Podcasts about Sissinghurst

Our latest episode comes from a rather unexpected venue: a former Chelsea Flower Show garden! Now located in London's Notting Hill, it's where we meet Danny Clarke, garden designer, TV presenter, and self-confessed tree hugger. As we explore the public woodland-themed garden, Danny explains how it tells the stories of injustice against humans and nature. He created the garden as part of his work with Grow2Know, a charity dedicated to making nature more appealing and accessible to a wider audience. It's a subject close to his heart and as he tells us about his childhood and the meaning behind his moniker, The Black Gardener, his passion is clear. Danny finds comfort and joy in nature: the sound of birdsong, the smell of tree bark, the texture of soil. And he's doing his utmost to help as many people as possible, regardless of background, to find that joy too. Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about the Woodland Trust at woodlandtrust.org.uk Transcript You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive.  Adam: Well, today I'm off to meet someone much closer to home than normal. I can do it on the tube rather than going on the train. I am meeting Danny Clarke, who is a British garden designer who shot to fame in 2015 as BBC's Instant Gardener. Since then, he's been on our screens with a host of popular garden makeover shows and horticultural advice. He joined ITV's This Morning's presenting team, and he is now a member of Alan Titchmarsh's Love Your Garden team as well. In fact, in addition to all of that, he helps run a charity known as Grow2Know which, whose heart I think really lies in reclaiming space and reconnecting people with nature and each other. And it's one of those projects I think I'm going to see him at really very centrally, in London, in Notting Hill, where they have tried to bring some green space, some nature right to the heart of the city, and include all the local communities.  Danny: My name is Danny Clarke. I'm a garden designer and TV presenter.  Adam: Lovely. And we are meeting in what is now fashionable Notting Hill, wasn't always the case when I was growing up around this area, actually, so, but but we're we're in an urban garden that is your design.  Danny: Well, not the whole garden, not the whole space. I mean, this is Tavistock Square. Yeah, uh, but we've, um, kind of elicited a section of it to rehome our Chelsea Flower Show garden from 2022, which is which actually is a Grow2Know project, of which of which I'm a director of.  Adam: So I what wanna know about Grow2Know. But you you've already mentioned the garden and we're standing right by it. So. Well, why don't you describe it to begin with. So people get a sort of visual image of what it is we're standing next to.  Danny: OK, so basically your corten steel structure, it's dominated by a corten steel structure. And that's supposed to represent two things, a) the mangrove restaurant, which was a place that was owned by a West Indian immigrant in the late 60s/70s that was brutalised by the police. And so it's telling that story. And it's also telling the story of man's injustice to nature. So what we see here really is a corten steel structure, which represents the roots of a mangrove tree. And as you can see, it looks quite brutal and and and the top where the trunk is, it's actually been severed, which actually represents what, you know, man's kind of lack of, shall we say, I don't know, respect for nature.  Adam: So it's it's a political, I mean, it's an interesting installation, if that's the right word, in that it's it is political in this with this sort of small P, not party political, but it's sort of reflecting the societal challenges that this area certainly went through. But you it's interesting, you talk about the trunk, is it is it also a tree? I mean this is a sort of tree podcast. Is there a reference in that as well?  Danny: Yeah, that's a reference to the tree, so that the reference to the tree is that it is a mangrove tree alright, so mangrove and mangrove restaurant. Yeah, so it's kind of a play on words, if you like. So we're telling it's really about storytelling. So we're telling two stories here. We're telling the story of man's brutality against man and man's brutality against nature.  Adam: Wonderful. So you run this organisation? What's it called again?  Danny: It's called Grow2Know. I don't actually run it, I'm a director, so I'm I'm I'm it's so it started well, it started soon after the Grenfell fire in 2017.  Adam: Which is also I mean this is not far from here as well.  Danny: It's not far from here. It's just up the road. And I was horrified by what unfolded like many people were. And I felt quite powerless. So I thought, you know what I'll do? I'll get in touch with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where the tower resides and see if I could help in some way, maybe use my expertise as a garden designer to maybe build a small, I don't know, small garden and I spoke to our head of greening guy called Terry Oliver. There's lots of emails flying backwards and forwards. And he was eulogising about this young man called Tayshan Hayden-Smith, 19, single father and who lives near the tower who knew people who perished in the flames. And he turned to gardening or guerilla gardening. I don't know if you know what that is? It's gardening without permission.  Adam: Well, yeah. A friend of mine does that actually near where I live, and sort of grows plants, actually vegetables and potatoes in the street trees. I'm I'm going I don't wanna eat your potatoes! But anyway, I get it. It's an interesting sort of little subculture, guerilla gardening.  Danny: He was just drawn to it. I think it's probably because his mum used to was into nature when Tayshan was very young and she used to point things out to him. Like, look at that tree, isn't that wonderful? Look at that sunset, isn't it lovely? And this, this kind of instilled into his sort of consciousness. And he just naturally just felt he needed to just go out and find a piece of land, community space, pick up litter, syringes, maybe go to the garden centre, get some fading plants and just pretty the place up as best he could, and he got a lot of healing from that and people will be attracted to him. So there'll be this conversation going on. Sometimes people will stay for a minute, then go off again. Others will probably stay and help him along the way. You know? You know, to to transform the space as best they could. And he got a lot of healing from that.  Adam: And and and you, you and your colleagues sort of created this charity around.  Danny: So so no, no. So o what then happened was that I... he wanted to know if I'd like to meet this guy, and I'm thinking to myself, you know, I've been meeting a guy that's got all sorts of issues that I might not be able to deal with. But I had this outline of him, and when I met him, there was none of that. He's the most amazing, well-put-together, guy – young man – I've ever met really. And I, cut a long story short, became his mentor, and we've just been on this fabulous journey ever since. And this is part of it. So one day, Tayshan said to me, he'd like to form a nonprofit. We didn't have a name for it at the time, but it did become Grow2Know, and and he wanted to show the wider, more people wanted to make it nature more inclusive, and he because he got so many benefits from it, he wanted the other people to enjoy, you know, the curative effects of gardening and being in nature – cause we all know it's good for the mind, body and soul. So that's how Grow2Know was born. But we've actually sort of gone on from that now. We're more than just a a gardening collective. We're more pace-making, change making. We're out there to sort of change the narrative, if you like. And we're kind of an activist group and we're just trying to make nature more appealing to a wider audience.  Adam: And how how are you doing that? I mean, you've clearly got this garden here. But in trying to sort of bring urban communities closer to nature, how are you doing that?  Danny: Yeah. Bring, bring, bring communities closer to nature.  Adam: And how do you do that?  Danny: By having spaces like this. So we've got spaces, quite a few spaces that we've converted in this area and this is just one of them. So it's about bringing people into nature and making it more diverse and more accessible. And in many ways, that's what we're about.  Adam: And so I'm interested in in your view about urban communities, youth communities, diverse communities.  Danny: That we're all drawn to nature. You know, we, we we all needed part of it in our lives. That's what lockdown taught us, that it was very important for us.  Adam: So it's not a challenge for you to bring them into your world. You think they're already there?  Danny: No, the people are already there. It's it's just giving them access to these spaces. I mean, for example, excuse me, in the north of Kensington where, let's say it's less affluent than the South, people have the equivalent of one car parking space of nature or greenery that they can access. In the South, which is a lot richer by the river, you know, you've got the like, well, the Chelsea Flower Show is actually by the Thames River, and where people like Simon Cowell and David Beckham have properties, so you get an idea.  Adam: Yeah. Yes, yes, yes.  Danny: We all know how wealthy that area is. They've got on average half a football pitch of nature they can access, or greenery. So that tells its own story and and the life expectancy between the people in the north of the borough and the south of the borough, there's a 15 year difference, so you're expected to live 15 years longer if you live in the south than you are in the north.  Adam: It is and I hadn't thought of that before you said that, but it is an interesting part of London, this, because Kensington has this sort of reputation of being very posh and everything and the David Beckhams and the what have you. But it is a very divided sort of part of London, isn't it? With the very rich and really the quite quite poor and disadvantaged as well, all within the same borough.  Danny: It is, there's a big difference and I think you'll probably find it's the biggest, there's a bigger disparity here than any other borough in in the country.  Adam: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Interesting. So also, oh, well, why don't we have a walk? We'll walk through through your garden whilst we're talking about this. So also just tell me a bit about, so we we you you very eloquently describe the the the metal sculpture we're we're sort of walking under now, but a bit, the planting as well. So you've got sort of beds of bark here which make it look very nice.  Danny: Yeah. So we're we're kind of going with the woodland theme cause as you can see there's lots of trees around here, cause I'm I am a bit of a tree hugger and I love trees. That's my thing.  Danny: And we didn't want to, I mean, the, the this garden, although it was our Grow2Know show garden at Chelsea, we haven't actually transformed it in that form. It's the planting is completely different because if we did that, it would jar with what's around. So we've gone with the space. So although yeah, it's all good.  Adam: It's all quite green and evergreen.  Danny: So the actual structure is the same, but that's all that's that's that's similar. Every, everything else is different. And of course we've had to adapt it as well because the garden that we had at Chelsea had ponds. So for health and safety reasons, we couldn't have that here. So we've gone with the woodlandy theme and so there's rhododendrons, there's ferns.  Adam: I was gonna say quite a lot of ferns and some also some big stones here as well, which sort of nice, nice bit of sculpture.  Danny: Yeah. That that's a bit of a coincidence really, because.  Adam: Because they're just there.  Danny: These were already here, but believe it or not, we had stones this size in our Chelsea Flower Show garden. We didn't transport them from there to here. These were already here and we've just kind of re- sort of jigged them. Re-placed them. Just to make it all look a bit more appealing. But we actually had these at Chelsea as seats in the central area underneath the structure. But now they're actually sort of dispersed in the beds and they make great features and and having them there actually helps move the eye around the space.  Adam: Yeah. So I mean what, ecology and and concerns about the environment. Clearly a a big issue at the moment. What what's your sense about how the people you work with and and talk to feel about that and engage with it? Are you optimistic about that engagement and and what difference that might make? That was that was my phone. I'm sorry, I should have should have put that on silent.   Danny: I'm working with amateurs Ruby! Ohh.   Adam: Yeah, I know, I know. I know. You know what? When I'm out with the film crew, you have to buy the round of drinks if that, ‘whose phone went?' Right, you're buying a round the, yeah, we're we're we're right by the...  Danny: Yeah, well, and it's and it ain't cheap.  Adam: OK. I'll put it on silent now. That'll teach me. What was I saying? Yeah, so. Yes. I wonder whether you're optimistic about that reengagement? Cause the way you're talking about it is very positive actually. Everything you've said is very positive. Is that I, I want to get a sense of is that because you're a positive guy and you or, you know, you're trying to look on the positive side, or you genuinely feel no, no, this, you know, these communities are engaging and that's a great thing, not just for them. But for nature, because if people support nature, nature's got a sort of pal hasn't it.  Danny: Yeah. And I think people are engaging and and do you know what? I mean I'm all for getting young people involved in nature as much as I possibly can. I think that's very, very important. I think we gotta get them out at a a very early age, the earlier the better because then it sort of stays with you for the rest of your life. If you are not sort of involved in it at young age then you're not, you're less likely to be interested in it later on in life. But I think people generally are engaged in nature. They do need a bit of green. Yeah, I think we're naturally drawn to it. I know when we put it, for example, installing this garden here, the amount of people that are coming out and saying what a wonderful job we were doing. And you know this sort of thing is much needed in this space. And it's also by doing this, it's encouraged the cause. This is a council owned area. It's encouraged the council now to reconfigure the whole of this area to sort of give this more of a sense of place.   Adam: I mean, it's interesting you say that. I have to say my experience is not that, it's that young people I meet and I don't meet as many as probably you do, so I will accept that maybe you have a more expert view on this. But my experience is that younger people are engaged with the politics of nature like they're very into green politics maybe and talk about it, but you don't see them a lot in the woodlands.   Danny: Oh, absolutely.  Adam: It's actually older people I see in the woodlands and it's the young people are sort of politically going, yeah, yeah, that's cool. But actually, I don't see them at these sort of events and they might grow into that. But so is that I I'm just wondering whether you recognise that or you think no, no, that's not what you see. They are actually out there and I'm just seeing, you know, a sort of different view.  Danny: I think I think they are. I think they are out there. Obviously there are a lot of young people aren't kind of, don't, aren't as engaged with nature as say I was when I I was a lot younger. I mean you don't see them outside sort of playing around, kicking the ball, climbing trees like we would do, going off of bike rides into the fields.  Adam: Are you a country boy, then are you? Or you grew up in town?  Danny:  No. In fact, my my childhood was very I I moved around a lot cause my dad was in the army. So lived in Belgium, Germany, Malta, all those sort of places. But we were never encouraged to be indoors. We were always thrown outside. I mean, I remember even at the age of 8 or 9 just disappearing for all day. My parents would never know where I was. But you know, I'd I always came home. I never came to any harm. But I think these days I think parents are kind of very worried that that something might nefarious might happen to their children and and the kids aren't given the freedom that we were given, which is a shame. So they're not exposed to nature as much on their own. I mean, I do see kids going around with their parents on walks and stuff like that, but it's not quite the same as being able to explore on your own. You know, children naturally want to sort of push the boundaries. We really need to let kids do their own thing, explore more. It's a growing experience and you know, and we all need it. We all need to be out and about and you know, listen to the tweet, I mean, tweeting of the birds, you know, feeling, feeling the wind on our on our faces, the warmth of the sun on our skin, all those things that you know, just feeling the texture of the soil, the texture of the bark on the trees. It's lovely. I love doing that. When I hug a tree, you know. Just to smell the bark. It's lovely. It's comforting. And that's because I was exposed to it when I was a child. And you know it, it gives me those fond memories and and because of that it's it's very calming and and and a great stress-buster.  Adam: I follow you on on Instagram. You got a good Instagram following and your Instagram handle, if anyone wants to do that, is?  Danny: The Black Gardener  Adam: The Black Gardener. So that, which itself is an interesting sort of handle. So you're making, I don't know, is that just a random handle or are you making a point about, oh I am the black gardener. That's that's a statement.  Danny: *laughs* Well I am. I am what it says on the tin.  Adam: No, no. But look I'm a bald, I'm a bald reporter *laughs*. My handle isn't bald reporter, right? So it feels like you're saying something about that that's important. And I just...  Danny: It is it is, it is important.  Adam: Unpack that for me. Why is, why did you choose that, why is that connection to gardening, to nature and the lack community and your heritage? Why is that important?   Danny: It's important because there are few black people who are in my industry, so that's why I'm The Black Gardener. So I got the idea from a guy called so, The Black Farmer.   Adam: Yeah, famous range of sausages.  Danny: That's right and I saw that he was having success with his name and the reason he calls himself The Black Farmer, cause at the time he's the only black farmer in the country, so hence The Black Farmer. Black gardeners, professional black gardeners are as rare as hen's teeth. So I thought to myself, why don't I call myself the black gardener?  Adam: But why? Why do you think it is then? Cause that goes back to our earlier conversation. About sort of other diverse communities.  Danny: It could be some psychological reason, maybe from the days of slavery. Where working the land is seen as servile. Parents don't want their children to be working the land. They want their children to do something respectable like be a doctor or lawyer or something like that, so they tend to veer them away from doing something which is connected to the land, and and I think maybe that could be a reason, I mean I did have a conversation with somebody via Twitter in the States about it, and she said it's the same there. People of colour tend not to want to go into land-based industry. I mean I've I've only ever and this is only about two months ago, I saw my first black tree surgeon. Yeah, and and you know my plant wholesalers. I've spoken to them about it and they said, you know what, we've got thousands of people on the books and they can only count on one hand the amount of people of colour who are actually in the land-based industry. But also you you've gotta see it to be it as well, you know.   Adam: What do you mean?   Danny: Well, what I mean is if people see me in this space, then it's gonna encourage them to be in this space.   Adam: I see, it normalises it more.  Danny: It it normalises it more. I mean, I I go into the countryside. I mean, I'm a member of the National Trust, RHS. And I go and visit these great gardens and I walk around. I'm obviously in nature, and I very rarely see people of colour. I I I was in, where was I? Sissinghurst, a little, Sissinghurst Gardens a while back. And I must have been there for a good four or five hours. And I was the only person of colour who was walking around that space. So I I want people to see me in those spaces and that hopefully will encourage them to think, well if it's for him, why can't I go there as well.  Adam: Yeah, very cool. So I mean addressing, I mean that community and or anyone who's sort of listening to this podcast then. What would your message to them be about, maybe about that you've learned from your experiences engaging with gardens and trees and nature that you'd encourage them to do, or ways of getting involved, any anything you'd want to say to them?  Danny: Just just go out and enjoy the space, you know? Don't be put off because you feel it's not for you. It's for everybody. I mean, nature shouldn't have any boundaries. It's there for everybody to enjoy and you get the benefits from being out there. It's it's it's all good for us. I mean I would really like to see more people engaged in gardening or horticulture as a way of earning a living. Because for me it's it's not a job. It's just what I do. It's what I enjoy. I've got a real passion for it. I love it and I like to see other people, whoever they are. It it doesn't have to be a colour thing. It it, I'm talking about young, old, I'm talking about gay, straight, whatever, whoever you are, it's there for everybody to to enjoy.  Adam: Brilliant. Well, it's been a real treat meeting you. Thank you very much indeed. Under your wonderful sculpture in your garden in the centre of London.  Danny: Yeah, you're most welcome.  Adam: Thank you very much. Remind me of your your your social media handles.  Danny: It's The Black Gardener. I'm I'm on Facebook and I'm on Threads.  Adam: On Threads, now there's something I haven't heard for a long time!  Danny: Yes. Yeah *laughs* So there you go. There you go.   Adam: Right, The Black Gardener, thank you very much indeed,   Danny: You're most welcome.  Adam: Well, thank you very much for listening to that and those bangs you might have heard in the background were a sign that we should go because that was the the local bin men coming along to collect the rubbish *laughs*. Anyway, thanks for listening. And wherever you're taking your walks, be that in real life or just with us on the Woodland Walks podcast, I wish you all happy wandering.  Thank you for listening to the Woodland Trust Woodland Walks. Join us next month when Adam will be taking another walk in the company of Woodland Trust staff, partners and volunteers. And don't forget to subscribe to the series on iTunes or wherever you are listening. And do give us a review and a rating. If you want to find out more about our woods and those that are close to you, check out the Woodland Trust website. Just head to the Visiting Woods pages. Thank you. 

