Podcast appearances and mentions of martha ballard

Lisa discusses The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, which is a historical fiction book about Martha Ballard, who was a real midwife, who delivered more than 800 babies. The book is fiction, but Martha wrote a journal for more than 25 years.  A Midwife's Tale, the Life of Martha Ballard – based on the diary 1785 to 1812.  For more information, find Lisa on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and her website.

Een meeslepend historisch mysterie gebaseerd op het leven van de 18e-eeuwse vroedvrouw Martha Ballard, die door het bijhouden van een bijzonder dagboek geschiedenis wist te schrijven Uitgegeven door KokBoekencentrum Fictie Spreker: Jantine van den Bosch

Ariel Lawhon joined us for a “Bookaccino Live” Book Group discussion of THE FROZEN RIVER, which was a “Good Morning America” Book Club pick and an NPR Book of the Year when it was published in hardcover last December. It is now available in paperback and is a Bookreporter Bets On selection. Our reviewer Pamela Kramer has this to say about the book, and it is so dead-on: "A book club would have myriad topics to discuss after reading this thoughtful novel about a time when the health care of women was often better left entirely to women themselves." Ariel talks about Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife, and the diary that Martha kept for almost 30 years that informed so much of Ariel's writing. She points out that the voice of the book was not always first person, but the title never changed, and it took time to figure out exactly what would find its way into the story. While not biographical, the details are period correct. Some of the storytelling had to be compressed into the timeline of a single year, 1789, which is why THE FROZEN RIVER is fiction. And yes, Ariel reveals what she is writing now, and when we can hope to see it. Our Latest “Bookreporter Talks To” Interviews: Sharon Virts: https://youtu.be/uXd5BHo2I1I Paula Hawkins: https://youtu.be/1zF2MEJlito Susan Rieger: https://youtu.be/hl-ypqwZwfw Jean Hanff Korelitz: https://youtu.be/EI-7XRrRWDI Laura Dave: https://youtu.be/1730g7zxRIc Chris Whitaker: https://youtu.be/5pQQbuIA1GM Our Latest “Bookaccino Live” Book Group Events: Amanda Peters: https://youtu.be/sWX2Mxw5fTI Shelley Read: https://youtu.be/3KdG1kIfcgc William Kent Krueger: https://youtu.be/IsIQJn3vYNI Ann Napolitano: https://youtu.be/VNYNugzjVbo Kate Morton: https://youtu.be/P8nwLRTAaFg Shelby Van Pelt: https://youtu.be/V2RbvnDn_rs Sign up for newsletters from Bookreporter and Reading Group Guides here: https://tbrnetwork.com/newsletters/ FOLLOW US on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookreporter Website: https://www.bookreporter.com Art Credit: Tom Fitzgerald Edited by Jordan Redd Productions

”Memory is a wicked thing that warps and twists. But paper and ink receive the truth without emotion, and they read it back without partiality.” Please join Kate and Sheila as they recap,  The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.  Martha Ballard, a midwife in Hallowell, Maine in 1789, was thrown into a murder investigation when a body was found in the river. She was called to do an autopsy and later discovers her oldest son, Cyrus Ballard, while trying to  protect his sister's honor had fought with Joshua Burgess. When Burgess turns up dead, Cyrus is arrested! Martha and her husband, Ephraim aptly quote Shakespeare, “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.” Meanwhile, the trial of Joshua North (Hallowell's judge) is taking place. He is charged with raping of the young pastor's wife, Rebecca Foster (who is now with child). Rebecca Foster's fate depends on Martha's testimony. However, in 1789 a woman was not allowed testify without the presence of her husband. Will Ephraim make it to the courtroom in time? Martha Ballard is the great-aunt of Clara Baron, founder of the Red Cross. She is also the great-great-grandmother of Mary Hobart, one of the first female physicians in the U.S. She kept a diary for 27 years! Most of her entries included the phrase, “I have been at home”. What homemakers do matter more than they know, or as Martha put it, "Small acts done in love matter." She delivered over 1,000 babies and never lost a mother in childbirth! Ironically, Ariel Lawhon found an article stating this amazing fact about Martha while waiting at her obstetrician's office. “One of the greatest skills that I have as a midwife is to sit in silence…To sit and be. To pray and offer comfort… To say nothing when there are no words that can console.”  Let's meet this woman of incredible grit and wisdom. Blessings to you dear listeners and readers!

In this episode of the Fairest Love Podcast, we had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Susan Hanssen, history professor at the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas. Dr. Hanssen shares with us an extensive yet approachable view of the history of the American family and our foundations rooted in freedom.Dr. Hanssen has written numerous scholarly articles on history within Western Civilization and the world. A notable article from our conversation today can be found on The Public Discourse titled “Complementarity: Lessons from Little House in the Big Woods.” For parents wanting to have a deeper appreciation for the American family, Dr. Hanssen recommends reading The Little House on the Prairie series as well as A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard.

The frozen river: a novel DB 117781 Lawhon, Ariel. Reading time 15 hours, 8 minutes. Read by Ariel Lawhon Jane Oppenheimer. A production of National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress. Subjects: Suspense Fiction; Historical Fiction; Mystery and Detective Stories Description: “Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town's most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own. Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Our facilitator for this group is Michelle Bernstein (hamletsweetlady@gmail.com).

There are no words for this book. Wait, nevermind! There are so many words, I just don't know where to start. Martha Ballard was an unsung heroin, that was a pioneer in giving women a voice. So I will use my words to tell you how amazing she was and is in these pages. She has empowered me to keep fighting.  Did you read?  What did you think?  We would love to hear.   The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon  

Martha Ballard was a real midwife in the late 1700s who delivered more than 1,000 babies without ever losing a mother. Ballard kept a diary of her life and the town secrets she learned thanks to her profession — and she's at the center of Ariel Lawhon's new novel, The Frozen River. In today's episode, Lawhon tells NPR's Scott Simon how she stumbled upon Ballard's story while pregnant with her own child, and why it was important for her to make a 54-year-old woman the hero of her book.

