as the 'Prince of Explorers,' Leichhardt was 35 when he
was lost to time.
1858 On this day, in The Flower Garden, Or
Breck's Book of Flowers, Tulips at their peak per Joseph Breck
A bed of late tulips is generally in its highest perfection
about the 20th of May and may be kept in fine condition a fortnight
longer, taking the trouble to erect an awning over
them.
I take up my Tulips about the 20th of June, and dry them
undercover in an airy place, and, when dry, take off the offsets
and plant them out, while the flowering roots are each wrapped in a
piece of waste paper, and put away, in a box or drawer, in a dry
place, until wanted to plant.
One hundred different varieties, with their names and colors,
reputed to be the very best, mabe obtained from Holland, at the
cost of about $25; but I have found, by experience, that some of
the rarer and most expensive sorts are not included. Very good
border Tulips, including finedouble sorts, early and late, single,
parrots, etc, may be obtained from 50 cents to $1 per dozen, and
some of the common sorts at much less price.
So there is some tulip pricing for you courtesy of Joseph Breck
back in 1858.
And just for comparison, I went out to brecks.com and priced some
of their deluxe tulips. They sell eight tulips for $15.
1922
On this day, the sorority of Pi Beta Phi at West Virginia
University held a party to celebrate the arrival of spring. In a
report of their activities to the 1922 edition of The
Arrow, the chapter wrote,
The spring party comes on May 20. It will be a Japanese party,
with lanterns, spring blossoms, and wooden programs.
Present Day
On or around this day in Blackville, South Carolina, that Cuke
Season gets underway.
The Encyclopedia of South Carolina (2000) says this about
Blackville:
Named for Alexander Black, an early railroad executive who
shipped cantaloupes, watermelons, and cucumbers in large quantities
by rail.
During the "cuke" season, beginning about May 20, the town
council employs an auctioneer to conduct daily sales, generally
starting at 10 in the morning and frequently lasting until 6. At
the auction, growers may accept or refuse the offered prices.
Buyers are usually local produce merchants, though there are often
purchasers from markets out of state.
Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation
Garden Maker by Christie Purifoy
This book came out in January of 2022, and the subtitle
is Growing a Life of Beauty and Wonder with
Flowers.
This is Christie's third book, and her books have to do with beauty
and placemaking, sustainability, and love.
Her first book is Roots
and Sky: A Journey Home in Four
Seasons. This book is about purchasing her
beautiful property called Maplehearst in Pennsylvania.
Her second book was released in 2019 and is called Placemaker:
Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace,
and this is about creating a garden home for yourself.
I view her latest book Garden
Maker as part of this garden trilogy.
In this very spiritual and inspirational book, Christie walks us
through how to grow a beautiful garden and create your own little
slice of heaven here on earth.
Now, in addition to teaching you how to make a garden. Christie is
a cut flower expert, and she's a master at creating beautiful
bouquets and other arrangements.
In this book, Christie teaches you some of her tried and true
techniques and her easiest bouquet recipes.
In addition to sharing her list of favorite shrubs - she calls
these superhero shrubs. She also shares her favorite flowers - she
calls these flowers of importance. And then last but not least, her
favorite self-sowers in a section she calls self-sowing
salvation.
Now Christie is a lyrical writer. Her tone is super friendly and
personable. When I read one of her books, I always feel like I'm
reading something that a garden friend wrote for me.
But best of all, and I think more important than any of her
credentials, is her passion for plants and the garden because that
comes through loud and clear in every word she writes in this
book.
I wanted to end this review today with a little excerpt from what
Christie wrote in the introduction to Garden
Maker.
She writes,
I grow flowers because cannot help myself.
I grow flowers as if some magician at the center of the
universe has cast his spell on me, and I will never want my old
unenchanted life back again.
In my flower garden, I am the weaver of stories. In my flower
garden, am the composer of seasonal songs. Or maybe I am more
conductor than composer.
This garden of mine is certainly singing a song, but the song
delights me, moves me, and surprises me.
I cannot recommend flower gardening for the
sober-minded.
I cannot recommend it for those afraid of mysterious rabbit
holes, who prefer to keep their two feet fixed firmly to a clean
and solid, and entirely predictable floor.
I cannot, in good conscience, recommend intoxicating
moonflowers or romantic roses
to anyone who values utility and efficiency and productivity
above all.
But for those who read fairy tales or cry at arias, for those
who suspect that
heaven lies just behind the veil of this everyday world, well,
to those I say:
Welcome to the garden.
Welcome to this holy work.
I understand if you are afraid.
The thorns are knife-sharp, and the weeds are always waging
their quiet wars.
But here is the promise that has been made to each one of
us:
"Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy" (Psalm
126:5).
Every garden is singing a song for the One who made us, and we
are invited to sing along.
Beautiful verse.
And by the way, can you tell that Christie has a Ph.D. in English
Literature from the University of Chicago?
Yes, you can. She's a beautiful writer.
This book is 208 pages of a love letter to flowers, plants,
gardens, and garden making.
You can get a copy of Garden Maker by Christie Purifoy and
support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for
around $16.
Botanic Spark
1804 On this day, Lady Holland sent home a
parcel of seeds from Spain, and they were Dahlia seeds.
The story was shared in The Complete Dictionary of
Practical Gardening (1807):
In the spring of 1805 all the parcels of seed were sewn,
including four varieties of Dahlia.
The Dahlia Rosea was the most handsome and produced plenty of
seeds.
And all the plants of 1805, except one, were taken up before
Christmas and planted in pots or large pans.
They were kept in a very cold greenhouse, and they began to
push new shoots in the middle of April [the following
year].
The genus Dahlia (books
about this flower) got its name in the 18th
century. Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl.
Surprisingly after Lady Holland introduced Dahlias to Europe, many
top gardeners thought the Dahlia was just too flamboyant to use in
their gardens.
But in modern gardens, Dahlias are beloved.
Both the roots and the Dahlia flowers are used medicinally.
The Dahlia is also the official flower of both Seattle and San
Francisco.
And if you're planning a wedding, Dahlias are the perfect flower
for the bridal bouquet.
In floriography or the language of flowers, the beautiful Dahlia
represents commitment and everlasting love.
Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener
And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every
day.