It's Chelsea Flower Show in London this week, and at Rosebud we're celebrating - with this special episode recorded at one of the most beautiful gardens in the world: Sissinghurst Castle in Kent. At Sissinghurst Gyles meets the writer Adam Nicolson, grandson of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson (who famously conceived and designed the garden there) and his wife Sarah Raven, the plantswoman and entrepreneur, who is one of the most influential people in gardening today. Sarah's garden at Perch Hill in Sussex, and the business she runs from there, have been instrumental in introducing a new abundant, naturalistic and colourful style in gardening, and her story is fascinating.This is a brilliant conversation about the history of Sissinghurst and the Nicolson family, and about Sarah's childhood 'botanising' with her father, John Raven. It's also about finding wild tulips, the meaning of the word 'wharfinger' and the burden of inheritance. Adam Nicolson's latest book, which is brilliant, is called Bird School and is available here. Sarah Raven's website is inspirational for any gardener and is here. Her book, A Year Full of Pots, is also highly recommended. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Våren är äntligen här och i veckans Stil ska vi ägna oss åt trädgårdar och blommor. Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radio Play. I veckans Stil berättar vi om när det under 1800-talet blev populärt att kommunicera sina känslor med hjälp av just blommor. Vi tar också en titt på författaren Vita Sackville-Wests trädgård vid slottet Sissinghurst i England, som anses vara en av Europas mest stilbildande trädgårdar. Och så berättar vi historien om systrarna Jobs, som i mitten av 1900-talet gjorde succé med sina textila blommönster.

In today's episode, Geoff and Rory are joined by Alice Loxton (History Alice on social media) to discuss Vita Sackville-West (one of the subjects of Alice's brilliant new book!), Sissinghurst, Knole and more.

In this episode we speak to Hannah Squire who is Collections and House Manager at Sissinghurst Castle, Lamb House and Small Hyth in Kent, the home of Vita Sackville-West, the aristocratic novelist, who was the lover of Virginia Woolf. Hannah talks about her career path, her passion for Vita, the importance of representation in History and her voluntary work with the Pre-Raphaelite Society. This first episode introduces Mok's new co-host, Louisa Scott.To connect with us email lovehistorypodcast@gmail.comYou can find Hanna on Instagram @hannah_squire and her book page @squireshelfLouisa can be found @louisascottsewing and Mok is @mokokeeffeCheck out The Pre-Raphaelite Society https://www.pre-raphaelitesociety.orgYou can find Sissinghurst Castlehttps://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/sissinghurst-castle-garden Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sissinghurst Castle Garden has a wonderful story that begins long before it became one of the most iconic gardens in England. The garden is fascinating not only for its beauty but for its complex and innovative design. Diarmuid Gavin brings us the story behind this iconic garden.

Send us a Text Message.What if you could create safer, more respectful environments for actors during intimate scenes? Join us as we sit down with the extraordinary Ita O'Brien, a trailblazer in intimacy coordination for film, TV, and theatre. Hear Ita speak about the critical need for clear communication and consent, and how her work has transformed the industry, earning accolades like Michaela Coel's heartfelt acknowledgment during her BAFTA acceptance speech.But that's not all—this episode takes a personal turn into Ita's life and inspirations. From the serene beauty of her wildflower meadow in Sissinghurst to the disciplined grace instilled by her early ballet teacher Madeleine Sharp, Ita reflects on the moments and mentors that have fueled her passion. Dive deeper into her fascinating Irish heritage, summers on her family's farm in Cookstown, and how these experiences enriched her understanding of life and storytelling.We wrap up with a conversation that blends science and artistry, exploring the connections between embryonic development and creative expression. Discover how Ita's unique perspective, shaped by her experiences with dyslexia, enhances her kinesthetic understanding of the world. This episode is a heartfelt celebration of gratitude, the power of storytelling, and the joy of enabling creativity in film production. Don't miss this enriching exchange with a true industry pioneer.Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website. Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com You can email me about the Show: chris@secondcurve.uk Twitter thatchrisgrimes LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/ FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860 Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :) Thanks for listening!

Vita Sackville West's white garden at Sissinghurst in England is world famous. Here is her own description of the plants in it.

We are celebrating summertime with a conversation about one of the most famous gardens in the UK - Sissinghurst Gardens in Kent. 

Occasionally, your hosts like to explore a garden in depth ..... and have a good old natter. In this episode, Dan and Julia revisit Sissinghurst Castle, starting in an area of the garden known as Delos. Recently resurrected after a long spell in the doldrums, they consider the challenges of recreating a slice of ancient Greece in Kent. Back in the studio, they each share five ways that Sissinghurst inspired them. Dan reveals his current 'must have' garden tool and shares exciting news about new product launches. Julia talks about an alternative method of training and pruning her fig tree. As usual, Dan and Julia finish off with a list of essential jobs to do in your garden over the next two weeks and tell you where they'll be popping up next.Jobs for the fortnightFinish hardening off annuals and tender perennialsIf all danger of frost has passed, start planting containers and hanging basketsPrune forsythia, flowering currant and Japanese quinceTake cuttings of woody herbs such as hyssop, rosemary and thyme. Tie in wisteria, honeysuckle, passionflower and clematis to keep them from wandering in their own direction. Pheromone traps can be hung in apple and plum trees and box hedges to control pests like codling and box moths.Indoors, take stem cuttings from tradescantias, coleus, plectranthus, impatiens and pothos and root them in water.Damp down greenhouse paths on hot days to increase humidityTake the opportunity to clean garden furniture, jet wash patios and scrub barbecues.Settle down and watch the BBC coverage of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show - you'll have the best seat in the house.Dan's product of the week:Niwaki Japanese Weeding Hoe: https://www.dancoopergarden.com/products/niwaki-weeding-hoeDan's upcoming events:Sunday, 19th May - Rare Plant Fair at The American Museum in BathSunday, 26th May - Rare Plant Fair at Kingston Bagpuize House, OxfordshireWebsite links:Dan Cooper GardenParker's PatchThis podcast was produced by the brilliant Scott Kennett of Red Lighthouse Local https://linktr.ee/redlocallighthouseThe episode was sponsored by Dan Cooper Garden, where garden lovers go to find outstanding garden products, sage advice, and abundant inspiration. You can shop online at dancoopergarden.com or plant fairs and garden events across the south and east of England. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rotifer, Robert www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Fazit

The spring and summer ahead of us is a glorious opportunity to let our gardens sing with colours anew, and in this week's podcast, Sarah & Arthur share how to select the very best for your space.The Spring & Summer Catalogue takes centre stage on ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange', as we hear about the best brand new collections, some of Arthur's stalwart favourites, and which of this year's floral highlights have brought Sarah the most joy.In this episode, discover:Standout flowers that Sarah's loved last year, like the uniquely textured Dahlia Night SilenceA number of gorgeous collections perfect for combining colour palettes in pots and bordersThe brand new Teucrium variety that's earned attention for its stunning looks and drought-toleranceA tip that Sarah learned from Sissinghurst which brings the best out of the Everlasting Lilies Collection as cut flowersGet in touch: info@sarahraven.comShop on the Sarah Raven Website: http://bit.ly/3jvbaeuFollow Sarah: https://www.instagram.com/sarahravensgarden/

Adam Nicolson has been rehabilitating his farm in Sussex for many years now, and he discusses the difficulties and rewards of this, and the piece that he wrote about it for Plough's issue on repair. They go on to discuss the topics of some of Nicolson's books: Sissinghurst, the farm and garden owned by Nicolson's grandmother, Vita Sackville-West; Homer; the pre-Socratic philosophers; and sailing. 

This week we're talking to two artists inspired by the nature.    Emily Young, hailed as Britain's greatest living female stone sculptor, specialises in using materials from abandoned quarries and Francis Hamel is known for his portraiture and landscape paintings.  Emily lives and works mostly in an isolated part of Tuscany, where she free carves in reclaimed uncut natural stone, often found in abandoned quarries. She evokes beautiful ancient figures from an unknown mythology.   Her main objective is to explore the relationship of humankind and the planet through her interaction with stone.  Her 25 new works in stone are being exhibited at Richard Green on Bond Street, in association with Willoughby Gerrish Ltd.    Francis has lived and worked for over 25 years at Rousham, one of England's most prized historic house and gardens. He explains how the garden at Rousham became the starting point for his exhibition when he was seeing it afresh during lockdown.  From there he went on to paint some of Britain's best-known gardens including Sissinghurst, Great Dixter, Sezincote, and Stourhead, as well as some private ones designed by renowned gardeners like Sarah Raven, Arthur Parkinson and Tom Stuart-Smith. His exhibition of garden paintings launches at his Oxfordshire home of Rousham before moving to John Martin on London's Albemarle Street.   Together they talk about how they work, what inspires them and what they set out to achieve. It's a fascinating conversation about the artistic process and highlights their similar and different approaches to stone and to paint. Emily Young: Pareidolia in Stone from 25th October to 10th November Richard Green https://www.richardgreen.com Francis Hamel: Thirty Gardens from 12th to 27th October John Martin https://www.jmlondon.com   This episode is brought to you with the kind support of support of Lomi, makers of ‘smart waste appliances' that transform food waste into plant food.  Go to Lomi's website at uk.lomi.com and use promo code breakout at the checkout for a £50 discount.

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.

In this episode, head gardener Troy Scott Smith talks about his ultimate imaginary garden, drawing inspiration from some of the places he has worked, including Iford Manor Gardens in Wiltshire and Bodnant in North Wales. He chats about the legacy of Sissinghurst and reveals why they won't be watering the borders there in summer anymore. Tune in to find out who inspired him to change his approach, why Troy would always have visitors to his fantasy garden and what he hates about variegated plants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A man has been found guilty of murdering two women, including a mum from Kent who went missing just over a year ago. Alexandra Morgan from Sissinghurst was last seen on Remembrance Day 2021 - her remains were later found on a farm in East Sussex. The body of Leah Ware, who disappeared six month earlier, has never been found. Hear from our reporter who was in court to hear the verdicts come in. We've also spoken to the CPS and have audio of the time Mark Brown from St Leonards-on-Sea was arrested. Also in today's podcast, workers at the ambulance service covering Kent have voted to go on strike. You're being urged to make sure your children have had the flu vaccine amid a rise in the number of under 5s ending up in hospital... Nationally, more than 200 youngsters were admitted after suffering serious complications linked to the virus in the week to November, 20. A bus station in Maidstone's been left covered in mould just a year after a £1.5 million revamp. Water's leaking down the wall leaving an ugly mark next to The Mall - hear from bus passengers and what the council have to say. Parents are calling for plans for a 5G mast on school land in Westgate to be scrapped until proper research has been done on whether they affect our health. The 20 meter tall mast could be built on part of the playing field at St Saviours primary in Elm Grove.4 The KentOnline Podcast has been told more about a multi-million pound dance studios that's opened on an industrial estate in Ashford. The Jasmin Vardimon Company have already welcomed their first cohort of dancers before officially opening next week. And in sport, it's been a great day for Kent cricketer Zak Crawley. Find out how he got on as England start their first tour of Pakistan since 2005.

In this episode of Dear Gardener we journey to California, East Anglia and South East London to hear about mothers and friendship, Sissinghurst and slugs, and roses and rills.Support the show: https://linktr.ee/deargardenerhttps://ko-fi.com/bendarkThe Dear Gardeners on Instagram:Gavin: https://www.instagram.com/gardeninggavin/ Melanie: https://www.instagram.com/saari.farms/Vanina: https://www.instagram.com/thebonbongirl/Episode links:The Butchart Gardens, British Columbia: https://www.butchartgardens.com/Euphorbia stygiana subsp. santamariae https://www.cotswoldgardenflowers.co.uk/product/euphorbia-stygiana-subsp-santamariae/Rosa 'Perle d'Or': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_%27Perle_d%27Or%27 Rosa 'Munstead Wood': https://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/products/munstead-wood?_ga=2.141225842.1185186591.1668450625-963987581.1668450625Rosa 'Cécile Brünner': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_'C%C3%A9cile_Br%C3%BCnner'Rosa ''Madame Alfred Carrière': https://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/products/mme-alfred-carriereThe NGS (National Gardens Scheme): https://ngs.org.uk/Thank you for listening

We're in the middle of a harvest, gather your tomatoes, hang them upside down, nibble your carrot like a corncob, sun gold tomato sauce, lettuce, spinach, pansies, mums, asters, nasturtiums, so proud of my dahlias, mystery bulbs, gladiolus, cosmos, I've never known that life, secrets in the age of Instagram, fingernails, hands in the dirt, planting bulbs, daffodils, impression tulips, the earlier the tulip - the shorter the stem, roses, campanula, hardy geraniums, crocuses make me so happy, plant two things in 1 hole, hardy mums, daffodils in the lawn, easter egg them, chucking daffodils left and right, deer proof, groundhog tastes a flower, native planting plug, creeping thyme, clover, foxgloves, moss, I love my dead nettles, blackberry, Crossbow, now is the time when the plants' energy goes back into its roots, staggering along the ropes but you didn't knock it out, you're getting your gardening chops, Sissinghurst, great gardeners garden now, hosta la vista baby, shasta daisies, rhythm in my border, dividing, coriander, , think twice – plant once, pickles, eggplants, tomato sauce, ragu, rosemary, grilled eggplant parmesan, zucchini, good luck with your gardening harvest, my heart is with you, garlic, tofu larb recipe, we're praying for rain.