Bestselling author Ariel Lawhon joins Jane Healey to talk about her new book, The Frozen River. From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into American history.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. This is set in Maine in the 18th Century. When a body is found entombed in the frozen Kennebeq River, the local midwife Martha Ballard is asked to determine the cause of death, but when she pronounces it as murder the men in her village turn against her. Then the local pastor's wife complains of a vicious assault, and Martha suspects the two things may be related. She is fearless in standing up for truth and justice. Based on historical documents about the real life Martha, this is like peeling the layers off an onion - the truth teases out slowly, and the author takes you along for the entire ride. I didn't want to miss a single word. Loved it!    The Woman in Me by Britney Spears. This has had a lot of media attention lately but for someone like me who doesn't know her music at all,  but is always fascinated by peoples' life stories, it was a genuinely interesting read. She really has had a hard time and been consistently let down by the people she's been closest to and who should have cared for her the most. Her own family treated her like the proverbial cash cow; her boyfriends behaved badly, and the court placed her under the conservatorship of her father, where she stayed for years – for no good reason. I knew very little about her and am glad I read the book – although we know a lot of this to be true it's eye opening once again to see the different standards applied to women, particularly ones in the public eye.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Frozen River - Ariel Lawhon  Maine, 1789: The Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice. Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As the local midwife and healer, Martha is good at keeping secrets. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, every murder and debacle that unfolds in the town of Hallowell. In that diary she also documented the details of an alleged rape that occurred four months earlier. Now, one of the men accused of that heinous attack has been found dead in the ice.  While Martha is certain she knows what happened the night of the assault, she suspects that the two crimes are linked, and that there is more to both cases than meets the eye. Over the course of one long, hard winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha's diary lands at the centre of the scandal and threatens to tear both her family and her community apart.    Resurrection Walk - Michael Connelly  Lincoln Lawyer Mickey Haller enlists the help of his half-brother, Harry Bosch, to prove the innocence of a woman convicted of killing her ex-husband.  Defence attorney Mickey Haller is back, taking the long shot cases, where the chances of winning are one in a million. After getting a wrongfully convicted man out of prison, he is inundated with pleas from incarcerated people claiming innocence. He enlists his half-brother, retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, to weed through the letters, knowing most claims will be false.   Bosch pulls a needle from the haystack: a woman in prison for killing her ex-husband, a sheriff's deputy, but who still maintains her innocence. Bosch reviews the case and sees elements that don't add up, and a sheriff's department intent on bringing quick justice in the killing of one of its own.   Now Haller has an uphill battle in court, a David fighting Goliaths to vindicate his client. The path for both lawyer and investigator is fraught with danger from those who don't want the case reopened and will stop at nothing to keep the Haller-Bosch dream team from finding the truth.    LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 1801 William Henry Seward "Sue-erd", an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, is born. He was also featured in the book by Doris Kearns Goodwin called Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, in which she wrote about William as a naturalist. He loved his garden. This little passage offers so many insights into William as a nature lover. As a gardener and just to set this up, this is taking place during the civil war when there's a little break in the action for Seward, and he accompanies his wife Frances and their daughter, back to Auburn, New York, where they were planning to spend the summer.  Seward accompanied Frances and Fanny back to Auburn, where they planned to spend the summer. For a few precious days, he entertained old friends, caught up on his reading, and tended his garden. The sole trying event was the decision to fell a favorite old poplar tree that had grown unsound. Frances could not bear to be present as it was cut, certain that she "should feel every stroke of the axe." Once it was over, however, she could relax in the beautiful garden she had sorely missed during her prolonged stay in Washington. Nearly sixty years old, with the vitality and appearance of a man half his age, Seward typically rose at 6 a.m. when first light slanted into the bedroom window of his twenty-room country home. Rising early allowed him time to complete his morning constitutional through his beloved garden before the breakfast bell was rung. Situated on better than five acres of land, the Seward mansion was surrounded by manicured lawns, elaborate gardens, and walking paths that wound beneath elms, mountain ash, evergreens, and fruit trees.  Decades earlier, Seward had supervised the planting of every one of these trees, which now numbered in the hundreds. He had spent thousands of hours fertilizing and cultivating his flowering shrubs. With what he called 'a lover's interest," he inspected them daily.    Then I love what Doris writes next because she's contrasting Seward with Abraham Lincoln in terms of their love of working outside. [Seward's] horticultural passion was in sharp contrast to Lincoln's lack of interest in planting trees or growing flowers at his Springfield home. Having spent his childhood laboring long hours on his father's struggling farm, Lincoln found little that was romantic or recreational about tilling the soil. When Seward "came into the table," his son Frederick recalled, "he would announce that the hyacinths were in bloom, or that the bluebirds had come, or whatever other change the morning had brought."   1809 Martha Ballard recorded her work as an herbalist and midwife. For 27 years, Martha kept a journal of her work as the town healer and midwife for Hallowell, Maine. Today Martha's marvelous journal gives us a glimpse into the plants that she regularly used and how she applied them medicinally. And as for how Martha sourced her plants, she raised them in her garden or foraged for them in the wild. As the village apothecary, Martha found her own ingredients and personally made all of her herbal remedies. Here's what the writer, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Wrote about Martha's work back in May of 1809.  Martha's far more expansive record focused on the mundane work of gardening, the daily, incremental tasks that each season exacted.  In May of 1809, she "sowed," "sett," "planted,' and "transplanted" in at least half dozen places, digging ground "west of the hous" on May 15 and starting squash, cucumbers, muskmelons and watermelons on "East side house" the same day.  She planted "by the hogg pen" on May 16 and 18 on May 23 sowed string peas "in the end of my gardin," and on May 26, planted "south of the hous." The plots she defined by the three points of the compass were no doubt raised beds, rich with manure, used for starting seeds in cool weather. The garden proper had a fence, which Ephraim mended on May 12. Whether it included the plot near the "hogg pen," we do not know.  All of these spots, managed by Martha, were distinct from the "field." which Jonathan plowed on May 15, and DeLafayette and Mr. Smith on May 27 and May 31.  Martha's was an ordinary garden, a factory for food and medicine that incidentally provided nourishment to the soul. "I have workt in my gardin, she wrote on May 17, the possessive pronoun the only hint of the sense of ownership she felt in her work.  The garden was hers, though her husband or son or the Hallowell and Augusta Bank owned the land.  "I have squash & Cucumbers come up in the bed East side the house," she wrote on May 22.  The garden was hers because she turned the soil, dropped the seeds, and each year recorded in her diary, as though it had never happened before, the recurring miracle of spring.     1899 Luigi Fenaroli, the great Italian agronomist and botanist, is born. Luigi wrote a flora of the Alps, and he was an expert in forestry, but today we remember him for his work with chestnuts. Luigi wrote two books on chestnuts, and he was passionate about chestnuts as a good source of nutrition - especially for people who've lived in the mountains. Although today, of course, chestnuts are beloved in Italy, as well as other parts of the world. Chestnuts are unique in that they contain very little fat and protein compared to other types of nuts, but they are an excellent source of both carbohydrates and water. There is about a 50-50 ratio there. And so it's not surprising to learn that Roman soldiers were given porridge made of chestnuts before they went into battle. It gave them sustenance, that simple Chestnut porridge. Today chestnuts are known as a superfood. They are healthy and irresistibly tasty. And so they rank near the top of the list for most nutritious snacks.   1905 Herbert Ernest Bates (pen name H. E. Bates), English author, is born. He is remembered for his books Love for Lydia (1952), The Darling Buds of May (1958), and My Uncle Silas (1939). In his book, A Love of Flowers (1971), Herbert wrote, It is wonderful to think that one of the few unbroken links between the civilization of ancient Egypt and the civilization of today is the garden.   Herbert also wrote,  I shut my eyes it returns: the evocation of a whole wood, a whole world of darkness and flowers and birds and late summer silence... more than the mere memory of a wood, the first and the best wood.   Herbert wrote about gardeners. He said, The true gardener, like an artist, is never satisfied.   And he also once wrote this about gardens. Gardens... should be like lovely, well-shaped girls: all curves, secret corners, unexpected deviations, seductive surprises, and then still more curves.   1926 On this day, the state of Kentucky selected the Goldenrod for its Floral Emblem. Prior to 1926, Kentucky's floral emblem had been the Bluegrass (which seems more fitting still today), but Kentucky gardening clubs felt Bluegrass wasn't representative of the whole state.   And here's a fun fact: Alabama and Nebraska also picked the native goldenrod to be the State Flower.   Goldenrod has a lot of haters because many people confuse it for ragweed. I hate to even write that - because it makes people think they must look similar. But that's just not true. Once you see Goldenrod and Ragweed individually - you could never confuse them. Ragweed flowers are green and not eye-catching, while goldenrods are golden and very pretty.   I saw an infographic a few years ago that said,   Goldenrod Warning: if I'm here, so is ragweed. Stay indoors! Achoo!   This is clearly maligning Goldenrod. It might as well say the black-eyed Susans are blooming, so is ragweed. Or the Joe Pye Weed is blooming - and so is ragweed - and so, by the way, are all the late summer bloomers - echinacea, helenium, oriental lily, asters, balloon flowers, sedums, tickseed, autumn crocus, Japanese anemones, blue mist shrub, hydrangeas, the list goes on and on. It's just an issue of timing. The genus name Solidago is taken from the Latin "in solidum ago vulnera" and it means "I make wounds whole." And so it's not surprising to learn that Native Americans and herbalists have long recognized the curative power of goldenrod when it comes to wound care.   Now, If you want to plant some Goldenrod, keep in mind that it is an early autumn bloomer. It's also an important food source for honey bees and makes for a fantastic cut flower.   Finally, the botanical painter Anne Ophelia Todd Dowden once painted the goldenrod and observed, Abundant it may be, but repugnant it is not.    Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Of Rhubarb and Roses by Tim Richardson This book came out in 2013, and the subtitle is The Telegraph Book of the Garden. Well, this is such a happy and fun book for gardeners in the summertime. I love the cover, which shows a gentleman sleeping on a garden bench with a little golden Tabby cat beneath him. There's also a lawnmower and a wheelbarrow full of produce. There are beautiful garden beds. There's a beautiful garden arbor. And then, of course, there's a newspaper of the daily Telegraph That's laid out on the wheelbarrow, right by the tomatoes and the carrots and the cabbage and so forth. But this is a book that the Telegraph put together, and it is a compilation book - an anthology of garden essays by garden writers And so in this book, you will find fantastic garden essays from the likes of Stephen Lacey, Mary Keen, Helen Yemm, Bunny Guinness, Monty Don,  Rosemary Verey, and the like. Now here's what Tim wrote in the introduction to this book. I'm not sure quite what I was anticipating, but I know it was not diatribes against melon frappé or the best places to find wild chives on the Lizard peninsula. I'm not sure, either, that I was quite ready for the fact that a garden column appeared in the newspaper every single day from the late 1950s on. The result was bulging file after file brought up from the Telegraph's distant archive, each filled to bursting with carefully snipped clippings. Snow, drought, storm, new plants launched, old plants rediscovered, the latest furor at the Chelsea Show - the garden columnist falls upon everything that makes one year different from the last, for with a cyclical subject such as horticulture there is the ever-present danger of repeating oneself. The Telegraph's writers have avoided this for the most part, though I was amused to come across at least four versions of a 'May I introduce you to euphorbias?" piece by the same author. One of the fascinations of gardening is the way the same issues arise year after year while always seeming different, somehow - perhaps because of the vagaries of the seasons.   Thomas walks us through some of the history of garden writing over at the Telegraph. And he concludes with these words. The best writers can achieve this balance between practical advice and lyrical appreciation - in the case of newspapers, all to a strict deadline.  I suppose this theme of writing to order looms large for me today since the deadline for this introduction is suddenly upon me, and I find myself writing during a weekend away. As it happens, the place is Sissinghurst, and the borrowed desk I am sitting at was Vita's, my view through casement windows that of burnished orange echinacea, crimson salvias, clipped yew, and the beatific, wondering smiles of the visitors gliding by. Their expressions make me think,  Does anything in life give as much pleasure as a beautiful garden?' Last night, the white garden at midnight was a revelation. But that is not a subject to be enlarged upon now; I am going to write it up in the next day or two. It will, I hope, become another garden article fit for publication in the pages of the Daily Telegraph. If you like garden writing and you love anthologies, this is the perfect book for you. Personally, I think this is a great summer gift for gardeners because this book has already been out for a decade already -it came out in 2013, and so used copies are readily available on Amazon for a song. But again, this is a beautiful and fun book. One reviewer wrote, [It's] an assorted box of chocolates. I happily skipped between essays by the likes of Vita Sackville-West, Germaine Greer, and Sir Roy Strong, greedily consuming one after the other in quick succession. For those with more restraint, this is a book that promises many hours of savoured delights.   This book is 464 pages of funny and well-informed garden writing dating back to the 1950s. You can get a copy of Of Rhubarb and Roses by Tim Richardson and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $2.   Botanic Spark 1861 Jacob Ritner, a Union captain in the civil war, wrote to his wife Emeline. In fact, there's a great book that features all of the letters that he wrote to his wife Emeline during the Civil War, and it's called  Love and Valor: Intimate Civil War Letters Between Captain Jacob and Emeline Ritner by Charles Larimer.   Anyway, I stumbled on this letter that Jacob wrote on this day during the civil war when I was reading an excerpt from a book by DC Gill called How We Are Changed by War. In this excerpt, Gill reveals how soldiers survived the war, not only physically but also mentally, and quotes Kirby Farrell: "To preserve their sanity," writes Kirby Farrell, "soldiers [often] concentrated on a prosthetic "reality" by which to ground themselves" (Farrell 1998, 179).   We already know that the garden is grounding. DC writes that mental images of happy places, like gardens, can mitigate bad environments, such as a war zone. An artificial image of home can substitute for the deficiencies of a present-day environment in a war zone. It allows soldiers to mentally project themselves into a more comforting geography. Soldiers' letters repeatedly ask for details to furnish these environments of the mind. "Now Emeline dear," writes Union Captain Jacob Ritner on May 16, 1861, "you must write me a great long letter next Sunday.. .. Tell me all the news, how the trees grow, the garden and grass, what everybody says"   The power of the garden to anchor us extends past space and time, and even merely thinking of our gardens can lift our spirits and calm our worries.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

