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.
Jun 27, 2019
Today is the very first National Onion Day.
It was founded by the National Onion Association which represents
almost 500 growers from across the United States.
The association celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013. Onions
are a member of the bulb family. There are twenty-seven different
types of onion. They all grow underground and they're one of the
easiest vegetables to grow.
There's an old saying that says that the thicker the onion skin,
the colder the winter will be.
Brevities
#OTD It was on this day in 1787 that the
naturalist Thomas Say was born.
Say was born to a Quaker family and was a relative of the
Bartrams.
Say grew up making frequent visits to their botanic garden on the
banks of the Schuylkill River
Say was one of the first naturalist in the United States to
advocate for the naming and describing of native flora and fauna.
Before Say's time, plant and animal specimens were sent to Europe
for identification. The long sea voyage took a toll on specimens
and there were often identification errors as a result.
Say's specialty was entomology and Say is often considered to be
the father of descriptive entomology in the United States.
Say died from typhoid fever on the 10th of October in 1834, at the
age of 47. His long obituary ended with these words:
"On the 8th, the hopes of his friends were flattered by a deceitful
calm.
On the day following, these hopes for chilled;
He appeared sinking under debility, when on the 10th, death
came over him like a summer cloud.
He met the embrace as the weary traveller falls into the arms of
restoring sleep.
Intellect triumphed to the last hour.
He left his wife directions as to his Library and Cabinet of
Natural History."
#OTD Any was on this day in 1861 that the Courier and
Argus out of Dundee, Scotland reported the death of a botanical
guide: William Williams.
The newspaper account said:
While his party rode slowly forward on ponies, Williams indulged in
his favorite science; collecting plants. When they arrived at the
summit he left them again in order to gather some ferns. The party
waited for him 90 minutes and then finally descended. Scouts were
sent out and his body was found lying 300 yards beneath the
precipice from where he fallen.
Before he died, Williams had begun to realize that he was living a
sort of contradiction by locating rare plants for collectors, he
was contributing to their extinction.
Today Williams tombstone reads:
"William Williams, upwards of 25 years botanical guide at the Royal
Victoria Hotel. Killed by a fall while pursuing his favorite
vocation."
#OTD And it was on this day in 1889 that William
Guilfoyle married Mary Alice darling.
Guilfoyle was the director of the Royal Botanic Garden,
Victoria.
When he married Alice, he decided to take his first holiday from
the gardens in 17 years. They took a nine-month grand tour of
British and European gardens and Forests. It was really quite the
experience and it's documented wonderfully in this book
called Mr.
Guilfoyle's Honeymoon.
Just so you know, you can only get it on Kindle.
#OTD Anniversary of the death of Elizabeth
Cabot Agassiz.
Agassiz was an American naturalist, an educator, and the first
president of Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
She grew up in an intellectual family. In 1856, she married married
the Swiss naturalist, Louis Agassi. She became an intimate part of
his life and work.
When they were first married, she started a girls school in their
home to bring in some extra income.
When Louis died, Elizabeth was 51 years old. His death spurred her
to establish Radcliffe College.
Unearthed Words
The Glory of the Garden by Rudyard Kipling
Our England is a garden that is full of stately views,
Of borders, beds and shrubberies and lawns and avenues,
With statues on the terraces and peacocks strutting by;
But the Glory of the Garden lies in more than meets the eye.
For where the thick laurels grow, along the thin red
wall,
You will find the tool- and potting-sheds which are the heart of
all;
The cold-frames and the hot-houses, the dungpits and the
tanks,
The rollers, carts and drain-pipes, with the barrows and the
planks.
And some can pot begonias and some can bud a rose,
And some are hardly fit to trust with anything that
grows;
But they can roll and trim the lawns and sift the sand and
loam,
For the Glory of the Garden occupieth all who come.
Today's book
recommendation: Practical Botany for Gardeners by Geoff
Hodge
This book explains over 3,000 botanical terms.
I think one of the reasons this book is so helpful is that it is so
beautifully put together.
The Denver Post said:
"It is a gentle guide to the green world... organized precisely how
a non-botanist would need it done."
The book is heavily illustrated and it's illustrated in a very
decorative way. It's one of my favorite books to give to new and
experienced gardeners.
Part handbook, part reference, Practical Botany for
Gardeners is a beautifully captivating read. It’s a must
for garden lovers and backyard botanists who want to grow and
nurture their own plant knowledge.
Today's Garden Chore
It's time to make a map of your garden.
You can do this yourself. You can do this with the help of Google
Earth. You can even hire your own illustrator.
This chore was actually inspired by the article I read in
the Detroit Free Presson this day in 1958.
A nurseryman was talking about how his customers could be most
helpful. In his mind, a garden map was the most helpful tool that
he could use with his clients.
Something Sweet
Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart
I ran across an article in The Marion
Star in Marion, Ohio, on this day, in 1894.
The article was titled Blooming Beauties and it
contained these charming brevities;
Sweet alyssum is the most satisfactory of all the hardy annuals. It
flowers early and late, and all the time.
It is a curious fact, that some flowers are only fragrant at night,
like the Hosperis tristls and the Lady Washington pelargonium.
A simple, way to remember the difference between Virginia Creeper
and the poison ivy is this: if the vine has five leaves,
corresponding to the five fingers of your hand, you may handle it;
if it has only three leaves, you may not handle it.
Thanks for listening to the daily gardener,
and remember:
"For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."