Better Lawns and Gardens Hour 2 – Coming to you from Summit Responsible Solutions Studios,  Big News!  Teresa announces her next garden tour in Spring 2023! The Best of English Gardens and The Chelsea Flower Show will be May 16th through May 25th, 2023! Nowhere in the world is the passion for horticulture expressed more vividly than in Britain, where gardens have served as inspiration for painters, writers and poets for centuries. From great country estates to miniscule inner-city gardens, the British use their exceptionally long growing season to fullest advantage, and we've timed your visit to bring you the best of English gardens.  This is your invitation to see some of England's most famous gardens at a time of year when color runs rampant. You will visit the Royal Horticultural Society's flagship garden at Wisley, Kiftsgate and Hidcote Manor. Royal schedules permitting, you will also take a private tour of King Charles III's estate at Highgrove. You will explore Christopher Lloyd's gardens at Great Dixter, that offer innovative ideas set against a backdrop of topiary, mixed borders and natural ponds. Additional highlights include time in the Georgian city of Bath, and visits to many other magnificent gardens, including Sissinghurst, Iford Manor and Stourhead.   In London you will have a full day at the Chelsea Flower Show. Your tour includes membership in the Royal Horticultural Society so that you may attend on members-only day when the crowds are smaller than on the public days. There will also be free time in London to explore famous sights, museums and galleries you may wish to visit, from the Tate to the tiny Museum of Garden History. Come along and join other garden lovers for a stroll through the most impressive English gardens. This trip is a quintessential celebration of springtime.   Teresa: I would love to have you join me on this wonderful bouquet list (pronounced bucket) adventure!  Garden questions and texts include keeping plumeria small and dealing with rust, yellow jasmine, black spot on roses, when to plant edamame, UF Turf Field Day CEUs, and more.  https://bit.ly/3c1f5x7 Graphic credit: Teresa Watkins    Listen to Better Lawns and Gardens every Saturday 7 am - 9 am EST.  Call in with your garden questions 1.888.455.2867, or text 23680.     #WFLF #WFLA #FNN #WNDB #BetterLawns #gardening #Florida #planting #gardeninglife #radio #southflorida #northflorida #centralflorida #tropical #floridalife #photography #SHE #fertilizer #turf #grass #landscaping #fruits #vegetables #Orlando #Sarasota #Miami #FortLauderdale #BLGradio #WRLN #WiOD #gardening #fertilizer #SummitResponsibleSolutions #QualityGreenSpecialists #BlackKow #gardentour #travel #tours #Chelsea #UK #London #ChelseaFlowerShow

Trädgårdsmästare förtjänar att dela plats med målare och poeter, menade författaren Vita Sackville-West och många är de som lägger ner timmar av arbete i trädgården på denna förgängliga konstform. Vita Sackville-West sa att den som ägnar sig ut trädgårdsskötsel är en ganska värdelös samhällsmedborgare, utifrån ett ekonomiskt perspektiv, men att han eller hon är en av få kvarvarande människor i denna obehagliga värld som fortsätter traditionen av elegans och charm. Hennes egen trädgård, vid slottet Sissinghurst i England, är i dag en av landets mest älskade.I veckans Stil undersöker vi vad det är som får folk att lägga ner timmar av hårt arbete i trädgården och vad en trädgård kan berätta om sin skapare.Vi träffar Anna G Tufvesson, chefredaktör på tidningen Allt om Trädgård, som tar oss med till sin favoritplats, Visbys botaniska trädgård. Vi berättar om den brittiska regissören, författaren och konstnären Derek Jarman och hans trädgård på grusudden Dungeness. Och så pratar vi med modeskaparen och konstnären Martin Bergström om hans stora kärlek till blommor.Programmet är gjort av Erik Sjölin.Repris från 13 augusti 2021.

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 1731 Birth of Martha Washington (books about this person), the inaugural first lady of the United States. At Mount Vernon, Martha was in charge of the kitchen garden. As mistress of the plantation, she was in charge of entertaining guests and planning the evening meal. This meant that a robust kitchen garden was an absolute necessity. Thus, the kitchen garden is the oldest garden at Mount Vernon. It was installed in 1760, and the grounds have produced edibles now for over 250 years. So while other areas of Mount Vernon have gone through some changes, the kitchen garden or the lower garden remains primarily unchanged from how it was initially used back when the Washingtons lived there. Now George and Martha spent a great deal of time away from the estate. And whenever George Washington would send letters back to Mount Vernon, the last paragraph was reserved for instructions from Martha to the gardener about the kitchen garden. Martha would ask about different crops and suggest planting or collecting seeds. Martha really was a knowledgeable plantswoman, and when it came to the kitchen garden, she was not afraid to make suggestions or changes. Martha knew that the kitchen garden was a reflection of her As George's wife and as the president's wife. And when George and Martha were at Mount Vernon, they hosted an average of 600 guests every single year. And most of those people enjoyed supper at the plantation, and the meal No Doubt featured produce from the kitchen garden. William Spence was the gardener at Mount Vernon. He continued working at Mount Vernon after George Washington's death. In addition, William was s a witness to Martha Washington's will, which he signed on September 22, 1800.   1874 On this day, Ann Pamela Cunningham, founder of the MVLA, gave her farewell address MVLA stands for the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, which was founded in 1853. In 1858, less than five years later, this group of indomitable women purchased Mount Vernon from the George Washington family. By so doing, they saved George Washington's eighteenth-century plantation home from development or destruction. Together with encouragement from tourists, the MVLA worked to restore the home and grounds to their full glory.  Ann spoke of the need for continued work in her address: Ladies, the home of Washington is in your charge see to it that you keep It the home of Washington!  Let no irreverent hand change it; let no vandal hands desecrate it with the fingers of "progress"!  Let one spot, in this grand country of ours, be saved from change. Upon you rests this duty.   Today we can say definitively that Ann's advice was followed. Washington's home is in top condition along with the outbuildings and the grounds. The greenhouse, which was in a fire in 1835, was fully restored in 1952. To preserve Washington's view of the Potomac, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association purchased nearly 500 acres on the other side of the Potomac River, thanks to Mrs. Frances Payne Bolton. The latter ended up organizing one of the country's earliest land trusts. When it came to Mount Vernon, George Washington always dreamed of a fine landscape and beautiful gardens. Many enslaved people and trained gardeners made his dream a reality. George hired his first gardener in 1762. A decade later, he posted an ad that said, "a good Kitchen Gardener is what I want." After seeing the one that Margaret Tilghman Carroll installed at her home, Mount Clare, near Baltimore, George added a greenhouse. In turn, Margaret sent the plans and some plants to help the Washingtons christen their greenhouse. In 1799, one guest at Mount Vernon wrote, "[There] I saw ...English grapes, oranges, limes, and lemons... as well as a great variety of plants and flowers... exquisite in their perfume and delightful to the eye..."   1893 On this day, a witty, thoughtful, and upright citizen of South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, Stephen Sears wrote in his journal about his garden.  Stephen kept a journal for posterity, and nature entries are sprinkled throughout his writings in between notes on work, worship, and family.  Stephen was a Sunday School teacher, and he wrote that he thought it was "the best thing I can do for the coming generation." On this day in 1893, Stephen was 71 years old. He built a cage around a tree and burned caterpillars. He must have thought them destructive (maybe tent caterpillars?) That spring, he had "plowed [the] garden and planted peas."   On June 6, he noted that "summer is here, hot and dry," and then he "transplanted [his] tomato vines and hoed [his] watermelons." Almost every day, Stephen worked in his garden. He watered daily and occasionally added seaweed as a fertilizer. On June 17, after three weeks of no rain, Stephen wrote, "The ground is wet again, and vegetation smiles."  At the end of the month, he was clearly frustrated with one particular garden pest: potato bugs. Stephen wrote,  If I were to offer [a] sacrifice to the Devil it [w]ould be potato bugs in Lager Beer. .   2003 On this day, an Iraqi scientist named Mahdi Obeidi led US officials, including David Kay, out to his rose garden.  Over a decade earlier, in February of 1992, Uday Hussein had told Mahdi Obeidi to hide all the evidence of Iraq's efforts to pursue a nuclear program. So Mahdi gathered up his documents and prototypes and packed them in a fifty-gallon drum. Then Mahdi buried the drum beneath a lotus tree in his backyard. The entire stash remained there undisturbed until America declared war on Iraq. Mahdi's story became a book called, The Bomb in My Garden and tells how Saddam Hussein pursued nukes only to be thwarted by his invasion of Kuwait and honorable people in his own government. After the fall of Baghdad, Dr. Obeidi felt it was finally safe to reveal the secret he had buried in his garden, under a lotustree, no less. Lotus trees have a long history and are known scientifically as the Ziziphus lotus.  In Greek mythology, in the Odyssey, the Lotus tree fruit was eaten by the Lotus-Eaters to make them sleepy and to create a false sense of peace and apathy.  It was said Romulus planted a sacred Lotus near the temple of Vulcan and that it was still standing seven centuries later, in the time of Pliny the Elder. The English explorer Richard Francis Burton saw a lotus on his travels through the middle east. The Lotus leaves were used to wash the bodies of the dead, and the fruit was sold as a cash crop to travelers. Today the Lotus tree is used as fodder and for hedges. The thorny branches create an effective barrier. The flowers are a favorite of pollinators of all kinds.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Where We Bloom by Debra Prinzing This book came out in 2022, and the subtitle is Thirty-Seven Intimate, Inventive and Artistic Studio Spaces Where Floral Passions Find a Place to Blossom. The publisher writes, Step inside the places where flowers come to life. Slow Flowers Society founder Debra Prinzing's new book showcases the beautiful plant- and flower-filled settings of Slow Flowers designers, farmer-florists, and growers. Each environment reflects the personality and aesthetic style of its owner, offering great ideas to inspire the design, organization, and functionality of your creative studio. Visit their spaces and read about their floral passions.   Debra profiles thirty-seven studio spaces for floral aficionados of all kinds in this book. Here's how she introduces Lori Poliski's Woodinville, Washington, modern homestead - a former horse barn converted into a studio with function and beauty in mind: Lori Poliski was a gardener long before she formed Flori, her design studio based in a suburb of Seattle.  She has made posies and arrangements since she was five, drawing from roots that began on a family farm in New Jersey where her mother grew lilacs, peonies, and roses.  Lori worked for a flower shop in the Bay Area after college and later, during a technology career, she continued to design flowers for family and friends' weddings. In 2017, she formalized a business, naming the studio "Flori" ...and rhymes with her name.  Lori said, "My husband designed my first business card and it read: "Garden-style Bowers for small weddings and events." The frustration of producing wedding flowers in a garage filled with sports equipment and bicycles inspired dreams of having a dedicated design space. Lori's solution? A 12-by-24-foot covered storage area at one end of the horse barn where three animals also are stabled. The space now has two sets of white French dooms and windows, which look charming against the blue-gray shingle siding, complete with striped awning, I can only imagine how fun it was for Debra to roam the country scouting these 37 flower-filled locations for her book. All the stories and the people behind these magical spaces are a true joy to discover. If you are thinking about creating or redoing a floral space of your own - a simple she shed or a little corner in the garage or attic, well, then you'll find plenty of inspiration in the spaces profiled in Debra's book. This book is 127 pages of pure eye candy and dreams made real for modern floral artists and creatives. You can get a copy of Where We Bloom by Debra Prinzing and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $9.   Botanic Spark 1962 Death of Vita Sackville-West (books by this author) English author, and garden designer.  In 1960, Vita wrote of her marriage and death: ..now in our advancing age, we love each other more deeply than ever, and also more agonizingly, since we see the inevitable end. It is not nice to know that one of us must die before the other.   Vita died first. Three weeks later, Harold wrote, Oh Vita, I have wept buckets for you.   Vita Sackville-West was a talented and complex woman. An excellent writer, Vita found success as a poet, writer, and broadcaster. After she and Harold purchased Sissinghurst, Vita became one of the most influential gardeners of her time. For over twenty years, they worked together to create a garden where none ever grew before. And for over a decade, she wrote a weekly column about her life as a gardener at Sissinghurst for the Observer. Vita was at once relatable, admirable, witty, and removed.  Vita knew love and loss in her personal life and had relationships with both women and men, but through it, all Harold remained the true north of her heart.  Today the fruit of their labor and their shared dream, Sissinghurst, is beloved worldwide, and Vita's garden wisdom still holds sway.  In her book called The Garden, Vita wrote, I tried to hold the courage of my ways In that which might endure, Daring to find a world in a lost world, A little world, a little perfect world… And in her Poems of West & East, Vita wrote a loving tribute to their efforts at Sissinghurst in a poem called The Garden. We owned a garden on a hill, We planted rose and daffodil, Flowers that English poets sing, And hoped for glory in the Spring. We planted yellow hollyhocks, And humble sweetly-smelling stocks, And columbine for carnival, And dreamt of Summer's festival. And Autumn not to be outdone As heiress of the summer sun, Should doubly wreathe her tawny head With poppies and with creepers red. We waited then for all to grow, We planted wallflowers in a row. And lavender and borage blue, - Alas! we waited, I and you, But love was all that ever grew.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

The British Gardeners are urged to stop mowing lawns in May so as to “support bees”. Gardeners come in many different "sizes": 1) Precision gardeners. Those that follow the swanky garden magazines and have not a plant nor a blade of grass out of place. Think Versailles and the Famous British gardens like Sissinghurst. When it comes to lawns they are cut to within an inch of their life! There are no weeds, and few "wild Flowers". Most of the borders are sprayed to minimize fungi and bacterial diseases as well as Natural Biodiversity such as insects, spiders, mites, praying mantises and crickets 2) Wannabe-precision gardeners. Those who haven't got the time nor the staff to achieve the number one status. Their gardens really lack detailed attention and as such they're a lot weedier and "all over the place" in the eyes of precision gardeners. They usually do have some structure though... and are pleasant to the eye. 3) Hippies and Macrobiotic adorers of Homeopathy and Herbs. My goodness! That is a mess! Stuff everywhere - no weed control, aphids all over the place, weird flowers popping up everywhere, heaps of blackbirds, lots of worms, swarms of butterflies and armies of moths, native bees, beetles, insectivorous birds and lizards. Ironically, when it comes to creating a garden with the best biodiversity, the third option will win hands-down. Imagine heaps of different species of flowers, weeds, (as well as mosses and lichens) allowing for a huge diversity of wildlife. The nectar and the pollen attached to a variety of flowers is very beneficial for pollinators, such as bees and moths and butterflies, beetles, hover flies, parasitic wasps and predatory critters who all need pollen (protein) for development and nectar (sweet energy). The Brits might have the idea to not mow their lawns in May (getting more flowering weeds in there), but I reckon we can do much better than that: Now is the time to sow wild-flower seeds (mixed series of species) in some vegetable beds that are lying dormant or idle. Some of the resulting plants may even flower in winter and early spring, whereas other species will pop up in mid to late spring, providing our pollinators with extra sustenance (nectar and pollen) and opportunities for survival and reproduction. No, I am not thinking about honey bees so much... We have 28 species of small, native bees and they are brilliant pollinators of our native flowers. These native bee species are often robbed of floral nectar by the commercial and exotic honey bee, so I'd like to give our natives a helping hand. By the way: even “exotic” wildflowers will attract all these critters, so it doesn't always need to be “native plants”… Apart from bees and bumble bees, we also have a lot of other pollinators in our garden: beetles, small parasitic wasps that help with pest control, as well as hover flies and moths and butterflies; All these creatures are part of our ecosystems and complete our Biodiversity in the garden. Birds, too, like the flowers and the subsequent seeds. I have always liked the idea of creating a wildflower "lawn" in the garden and simply mow elegant meandering paths through these wildflower lawns, so you can walk there without getting wet trousers or wet feet after a shower of rain. Start sowing the wildflower mixes in your garden for a totally different and colourful look in spring. Try it...you'll like it! 