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 1791 On this day, Martha Ballard recorded her work as an herbalist and midwife. For 27 years, Martha kept a journal of her work as the town healer and midwife for Hallowell, Maine. In all, Martha assisted with 816 births. Today, Martha's marvelous journal gives us a glimpse into the plants she regularly used and how she applied them medicinally. As for how Martha sourced her plants, she raised them in her garden or foraged them in the wild. As the village apothecary, Martha found her ingredients and personally made all of her herbal remedies. Two hundred twenty-nine years ago today, Martha recorded her work to help her sick daughter. She wrote, My daughter Hannah is very unwell this evening. I gave her some Chamomile & Camphor.   Today we know that Chamomile has a calming effect, and Camphor can help treat skin conditions, improve respiratory function, and relieve pain.   1835 Birth of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (known by his pen name Mark Twain), American writer and humorist. Samuel used the garden and garden imagery to convey his wit and satire. In 1874, Samuel's sister, Susan, and her husband built a shed for him to write in. They surprised him with it when Samuel visited their farm in upstate New York. The garden shed was ideally situated on a hilltop overlooking the Chemung ("Sha-mung") River Valley. Like Roald Dahl, Samuel smoked as he wrote, and his sister despised his incessant pipe smoking. In this little octagonal garden/writing shed, Samuel wrote significant sections of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Life on the Mississippi, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, The Prince and the Pauper, A Tramp Abroad, and many other short works. And in 1952, Samuel's octagonal shed was relocated to Elmira College ("EI-MEER-ah") campus in Elmira, New York. Today, people can visit the garden shed with student guides daily throughout the summer and by appointment in the off-season. Here are some garden-related thoughts by Mark Twain. Climate is what we expect; the weather is what we get. It was a soft, reposeful summer landscape, as lovely as a dream and as lonesome as Sunday. To get the full value of joy You must have someone to divide it with. After all these years, I see that I was mistaken about Eve in the beginning; it is better to live outside the garden with her than inside it without her.   1874 Birth of Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian writer and author of the Anne of Green Gables series. Lucy was born on Prince Edward Island and was almost two years old when her mother died. Like her character in Ann of Green Gables, Lucy had an unconventional upbringing when her father left her to be raised by her grandparents. Despite being a Canadian literary icon and loved worldwide, Lucy's personal life was marred by loneliness, death, and depression. Historians now believe she may have ended her own life. Yet we know that flowers and gardening were a balm to Lucy. She grew lettuce, peas, carrots, radish, and herbs in her kitchen garden. And Lucy had a habit of going to the garden after finishing her writing and chores about the house. Today in Norval, a place Lucy lived in her adult life, the Lucy Maud Montgomery Sensory Garden is next to the public school. The Landscape Architect, Eileen Foley, created the garden, which features an analemmatic (horizontal sundial), a butterfly and bird garden, a children's vegetable garden, a log bridge, and a woodland trail. It was Lucy Maud Montgomery, who wrote, I love my garden, and I love working in it. To potter with green growing things, watching each day to see the dear, new sprouts come up, is like taking a hand in creation, I think. Just now, my garden is like faith, the substance of things hoped for.   1875 Birth of Frank Nicholas Meyer, Dutch-American plant explorer. Frank worked as an intrepid explorer for the USDA, and he traveled to Asia to find and collect new plant specimens. His work netted 2,500 new plants, including the beautiful Korean Lilac, Soybeans, Asparagus, Chinese Horse Chestnut, Water Chestnut, Oats, Wild Pears, Ginkgo Biloba, and Persimmons, to name a few. Today, Frank is most remembered for a bit of fruit named in his honor - the Meyer Lemon. Frank found it growing in the doorway to a family home in Peking. The Lemon is suspected to be a hybrid of a standard lemon and mandarin orange. Early on in his career, Frank was known as a rambler and a bit of a loner.  Frank once confessed in an October 11, 1901, letter to a friend, I am pessimistic by nature and have not found a road which leads to relaxation. I withdraw from humanity and try to find relaxation with plants.   Frank was indeed more enthusiastic about plants than his fellow humans. He even named his plants and talked to them. Once he arrived in China, Frank was overwhelmed by the flora. A believer in reincarnation, Frank wrote to David Fairchild in May 1907: [One] short life will never be long enough to find out all about this mighty land. When I think about all these unexplored areas, I get fairly dazzled... I will have to roam around in my next life.   While China offered a dazzling landscape of new plant discoveries, the risks and realities of exploration were hazardous. Edward B. Clark spoke of Frank's difficulties in Technical World in July 1911. He said, Frank has frozen and melted alternately as the altitudes have changed. He has encountered wild beasts and men nearly as wild. He has scaled glaciers and crossed chasms of dizzying depths. He has been the subject of the always-alert suspicions of government officials and strange peoples - jealous of intrusions into their land, but he has found what he was sent for.   Frank improved the diversity and quality of American crops with his exceptional ability to source plants that would grow in the various growing regions of the United States. He was known for his incredible stamina. Unlike many of his peers who were carried in sedan chairs, Frank walked on his own accord for tens of miles daily. And his ability to walk for long distances allowed him to access many of the most treacherous and inaccessible parts of interior Asia - including China, Korea, Manchuria, and Russia. Frank died on his trip home to America. He had boarded a steamer and sailed down the Yangtze River. His body was found days later floating in the river. To this day, his death remains a mystery. But his final letters home expressed loneliness, sadness, and exhaustion. He wrote that his responsibilities seemed "heavier and heavier." The life of a Plant Explorer was anything but easy.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Wood by John Lewis-Stempel  This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is The Life and Times of Cockshutt Wood. John Lewis-Stempel is a farmer and a countryside writer - he prefers that title to 'nature writer.' The Times calls him Britain's finest living nature writer. Country Life calls him "one of the best nature writers of his generation.' His books include the Sunday Times bestsellers The Running Hare and The Wood. He is the only person to have won the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing twice, with Meadowland and Where Poppies Blow. In 2016 he was Magazine Columnist of the Year for his column in Country Life. He lives in Herefordshire ("heh-ruh-frd-shr") with his wife and two children. And The Wood was a BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week'  The Wood is written in diary format, making the whole reading experience more intimate and lyrical. John shares his take on all four seasons in the English woodlands, along with lots of wonderful nuggets culled from history and experience. And I might add that John is a kindred spirit in his love of poetry and folklore. John spent four years managing Cockshutt wood - three and a half acres of mixed woodland in southwest Herefordshire. The job entailed pruning trees and raising livestock (pigs and cows roam free in the woods).  John wrote of the peace and privacy afforded him by his time in the woods. Cockshutt was a sanctuary for me too; a place of ceaseless seasonal wonder where I withdrew into tranquility. No one comes looking for you in wood.   The Woods covers John's last year as the manager of Cockshutt. The publisher writes,  [By then], he had come to know it from the bottom of its beech roots to the tip of its oaks, and to know all the animals that lived there the fox, the pheasants, the wood mice, the tawny owl - and where the best bluebells grew.  For many fauna and flora, woods like Cockshutt are the last refuge. It proves a sanctuary for John too. To read The Wood is to be amongst its trees as the seasons change, following an easy path until, suddenly the view is broken by a screen of leaves, or your foot catches on a root, or bird startles overhead. This is a wood you will never want to leave.   The Wood starts in December - making it the perfect holiday gift or winter gift. John writes about the bare trees and the gently falling snow. The landscape becomes still and silent.  John writes, Oddly aware, walking through the wood this afternoon, that it is dormant rather than dead. How the seeds. the trees and hibernating animals....are locked in a safe sleep against the coldand wet.   By January, the Wood stirs to life with the arrival of snowdrops. If snowdrops are appearing, then the earth must be wakening. Of all our wildflowers the white hells are the purest, the most ethereal. the most chaste... Whatever: the snowdrop says that winter is not forever.   As The Wood takes you through an entire year, the book ends as another winter approaches. The trees are losing their leaves. Animals are preparing for their long sleep. John is preparing to leave the woods for his next chapter as well. Looking back, he writes,  I thought the trees and the birds belonged to me. But now I  realize that I belonged to them.   This book is 304 pages of a joyful, poetic, and soul-stirring time in the woods with the elegantly articulate John Lewis-Stempel as your guide - he's part forest sprite with a dash of delightful nature-soaked tidbits. You can get a copy of The Wood by John Lewis-Stempel and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $6.   Botanic Spark 1936 On this day, the Crystal Palace in London was destroyed by fire. The spectacular blaze was seen from miles away.  Joseph Paxton, the English gardener, architect, and Member of Parliament designed the Crystal Palace, aka the People's Palace, for the first World's Fair - the Great Exhibition of 1851. Joseph had built four elaborate glass greenhouses for the Duke of Devonshire in Chatsworth, which provided valuable experience for creating the Crystal Palace.  The Joseph Paxton biographer Kate Colquhoun wrote about the immensity of the Palace: "[Paxton's] design, initially doodled on a piece of blotting paper, was the architectural triumph of its time. Two thousand men worked for eight months to complete it. It was six times the size of St Paul's Cathedral, enclosed 18 acres, and entertained six million visitors."   The Crystal Place was an extraordinary and revolutionary building. Joseph found extra inspiration for the Palace in the natural architecture of the giant water lily. Instead of creating just a large empty warehouse for the exhibits, Joseph essentially built a massive greenhouse over the existing Hyde Park. The high central arch of the Palace - the grand barrel vault you see in all the old postcards and images of the Crystal Palace - accommodated full-sized trees that Joseph built around. Another innovative aspect of the Crystal Palace was the large beautiful columns. Joseph designed them with a purpose: drainage. By all accounts, the Crystal Palace was an enormous success until the fire started around 7 pm on this day. The manager, Sir Henry Buckland, had brought his little daughter, ironically named Chrystal, with him on his rounds of the building when he spied a small fire on one end of the Palace. Newspaper reports say the flames fanned wind through the Handel organ as the Palace burned to the ground. A sorrowful song to accompany the end of an era in plant exhibition.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

