Oct 6, 2021
Today in botanical history, we celebrate a Kentucky botanist, a
French priest and plant explorer, and a Texas doctor and
botanist.
We'll hear an excerpt from Susan Hill's book, The Magic Apple
Tree.
We Grow That Garden Library™ with another great book by Michael
Dirr.
And then we'll wrap things up with a reminder from a modern
gardener to stop and enjoy the leaves.
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Country Living | Matt Rees-Warren
Important Events
October 6, 1794
Birth of Charles Wilkins Short, American botanist, and doctor. A
Kentuckian, Charles wrote a flora of Kentucky in 1833. He had one
of the largest, most valued private herbariums with 15,000 plant
samples, and his massive garden covered several acres. Charles was
honored in the naming of many plants, including the Oconee bell
named the Shortia galacifolia.
Now in terms of botanical history, this plant has quite a story.
Back in the 1800s, when Charles was still alive, the plant's
location had become a mystery. People couldn't find it. And in
1863, after Charles Short died, botanists still did not know where
to find this plant, or even if it still existed. In fact, many
botanists were asked the question,
Have you found the Shortia yet?
It was driving them crazy.
But finally, in May of 1877, a North Carolina teenager named George
Hyams sent an unknown specimen to Asa Gray at Harvard. And when Asa
laid eyes on this plant, he knew immediately that it was the
Shortia, and he could be heard crying 'Eureka' when he saw it.
Two years later, Asa and his wife along with his dear friend, the
botanist John Redfield, the director of the Arnold Arboretum
Charles Sprague Sargent, and the botanist William Canby all stood
around the little patch of earth where the Shortia grew in oblivion
of all the hubbub it had caused. The long search to find the
Shortia was over. It was growing right where George Hyams said it
would be.
October 6, 1858
Birth of André Soulié, French Roman Catholic missionary, herbalist,
healer, and botanist. Many of the first plant collectors were
missionaries. André was one of a handful of the last missionary
collectors. He collected thousands of dried plants and seeds and
then sent them back to Paris.
André was so fluent in the different Chinese dialects that he could
pass as a local.
In the 1800s and early 1900s, plant collecting in China was a
dangerous business. Collectors not only contended with geographic
challenges like terrain but also political upheaval. The Opium Wars
and the ongoing dispute with Tibet increased distrust and hostility
toward foreigners.
In 1905, in retaliation for an invasion of Tibet by a British
explorer named Francis Younghusband, André was abducted by Tibetan
monks. He was grabbed right in the middle of packing up his plant
specimens. André was tortured for over two weeks before finally
being shot dead by his captors.
André is remembered for his discovery of the Rosa soulieana and the
butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii). He also has a Rhododendron, a
Lily, and Primula named in his honor.
October 6, 1877
On this day, a 46-year-old American doctor and botanist named Levi
Jasper James Russell was whipped.
He was lured out of his home at midnight to treat a sick woman and
instead met with a mob who stripped him naked and gave him 100
lashes for being an "infidel."
A leading member of the Freethinkers, Levi was agnostic and a
pioneering doctor and herbalist. He served as chairman of the
committee on medical botany of the Texas State Medical
Association.
Before his life in Texas, Levi had gone west to California to dig
for gold with his brothers after leaving their home state of
Georgia. The three brothers were among the first to prospect for
gold in Colorado and helped found the city of Denver.
Levi survived being shot with a bow and arrow by Native Americans
in Montana and contracting smallpox during his imprisonment by
Union soldiers during the Civil War.
But all that was behind him by the time he was whipped on this day,
October 6th, 1877. Levi stayed in Texas, and he continued to serve
his community as a doctor. He eventually died in Bell County,
Texas, in 1908 at the age of 77.
Unearthed Words
In early October, the woods begin to come alive again, and that
surprises many people, who think of them in autumn as places of
decay and dying, falling leaves and animals hiding away for their
long winter hibernation. But it is summer there that is the dead
time. In summer, the air hangs heavy and close and still, nothing
flowers, nothing sings, nothing stirs, and no light penetrates.
But, now, there is a stirring, a sense of excitement.
― Susan
Hill, The Magic Apple Tree: A Country Year
Grow That Garden Library
The Tree Book by Michael Dirr and Keith
Warren
This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is Superior
Selections for Landscapes, Streetscapes, and
Gardens.
This book is co-authored by Michael Dir and tree breeder and
nurseryman Keith Warren. Together, this dynamic duo of tree
expertise put together the latest and greatest must-have tree book.
The two men feature old favorites and exciting new selections. My
favorite is when they recommend the hidden gems, the overlooked,
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I've been saying for the past two years that gardeners need to
plant more trees. But gardeners often lack the expertise for trees
that they cultivate for edibles or ornamentals. This is
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If you've wondered about the trees you should be considering, what
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this book is essential.
This book is 900 pages of nerding out on trees from two masters who
share information gleaned from training and experience.
You can get a copy of The Tree Book by Michael A. Dirr and
Keith S. Warren and support the show using the Amazon Link in
today's Show Notes for around $32 - or 3 cents a
page!
Today's Botanic Spark
Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart
October 6, 2017
On this day, Chris Howell, the
gardener at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, tweeted a
beautiful fall photo of leaves. In a day and age where manicured
lawns are still universally valued, leaves are often seen more as a
nuisance to our busy lives, being quickly raked up, bagged up, or
blown away.
But on this day in 2017, Chris was so struck by the simple beauty
of fallen leaves on a path, he tweeted that photo along with this
caption:
Some leaves just need to be left on the ground to admire for a
while.
Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener.
And remember:
"For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."