Jesus Christ, Bread of Life, You were broken that we might be filled. In your tenderness, break open our lives, That we might overflow with gifts of grace for a broken world. Amen. For more information about Keep Praying, visit canterburydiocese.org/keep-praying Backing music by James Bowden

Welcome to another episode of Past Loves - the history podcast that explores affection, infatuation and attachment across time.This week I am joined by best-selling biographer, historian and broadcaster, Sarah Gristwood as we delve into the unique relationship between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West.  The relationship between Vita and Virginia is as complex and heart-breaking, as it was intensely passionate. They met one evening at a dinner party, both equally fascinated by each other, and went on to develop a relationship that ebbed and flowed between friendship and romantic affection for many years. Their love story was not complicated by their husbands. In fact, how these four people treated each other with such acceptance, kindness and understanding is one of the most interesting aspects of their relationship. As writers, lovers and friends, Vita and Virginia crafted a love story quite unlike any other. They will be forever bound together in life and legacy. Where To Find UsShop Sarah's book Vita & Virginia: The lives and love of Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Sarah-Gristwood/Vita--Virginia--A-Double-Life/21449035Discover more about Sarah: http://sarahgristwood.com/ Follow Sarah on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.gristwood.1 Follow Sarah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahgristwoodFollow Past Loves on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastlovespodcast/ Join the Past Loves newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/d293dd27393a/past-loves-newsletterIf Past Loves has become your current love, you can email me at pastlovespodcast@gmail.com

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 Happy National Garden Meditation Day! 1580 Thomas Tusser (English poet and farmer) died. In 1573, Thomas wrote his Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, where he advised: In January, the housewife should be busy planting peas and beans and setting young rose roots.  During March and April, she will work 'from morning to night, sowing and setting her garden or plot,' to produce the crops of parsnip, beans, and melons which will 'winnest the heart of a laboring man for her later in the year.  Her strawberry plants will be obtained from the best roots which she has gathered from the woods, and these are to be set in a plot in the garden.  Berries from these plants will be harvested later the same year, perhaps a useful back-up if the parsnips have failed to win the man of her dreams.   1941 During this week, Martha Crone, American botanist and horticulturist, wrote some entries in her Minneapolis diary that reflect the wild swings in temperatures that can be so frustrating to gardeners in the shoulder seasons. At the start of May: [The weather is] still very warm (81 hi 59 lo) and flowers coming out everywhere, everything at least 2 weeks in advance, like midsummer, many insects and flies out. Violets - never so beautiful - as well as Trillium and other flowers. On the 3rd of May: Bitter cold all day [49-41] stove going continuously... but no mosquitoes. On the 8th: Heat unbearable [88-60]  On the 19th: Hottest so far...   1942 On this day, Charles Kikuchi wrote in his Japanese Tanforan Internment camp journal: These industrious Japanese!  They just don't seem to know how to take it easy. They've worked so hard all their lives that they just can't stand idleness or waste . Two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were mandated to relocate to one of the ten relocation camps in the “exclusion zone” of Oregon, California, western Washington, and southern Arizona by order of the president.  Ken Helphand's fantastic 2006 book, Defiant Gardens: Making Gardens in Wartime, tells the story of the gardens that were created in the camps. The gardens were part of the effort to make the camps more bearable. In addition to gardens, there were orchards, parks, baseball diamonds, playgrounds, and farms. In Defiant Gardens, Ken wrote, Entry gardens were part of the Japanese tradition of dooryard gardens, linking household to community, and functioning as entry and marker, displaying the craft and skill of the resident and embellishing both the barracks and the community space....Many persons inscribed their names in cement at the doorstep.  Barracks gardens displayed great variety, using gathered cacti and rocks, transplanted plants, and plants propagated in the camp nursery.  While people waited daily for the communally served meals, they enjoyed the elaborate displays of great artistry and effort that characterized the mess-hall gardens. Created with rocks and water as well as plants, these gardens were most closely identified with the Japanese American garden tradition.  All these gardens brought beauty to the camps and reinforced the internees' sense of cultural identity…   1946 On this day, Frida Kahlo (books about this person) gave a painting called Weeping Coconuts to her friends Lina and Arcady Boitler as a wedding gift. Frida used two weeping coconuts to represent her pain and deteriorating health in the painting.  Frida was mixing prescription painkillers and alcohol by this point in her life. The coconuts were one of fifty-five self-portraits. Her best-known self-portrait is ‘Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.' Kahlo said, I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.   Four years later, Frida's pain became unmanageable. In 1953, her right foot - and later right leg - were amputated.  Frida died shortly after her 47th birthday in the summer of 1954. Before she died, she wrote in her journal: I hope the exit is joyful — and I hope never to return — Frida.   Coconuts are an ancient plant that initially hailed from the South Pacific, and because of their buoyancy, coconuts can travel the world on the ocean's waves. Plant Explorers found the coconut growingng throughout the Pacific, the Indian Ocean regions, and Africa. Like mangoes, cashews, and cherries, the coconut is actually a drupe and not a nut. The drupe is an item that has a fleshy outer around a pit. Coconuts are anti-viral, fungal, bacterial, and anti-parasite. There are more than twenty billion coconuts produced each year. The coconut palm is actually the national tree of The Maldives. Before the dominance of soybean oil in the 1960s, Coconut oil was the world's leading vegetable oil. May 8th is National Coconut Creme Pie Day. Falling coconuts kill 150 people every year – 10 times the number of people killed by sharks.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Understanding Orchids by William Cullina This book came out in 2004, and the subtitle is An Uncomplicated Guide to Growing the World's Most Exotic Plants. Well, I myself have become an orchid lover and an orchid fan. They're my favorite plant to send to a family member for a birthday or an anniversary because they last so long, and now because orchids cost as much as the bouquet. I often opt to send an orchid instead of a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers. As a little bonus for me, some of my family members will actually bring me the orchid after it's bloomed. And then I get the honor of taking care of repotting it and getting it healthy and ready to go again so that it will bloom again - hopefully on their next birthday or anniversary. And so that's what I love to do - take care of orchids after they've bloomed. But you know, orchids are a little bit of a mystery to many, many gardeners. So if you haven't gone down the orchid path yet, but you're on the edge, and you want to become more skilled in the area of orchids will, then William Cullina's book is the perfect guide for you. William knows what it's like to be in your shoes. He writes at the end of his introduction, I still get that spine-tingling toe-tickling feeling of, wow that hooked me at the beginning. And if you're just starting out with orchids, you are in for quite an adventure. Learning to grow orchids and understand their idiosyncrasies is a true journey. The sheer number of orchid species estimates range between 25 and 40,000, including hybrids means that there will always be something new to learn something new to explore.   And then he writes this incredible fact. You could start acquiring an orchid a day when you were 20 years old and still not have grown them all when you turned 80 and there is no other family of plants that offers such incredible diversity.   Before I close out this review, I'll just say that the first part of William's book covers all the basics of orchids. Next, William gives an excellent overview of an area that people often struggle with:  how to care for orchids. How do they like to be watered? What should you do about fertilization? How should you pot them? If you're going to Mount them? How does that happen? Then William talks about what to do if you have a pest or disease issue with your orchid. Then, if you are getting into next-level orchid growing, William will be your guy to introduce you to reproduction. He'll tell you how to hand-pollinate and propagate and hybridize orchids. And there will be no mystery to any of this. William is very clear through every page of his book. Finally, William wraps things up with a look at over a hundred of the most popular orchids to get you on your way and to get you thinking about what you want on your orchid wishlist. This book is 272 pages of orchids by an orchid lover - for orchid lovers - or for people thinking about becoming orchid lovers. You can get a copy of Understanding Orchids by William Cullina and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $20.   Botanic Spark 1912 Birth of May Sarton (books by this author), Belgian-American writer and poet.  In Nelson, New Hampshire, May's tiny home was her happy place. She had a garden that she loved and cared for many houseplants. She once wrote these relatable garden witticisms: I am not a greedy person except about flowers and plants, and then I become fanatically greedy.   In her seventies, May reflected, A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself.   Still, May could not help striving for the glory of success when it came to her garden. Living a mostly simple life, May's garden was the one place she dreamed big. What a relief it was to me when I read that Vita Sackville-West kept a pile of metal labels in a shack at Sissinghurst as proof of all the experiments that had failed!   Finally, some of May's thoughts on gardening are prayerlike: Help us to be ever faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, and without light nothing flowers. and Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help.  Gardening is an instrument of grace.   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 1805 Birth of Hugo von Mohl, German botanist.  One newspaper called him the "greatest botanist of his day." He coined the word protoplasm. He discovered Mitosis and chloroplasts - describing them as discrete bodies within the green plant cell in 1837. In 1846 he described the sap in plant cells as "the living substance of the cell" and created the word "protoplasm."   1859 On this day, the Ohio Legislature named Alliance, Ohio, the "Carnation City," saying "truly it is the home of Ohio's State flower," thanks to the work of the amateur horticulturist Levi L. Lamborn (books by this author). In 1876, Levi ran against his friend William McKinley for congress. Before every debate, Levi gave William a "Lamborn Red" Carnation to wear on his lapel. Levi had propagated and named the Lamborn Red Carnation from seedlings he had received from France. After William won the election, he considered the Lamborn Red Carnation his good luck charm - his lucky flower - and he wore a Lamborn Red Carnation during his successful campaigns for Governor of Ohio and President of the United States. William wore a Lamborn Red Carnation when he was sworn into office. He was also wearing one when he attended the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, in 1901. At that event, he removed the Carnation and gave it to a 12-year-old girl named Myrtle Ledger, saying, I must give this flower to another little flower. Minutes later, in the receiving line, he greeted his assassin, Leon Czolgosz. President McKinley lingered for eight days after being shot twice before finally succumbing to infection. When McKinley's funeral train passed through Alliance, Ohio, the train tracks were covered in Lamborn Red Carnations.  The Ohio General Assembly named the scarlet Carnation the official Ohio floral emblem three years later. The resolution reads: Even though the first mention of the Dianthus genus of plant... is traced to some four hundred years before the birth of Christ, it was not until a native son of Alliance, Ohio, (Levi L. Lamborn) worked his floricultural magic that it blossomed as the matchless symbol of life and love that is today. Representative Elijah W. Hill, from Columbiana County, said, England has the rose, France has the lily; Ireland, the shamrock; Scotland, the thistle. ...To these ends, we seek to adopt the scarlet Carnation as Ohio's floral emblem. Fifty-five years later, on this day, April 8, 1959, Alliance, Ohio, became the "Carnation City" thanks to the work of Levi L. Lamborn. Every year since 1960, Alliance has held a Carnation festival. In 2022, the 10-day festival takes place between August 4 - August 14.   1892 Birth of Mary Pickford (books about this person), born Gladys Marie Smith, became known as America's sweetheart and a Hollywood legend. Mary was also a lover of trees. If you jump on Twitter, search for "Mary Pickford Tree," and you'll see images of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford planting a tree at their PickFair estate. #ArborDay Mary Pickford was the first to plant a Japanese cedar tree in the Forest of Fame at the California Botanic Garden. And Trivia/Folklore says that Mary Pickford used to eat flowers - especially roses. Katie Melua sang about Mary in a song that goes: Mary Pickford Used to eat roses Thinking they'd make her Beautiful, and they did-  One supposes. In real life, Mary did indeed eat roses. Mary Pickford revealed in her autobiography, Sunshine and Shadow that as a young girl living in Toronto, she would buy a single rose and eat the petals, believing the beauty, color, and perfume would somehow get inside her. Mary starred in Madame Butterfly (1915). The movie was shot in the Japanese garden of Charles Pfizer's Bernardsville, New Jersey estate called Yademos, the word "someday" spelled backward. The elaborate three-and-a-half-acre Japanese garden - complete with a lake filled with Japanese goldfish, a tea house, and a hooped and arched bridge - looked like it had been there forever - but in reality, the garden was only nine years old.    1918 Birth of First Lady Betty Ford (books about this person). As a woman, Betty Ford consistently defied the odds. She was an incredible trailblazer and very open about her struggles with alcohol and breast cancer. She revolutionized addiction treatment and opened her center for treatment while she was in the middle of working on her own recovery. Today' the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens is a fitting living tribute to this remarkable woman. Known as Vail's Alpine Treasure, the garden was founded in 1985 by the Vail Alpine Garden Foundation and renamed in honor of Betty three years later in 1988. This special place is located in Ford Park right next to the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater–named in honor of her husband, the 38th president of the United States. Over the years, the Betty Ford Alpine Garden has evolved to comprise four distinct sections; Mountain Perennial Garden (1989), Mountain Meditation Garden (1991), Alpine Rock Garden (1999), & the Children's Garden (2002.) Today, over 3,000 species of high-altitude plants play host to children's programs, horticultural therapy activities, and numerous partnerships and conservation initiatives. In 1991, Betty said, When I was a little girl, I spent many cherished hours with my mother in her garden. She wisely marked off an area for my very own plants. As we worked together, she nurtured me as she nurtured my love of gardening. This nurturing mother-daughter relationship, with its love growing strong in a garden, has been passed along to my daughter, Susan, and her two girls.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Immersion by Nola Anderson  This book came out on April 13, 2021 - (so we're almost at the year anniversary) - and the subtitle is Living and Learning in an Olmsted Garden. This book came about because Nola Anderson and her husband purchased a property called The Chimneys in 1991. The Chimneys was an old estate, and  Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. designed the gardens for the original owners. Sadly, the property had fallen into ruin by the time Nola and her husband got ahold of it. The Chimneys story reminds me so much of Sissinghurst. I love when people revive old spaces like this. One of the things that I appreciate about Nola is her courage and curiosity. When Nola walked onto The Chimneys property, she had not a lick of garden experience, which always reminds me of the saying, "Ignorance is bliss." Perhaps if Nola had been a gardener, she might've looked at the property and felt daunted by the task of restoration. But instead, Nola and her husband committed to renewing this incredible seaside garden. After three decades of hard work and research, The Chimneys was a sight to behold.  Originally, The Chimneys was created at the turn of the century, between 1902 and 1914. The Chimneys was home to a wealthy Boston finance guy named Gardiner Martin Lane and his wife, Emma. They hired Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to create an Italianate garden for them. The seaside garden is perched on a bluff and comprises a series of garden terraces that gradually taper down with the natural topography. The very top terrace is called the water terrace and features a rose-covered pergola and a shelter that boasts a stunning view of the terraces below and the ocean. Then there is the most incredible water feature (on the book cover), inspired by a 16th-century country estate in Italy called Villa Lante. In the Facebook group for the show, I shared a video of Monte Don walking through the incredible garden at Villa Lante. Monte says that this garden, Villa Lante, is the prime example of an Italianate Garden and the inspiration for Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. when working for the Lane family. The other terraces at The Chimneys are also stunning. They include the overlook terrace, the lavender terrace, the all-white tea terrace, the vegetable garden, the crab apple allee, and finally, the luxuriant rose garden.  So how lucky are Nola and her husband to stumble on The Chimney's estate and then bring it back to life? It really was the chance of a lifetime. And, don't you just love stories like this? The people who take on these forgotten gems - these gardens from our past - usher them through a transformation to reclaim their former glory. Before I forget, I wanted to mention that Clint Clemens is the photographer for this book, and he did a truly magnificent job. The photography is absolutely stunning. This book is 293 pages of The Chimneys - a garden on my bucket list.  You can get a copy of Immersion by Nola Anderson and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for about $50.   Botanic Spark 1955 Birth of Barbara Kingsolver (books by this author), American writer and poet. A daughter of Kentucky, Barbara graduated from DePauw University and the University of Arizona. She worked as a freelance writer before writing novels. Since 1993, her books have made the New York Times Best Seller list. The Poisonwood Bible (1998) brought critical acclaim and told the tale of a missionary family in the Congo - a place Barbara knew briefly as a child when her parents worked in public health in the Congo. In 2007 Barbara shared her family's quest to eat locally in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, where she wrote, Spring is made of solid, fourteen-karat gratitude, the reward for the long wait. Every religious tradition from the northern hemisphere honors some form of April hallelujah, for this is the season of exquisite redemption, a slam-bang return to joy after a season of cold second thoughts. She also mused, I have seen women looking at jewelry ads with a misty eye and one hand resting on the heart, and I only know what they're feeling because that's how I read the seed catalogs in January.   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 1898 On this day, The Lilies of the Valley Fabergé egg (books about this topic)was presented to the Russian Tsar Nicholas II. The egg was a gift for his wife, Empress Alexandra. Today the egg is kept in the Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Lily of the valley, Convallaria majalis ("con-vah-LAIR-ee-ah mah-JAY-liss), is a woodland plant that flowers in the spring with sweetly scented, delicate, bell-shaped white flowers. Despite its common name, Lily of the valley is in the asparagus family - not the lily family. It's not a lily at all. The etymology of the Latin name "majalis" means "belonging to May," In addition to blooming in May, the Lily of the Valley is the birth flower for May. In France, Lily of the Valley Day is celebrated every May 1st. In floriography, the Lily of the Valley represents good luck. The tiny blossoms are favorite for making perfume. Lily of the Valley is a favorite bridal flower and was included in the wedding bouquets of Queen Victoria, Princess Astrid of Sweden, Grace Kelly, and Kate Middleton. Lily of the Valley thrives in cool growing zones - it cannot thrive in hot conditions.   1908 Birth of Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (books about this person), American actress. Her career spanned over five decades. She often played tough, unsympathetic characters. As Margo Channing in All About Eve (1950), she said, Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke.   1913 Birth of Anne Scott-James (books by this author), English author and pioneering journalist. In 1934, Anne started out as a secretary at Vogue before rising through the ranks to become the Beauty Editor. After a brilliant career in journalism - including stints at Harper's Bazaar and the Daily Mail - Anne became a garden writer. Her books included The Best Plants For Your Garden, The Pleasure Garden, Down to Earth, and Sissinghurst: The Making of a Garden. Regarding Sissinghurst, Anne wrote, Sissinghurst is the last cottage garden made on a grand scale, but fortunately, it does not mark the end of cottage gardening. Both of Anne's children followed in her footsteps and ended up in journalism. Anne's daughter Clare Hastings also became a garden writer, and she is the author of Gardening Notes from a Late Bloomer. She also wrote a memoir of her mother released in 2020 called Hold the Front Page!: The Wit and Wisdom of Anne Scott-James. It was Anne Scott-James who wrote, However small your garden, you must provide for two of the serious gardener's necessities, a tool shed, and a compost heap. and To pick a flower is so much more satisfying than just observing it or photographing it ... So in later years, I have grown in my garden as many flowers as possible for children to pick.   2011 Death of Kim McDodge, American garden founder and artist. In 1993, Kim used her inheritance to buy two parcels of land in the Sabin neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, near NE Fremont and 11th, called Ariadne Garden. Two years later, she donated the 100 x 100-foot plot to the Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust (OSALT). The Ariadne Garden became a volunteer-staffed, organic, urban farm selling blooms like peonies, roses, yarrow, lilies, gladiola, zinnias, and a diverse array of produce. Kim designed the Hopi mother and child maze at Ariadne. It is a nod to the lore of Ariadne herself. In Greek mythology, Ariadne (books about this topic) was a Cretan princess. She is remembered for helping Theseus escape the labyrinth after slaying the Minotaur with the help of a golden thread. Ariadne then became the wife of Dionysus. In Jhan Hochman's beautiful tribute to Kim, he wrote, Before the mortal Ariadne more famously enabled Theseus to kill the minotaur and escape the labyrinth, she was a Minoan vegetation goddess celebrated by rituals reflecting the death and revival of the vegetation she personified. Kim elegantly fused these two Ariadne's in her garden-labyrinth, becoming remarkably Ariadne-like herself by showing the rest of us at least one way to kill the minotaur of corporate agriculture, thread our way out of the labyrinth of supermarket aisles, and find our way back to the mazing paths of an organic garden.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Get Growing by Holly Farrell This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is A Family Guide to Gardening Inside and Out. I should mention that this book is by the RHS, and it is really fantastic as per usual for the RHS. The goal here with this book was to put fun into gardening with this excellent family guide to help you make gardening a family affair. Now, you know, it's hard to beat RHS books because they're so well put together, and of course, they're grounded in science — the latest science — so that's always a plus.  One of the reasons why you might want to consider getting this book is if you're working with students in your garden because this book is full of ideas and projects. Sometimes when you're thinking about working with kids, you just need some new ideas or some different activities that you can put together to keep them engaged and keep them learning and growing and excited about working in the garden. This book would be perfect for that. This book is also is excellent for families with young kids. It is really all about trying to inspire young people, getting them growing. Thus the title. Now there are all kinds of fun experiments in this book — things like working with rain, tracking rain, tracking shadows (something I had not read about before. I loved that idea.), and another fantastic idea is having kids make their own wormery. This is a little worm farm that they can put together in a jar very quickly, and it'll provide lots of entertainment and really teach them about what worms do and how they're so vital to soil health. Now I also had to chuckle just a little bit because they feature one of my favorite activities that I've always done with kids, and that is making pesto together. I did this with my kids early on when they were in elementary school. I taught them how to use the food processor and cut garlic. To this day, they still love making pesto, and they associate that smell with being in the garden with me and cooking during the summer - and all season long - which is just such a joy. I'm so glad that I did that. In any case, this book is loaded with lots of great ideas. It's step-by-step. It is impeccably illustrated. It is smart- and it's just an excellent current resource. Holly Farrell, I just want to mention, also put together a book in 2013 called Planting Plans For Your Kitchen Garden: How to Create a Vegetable, Herb, and Fruit Garden in Easy Stages. She also did a really good book in 2015, called Plants from Pits - and that was a book that she did for the RHS. So anyway, Holly is an experienced author, a great gardener, and passionate about getting kids excited about gardening. This book is 176 pages of ideas and inspiration and projects and experiments and so forth - all about the garden and all about getting kids involved in gardening - to get growing. You can get a copy of Get Growing by Holly Farrell and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $2.   Botanic Spark 1933 Birth of Barbara Holland, American author. She grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. She was witty and a bit of a rebel, defending vices like cursing, drinking, eating fatty food, and smoking cigarettes. Barbara once quipped, One's own flowers and some of one's own vegetables make acceptable, free, self-congratulatory gifts when visiting friends, though giving zucchini - or leaving it on the doorstep, ringing the bell, and running - is a social faux pas. In Endangered Pleasures, Barbara wrote, Poets and songwriters speak highly of spring as one of the great joys of life in the temperate zone, but in the real world, most of spring is disappointing.  We looked forward to it too long, and the spring we had in mind in February was warmer and dryer than the actual spring when it finally arrives.  We'd expected it to be a whole season, like winter, instead of a handful of separate moments and single afternoons.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Heute nur ein Tabak, dafür umso ausführlicher, der Sissinghurst von HU United Passion. Feuerwerk in der Pfeife und am Ende eine kleine "Lichtdusche". Viel Spaß mit der heutigen Folge.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee    Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community   Friends of the Garden Meeting in Athens, Georgia Register Here   Historical Events 1763 Birth of William Cobbett, English writer, Member of Parliament, and farmer.  In Parliament, Wlliam fought for agrarian reform. He did this through his regular writings called Rural Rides, where he shared what he saw while taking horseback rides throughout rural England. William never forgot his rural roots, and he was a lifelong gardener. He once wrote, How much better during a long and dreary winter, for daughters, and even sons, to assist, or attend, their mother, in a green-house, than to be seated with her at cards, or, in the blubberings over a stupid novel, or at any other amusement that can possibly be conceived. And he also wrote,  If well-managed, nothing is more beautiful than the kitchen garden.   1845 Birth of Wilhelm Friedrich Philipp Pfeffer, German botanist and plant physiologist. Wilhelm was born in his father's apothecary. He grew up and learned every aspect of the business, which had been in his family for generations. One of his childhood friends noted, In those days, it was not yet customary to obtain drugs in cut and powdered form; thus, he spent hours cutting roots and herbs and pulverizing dried drugs with a heavy pestle in a mortar. In addition to life at the A=apothecary, Wilhelm loved collecting plants in the Alps. His early study of plants and his natural curiosity set the stage for his in-depth plant experiments as an adult. In terms of plant physiology, he's remembered for the Pfeffer pot or pepper pot to measure osmotic pressure in plant cells.   1874 Birth of Karl Foerster, German plant breeder, writer, and garden designer. When Karl turned 18, he took over his family's Berlin nursery, which was a bit of a mess. Karl quickly streamlined the business by simplifying his plant inventory. Although Karl loved all plants, he was especially drawn to tough, low-maintenance, hardy perennials. Karl used three factors to determine whether a plant would be sold in his nursery: beauty, resilience, and endurance. Today, Karl is most remembered in Karl Foerster Grass. The story goes that Karl was on a train when he spied the grass growing along the tracks. Karl frantically pulled the emergency brake, stopped the train, and quickly collected the specimen that now bears his name. In 2001, Karl Foerster grass was the Perennial Plant of the Year. Karl's plant standards and his appreciation for low maintenance spaces with year-long seasonal interest helped shape the New German Garden Style of garden design. A Karl Foerster garden had some signature plants: grasses, delphinium, and phlox. Naturally, all of these plants were favorites in Karl's breeding work. Karl once wrote, Grasses are the hair of mother earth. And he also wrote, A garden without phlox is not only a sheer mistake but a sin against summer. Karl lived to the ripe old age of 96. And looking back, it's staggering to think that Karl spent nearly nine decades gardening, and it was Karl Foerster who said, In my next life, I'd like to be a gardener once again.  The job was too big for just one lifetime.   1892 Birth of Vita Sackville-West, English author and garden designer. In 1930, Vita and her husband, the diplomat, and journalist Harold Nicolson, bought Sissinghurst Castle - at least what was left of it. Together, they restored the house and created the famous garden, which was given to the National Trust in 1967. Vita explored the depths of her own creativity as she shaped the gardens at Sissinghurst. When she came up with the idea for a Sunset Garden, she wrote, I used to call it the Sunset Garden in my own mind before I even planted it up. Vita's Sunset Garden included flowers with warm citrus colors, like the yellows, oranges, and reds of Dahlia's Salvias Canas and tulips. Vita also created a White Garden – one of the most difficult Gardens to design, maintain and pull off. Why is that? Well, the main reason is that, after flowering, most white blooms don't age well; they turn brown or yellow as they wither and die on the plant. But I have to say that ten years ago, I did help a friend install a white garden. And when it was in bloom, it really was spectacular. During World War II, there came a point when Vita and Harold were convinced that a German invasion of Britain was likely. Vita planted 11,000 daffodils, a message of defiance to the enemy. In 1955, Vita was honored with the Veitch Memorial Medal. She died seven years later in 1962. She once wrote, The waking bee, still drowsy on the wing,  Will sense the opening of another year  And blunder out to seek another spring.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Art of Edible Flowers by Rebecca Sullivan  This book came out in 2018, and the subtitle is Recipes and ideas for floral salads, drinks, desserts, and more. This sweet little book is a fun little recipe book of the many ways flowers can be incorporated into drinks and edibles. Recipes include a Rose and Lavender Cocktail Syrup, a Jasmine and Green Tea Ice Cream, Lavender and Orange Cheesecake, Pumpkin Carpaccio with Mustard Flower Sauce, Artichoke Flower with Borage Butter, Fermented Elderflower Fizz and a soothing Poppy Milk. The recipes are simple, creative, and elegant. This book is 80 pages of edible, beautiful, tasty blossoms. You can get a copy of The Art of Edible Flowers by Rebecca Sullivan and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $12.   Botanic Spark 1902 Birth of Luis Barragán, Mexican architect and engineer. In 1980, he won the Pritzker Prize, the highest award in architecture. In 1948 he designed and built his own home with cement after being inspired by local modernist architecture. In 2004, the Luis Barragan house was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition to architecture, Luis loved landscapes. He once wrote, I don't divide architecture, landscape and gardening; to me they are one. And he also wrote, A garden must combine the poetic and he mysterious with a feeling of serenity and joy.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