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 1735 On this day, a French expedition made the first attempt to transport cinchona trees to Europe. The scientist Charles Marie de La Condamine was the first man to describe the Cinchona tree, the scientist Charles Marie de La Condamine, was on the expedition along with the botanist Joseph de Jussieu. Their mission was to add the trees to a Paris collection, but sadly the trees were lost when they were washed overboard. Once Europe learned of the power of the Cinchona tree, they were eager to get their hands on the bark. Cinchona's name was in honor of a Spanish Countess named Ana, and her second marriage was to the Count of Chinchon. After the Count was given the job of serving as the viceroy of Peru, a station that oversaw the entire continent of South America, except for Brazil, the couple arrived in Lima in 1629.   The following year, the Countess grew gravely ill with tertian ague. She suffered a fever that occurred every other day, the Governor of Loxa, Don Francisco Lopez de Canizares, sent over a life-saving parcel of cinchona bark. With the cinchona powder, the Countess made a rapid recovery. Eleven years later, when the Count and Countess began their return trip to Spain, they brought along a precious supply of the curative Quina bark for use with their people. They also hoped to introduce cinchona medicine to the rest of Europe.   Sadly, Ana died during the long voyage home in Cartegena in December 1639. But Ana's legacy lives on in the medicine we know today as quinine. After her husband, the Count returned to Spain, the medicinal Quina bark powder became known as Pulvis Comitissa in honor of the Countess. And over 100 years later, Linneaus named the genus Cinchona in honor of the Countess of Chinchon in 1742. Linneaus should have called it Chinchona, but he forgot the "h."   1809 On this day, the herbalist and midwife Martha Ballard worked in the raised beds in her garden and recorded her annual spring gardening efforts. For 27 years, Martha kept a journal of her work as a gardener, town healer, and midwife for Hallowell, Maine.  Today, Martha's great journal gives us a glimpse into the plants she regularly used and how she applied them medicinally. As for how Martha sourced her plants, she raised them in her garden or foraged them in the wild. As the village apothecary, Martha found her own ingredients and made all of her herbal remedies personally. As a midwife, Martha assisted with 816 births. In May of 1809, Martha worked in the gardens surrounding her house. She sowed, set, planted, and transplanted.  On May 15, she planted squash, cucumbers, muskmelons, and watermelons. And on this day, May 16, she sowed string peas at the end of her garden. In Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's work, The Life of Martha Ballard, she writes, Martha's was an ordinary garden, a factory for food and medicine that incidentally provided nourishment to the soul.  "I have workt in my gardin," she wrote on May 17, the possessive pronoun the only hint of the sense of ownership she felt in her work. The garden was hers, though her husband or son or the Hallowell and Augusta Bank owned the land.  "I have squash and Cucumbers come up in the bed [on the] east side the house," she wrote on May 22.  The garden was hers because she turned the soil, dropped the seeds, and each year recorded in her diary, as though it had never happened before, the recurring miracle of spring.   1861 On this day, Union Captain Jacob Ritner wrote back to his wife, Emeline. Jacob and Emeline exchanged marvelous letters throughout the Civil War that depicted their heroic lives on both the battlefield and homefront. While Jacob wrote with the tragic news of war, Emeline kept him apprised of their four small children and the challenges of maintaining the family farm. Emeline's news from home kept Jacob sane and anchored to the happier reality that awaited him after the war. Emeline often wrote about the garden and the landscape, proving that even news of a faraway garden can be anchoring and grounding amid hardship. And so, on this day back in 1861, Jacob wrote in his letter, Now Emeline dear, you must write me a great long letter next Sunday.  Tell me all the news, how the trees grow, the garden and grass, what everybody says...   1918 On this day, the rose season began at Munstead Wood, the Arts and Crafts style home and surrounding gardens in Surrey, England, created by garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. Munstead Wood became famous thanks to Gertrude's books and articles in magazines like Country Life. Gertrude lived at Munstead Wood from 1897 to 1932. Volume 82 of The Garden celebrated the first rose to open at Munstead Wood on this day by reporting, The rose season begins. The opening the first Rose is always a source of delight. The first we have seen in the open this year was the pink Rosa rugosa at Munstead Wood on May 16. This is one of the oldest garden roses and is said to have been cultivated since 1100 A.D. in China, where the ladies of the Court prepared a kind of potpourri from its petals, gathered on a fine day, and mixed with Camphor and Musk.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Secret Garden Cookbook, Newly Revised Edition by Amy Cotler This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is Inspiring Recipes from the Magical World of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden. If you've been listening to the show, I've been on a little bit of a cookbook kick lately, and cookbooks tied to literature. So this is continuing in that same vein with this great book called The Secret Garden Cookbook by Amy Kotler. Amy is a professional chef, caterer, and cooking-school teacher - and if you're a cookbook lover, you will truly appreciate her background in the kitchen. When this book came out, people were going crazy for the Toffee Pudding recipe that you can find on page 32. So that's just a little heads up. If you're a gardener, I'll point out that right at the beginning of the book is a beautiful picture of the Francis Hodgson Burnett Memorial Fountain. It's both a statue and a tranquil fountain filled with lily pads that depicts Mary and Dickon from The Secret Garden. It's located in Central Park in New York City, and it's just a gorgeous photo of this Memorial. Here's how Amy introduces us to The Secret Garden and the magic of food: She writes, Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden is about the magic of making things come alive. Mary, Colin, and Dickon all help the forgotten secret garden to grow again. ButMary and Colin come alive, too, through hard work, friendship, and good, nourishing food.  When Mary Lennox first arrives atMisselthwaite Manor from India, she is thin,sallow, and unhealthy looking. But as she goes outside, skips rope, and works in the garden, her appetite grows. Colin, too, is sickly until he learns the secret of the garden. By the end of the novel, he is enjoying food as much as Mary. Pails of fresh milk, dough cakes with brown sugar, hearty porridge, fire-roasted potatoes-Mary, and Colin can't get enough of them! The children of The Secret Garden grew up during the reign of Queen Victoria... commonly known as the Victorian era. In those days, food took a long time to cook and serve.  Even Mrs. Sowerby, Dickon's mother, though she must feed fourteen people, manages to find a little extra food for Mary and Colin when they experience the joys of eating.   And that's what this book is all about; a hardy appreciation of good food. This book is 112 pages of fifty recipes inspired by The Secret Garden, and they're all updated for the modern kitchen and appeal to today's tastes. You can get a copy of The Secret Garden Cookbook, Newly Revised Edition by Amy Cotler, and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $10.   Botanic Spark 1905 Birth of Herbert Ernest Bates (pen name H. E. Bates) English author. He once wrote, The true gardener, like an artist, is never satisfied.   H.E. is remembered for his books, Love for Lydia (1952), The Darling Buds of May (1958), and My Uncle Silas (1939). The Darling Buds of May inspired a TV series in the 1990s. In his book, A Love of Flowers (1971), H.E. wrote, It is wonderful to think that one of the few unbroken links between the civilization of ancient Egypt and the civilization of today is the garden. And he also wrote, Gardens… should be like lovely, well-shaped girls: all curves, secret corners, unexpected deviations, seductive surprises, and then still more curves.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Emily, John and David discuss the invasion of the U.S. Capitol and Democrats’ historic win in Georgia. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:  Yuval Levin for the National Review: “Failures of Leadership in a Populist Age” Anne Applebaum for the Atlantic: “History Will Judge the Complicit” Emily Bazelon for the New York Times Magazine: “The Pandemic Election” Emily Bazelon for Slate in 2013: “Voting Rights 2.0” Steven Lance for Atavist: “The Secret Formula: Could Shrunken Heads From the Amazon Hold the Key to Curing Cancer? One Man Thought So—and Spent a Lifetime Trying to Prove It.”  A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812,by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich  Here are this week’s cocktail chatters:  John: Agence France-Presse, “Exceptionally Well-Preserved Snack Bar Unearthed in Pompeii” David: David Segal for the New York Times: “It’s Mother vs. Son in Britain’s Priciest Divorce War”  Emily: Tweet by Kyle Machulis @qDo of the most important competitive dog dancing video Listener chatter from Cyrus Farivar @cfarivar: Jason Kottke for Kottke.org: “The Last Documented Widow of a Civil War Veteran Has Died at the Age of 101” Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, Emily, and John consider in what time period they would first go to see a doctor, given what we know now about the history of medicine. You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank. Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily, John and David discuss the invasion of the U.S. Capitol and Democrats’ historic win in Georgia. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:  Yuval Levin for the National Review: “Failures of Leadership in a Populist Age” Anne Applebaum for the Atlantic: “History Will Judge the Complicit” Emily Bazelon for the New York Times Magazine: “The Pandemic Election” Emily Bazelon for Slate in 2013: “Voting Rights 2.0” Steven Lance for Atavist: “The Secret Formula: Could Shrunken Heads From the Amazon Hold the Key to Curing Cancer? One Man Thought So—and Spent a Lifetime Trying to Prove It.”  A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812,by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich  Here are this week’s cocktail chatters:  John: Agence France-Presse, “Exceptionally Well-Preserved Snack Bar Unearthed in Pompeii” David: David Segal for the New York Times: “It’s Mother vs. Son in Britain’s Priciest Divorce War”  Emily: Tweet by Kyle Machulis @qDo of the most important competitive dog dancing video Listener chatter from Cyrus Farivar @cfarivar: Jason Kottke for Kottke.org: “The Last Documented Widow of a Civil War Veteran Has Died at the Age of 101” Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, Emily, and John consider in what time period they would first go to see a doctor, given what we know now about the history of medicine. You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank. Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we celebrate an herbalist who kept a remarkable journal. We'll also learn about the German botanist who founded the study of algae. We’ll review the charming words of an American writer and poet born today. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a helpful guide for trees, shrubs, and hedges. And then we’ll wrap things up with the life story of an icon of Canadian literature, beloved worldwide, and she loved to garden.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to “Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast.” And she will. It's just that easy.   The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show and more. Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf.   Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org.   Curated News Georgia-Made Wreaths You’ll Want to Keep Up Past New Year’s | Garden & Gun | HASKELL HARRIS   Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community.   So, there’s no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you’d search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events November 30, 1791   On this day, Martha Ballard recorded her work as an herbalist and midwife. For 27 years, Martha kept a journal of her work as the town healer and midwife for Hallowell, Maine. In all, Martha assisted with 816 births. Today, Martha’s marvelous journal gives us a glimpse into the plants she regularly used and how she applied them medicinally. As for how Martha sourced her plants, she raised them in her garden or foraged them in the wild. As the village apothecary, Martha found her own ingredients and personally made all of her herbal remedies. And so it was that 229 years ago today, Martha recorded her work to help her sick daughter. She wrote: "My daughter Hannah is very unwell this evening. I gave her some Chamomile & Camphor.” Today we know that Chamomile has a calming effect, and Camphor can help treat skin conditions, improve respiratory function, and relieve pain.   November 30, 1823  Today is the birthday of the German botanist Nathanael Pringsheim. Nathanael was a founder of algology or the study of algae. Nathanael’s work led to an understanding of how algae and fungi live, develop, and reproduce. In 1882, Nathanael founded the German Botanical Society.   November 30, 1835 Today is the birthday of the American writer and humorist Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by his pen name Mark Twain. Samuel used the garden and garden imagery to convey his wit and satire. In 1874, Samuel’s sister, Susan, and her husband built an octagonal shed for him to write in. They surprised him with it when Samuel visited their farm in upstate New York. The garden shed was perfectly situated on a hilltop overlooking the Chemung (“Sha-mung”) River Valley. As was the case with Roald Dahl, the shed was not only a spur for creativity, but it removed Samuel from the main home. Like Roald Dahl, Samuel smoked as he wrote, and his sister despised his incessant pipe smoking. In this little octagonal garden/writing shed, Samuel wrote significant sections of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Life on the Mississippi, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, The Prince and the Pauper, A Tramp Abroad, and many other short works. And, in 1952, Samuel’s Octagonal Shed was relocated to the Elmira College (“El-MEER-ah”) campus in Elmira, New York. Today, people can visit the garden shed with student guides daily throughout the summer and by appointment in the off-season. Here are some garden-related thoughts by Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain. Climate is what we expect; weather is what we get. — Mark Twain, American humorist and novelist, Climate   It was a soft, reposeful summer landscape, as lovely as a dream, and as lonesome as Sunday. — Mark Twain, American humorist and novelist, The Summer Landscape   To get the full value of joy You must have someone to divide it with. After all these years, I see that I was mistaken about Eve in the beginning; it is better to live outside the Garden with her than inside it without her. — Mark Twain, American humorist and novelist, Eve   Unearthed Words November 30, 1838 Today is the birthday of the American writer and poet Charlotte Fiske Bates. Many of her poems were about gardens or incorporated garden imagery. Although the heart is very sore from loss,   Yet there are healing powers; It eases much the burden of a cross   To cover it with flowers. Faith, hope, and love -the blossoms of the three   Help heal the hurt of our humanity. — Charlotte Fiske Bates, American writer and poet, The Healing Powers of Flowers   Of those that make our honey, it is known   That feared and beaten back, they turn and sting. While, fearlessly, if they are let alone,   In time they fly away on harmless wing. And so suspicions buzz like angry bees:  Do they torment you with their threatened stings? Oh! Let them buzz as near you as they please;  Keep quiet. They, as well as bees, have wings. — Charlotte Fiske Bates, American writer, and poet, Suspicions   As dyed in blood, the streaming vines appear,   While long and low, the wind about them grieves. The heart of autumn must have broken here   And poured its treasure out upon the leaves. — Charlotte Fiske Bates, American writer, and poet, Woodbines in October (Clematis virginiana) and similar to the Sweet Autumn Clematis   Grow That Garden Library Trees, Shrubs & Hedges for Your Home by Editors of Creative Homeowner This book came out in 2010, and the subtitle is Secrets for Selection and Care (Creative Homeowner) Over 1,000 Plant Descriptions and 550 Photos to Help You Design Your Landscape and Enhance Your Outdoor Space. As we get older, it’s best to transition to more trees, shrubs, and hedges in the garden for overall less maintenance, worry, and hassle. In this book, you will learn how to: Landscape with trees, shrubs, and hedges for four-season interest, color, and beauty. Select plants to improve your property's appearance and value Create a harmonious design, keeping in mind color, scale, and texture. Save money by selecting the best cultivars. Improve your soil and success rate while planting and transplanting with confidence Prune and care for your plants for extended beauty and life Trees, shrubs, and hedges are the "bones" of the garden, and designing with them is a skill that can be learned. This book is a whopping 550 pages, complete with loads of color photos and illustrations of everything you need to design a beautiful landscape with Trees, Shrubs & Hedges for Your Home. You can get a copy of Trees, Shrubs & Hedges for Your Home and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $13.   Today’s Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart November 30, 1874   Today is the birthday of the Canadian writer and author of the Anne of Green Gables series Lucy Maud Montgomery. Lucy was born on Prince Edward Island, and she was almost two years old when her mother died. Like her character Ann of Green Gables, Lucy had an unconventional upbringing when her father left her to be raised by her grandparents. Despite being a Canadian literary icon and loved worldwide, Lucy’s personal life was marred by loneliness, death, and depression. Historians now believe she may have ended her own life. Yet we know that flowers and gardening were a balm to Lucy. She grew lettuce, peas, carrots, radish, and herbs in her kitchen garden. And Lucy had a habit of going to the garden after finishing her writing and her chores about the house. Today in Norval, a place Lucy lived in her adult life, the Lucy Maud Montgomery Sensory Garden is located next to the public school. The Landscape Architect, Eileen Foley, created the garden, which features an analemmatic or horizontal sundial, a butterfly and bird garden, a children's vegetable garden, a log bridge, and a woodland trail. It was Lucy Maud Montgomery, who wrote, “I love my garden, and I love working in it. To potter with green growing things, watching each day to see the dear, new sprouts come up, is like taking a hand in creation, I think. Just now, my garden is like faith - the substance of things hoped for.”   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Who was Martha Ballard? How has she changed history? Find out from Dr. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Pulitzer and Prize winning historian and author in this episode of the Of Witches and Women Podcast; a herstory podcast. Check out the pod sponsor, Lua Rae Clothing and use the promo code WITCHES15 for 15% off your entire purchase.

