The Daily Gardener is a weekday show.
It will air every day Monday - Friday
(I’m taking weekends off for rest, family, fun, & gardening!)
The show will debut April 1, 2019. The tagline for the show is thoughts & brevities to inspire growth.
Shows are between 5 - 10 minutes in length.
The format for the show begins with a brief monologue followed by brevities.
The Brevities segment is made up of 5 main topic areas.
1. Commemoration: Here, I dig up fascinating people, places, and events in horticulture and share them with you. This is the “On This Day” #OTD portion of the show helping you feel more grounded and versed o n the most enchanting stories from the history of gardening.
2. Unearthing Written Work: This is made up of poems, quotes, journal entries, and other inspiring works pertaining to gardening
3. Book Recommendations: These are the literary treasures that will help you build a garden library, strengthen your gardening know-how and inspire you.
4. Garden Chores: A Daily Garden To-Do; improve your garden one actionable tip at a time
5. Something Sweet: This segment is dedicated to “reviving the little botanic spark” in your heart - to paraphrase botanist Alexander Garden; to add more joy to the pursuit of gardening.
The show sign-off is: "For a happy, healthy life: garden every day"
There are a few easter eggs in the show for Still Growing listeners. I still start the show with - "Hi there, everyone" and I end the show by saying the show is "produced in lovely, Maple Grove, Minnesota”.
The music for the show is called “The Daily Gardener Theme Song” originally dubbed “Bach’s Garden". I wrote it on Garageband. It will be available as a ringtone for your smartphone through the show’s Patreon page.
If you enjoy the show, please share it with your garden friends. I would so appreciate that.
Apr 25, 2019
Today I learned how botanists used to say "hello" to each
other.
In the 1800's and 1900's, a common way for botanists to introduce
themselves, often from the other side of the world, was to
send each other plant specimens as the foundation for
developing a relationship.
When it comes to friendship, plants are icebreakers, communicators,
and binding ties all rolled into one.
Brevities
There are many delightful anniversaries today.
Today is National Zucchini Bread Day.
Zucchini was discovered in the Americas. Explorers brought it back
to Europe where, in Italy, was called "zucchino".
#OTD On this day in 1958, President Truman planted a
sugar maple in New York in honor of Arbor Day.
#OTD On this day in 1981, The Native Plant Society of Texas(NPSOT)
was founded at Texas Women’s University.
#OTD On this day in 2007 Gustavus Adolphus College in
Minnesota held its second Linnaeus Symposium.
The event, titled “Linnaeus @ 300,” honored the 300th anniversary
of the birth of Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist for whom the
Gustavus arboretum is named.
#OTD On this day in 1852, botanist Marcus Jones was
born.
His mom loved plants and sent Marcus to gather fresh flowers every
day to display on the family's mantle. This daily chore was the
beginning of his passion for botany.
He won national recognition for his work as a prominent botanist of
the American West and in 1923 he sold his personal herbarium for
$25,000 - an impressive amount at the time. His collection
represents the largest archive of plants from Utah.
Jones died in 1934 in San Bernardino, California. He was returning
from a plant collecting trip to Lake Arrowhead at the age of 81
when his car was hit by another driver. Seatbelts had wouldn't be
invented for another 25 years; Jones was ejected from his vehicle
and died from a skull fracture.
Jones columbine, Aquilegia jonesii, is named for Marcus Jones. It
is rare and does not transplant well. Plants and seeds are sold by
select nurseries.
#OTD On this day in 1912, author and botanist Julia
Francis McHugh Morton was born.
A Fellow of the Linnean
Society of London, Julia Morton was a popular expert and
lecturer on plants and especially plant medicine and toxicity.
Known as the poison-plant lady, Morton worked to education the
public through letters and phone calls, lectures and posters
designed for hospital emergency rooms.
Among the many ER calls she received was one from a doctor in
Scotland. A patient, back from a Jamaican holiday was gravely ill.
Morton deduced that a noxious castor bean from a souvenir necklace
had been ingested.
Over the years Morton has been the subject of many newspaper
articles. Clever headlines showcase Morton's expertise, "She gets
to the root of problems" and "She leaves no leaf unturned".
In 1988, the Miami News published an article about Morton's help
with a murder case of a teen-age girl.
The girl's car was found in the Dadeland Mall parking lot, after
the girl had disappeared. Police brought Morton a half-Inch blade
of grass that was stuck to the door handle of the car, and some
pieces of leaves that were wedged inside the door. Morton
Identified the grass as Giant Burma Reed. Then, she spread the
leaves out in water and determined that they were the undeveloped
leaflets of Spanish Needles.
Morton's conclusion was that somewhere a short distance from the
Dadeland Mall, (perhaps off Galloway Road near a nursery in a tall
patch of Burma Reed) police might find the body of the girl. And,
she predicted that there were two killers. Morton correctly assumed
that one had wet hands and had left Burma Reed on the driver's
door; while the other had closed the passenger door so quickly that
it caught the Spanish Needles in the frame.
The next morning, policemen found an area that matched Morton's
description and solved their case.
It was Julia Morton who said, "Plants are always up to something.
So I don't take a vacation. I operate on solar energy. I can only
stay indoors a certain length of time."
Like Marcus E. Jones, Julia Morton died from injuries sustained in
a car accident in 1996. She was 84.
#OTD On this day in 1949,
botanical illustrator Alice R. Tangerini was
born.
Tangerini was hired as a staff illustrator for the Department of
Botany at the National
Museum of Natural History by American botanist Lyman Bradford
Smithin 1972.
As of March 9, 2017, Tangerini remains the only botanical
illustrator ever hired by the Smithsonian.
In 2005, Tangerini lost sight in her right eye due to an injury,
and she has diplopiadue to a
subsequent surgery. She has received the "Distinguished Service
Award" from Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and the
"Excellence in Scientific Botanical Art" award from the American
Society of Botanical Artists.
Unearthed Words
It's National Poem in Your Pocket Day. Today you can share the joy
that poems bring by carrying one in your pocket and sharing it
throughout the day with others.
Here's a brief one from Agnes
Falconercalled Windflowers.
(Windflowers is the common name for anemones)
"So frail are we, pale are we,
Mist-thin, ghost-white —
Hark o'er us, spring's chorus
Trills all life's delight!
And no leaf stirs in all the wood
Yet see! our blossoms quiver!
Dance these not in thy solitude —
For ever!"
Today's book recommendation
A Region of Astonishing Beauty:
The Botanical Exploration of the Rocky Mountains by Roger L.
Williams
Williams follows the expeditions of over a dozen explorers who
"botanized" the Rocky Mountains. These intrepid explores felt
Western Flora was special and unique. The title of the book comes
from a quote by botanist Edwin James who said in 1820 as he emerged
above timberline in Colorado to come upon "a region of
astonishing beauty."
Today's Garden Chore
Today’s garden chore is a great indoors
project; replace the montage of labels in
your garden by making new ones to give your
garden a unified and cleanup look.
Something Sweet
Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart
If you're a lover of daffodils, you will get a kick out of this
story.
Today is the birthday of Reverend George Herbert Engleheart.
Back in 1889, Engleheart began breeding daffodils - some 700
varieties in his lifetime. Fans of ‘Beersheba’, ‘Lucifer’, or
‘White Lady’, owe a debt of gratitude to Reverend Engleheart.
Engleheart spent every spare moment breeding and his parishioners
would often find a note tacked to the church door saying, “No
service today, working with daffodils.”
Thanks for listening to the daily gardener,
and remember:
"For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."