A man accused of murdering a missing mum-of-two from Sissinghurst has been charged with another murder. Alexandra Morgan was last seen on Remembrance Sunday last year. Mark Brown, 40, from Squirrel Close in St Leonards on Sea in East Sussex has appeared in court today via video link. Also in today's podcast, startling new figures show Kent and Medway has the lowest ratio of GPs to patients in the country. There are just 39 GPs per 100-thousand patients in the county, that's compared to an average of 60 across England. Hear from an Ashford GP and a patient from Gravesend who went to extreme measures to make sure she was seen. A councillor from Sevenoaks is the new MP for Southend West. Anna Firth was the Conservative candidate in the by-election which was triggered following the death of Sir David Amess who was stabbed while meeting constituents last October. The KentOnline Podcast has been told climate change is having a ‘noticeable and real' impact on nature in the county - with spring bulbs blooming much earlier than normal. Hear from the boss of Hopes Grove Nurseries in Tenterden. Find out which luxury hotel in the county is going to be hosting a food a music festival this summer. And in sport, we catch up with the Gillingham captain ahead of their trip to Ipswich Town this weekend.

The joys of gardening extend far beyond the three dimensions, with evolution over time being an aspect that inspires Dan Pearson to create magnificent spaces and document them so eloquently.A prolific and multi-talented horticultural icon, Dan joins Sarah on this week's ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange' to discuss his exciting upcoming series which promises to offer a fresh and exciting approach to learning garden design, the principles behind his marvellous work on Sissinghurst's Delos, and what we stand to learn from the Japanese principles guiding his work on the Tokachi Millennium Forest.In this episode, discover:How Dan is creating a more naturalistic view on garden & planting design in his new series with Create AcademyDan's sublime work on Delos at Sissinghurst and the Tokachi Millennium ForestCapturing the essence of a garden in film, documenting their evolution through timeInspiring Japanese philosophies like ‘shakkei' and ‘satoyama'Adjusting our view on what sustainability truly means, and how we can achieve itView all products mentioned and find further advice from Sarah: https://bit.ly/3f2DFiHFollow Sarah: https://bit.ly/3jDTvBpFollow Arthur: https://bit.ly/3jxSKK5Order Sarah's new book: https://bit.ly/2TWHJczOrder Arthur's new book: https://bit.ly/3xOov7HShop on the Sarah Raven Website: http://bit.ly/3jvbaeuGet in touch: info@sarahraven.com

A man has appeared in court charged with murder following the disappearance of a mum-of-two from Sissinghurst. Alexandra Morgan was last seen on Remembrance Sunday as she filled her car with petrol. A 40-year-old man from East Sussex was charged late last night - hear from our reporter who was in court when he appeared earlier. Also in today's podcast, police are continuing to question three people after a man died when he was hit by a van in Chatham... The victim, who's in his 40s, was fatally injured while walking along Luton Road in the early hours of Saturday. We've been asking if you're worried about the new Covid variant ruining Christmas this year. Cases of omicron have been identified in England and Scotland - find out the result of our twitter poll so far and hear what some of you have had to say. A new report's found vulnerable people are frequently going to Kent's A&E departments because they feel they have nowhere else to turn. We've been speaking to the British Red Cross which estimates the issue costs the NHS at least £2.5 billion a year. Protests have been held to try and stop building on areas of countryside in Kent - hear from one of the campaigners. And, the Gillingham boss has been reacting to their heartbreaking defeat to Portsmouth at the weekend.

Más allá de Londres, en el condado de Kent, existe un castillo rodeado de un jardín mágico y una historia con un enigma. El Castillo de Sissinghurst fue el refugio de la poeta Vita Sackville-West en donde escribió poemas y trazó la geografía de un jardín rodeado de belleza.

Trädgårdsmästare förtjänar att dela plats med målare och poeter, menade författaren Vita Sackville-West och många är de som lägger ner timmar av arbete i trädgården på denna förgängliga konstform. Vita Sackville-West sa att den som ägnar sig ut trädgårdsskötsel är en ganska värdelös samhällsmedborgare, utifrån ett ekonomiskt perspektiv, men att han eller hon är en av få kvarvarande människor i denna obehagliga värld som fortsätter traditionen av elegans och charm. Hennes egen trädgård, vid slottet Sissinghurst i England, är i dag en av landets mest älskade. I veckans Stil undersöker vi vad det är som får folk att lägga ner timmar av hårt arbete i trädgården och vad en trädgård kan berätta om sin skapare. Vi träffar Anna G Tufvesson, chefredaktör på tidningen Allt om Trädgård, som tar oss med till sin favoritplats, Visbys botaniska trädgård. Vi berättar om den brittiska regissören, författaren och konstnären Derek Jarman och hans trädgård på grusudden Dungeness. Och så pratar vi med modeskaparen och konstnären Martin Bergström om hans stora kärlek till blommor. Programmet är gjort av Erik Sjölin.