In this episode, I interview Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author Laurel Thatcher Ulrich about her book, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812. We discuss the unique writing style of Martha as an 18th century woman, the changing roles of midwives and doctors at the turn of the 19th century, and the many factors that influence the ways in which women have experienced childbirth over the centuries.

Dialogue Sunday Gospel Study June 21, 2020: Alma 13-16 Laurel Thatcher Ulrich is 300th Anniversary University Professor emerita at Harvard University. She is probably best known for A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard… The post Dialogue Book of Mormon Gospel Study with Laurel Thatcher Ulrich on Alma 13–16 appeared first on Dialogue Journal.

For the first episode, I talk through my 16 favorite books I've read so far in 2020. There was a limit to the number of links I could provide in the description, so there are no Indiebound links they can be emailed. Where to find the books mentioned in this episode: Howard's End is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home - Susan Hill Worldcat Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri Worldcat The Tangier Archive: The Great War Photographs of Captain Givord - Carlos Traspaderne (Ed) Worldcat Exposing Slavery: Photography,Human Bondage, and the Birth of Modern Visual Politics in America - Matthew Fox-Amato Worldcat Once More We Saw Stars - Jayson Greene Worldcat The Memory Police - Yoko Ogawa Worldcat The Vanished Birds - Simon Jimenez Worldcat Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made - Josh Frank (Author),Tim Heidecker and Manuela Pertega (Illustrator) Worldcat What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - Haruki Murakami Worldcat The Diving Pool: Three Novellas - Yoko Ogawa Worldcat America's Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today - Pamela S. Nadell Worldcat Catboy - Benji Nate Worldcat A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785 - 1812. - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich Worldcat Rise: A Newsflesh Collection - Mira Grant Worldcat Red Clocks - Leni Zumas Worldcat Asto City Kurt Busiek (Author) Alex ross and Brent Anderson (Artists). Worldcat See the (almost) full list at IndieBound. Thriftbooks 15% of 1st order. (With some limitations).

Dr. Don Shaffer teaches history at Southern New Hampshire University and other institutions. In this episode, we discuss Dr. Shaffer’s research into black veterans of the Civil War and his life as a professor for online history courses. This episode’s recommendations: Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 (Penguin Random House, 1991): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/181591/a-midwifes-tale-by-laurel-thatcher-ulrich/ W. W. Norton’s “What Can I Do With a History Degree?” Infographic: https://cdn.wwnorton.com/marketing/college/images/History_HistoryCareersPoster_Q-441.jpg Donald R. Shaffer, After the Glory: The Struggles of Black Civil War Veterans (University Press of Kansas, 2004): https://kansaspress.ku.edu/978-0-7006-1328-1.html