Hilary Barber RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) returns to talk with Frances about the history and art of garden design.  The variety of style and taste is of course endless, but there's something for everyone here, and there are plenty of suggestions of spectacular and inspiring places to look up and maybe visit one day.Hilary also offers some helpful tips for overwhelmed newcomers to garden planning.Gardeners and gardens mentioned:Capability Brown landscapes (e.g. Blenheim, Chatsworth, Stowe & many more)Westonbirt Arboretum, nr. Tetbury, Glos.The Palace Gardens at Versailles, W of ParisMonet's Garden - Giverny, NW of ParisPiet Oudolf prairie gardens - Bury Court, Surrey; also one of the designers of The High Line, NYC;& the Lurie Garden, Millennium Park, ChicagoChristopher Lloyd - Great Dixter, nr. Tenterden, KentVita Sackville-West -  Sissinghurst, nr. Tunbridge Wells, KentBeth Chatto -  Gravel Garden, nr. Colchester, EssexCésar Manrique - Cactus Garden, Lanzarote  Derek Jarman – Prospect Cottage, Dungeness, KentBotanic Garden, BristolPoison Garden, Ainwick Castle, NorthumberlandBook: The Story of Gardening, Penelope Hobhouse---Recorded April 2021Music: Frances

I avsnitt 42 pratar vi om begreppet månskensträdgård och lite extra om drottningen av just månskensträdgårdar, nämligen Vita Sackville-West och hennes vita trädgård i Sissinghurst, England. Karin talar sig varm om släktet Artemisia och Elsa fokuserar på månviol och nattviol. Vi kommer också in på ljusföroreningar och längtan efter en ensam glödlampa på kvällskvisten. Följ oss gärna på instagram på kontot @itradgardenmedkarinochelsa

As we finally begin to emerge from a year of restrictions, the world is our oyster and it's time to start planning some gorgeous getaways and rousing retreats. For many, the likes of familiar old favourites Sissinghurst and Chatsworth will undoubtedly be on the cards, with romantic rose gardens and marvellous displays of cramming every cranny with colour.For this episode of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange', Sarah and Arthur take us on their ideal road trip around the country, offering up suggestions for an exciting tour of your own to discover natural beauty, flora and fauna, and even a recommendation for a good gin...In this episode, discover:Sissinghurst Castle Garden and their beautiful rose garden and mixture of Tudor red-brick buildings with a romantic mix of plants within the walls.Beatrix Potter's Hill Top with it's rolling wooded hills and valleys filled with loose planting that attracted animals for her drawings.Rousham House & Gardens with their gorgeous free range hens welcoming a delighted Arthur on arrival and the unique wildness to their gardens, veg and herbs.Chatsworth House & Gardens who are leading the way in the cut flower movement and showcase stunning ways to companion plant, being the most productive and experimenting garden they've visited!Sarah's wildflower walk in Cornwall starting at Kynance Cove which feels like walking through a flowery salad with the aqua blue of the sea to one side, and fields of exotic and rare Cornish tropics to the other.The most western point of British Isles in the Outer Hebrides with it's coral white sands and extraordinary mix of rare Orchids.Arthur's favourite visit to Chester Zoo with their own gin created on site, incredible conservation work and fields of feed grown for their own animals.Order Sarah's new book: http://bit.ly/3cR0kyhOrder Arthur's new book: http://bit.ly/3qiBgUsShop on the Sarah Raven Website: http://bit.ly/3jvbaeuGet in touch: info@sarahraven.comProducts mentioned:Dahlias: https://bit.ly/3wA8UrWRoses: https://bit.ly/3gnOwVGFollow Sarah: https://bit.ly/3jDTvBpFollow Arthur: https://bit.ly/3jxSKK5

Today we celebrate the botanist who discovered cells in plants and helped to establish cell theory. We'll also learn about an amateur botanist who had a tremendous impact on the University of Michigan. We’ll remember the gift of a stunning Fabergé egg known as The Lilies of the Valley egg. We hear a delightful verse about spring from a popular cookbook author. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about Bonsai. And then we’ll wrap things up with the story of one of England’s great garden writers.   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 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 Cottage Garden Ideas | Ideal Home | Tamara Kelly   Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. 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.

Today we celebrate a man who revealed the medicinal properties of Digitalis or Foxglove. We'll also learn about an English author and gardener who wrote about the gardens of her life, and she turns 88 years old today. We hear an excerpt about a Scientist, Explorer, revolutionary, and Outcast who became one of New Zealand's Great Explorers. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about high-end garden design. And then we’ll wrap things up with a story about the man who revived the town, Landscapes and gardens of Colonial Williamsburg.   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 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 How to Decorate for Spring | House & Garden   Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. 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 March 17, 1741 Today is the birthday of the English botanist geologist, physician, and chemist William Withering. William became the very first person to study the bioactivity of the flower known as Digitalis or Foxglove. In this respect, William's training as a physician served him well. And the story goes that one day, he noticed a person suffering from what was then called dropsy, which is an old word for a person who's suffering from congestive heart failure. Now, in this particular case. William observed that the patient in question showed remarkable improvement after taking a traditional herbal remedy that included Digitalis or Foxglove. Now William gets the credit for discovering the power of Digitalis because he studied the various ingredients of this old herbal remedy. He determined that it really was the Digitalis that made all the difference when it came to heart issues. In 1785, William published his famous work called an account of the Foxglove and some of its medical uses. Now Foxgloves are a beautiful plant for the ornamental or cottage garden. These are plants that produce beautiful tall flower spikes. And each spike can contain 20 to 80 purple to pink flowers that are tubular and whitish on the inside. Now Foxgloves are a toxic plant, and if you eat any part of the plant, it can result in severe poisoning. And this is important to know because when Foxglove first emerges out of the ground, it can be confused for comfort or plantation. Since both of those plants are used as edible plants by many people - it's important to be able to distinguish them and to remember where you're planting Foxglove in your garden. The fact that the Foxglove so closely resembles Plantain when it first comes out of the ground is a helpful way for gardeners to remember that Foxglove is in the Plantain family. In addition to the common name, Foxgloves, Digitalis has many adorable common names, including Fairy Fingers, Fairy Thimbles, Rabbits Flower, and Scotch Mercury. And there's a delightful old legend about the Foxglove, and it goes like this, that bad fairies gave the blossoms to a Fox who needed to put the flowers on his toes so that he could muffle the sound of his feet, as he hunted for prey. And here's another fun fact about the Foxglove: it's a cousin to another beloved cottage garden flower, the Snapdragon or Antirrhinum majus ("ant-er-EYE-num MAY-jus"). Now, with regard to its toxicity, which is a very legitimate concern. The gardener and garden writer, Katharine S. White, wrote this: “At a very early age, I remember, I was to recognize what plants are to be avoided completely. At a very early age, I remember I was taught how to recognize and stay away from deadly nightshade, poison ivy, and poison sumac. (I was, just as early, taught the delights of chewing tender young checkerberry leaves and sassafras root.) To me, it would be ridiculous, though, not to grow monkshood, foxglove, hellebore, larkspur, autumn crocus, poppies, lilies of the valley, buttercups, and many other flowers now present in my borders just because they have some poison in them.” So as you can see the Foxglove is in good company when it comes to toxic plants. Now when the botanical illustrator Walter Crane painted flowers, he often personified them. And when he drew the Foxglove, he did not draw it alone - he drew a Foxglove family. And he wrote, "The Foxgloves are a happy group, comprised of cousins and brothers and sisters." And finally, the English author and poet Meta Orred wrote, Her lips like foxgloves, pink and pale, Went sighing like an autumn gale; Yet, When the sunlight passed by,  They opened out with half a sigh. Her smile, the last faint vesper light As swoons the eve to sleep away, Remaining through the summer night A lamp of love by which to pray.   March 17, 1933 Today is the birthday of the great British writer of fiction for both children and adults, Dame Penelope Margaret Lively - so that makes her 88 years young today. Happy birthday, Penelope. Penelope wrote one of my favorite garden books. It's called life in the garden, and I found myself enthralled with this book from the very first chapter. If you don't own a copy, get one, and you will love it - not only for what's written on the inside but also for the beautiful botanical cover on the outside. Penelope’s writing often reflects on common themes like life and memory, and time.   And in this book, in particular, Penelope writes about one of her passions: gardening. Now, Penelope had the unique experience of growing up in a home in Cairo, Egypt, where she experienced the joy and wonder of a courtyard garden. And then she moved to a family cottage in Somerset. As an adult, her own gardens flourished, and Oxford and London. Now, as someone who loves botanical history and literature, what I especially appreciate about Penelope’s book is that she not only shares her own garden experience but also she takes us on a garden tour. We get to experience great gardens like Sissinghurst. And we also get to learn a little bit about creative people who loved to garden, like Virginia Woolf and Philip Larkin. And it was Penelope Lively, who said one of my all-time favorite garden quotes. She uses the word “elide,” which means to suppress or strikeout. She said, “To garden is to elide past, present, and future. It is an act of defiance of time.”   Unearthed Words As his former friend made his way down the street, Ernst was reminded of a line out of Darwin's Researches. Writing of the climber’s expectation in the ascent of a mountain, Darwin had said that the promise lay with the projection of the climber and that what was withheld would always outstrip what was granted. What was withheld would always outstrip what was granted. What was granted? Ernst reflected on his life. The ordinary business of it. The illnesses and the sunny days. The delivery at the kitchen door. The sound of rain upon the bedroom glass. What was withheld was the sense behind the living. The dream that never ceased. And, of course, the end of the arrow’s flight. And watching Klaus make his way along the footpath, Ernst saw what a blessing this withholding was, too. For who would continue with the project of living if they could see straight to its end.  — Thom Conroy, The Naturalist   Grow That Garden Library Garden Design Review by Ralf Knoflach and Robert Schäfer This book came out in 2018, and the subtitle is Best-designed Gardens and Parks on the Planet.  Here's what the publisher wrote about this book: Discover the greatest in garden design: Garden Design Review is the inaugural edition of an exclusive new compendium of the most outstanding projects and products in garden planning and landscape architecture around the world. A garden not only extends living space outdoors; it also enhances the quality of life. This illustrated garden book presents more than 50 contemporary garden projects from some of the most internationally renowned landscape architects and garden designers. Now the featured gardens are profiled with beautiful photographs and interviews with the garden designers and the landscape architects, and they share their work process in detail. They include the concept for the property, the materials that they used, and their plant choices. So this book makes for a wonderful behind-the-scenes tutorial. This book is 256 pages of an indispensable garden guide for professional garden designers and landscape architects as well as home gardeners looking for luxury inspiration. You can get a copy of Garden Design Review by Ralf Knoflach, and Robert Schäferand support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $62   Today’s Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart March 17, 1928 It was on this day, that the pioneering landscape architect, Arthur Shurcliff began working on the Colonial Revival Gardens that ended up making Colonial Williamsburg a world-famous attraction. Just after he received his degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, Arthur discovered the field of landscape architecture and he couldn't let it go.  Now back when Arthur was in school, there were no formal degree programs for Landscape Architecture. And so Arthur ended up cobbling together his own curriculum at the Lawrence School of Science at Harvard. The massive project at Williamsburg was funded by John D Rockefeller and Arthur's mission was staggering: a total community restoration. By the time that Arthur took over the project on this day, St. Patrick's day, in 1928, he already had over 30 years experience in the field. Of course, it wasn't just the buildings that needed restoration; it was the land, the paths, the street, the gardens, and the green spaces. And Arthur kept detailed notes about the transformation and his daily quest to uncover the past. And one of my favorite diary entries from Arthur about this project said, “Wednesday morning saw me in the old-fashioned gardens in the heart of the town. These old places… now gone to decay are filled with a kind of golden glory which is lacking in the new gardens. The old lattice trellises, ruined box hedges, and even the weed-grown paths seem to have the glamor of the sunshine from the olden days.” Thanks to Arthur, every aspect of the town of Williamsburg was fully researched. When it came to garden plants and plant selection, Arthur insisted that authenticity was paramount. For example, Arthur's team actually searched for original fence post holes to determine the colonially accurate backyard. And in light of little details like that, it's no wonder that it took Arthur 13 years to finish the restoration of Williamsburg. In researching Arthur, it's clear that every now and then, his passion could get the best of him. There's a funny story that I love to tell with regard to Arthur's experience and Williamsburg. There was a woman in Williamsburg who lived at the St. George Tucker house. She kept her own diary, and she wrote, in January of 1931, “Today, I was asked to go over the yard with Mr. Arthur Shurcliff… I found him a very alarming person! Somehow the idea of changing the yard and garden is much more repellent to me than changing the house, and this is such a terribly enthusiastic man!” And when Arthur returned in May, she wrote, “[He came] down like a wolf on the fold again today. He rushed in and out... with charts and plans for all sorts of alarming ‘landscapes’ in our yard. He has boxwood on the brain.” She was right. Arthur's signature plant was the Boxwood, which he called “Box” for short. And for his Williamsburg make-over, Arthur required boatloads of Box. He wrote, “In replanting Williamsburg places, much use should be made of Box… even allowing it to dominate the parterres and bed traceries… Generous use of Box in this manner [will define the] display and [help with the] upkeep of flowers especially in the dry season...” Happily for Arthur, over the course of his time and Williamsburg, his charm eventually counteracted any hesitance by the townspeople caused by his exuberance. When Colonial Williamsburg was revealed to the public in 1934, Arthur's Colonial Revival style gardens complete with Boxwood caused a sensation. Soon Revival Garden Design appeared in suburbs all across America.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate an East German Nurseryman and plant breeder who is remembered in the name Feather Reed Grass. We'll also learn about an exceptional English author and garden designer. We hear a little snippet about Gardener’s Latin as a clue to the meaning behind Plant Names. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a fantastic book about the business of flowers. And then we’ll wrap things up with a beloved old poem about botany.   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 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 Feel Happier — Easy Ways To Gaze At America’s Most Gorgeous Spring Gardens | Forbes | Laura Manske   Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. 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 March 9, 1874 Today is the birthday of the revered German plant breeder, writer, and garden designer Karl Foerster. Now Karl was born into an intellectual and accomplished family. His father was an astronomer, and his mother was a famous painter. Many gardeners are surprised to learn that Karl began gardening at the tender age of seven after obtaining an apprenticeship. A year later, Karl entered a professional gardening program and studied there for 11 years. When Karl turned 18, he took over his family’s Berlin nursery, which was a bit of a mess.  But Karl had a knack for running a nursery. He streamlined the business by simplifying his plant inventory. Although Karl loved all plants, he was especially drawn to tough, low-maintenance, hardy perennials. Karl used three factors to determine whether a plant would be sold in his nursery: beauty, resilience, and endurance. And Karl's high standards ended up bringing great success to his nursery. When he turned 24, Karl moved his nursery to Potsdam. There, Karl married a singer and pianist named Eva, and together they had one daughter. Knowing Karl’s high standards of plants, imagine how exacting Karl was as a plant breeder. Yet, Karl never pollinated flowers by hand. He wanted nature to reign supreme. Today, Karl Foerster grass is a recognized staple in many gardens and landscapes. The story goes that Karl was on a train when he spied the grass along the tracks. To seize the chance to collect the specimen, Karl pulled the emergency brake, stopped the train, and then quickly collected the specimen that now bears his name. While gardeners have heard of Karl Foerster Grass or Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis), many fail to realize the grass was successful because it first met Karl’s high standards for perennials. Karl Foerster grass was the Perennial Plant of the Year in 2001. And, Overdam is a variegated version of Karl Foerster grass. Karl’s plant performance expectations and his appreciation for low maintenance spaces with year-long seasonal interest helped shape the New German Garden Style of garden design. A Karl Foerster garden had some signature plants: grasses, delphinium, and phlox. Naturally, all of these plants were favorites in Karl’s breeding work. Karl once wrote, “A garden without phlox is not only a sheer mistake but a sin against summer." And he also wrote, “Grasses are the hair of mother earth.” Karl lived to the ripe old age of 96. And looking back, it's staggering to think that Karl spent nearly nine decades gardening, and it was Karl Foerster who said, “In my next life, I’d like to be a gardener once again.  The job was too big for just one lifetime.”   March 9, 1892 Today is the birthday of the English author and garden designer, Vita Sackville West. In 1930, Sissinghurst Castle - at least what was left of it - was bought by Vita and her husband - the diplomat, and journalist, Harold Nicolson. Together, they restored the house and created the famous garden, which was given to the National Trust in 1967. After seeing Sissinghurst for the very first time, Vita recalled, “I fell in love; love at first sight. I saw what might be made of it.” Vita explored the depths of her own creativity as she shaped the gardens at Sissinghurst. When she came up with the idea for a Sunset Garden, she wrote, “I used to call it the Sunset Garden in my own mind before I even planted it up.” Vita’s Sunset Garden included flowers with warm citrus colors, like the yellows, oranges, and reds of Dahlia's Salvias Canas and tulips. Vita also created a white Garden – one of the most difficult Gardens to design, maintain and pull off.  White gardens are challenging, and you may be thinking, well, why is that? Well, here's the main reason: because, after flowering, many white blooms don’t age well; they turn brown or yellow as they wither and die on the plant. But I have to say that 10 years ago, I did help a friend install a white garden. And when it was in bloom, it really was spectacular. By the time World War happened, Vita and Harold had been working on Sissinghurst for nearly a decade. But there came a point when they were both convinced that a German invasion of Britain was becoming more likely. Never one to run from a challenge. Vita decided to plant 11,000 daffodils on the property. She was essentially leaving her legacy and a message of defiance to the enemy. Vita’s personal life was as varied and fascinating it's the plants in her garden. She had relationships with both men and women, and she loved the people in her life intensely. Once, in a letter to Harold, Vita wrote, “You are my eternal spring.” On December 29, 1946, Harold wrote, "Trying to convince [Vita] that planning is an element in gardening…  She wishes just to jab in things that she has leftover. The tragedy of the romantic temperament is that it dislikes form so much that it ignores the effect of masses.”  In 1955, Vita was honored with the Veitch Memorial Medal, which is awarded to those who have helped advance and improve the science and practice of horticulture - and Vita definitely achieved that. I thought I'd close out this mini-biography of Vita with her own words. Here's something that Vieta wrote about spring: She walks in the loveliness she made, Between the apple-blossom and the water-- She walks among the patterned pied brocade, Each flower her son, and every tree her daughter. And We owned a garden on a hill, We planted rose and daffodil, Flowers that English poets sing, And hoped for glory in the Spring.   Unearthed Words Plants can be said to have a personality, a certain air about them, and this is often reflected in their names. The term vulgari often refers to what was considered the most common plant in the genus at the time of the naming. Thus the Primrose was named Primula vulgaris.  Many species names. Describe the beauty of a plant. The specific name Bellis means beautiful... And it's fairly easy to identify Elegantissima presents no surprises as it means very elegant… While dius shows even greater beauty since it describes a plant belonging to the gods.  — Richard Bird, garden writer,  A Gardner's Latin, General Personality. Grow That Garden Library Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart  This book came out in 2008, and the subtitle is The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful. It's hard to believe that this book has already been out for over 13 years. This was Amy's third book, and it's one of my favorites. And I remember thinking when this book debuted, just how sensational the stories in this book were - and also I was amazed by the amount of work it took Amy to write this book and to help us understand just what the flower industry is all about. Now the publisher describes Amy's book this way: “Amy Stewart travels the globe to take us inside this dazzling world. She tracks down scientists intent on developing the first genetically modified blue rose; an eccentric horticultural legend who created the world's most popular lily (the 'Star Gazer'); and an Ecuadorean farmer growing exquisite, high-end organic roses that are the floral equivalent of a Tiffany diamond. She sees firsthand how flowers are grown and harvested on farms in Latin America, California, and Holland. (It isn't always pretty). You'll never look at a cut flower the same again.” This book is 320 pages of the secret story of flowers in the marketplace - highlighting the intersection of flowers, technology, marketing, and money. You can get a copy of Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $2   Today’s Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart   There should be no monotony In studying your botany; It helps to train And spur the brain-- Unless you haven't gotany. It teaches you, does Botany, To know the plants and spotany, And learn just why They live or die-- In case you plant or potany. You learn, from reading Botany, Of wooly plants and cottony That grow on earth, And what they're worth, And why some spots have notany. You sketch the plants in Botany, You learn to chart and plotany Like corn or oats-- You jot down notes, If you know how to jotany. Your time, if you'll allotany, Will teach you how and what any Old plant or tree Can do or be-- And that's the use of Botany! — Berton Braley, Botany, Science News Letter, March 9, 1929   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate a botanist who gave Meriwether Lewis a crash course in botany. We'll also learn about a poet who wrote some touching poems that incorporated the natural world. We hear some words about getting the garden ready for growing - straightforward advice on getting started. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about a garden style that’s never gone out of style: cottage gardening. And then we’ll wrap things up with a pioneer naturalist who wrote books that became a beloved part of many modern childhoods.   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 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 New Owners Of Barton Springs Nursery Plan To Add Learning, Community Spaces And Inspire Local Gardeners | Digging | Pam Penick   Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. 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 February 10, 1766 Today is the birthday of the American botanist, naturalist, and physician Benjamin Smith Barton. Benjamin worked as a Professor of Natural History and Botany at the University of Pennsylvania, where he authored the very first textbook on American Botany. In 1803, at Thomas Jefferson's request, Benjamin was tutoring Meriwether Lewis to get him ready for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Now Meriwether had many strengths, but he had little knowledge of natural history or plants. Thanks to Benjamin's tutelage, Meriwether was an awesome specimen collector on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. After the Expedition, Benjamin was supposed to create a book describing all of the plant specimens found on their great voyage. But, for some reason, he never began writing. Instead, the job ultimately fell to Benjamin's assistant, Frederick Pursh. And when Frederick ended up having a falling out with Benjamin, he secretly took the specimens and fled to England. Once there, Frederick found a patron and published his Flora of North America in two years' time — much to the embarrassment of Benjamin Smith Barton and all American botanists. And, there's an incredible story that came out two years ago, in February, regarding Benjamin. The story featured a little yellow butterfly that was found pressed between the pages of one of Benjamin's manuscripts from 1812 - his Flora Virginica. And it turns out that a delicate, tiny, yellow-winged butterfly was discovered by a library fellow named E. Bennett Jones at the American Philosophical Society as he was looking through the book. Well, naturally, this caused a stir, and butterfly experts were called in to examine the specimen, and they believed that it was placed deliberately since the butterfly was found on the pages listed "Plants beloved by Pollinators - such as Monarda."  After this incredible discovery, the Barton Butterfly, as it came to be called, was carefully removed and preserved in a suspended container. And there was a final touching detail to this story: the butterfly left an indelible mark on the manuscript. Even with the specimen now safely preserved in a glass box, the pages bear a little mark of a golden butterfly-shaped stain in the spot where it lay pressed for over 200 years before it was discovered.   February 10, 1882 Today is the birthday of the English writer Winifred Mary Letts. Gardeners love her quote on spring: That God once loved a garden, we learn in Holy writ.  And seeing gardens in the Spring, I well can credit it. Winifred also wrote a poem about spring called "Spring the Cheat." This is one of many poems Winifred wrote about the Great War - WWI.  Winifred wrote "Spring the Cheat" to remind people that they were not alone in their suffering. And her poem illustrates how pointless existence seems during wartime. And Winifred contrasts the season of rebirth - spring (which is cyclical), with a war-induced season of loss (which usually spreads across many seasons and is wildly at odds during spring). Luminous evenings when the blackbird sways Upon the rose and tunes his flageolet, A sea of bluebells down the woodland ways, — O exquisite spring, all this — and yet — and yet — Kinder to me the bleak face of December Who gives no cheating hopes, but says — "Remember." Another poem that will thrill gardeners is Winifred’s delightful verse that was written to honor the birth of a dear friend’s baby (Peter John Dobbs). Winifred's poem is called To a May Baby, and I've often thought it would be perfect for a spring baby shower invitation. To come at Tulip Time how wise! Perhaps you will not now regret The shining gardens, jewel set, Of your first home in Paradise Nor fret Because you might not quite forget. To come at Swallow Time how wise! When every bird has built a nest; Now you may fold your wings and rest And watch this new world with surprise; A guest For whom the earth has donned her best. To come when life is gay how wise! With lambs and every happy thing That frisks on foot or sports on wing, With daisies and with butterflies, But Spring Had nought so sweet as you to bring.   Unearthed Words When one is first beginning to garden or gardening in a place one does not yet know, soil can seem dumb and unhelpful, just dirt. It is gray and empty, or yellow, clammy, and stony, or perhaps it is black and full of worms. Little pebbles might be interspersed all through it, or big ones, or maybe there is a rock ledge a spades-depth away. The plants thrive or languish in mysterious ways. As one begins to work in it, a sense of the soil sharpens. One gets to know it's grit or muddiness, it's smell and warmth or chill, how it holds or drains water, what creatures inhabit it. One might notice how these qualities connect with each other, how they show themselves in the ways the plants grow. Most of all one discovers that the soil does not stay the same, but, like anything alive, it is always changing and telling its own story. — Carol Williams, American gardener and author, Bringing a Garden to Life, Preparing the Ground   Grow That Garden Library Cottage Gardens by Claire Masset  This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is A Celebration of Britain's Most Beautiful Cottage Gardens, with Advice on Making Your Own. In this book, Claire shares every possible type of cottage garden. Famous profiles include writer Thomas Hardy's cottage in Dorset; the glorious cottage garden at Sissinghurst by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson; Beatrix Potter's cottage garden property known as Hill Top, and many more. Best of all, Claire thoughtfully offers down-to-earth advice to gardeners who wish to learn how to create their own cottage garden. This book is 176 pages of cottage garden inspiration: winding garden paths lined with hollyhocks, climbing roses and honeysuckle, orchards, and wildflowers. You can get a copy of Cottage Gardens by Claire Masset and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $15   Today’s Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart February 10, 1957   Today is the anniversary of the death of Laura Ingalls Wilder. One of the reasons so many of us have a soft spot in our hearts for the Little House books is because Laura was so descriptive; she was a natural storyteller.   In retrospect, I think you may be surprised by the amount of material in Laura’s books that was devoted to the natural world - ma’s gardens, the landscapes Laura and her family experienced, and the reverence for life - plants, animals, and human - all of it is so cherished by Laura and her loved ones. In 2017, the author Marta McDowell wrote a book called The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and in it, she highlights the frontier landscapes that inspired the Little House books. And Marta’s book sheds new light on Laura as a naturalist. In a blog post, Marta challenged us by writing: “I’d like to suggest a thought experiment. Instead of categorizing Laura Ingalls Wilder as an American children’s author, think of her as a nature writer as well… Long before she was a writer, Laura Ingalls Wilder was a gardener and farmer, growing food for the table and raising crops for sale. Nature was her home, as well as little houses. Through her life and work, Wilder sowed a deep appreciation for the world outside one’s own door. Her books still inspire budding naturalists to plant, preserve and appreciate their own wilder gardens.” Well, Marta and I had a lovely chat featured in Episode 585 of the Still Growing podcast if you’d like to check it out. And one time, we even had a nice little lunch together as she was passing through the Twin Cities. Marta is one of my favorite modern garden authors, and I loved her idea of writing about Laura as a naturalist. In researching Laura, I discovered many wonderful things she had written about the natural world outside of her wonderful Little House books. In the Missouri Ruralist, Laura wrote, “The voices of nature do not speak so plainly to us as we grow older, but I think it is because, in our busy lives, we neglect her until we grow out of sympathy. Our ears and eyes grow doll and Beauties are lost to us that we should still enjoy.  Life was not intended to  be simply a round of work, no matter how interesting and important that work may be. A moment's pause to watch the glory of a sunrise or a sunset is so satisfying, while a bird song will set the steps to music all day long.” In early February 1918, over a hundred years ago this month, Laura wrote: “Now is the time to make a garden!   Anyone can be a successful gardener at this time of year and I know of no pleasanter occupation these cold, snowy days, then to sit warm and snug by the fire making a garden with a pencil, and a seed catalog. What perfect vegetables do we raise in that way and so many of them! Our radishes are crisp and sweet,our lettuce tender and our tomatoes smooth and beautifully colored. Best of all, there is not a bug or worm in the whole garden and the work is so easily done. In imagination we see the plants in our spring garden, all in straight, thrifty rows with the fruit of each plant and vine numerous and beautiful as the pictures before us. How near the real garden of next summer approaches the ideal garden of our winter fancies depends upon how practically we dream and how hard we work.”    Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Tim Richardson is a garden writer, historian and critic, with regular columns in the Daily Telegraph and The Garden Design Journal.  He is also the Director of The Chelsea Fringe Festival, an extremely successful alternative garden event held in and around London, and he is an advisor to the National Trust on gardens.Sissinghurst, the dream garden is a beautiful coffee table book, illustrated with photographs by Jason Ingram, in which Tim tells the story of Sissinghurst: how Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson came across the site of a ruined medieval manor in 1930 and turned it into one of the world's best loved and most visited gardens.Bridget Osborne, Editor of The Chiswick Calendar, talks to Tim Richardson about the design, planting and history of the garden; how Vita and Harold made it their own.