[Please note – some of the descriptions in this article/episode are graphic. Use discretion with younger readers/listeners] You are lying in your bed on this hot July night. It has been a long, hot summer with no rain for weeks. The ground is turning to dust and the wind is warmer than usual. Outside, the light of moon is bright as it peeks between the curtains and if you are still, you can hear the rustle of the leaves and the peepers outside in the distance. You close your eyes again and know that soon, you will drift back to sleep. There are chores to do in the morning and it will come soon enough. As you lie there drifting back to sleep, you hear a sound, something not ordinary, something not expected. You stiffen and listen more intently. Time slows down to a crawl as you attend to every single noise. What was that? Was that your mother? Your sister? And then a thump and a muffled scream bolt you to attention. Someone is in the house, someone is moving in the darkness. Another muffled sound – someone is in trouble. You jump out of bed, shouting for your father to help as you move toward the door. But it is too late. From the light peeking in at the window, for the moon shone bright, you see the glint of an ax and you see the form of a man moving toward you with dire intent. The ax falls but you are fast and it glances over your shoulder instead of into it. You are near enough to the door to make your escape into the yard, away from your assailant. As you run, your mind a whirlwind, you cannot shake the vision that fills it. That man wielding the ax, that man who is undoubtedly attacking your family as you run for help...no, it couldn't be...because he is the one who has supported and protected you your whole life. But you know it as surely as you feel the pain in your shoulder – the man who attacked you was your own father. Captain James Purington (Purrinton, Purrington) was born in Bowdoinham, Maine in 1760 and was from good Yankee stock. His father was a Cape Cod man and his mother was from North Yarmouth. Having married young Betsy Clifford of Bath, James came into an inheritance upon the death of his father that set him up as what we would today call a rich and independent farmer. Known for his frugality and his industrious work ethic, the people of Bowdoinham found him to be worthy of the rank of Captain of their militia. From what little we know of him in this time, he had every reason to be happy. After all, he had been blessed with a productive farmstead, a wife who had given him twelve children, four of whom died in infancy, and the respect of his community. Indeed, he seemed to possess everything a man could desire for the sum total of happiness. But there is always more to a person than possessions or achievements, something deeper and more essential to the true character within, something that few people even suspect might be there, hiding in the dark shadows of the mind. What makes one person successful might make another person a failure, depending on such intangible things as their outlook or their point of view. James Purington was a man with a grave countenance, a man who kept his own counsel in polite company, and who, it is claimed, had trouble looking another man in the eye while he spoke. It was, perhaps, simply an idiosyncrasy, just a way of his, but add that to his way of never believing he was wrong, never admitting to an error. James Purington always had to be right. Those who knew him claim that he was ‘easily elated or depressed,' depending on how well his finances fared. Some ideas seemed to weigh more heavily on his mind than others. For all of these qualities, he was also a tenacious worker, a man who understood what it meant to do an honest days labor. As the Captain of the Militia, he took his responsibility toward his community very seriously. Yes,if there was one word that might sum up such a man, it might be that he was responsible, for his community's safety, and for his family's well-being, in this world and the next. As prosperous as he was in Bowdoinham, he made the decision to move northward. In 1803, Maine was still the frontier of the United States. This sparsely populated area was settled mostly along her waterways and coast and whenever people of a certain disposition found the world creeping a little too closely to them, they moved north and that meant inland. Captain Purington purchased Lot#17, a hundred acre plot of land just above the established farm of Ephraim and Martha Ballard in Augusta, along what is known today as the Old Belgrade Road. The Ballard Farm was small but functional, while the Captain's lot of land was still wild and needed clearing. Having built a shelter on the land, James Purington set to work clearing it by the toil of his own two hands while his family remained in Bowdoinham. In August of 1805, he had cleared six acres of his hundred - evidence of how hard this man worked. He had done more in two years than most men did in four. The locals in his new little neighborhood respected this quiet, sober man who had tamed his patch of wilderness. Soon, he moved his family into the sturdy house he had built for them. If they shared bedrooms, there was room for the six children, whose ages ranged from 19 years old to two years old. Everyone would have to do their part to make the new farm work. It was like a new beginning for the family. Martha Ballard, whose diary is one of the primary sources we have of life in Maine in the early 1800s, claims that the Puringtons were good neighbors who often visited her. She cooked bread for them, had tea with Mrs. Purington, and often visited with the children. Martha Ballard traveled far and wide in her role as midwife in the region and once, Captain Purington even took time to bring her to and from a delivery. This was just the kind of thing neighbors did for each other. They had to rely on each other, through the good times and the bad. The move from Bowdoinham seemed like it had been a good one. But why did he move in the first place? What would make a prosperous and respected member of the community move to a much more difficult lifestyle in the wilderness, we do not know. To give up the relative comfort of an established farm for the grind of a new one must have required a push from some direction. We do not know why James Purington moved his family. Perhaps it had something to do with his standing in the faith. Most Christian circles adhere to the idea that souls are saved only if they find redemption in their faith in Jesus Christ. Those who do not find salvation or who are not ‘born again' will not enter the Kingdom and will ultimately find their souls in some other place, a place of torment, a place away from God's mercy. Early New England was a fruitful field for those who believed we were all sinners in the hands of an angry God. But as the years went on, many Christians who had been brought up with such doctrine began to doubt it, and other ideas began to form. It is possible that his beliefs contrasted with those of his peers in Bowdoinham and perhaps the move was instigated as a way to practice his new faith away from the judgment of old friends and acquaintances. Many New England towns at the time were split on the grounds of religious dogma. Free-Will Baptists believed that sinners could choose to accept or reject Christ's offer of salvation. The new Universalists believed in a benevolent God and free grace for all believers. Both of these new beliefs rejected the Calvinist idea that only a few predestined souls would enter Heaven. Purington rejected that idea, as well and to that extent, it separated him from the community that had previously embraced him. James Purington was a man who must have moved from this idea of special salvation to a new one at the time, circulating quietly throughout the land. The Universalist movement was only just beginning and how Purington first heard of the doctrine, we will never know. We do know from a pamphlet published shortly after his death by local Augusta printer Peter Edes that Purington believed in the idea of universal salvation. According to this doctrine, the divine love and mercy of God was such that anyone, any sinful human soul, no matter what they believed in life or what they had done, will be granted salvation. They don't even have to want it - it will simply happen. God's love and mercy must be stronger, better and deeper than that of human love and mercy, according to these precepts. Jesus, the adherents believed, died for everyone's sins, not just for those who want to be saved. We know that James Purington believed this. In Ede's tract on Purington, he states, “He was obstinately tenacious of his opinion and it was very difficult to convince him that he was in error. He has frequently, however, voluntarily changed his religious sentiments; and he died a firm believer in the doctrine of universal salvation. When surrounded by his family, he has been often heard to express his fond anticipation of the moment when they would all be happy; and has sometimes added, how greatly it would enhance his happiness if they could all die at once.” The summer of 1806 saw precious little rain, a reason for grave concern for the subsistence farmers of Maine at the time. In his pamphlet, Peter Edes claims that Purington seemed ‘greatly depressed' and when speaking with his neighbors, spoke of his concern that his family would suffer for want of bread and that his cattle would starve. His tendency to suffer from depression when things were going poorly made him dread the consequences of a drought. His brooding was something his family knew about, but they also must have assumed that it would pass as soon as the next heavy rain. The first suspicion that something was terribly askew occurred on Sunday, July 6. While his wife and eldest daughter went to prayer meeting, James remained at home with the other children. His daughter Martha noticed her father writing a letter. When he perceived that she had seen him in the act of writing, he quickly concealed the letter from her sight. She asked him what he was doing and he replied, “Nothing.” Then, he asked her for his butcher knife, claiming it needed to be sharpened. She brought it to him and he spent some time sharpening it. Later, daughter Martha witnessed him standing quietly before the mirror, moving his left hand over and over his throat. This singular act caused Martha to exclaim, “Dada, what are you doing?” Again, his answer was “Nothing,” as he laid the knife solemnly down on the table. When Betsy returned from church meeting, Martha told her what had transpired. A clandestine search for the letter he had been writing was made, which was found among his papers. It read as follows: “Dear Brother, These lines is to let you know that I am going on a long journey, and I would have you sell what I have, and put it out to interest, and put out my boys to trades, or send them to sea. I cannot see the distress of my family - God only knows my distress. -I would have you put Nathaniel to uncle Purrinton, to a tanner's trade - I want James to go to school, until sufficient to attend in a store - Benjamin to a blacksmith's trade, or to what you think best - But to be sure to give them learning, if it takes all - Divide what is left, for I am no more.” Betsy confronted her husband with the contents of the letter. What could they mean but suicide? What journey other than the long journey from one world to another? James Purington tried to console his distraught wife. He told her that he had no intention of committing suicide, that instead, he had a premonition that his death was near and he was merely taking precautions, just in case. According to Peter Edes, nothing could console Mrs. Purington. It was simply too terrible to contemplate. But something was horribly, terribly wrong in the mind of Captain James Purington. Perhaps he was considering suicide, except now his wife and family knew of his plan - therefore, he had to change it. If he killed himself, would not his family grieve terribly? Would not that sorrow go on for the rest of their lives? Was there a way to minimize their distress and bring the family back together again to perfect and never-ending happiness? We are presented with three contemporary documents that detail what happened in the Purington house on the night of Wednesday, July 9th, 1806. The first is the pamphlet written immediately after the events of that evening, printed and sold by Peter Edes, an Augusta area printer from Boston famous for, among other things, filling the punch bowl several times for the patriots who threw tea into Boston Harbor just before the Tea Party, and being jailed by the British for 107 days for watching the Battle of Bunker Hill from a distance and rooting for the patriots. Edes was a shrewd salesman and he knew a good story when he heard one. He moved quickly to print the details of the night, though we do not know his sources. Like the good businessman he was, he made sure that any good detail was fleshed out to become a lurid one. The other document we have is the one we must believe to be the most reliable and valid source: Martha Ballard's diary. Martha was the Purington's next door neighbor. She knew the family and she was one of the first to visit the Purington home. Her diary entry is very short, almost too brief, to describe the events. It is almost as if it was too much for her poor heart to bear. The final source is the verdict of the jury of inquiry, a succinct document that lays out the details of the crime. Together, these three documents, accompanied by the statements of the two surviving children, paint the terrible sequence of events of that fateful evening. Martha Ballard and her husband Ephraim were sound asleep when a commotion at their front door awoke them at three in the morning. Two neighbors greeted them at the door with grave news - Captain Purington had just murdered all of this family with the exception of his seventeen year old son, James, who had been wounded by his father with an ax as he fled the murder house. James had showed up at another neighbor's house in only his shirt, his shoulder covered with blood. Martha's son Jonathan accompanied Mr. Wiman, the neighbor, to the Purington house. Upon returning to his mother's, he described what he saw as he went from room to room with nothing more than the light of a single candle. Peter Ede's pamphlet is entitled, “Horrid Massacre!! Sketches of the Life of Captain James Purrinton, the night of the 8th of July, 1806. murdering his wife, six children and himself.” In it, we can read his red prose. “In the outer room lay prostrate on his face and weltering in his gore, the perpetrator of the dreadful deed; his throat cut in the most shocking manner, and the bloody razor lying on a table by his side - In an adjoining bed-room lay Mrs. Purrinton in her bed, her head almost severed from her body; and near her on the floor, a little daughter about ten years old, who probably hearing the cries of distress, alarmed and terrified, ran to her mother for relief, and was murdered by her bedside. In another apartment was found in one bed, the two oldest and youngest daughters; the first most dreadfully butchered; the second desperately wounded, and reclining her head on the body of the dead infant and in a state of indescribable horror and almost total insensibility. In the room with the father, lay in bed with their throats cut, the two youngest sons. And in another room was found on the hearth, most dreadfully mangled, the second son; he had fallen with his trousers under one arm, with which he had attempted to escape. On the breastwork over the fireplace, was the distinct impression of a bloody hand, where the unhappy victim had probably supported himself before he fell.” As grisly as Edes description is, there is also Martha Ballard's description of what her son saw that night. “They two went to (the) house where the horrid scene was perpetrated. My son went in and found a candle, which he lit and to his great surprise (saw) Purington, his wife & six children's' corpses. Martha he perceived had life remaining who was removed to his house. Surgical aid was immediately called and she remains alive as yet. My husband went and returned before sunrise when after taking a little food he and I went on to the house there to behold the most shocking scene that was even seen in this part of the world. May an infinitely good God grant that we may all take suitable notice of this horrid deed, learn wisdom therefrom. The corpses were removed to his barn where they were washed and laid out side by side. A horrid spectacle which many hundred persons came to behold. I was there till near night when son Jonathan conducted me to his house and gave me refreshment. The coffins were brought and the corpses carried in a wagon and deposited in the Augusta meeting house.” James Purington, on hearing the cries of his mother, arose from his bed and shouted to her to see what was amiss. He was able to throw his shirt on and run toward the door when his father appeared and struck at him with an ax. The ax passed over his shoulder, glancing off, making only a superficial wound. At this point 12 year old Benjamin awoke and began to run when his father prevented him from doing so with mortal consequences. James Purington later said that this was all done in utter silence. Everything was done efficiently and with a coolness colder than death. Martha also survived, but her wounds would soon prove fatal. She recalled that as the family retired to bed that evening, her father was still awake, reading the Bible. She awoke in the darkness of her room as her sister was murdered next to her. She was hit three times, but rolled away, feigning death. Within days, she perished from her wounds. What followed was perhaps the largest public funeral that Augusta had known. President Washington had died six years earlier and that event had brought the people together to publicly mourn his passing, but this even rivaled such a spectacle. Leading the funeral procession were the men who had been part of the jury of inquest, along with the coroner. Behind them were the victims in their coffins, followed by family members and citizens from all walks of life, from clergy to militia, magistrates and workmen. Each family member's coffin was carried by their neighbors and friends. James Purington's body was placed on a wagon and was the last in the procession. Strangely, someone had placed the bloody ax and razor on the top of his coffin. The bodies of Mrs. Purington and her children were ceremoniously buried together in an unmarked mass grave in the common burying ground in Augusta. Captain Purington was ‘interred without the wall,' which can be taken to mean that he was put into a hole by the side of the road in an unmarked grave, forever separated from his family. Why did James Purington kill his family and then himself? It is clear that he had a large enough estate and money enough to see them through the harshest of droughts. He had made it clear to neighbors that he worried that his family would starve. For that, we can turn to the words of Timothy Merritt in a sermon he preached at Bowdoinham not ten days after the tragedy. Merritt knew Captain Purington. He had been his minster before the Captain shifted his family north and he understood what was in the heart and mind of his old congregate. It is clear that Merritt pointed to Purington's belief in universal salvation as the cause of this heinous and violent act. In fact, with a little imagination, one might picture Merritt speaking with Purington about his wrong belief in which he persisted. Remember, Captain Purington liked to be right, all the time. How well would he take it when a man of the cloth perhaps upbraided him for straying from church doctrine, imagining that everyone, no matter how sinful, could be saved? Might he have suggested to Purington that he could no longer be a part of that congregation if he persisted in this belief. Did Purington anticipate such a thing might happen and move his family to a place where they could escape the watchful eyes of the minister? What actually happened, we cannot know, but we can read Merritt's words concerning Purington and his reasons. He writes, “You all know, that for some years past, he has professed to believe firmly that all mankind, immediately upon leaving the body, go to a state of the most perfect rest and enjoyment: and to my own certain knowledge he denied the doctrine of a day of judgment and retribution. Of course, it was no question with him whether his family were regenerate, or born again, or in other words, whether they were prepared for so sudden a remove from this world. It was, therefore, natural, and what any one would do under the same circumstances, to endeavor to prevent the anticipated trouble of his family, and make them all forever happy. There is every reason to believe that this was his real motive.” If the next world is guaranteed to be better than this one, no matter what, claims Merritt, then Purrington was only taking care of his family by slaying them in the bright moonlit night of July 9th. They were to be together forever in a blissful state. No matter how good this world is, the next one is immeasurably better, so why not hasten towards it? But Merrill made sure to drive the point home to his congregation, to the same congregation that Purrington had once belonged, that the Captain's beliefs had been in error. You don't get into Heaven that easily. Murder is a sin. Hell is real. Not everyone is saved. What James Purington believed will never be known. It must remain inexplicable and unknown. They did live in the isolation of an early Maine farm, with only a few neighbors for company. His life had radically changed with the move from an established farm to a new hardscrabble farm. With a lot of time on his hands and few people to challenge his perspectives, James Purington may have fallen victim to his own peculiar view of the world. Perhaps it was a kind of religious fervor that caused him to become the Angel of Death in his own house that night. Perhaps he was what we would today call depressed, or worse, psychotic. What we do know is that on the night of the massacre, the family Bible was open to the ninth chapter of the Book of Ezekiel, which reads, “He cried also into mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. ...let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark.” Elizabeth Purrington (-1806)Polly Purrington (1787 – 1806)Martha Purrington (1791 – 1806)Benjamin Purrington (1794 – 1806)Anna Purrington (1796 – 1806)Nathaniel Purrington (1798 – 1806)Nathan Purrington (1800 – 1806)Louisa Purrington (1804 – 1806) SOURCES Edes, Peter, Horrid Massacre!!: Sketches of the Life of Captain James Purrinton, who on the Night of the Eighth of July, 1806, Murdered His Wife, Six Children, and Himself: with a Particular Account of that shocking Catastrophe: to which are Subjoined, Remarks on the Fatal Tendency of Erroneous Principles, and Motives for Receiving and Obeying the Pure and Salutary Precepts of the Gospel, Augusta, 1806. Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher, A Midwife's Tale, Vintage, 1991.

This week I tell you the story of Martha Ballard and how important primary sources are. Follow the show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twsshistory/ This is a production of NDMU Radio

Meet Allison. Allison Horrocks grew up on American Girl books, the Dear America series, and Nancy Drew. Combining a love for history and detection, it can come as no surprise she’s chosen to pursue a career in public history. Listen as Allison explains her life in books from Amelia Bedilia to The Diary of Martha Ballard, with many detours in between. Want to share your story on Chapters? Contact us at www.chapterspod.com ]]>

This podcast discusses women in the Colonial Northeast in the 1700's and the wonderful resource Martha Ballard, midwife and business woman, left us in her diary.