Biographer and academic Jane Ridley and screenwriter and novelist Daisy Goodwin join the Slightly Foxed Editors to reveal the wealth to be found in royal biographies, memoirs and historical novels. From the remarkable diaries of Queen Victoria and the extraordinary life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria to Prince Albert’s cashmere breeches, a cottage meal at Sissinghurst with the Queen Mother, and Edward VII’s many mistresses, the parade of tales about the lives and loves of royal people roams far and wide. And we go on a on a quest for Queen Mary with James Pope-Hennessy in this month’s hunt through the magazine’s archives. Please find links to books, articles, and further reading listed below. The digits in brackets following each listing refer to the minute and second they are mentioned. (Episode duration: 38 minutes; 16 seconds) Books Mentioned We may be able to get hold of second-hand copies of the out-of-print titles listed below. Please get in touch (mailto:anna@foxedquarterly.com) with Anna in the Slightly Foxed office for more information. - Blue Remembered Hills (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/rosemary-sutcliff-blue-remembered-hills-plain-foxed-edition/) , Rosemary Sutcliff. Plain Foxed Edition published 1 March 2020 (2:15)   - Browse and buy (https://foxedquarterly.com/products/slightly-foxed-best-first-biography-prize-2019/) the shortlisted titles for the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize 2019 (2:50) - Victoria (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/daisy-goodwin-victoria/) , Daisy Goodwin (4:10) - Bertie: A Life of Edward VII (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/jane-ridley-bertie-slightly-foxed/) , Jane Ridley (4:27) - The historical novels of Jean Plaidy are out of print (16:39) - The Fortune Hunter (https://www.headline.co.uk/titles/daisy-goodwin/the-fortune-hunter/9780755348114/) , Daisy Goodwin (17:18) - Victoria (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/jane-ridley-victoria-penguin-monarchs) (Penguin Monarchs series), Jane Ridley (22:49) - Queen Mary (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/james-pope-hennessy-queen-mary/) , James Pope-Hennessy (22:46) - The Quest for Queen Mary (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/james-pope-hennessy-hugo-vickers-the-quest-for-queen-mary) , James Pope-Hennessy, Ed. Hugo Vickers (31.02) - The Honjin Murders (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/seishi-yokomizo-the-honjin-murders/) , Seishi Yokomizo (33:33) - Lady in Waiting (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/anne-glenconner-lady-in-waiting/) , Anne Glenconner (34:24) - The Journals of Kenneth Rose: Volume One 1944-1979 (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/kenneth-rose-whos-in-whos-out-journals-vol-i/) & Volume Two 1979-2014 (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/kenneth-rose-who-loses-who-wins-journals-vol-ii/) , Ed. D. R. Thorpe (36:04) Related Slightly Foxed Articles - The Purple Moth (https://foxedquarterly.com/james-pope-hennessy-queen-mary-literary-review/) , Jane Ridley on James Pope-Hennessy, Queen Mary in Issue 41 (25:13) Other Links - The Petersfield Bookshop (https://www.petersfieldbookshop.com/) (1:30) - The Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize (https://foxedquarterly.com/category/best-first-biography-prize/) (2:42) - Queen Victoria’s Journals (http://www.queenvictoriasjournals.org/home.do) (5:13) Opening music: Preludio from Violin Partita No.3 in E Major by Bach Reading music: Nimrod from Enigma Variations by Elgar The Slightly Foxed Podcast is hosted by Philippa Lamb and produced by Podcastable (https://www.podcastable.co.uk/)

Today we celebrate the botanist who sailed with Captain James Cook on the Endeavor and the man regarded as the father of North American mycology. We'll learn about the man who patented the first practical lawnmower 198 years ago today. Today's Unearthed Words feature a poet and writer who used the names Flora or Florilla as her pseudonyms. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about one man's adventures with bumblebees. I'll talk about a flexible and tough garden item to help you plant your seedlings, and it is reusable to boot. And then, we'll wrap things up with the story of a woman who knew the botanical world of Nantucket like the back of her hand. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.   Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart   Curated Articles 2020 Wildflower of the Year – North Carolina Botanical Garden The 2020 North Carolina Wildflower of the Year: marsh-pink (Sabatia angularis "Sah-BAY-tee-ah ANG-you-LARE-iss) @NCBotGarden aka: rose gentian, rose pink, or bitter-bloom. A biennial - Native to US (South & East), Grows in low, wet meadows, woods & along roadsides. Marsh-pink grows best in moist soil in full to partial sun and is infrequently offered in nurseries because of its biennial habit. It seemingly disappears in years of drought,   Vita Sackville-West on her garden at Sissinghurst (1950) | House & Garden Wow. Great share from @_houseandgarden archive: Vita Sackville-West at Sissinghurst (1950). If you are renovating or starting from scratch - read this & be inspired! "The place had been in the market for three years since the death of the last farmer-owner... Brambles grew in wild profusion; bindweed wreathed its way into every support; ground-elder made a green carpet; docks and nettles flourished; couch­ grass sprouted; half the fruit trees in the orchard were dead; the ones that remained alive were growing in the coarsest grass; the moat was silted up and so invaded by reeds and bulrushes that the water was almost invisible; paths there were none, save of trodden mud. It had its charm. It was Sleeping Beauty's castle with a ven­geance — if you liked to see it with a romantic eye. But, if you also looked at it with a realistic eye, you saw that Nature run wild was not quite so romantic as you thought, and entailed a great deal of laborious tidying up. The most urgent thing to do was to plant hedges. We were extravagant over this, and planted yew, and have never regretted it. Everybody told us it took at least a century to make a good yew hedge, but the photographs will, I think, disprove this: the hedge is now only seventeen years old, a mere adoles­cent, and, at the end where the ground slopes and it has been allowed to grow up in order to maintain the top-level, it is 16 feet high. At the end of all this is the herb garden, which always seems to allure visitors, no doubt because it is a secret, senti­mental little place. "Old world charm" is the phrase I always expect to hear, and nine times out of ten, I get it. But, less romantic­ally, the herb garden does supply very useful things to the kitchen. One needs years of patience to make a garden; one needs deeply to love it in order to endure that patience. One needs optimism and foresight. One has to wait. One has to work hard oneself, sometimes, as I had to work hard, manually, during the war years, cutting all those hedges with shears in my spare time. I hated those hedges when I looked at my blistered hands, but at the same time, I still felt that it had been worthwhile planting them. They were the whole pattern and design and anatomy of the garden, and, as such, was worth any trouble I was willing to take.”   Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events 1743 Today is the birthday of Joseph Banks. Banks is best known for his study of Australian flora and fauna and his role as the botanist on board the Endeavor with Captain James Cook. When they landed in Australia, neither Cook nor Banks realized that the quartz reef where they planted the British Flag contained gold. The area would remain untouched by Europeans for almost two more decades. Before returning to England, Cook worried the Endeavor wouldn't make it around the Cape of Good Hope. In a fateful decision, Cook had brought the ship to Batavia, a Dutch colony, to fortify his boat. Batavia was a dangerous place where malaria and dysentery were rampant. As a result of his stop, Cook lost a staggering 38 members of his crew. Banks, and a fellow botanist Daniel Solander, managed to survive the stop, although, at one point, they were both gravely ill. Even as they battled back from illness, they still went out to collect specimens. As gardeners, we owe a great debt to Banks. When he returned to England, it was Joseph Banks who advised George III on the creation of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. And, in 1778, when Linnaeus died, his belongings went up for sale. By then, Joseph Banks was the President of the Linnean Society. Joseph acted quickly, buying everything of horticultural value on behalf of the society. Linnaeus' notebooks and specimens were on a ship bound for England by the time the king of Sweden realized Linnaeus' legacy was no longer in Sweden. He sent a fast Navy ship in pursuit of Banks' precious cargo, but it was too late. And so, Banks secured the legacy of Linnaeus, which is why Linnaeus's collection is in London at the Linnaeus Society's Burlington House. And, Banks helped spread Linnaeus's ideas across the globe, which was easier for him to accomplish since he was based in London, the hub for the science of botany. At his London residence, Banks hired the Scottish botanist Robert Brown to be his botanical librarian. The two became lifelong friends. So much so, that when Banks died in 1820, he left his home, his collections, and his library to Brown, and he also endowed him with a sizeable yearly allowance.   1780Today is the birthday of the Moravian clergyman and botanist Lewis David von Schweinitz, also known as the "Father of North American Mycology." Mycology is the study of fungi. Lewis was born in Pennsylvania, and he was a descendant on his mother's side of Count Zinzendorf - the founder of the Moravian Church. Lewis's home town of Bethlehem Pennsylvania was a Moravian settlement. When Lewis was seven years old, he was placed in a Moravian boarding school called Nazareth Hall. One of Lewis's earliest memories was visiting Nazareth Hall before attending there. He passed by one of the classrooms and saw a specimen of lichen digitatus sitting on a table, and he went to inspect it. It was Lewis's first experience with botany, and it would become his favorite subject. After completing his education, Lewis moved to Niesky, Germany, with his family. He was 18 years old. In Germany, Lewis became a pastor, got married, and studied botany in his spare time. He even managed to help his professor put together a book featuring over 1,000 different types of fungi found in Niesky. Lewis used his natural talent for drawing and painting to created watercolors of the specimens featured, and they are now digitized and available online. After many years in Germany, Lewis and his wife moved back to the United States to lead a Moravian church. They settled in Salem, North Carolina. Although the church was his primary focus, throughout his adulthood, Lewis devoted all of his spare time to the study of fungi. Between 1812 and 1821, Lewis collected in and around Salem North, Carolina. He was essentially replicating the work he had performed in Germany under the direction of his botany professor. In 1818, Lewis published his work on the fungi of North Carolina. Then, four years later, in 1822, Lewis published an even more comprehensive book featuring a staggering 3,000 species of fungi. In all, Lewis single-handedly published over 1,200 new species of fungi. When Lewis died, his enormous herbarium made its way to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. And here's a fun side note that pertains to Lewis Schweinitz: In 1986, botanists discovered the rare sunflower named for Lewis Schweinitz - the Schweinitz sunflower (Helianthus schweinitzii) near Rock Hill in South Carolina. The Schweinitz sunflower exists only in about a dozen little pockets around Rock Hill and Charlotte. Lewis, himself, initially discovered the Schweinitz sunflower in 1821.   1822 On this day, Jeremiah Bailey of Chester county, Pennsylvania, patented the first practical lawnmower; it had two wheels and was pulled by a horse. A person could mow up to ten acres a day with Bailey's machine. After locals trialed the device, they reported, “We consider it as one of the most complete and useful labor-saving machines for agricultural uses hitherto invented...” The first genuinely successful machine would be patented ten years later by Obed Hussey of Maryland.   Unearthed Words 1825 Today is the birthday of the heartfelt American poet and writer - known at Rutland's poet and Vermont's unofficial poet laureate - Julia Dorr. As a girl, her pseudonym was Flora or Florillla. The poet William Cullen Bryant once read one of her poems and wrote to tell her how much he loved the beauty of its imagery. And Ralph Waldo Emerson visited her and included one of her poems - called Outgrown - in his book called Parnassus. As you hear today's poems, imagine Julia Dorr writing in her little study next to the parlor. She had a window by her desk that overlooked her flower garden, which she called "her refuge and her inspiration."   Roly-poly honey bee, Humming in the clover, Under you, the tossing leaves And the blue sky over, Why are you so busy, pray? Never still a minute, Hovering now above a flower.  Now half-buried in it! — Honeybee   And all the meadows, wide unrolled,  Were green and silver, green and gold,  Where buttercups and daisies spun  Their shining tissues in the sun.  — Unanswered   I know a spot where the wild vines creep,  And the coral moss-cups grow,  And where at the foot of the rocky steep,  The sweet blue violets blow. —Over the Wall   And the stately lilies stand Fair in the silvery light,  Like saintly vestals, pale in prayer;  Their pure breath sanctifies the air,  As its fragrance fills the night. — A Red Rose   Often I linger where the roses pour  Exquisite odors from each glowing cup;  Or where the violet, brimmed with sweetness o'er,  Lifts its small chalice up.  — Without and Within   Plant a white rose at my feet,  Or a lily fair and sweet,  With the humble mignonette And the blue-eyed violet. — Earth to Earth   Around in silent grandeur stood  The stately children of the wood;  Maple and elm and towering pine  Mantled in folds of dark woodbine. — At the Gate   Meadow-sweet or lily fair— Which shall it be? Clematis or brier-rose, Blooming for me? Spicy pink, or violet With the dews of morning wet, Sweet peas or mignonette— Which shall it be? Blue-bells and yellow-bells Swinging in the air; Purple pansies, golden pied; Pink-white daisies, starry-eyed; Gay nasturtiums, deeply dyed, Climbing everywhere. Life is so full, so sweet— How can I choose? If I gather this rose, That I must lose! All are not for me to wear; I can only have my share; Thorns are hiding here and there; How can I choose? — Choosing   O my garden! Lying whitely in the moonlight and the dew, Far across the leagues of distance flies my heart to-night to you, And I see your stately lilies In the tender radiance gleam With a dim, mysterious splendor, like the angels of a dream! I can see the trellised arbor, and the roses crimson And the lances of the larkspurs all glittering, row on row, And the wilderness of hollyhocks, where brown bees seek their spoil, And butterflies dance all day long, in glad and gay turmoil. — Homesick   My true love sent me a valentine  All on a winter's day,  And suddenly the cold gray skies  Grew soft and warm as May!  The snowflakes changed to apple blooms,  A pink- white fluttering crowd,  And on the swaying maple boughs  The robins sang aloud.  For moaning wintry winds, I heard  The music sweet and low  Of morning-glory trumpets  Through which the soft airs blow.  O love of mine, my Valentine!  This is no winter day —  For Love rules all the calendars,  And Love knows only May! —An Answer To A Valentine    Julia died just before her 88th birthday in 1913. In Evergreen Cemetery, in Rutland, Vermont, Julia shares a tombstone with her husband, Seneca. The stone features her poem "Beyond." For your understanding, a barque is a ship with three masts. Beyond the sunset's crimson bars,  Beyond the twilight and the stars,  Beyond the midnight and the dark,  Sail on, sail on, O happy barque.  Into the dawn of that Tomorrow  Where hearts shall find the end of sorrow  And Love shall find its own! — Beyond   Grow That Garden Library A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson The subtitle of this book is My Adventures with Bumblebees. Dave's book is fascinating, and it will change the way you think about bumblebees. When he was a little boy, Dave became obsessed with wildlife. Although he grew up with a menagerie of pets, bumblebees were his passion. I thought you would enjoy hearing a few excerpts from Dave's book. Here's where he talks about the biology of the Bumblebee: “They have to eat almost continually to keep warm; a bumblebee with a full stomach is only ever about forty minutes from starvation. If a bumblebee runs out of energy, she cannot fly, and if she cannot fly, she cannot get to flowers to get more food, so she is doomed.” Then, here's where Dave tells us what we can do to help the Bumblebee. The answer for gardeners is a pretty simple one. Dave writes: “The key to helping our rarer species to thrive is probably simply to add more flower patches to the landscape, making it a little easier for them to find food and keep their nests well provisioned.” And Dave is hopeful about the future of the Bumblebee And about the impact that each of us can have on their survival. He writes: “Conserving bumblebees is something anyone can do. A single lavender bush on a patio or in a window box will attract and feed bumblebees, even in the heart of a city." And I love that Dave includes this fantastic quote from Andrew Downing, the 19th-century American horticulturist. “The music of the busy bee Is drowsy, and it comforts me; But, ah! ’tis quite another thing, When that same bee concludes to sting!” Dave’s book came out in 2014. You can get a used copy of A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $4.   Great Gifts for Gardeners eHabitus Sili-Seedlings Silicone Seed Starting Tray $12.50 100% SILICONE: FDA-approved, BPA free, food-grade silicone. Package quantity: 2, cell size: 2" X 2" X 2.25" STERILIZABLE – Dishwasher safe; steam clean or wash with hot water. Sterilizing your trays helps prevent cross-contamination and keeps your garden hygienic. INFINITELY REUSABLE – They last forever. Comfortably fits 2" plugs of rock wool or any material. A large drainage hole in the bottom ensures adequate bottom-watering. EASY SOIL RELEASE – Flexible silicone walls are optimal for transplanting seedlings by protecting the integrity of the roots and soil. The bendable material makes releasing soil simple and easy. No crinkling, no cracking, no ripping, no waste. These seed starter trays are built to last a lifetime. Our seedling trays will never melt, become brittle or crack, even under the most extreme conditions. THICK, HEAVY-DUTY MATERIAL - Silicone regulates the temperature of soil much better than plastic and peat. Also, our seedlings trays feel great in your hands and will never decay.   Today's Botanic Spark 1825 Today is the birthday of a student of Nantucket flora, the botanist Maria Louise Owen. Maria was born into a wealthy family in Nantucket. Her maiden name was Talent. When she was a little girl, Maria showed an interest in the plants growing around her home on Nantucket. The women in her family - her mother, her sisters, and her aunt - all shared in the hobby of botany. It wasn't long before Maria showed an aptitude for it. She had a superior intellect, memory, and processing skills. She had a scientific mind. After marrying a Harvard-educated doctor named Varillas Owen, the young couple settled in Springfield, Massachusetts. For more than 50 years, their home became a hub for scientists and academics. Maria loved to entertain, and she drew energy from connecting with the educated people in her area. One peer said that Maria was "easily the most cultivated and best-read woman of her time in Springfield." Maria served as the President of both the Springfield Women's Club and the Springfield Botanical Society for over a decade. A renaissance woman, Maria taught botany, French, astronomy, and geography. Although Maria enjoyed teaching all of these subjects equally, she always said that for her, happiness could be found in the study of botany. In 1882, Maria contributed to a little Nantucket guidebook. Maria's part featured a listing of all the plants on the island of Nantucket. The project was a bit retrospective for Maria since she was writing about the plants of her childhood and featuring specimens she'd collected as a young woman. Even after moving to Springfield, Maria still botanized in the area whenever she came back to Nantucket. Although she spent five decades of her adult life in Springfield, she always regarded Nantucket as her home. In 1888, Maria wrote her masterpiece - a comprehensive Flora of Nantucket, which featured almost 800 species and varieties. After her book, Maria made it a point to connect with new generations of Nantucket botanists. The young botanists were eager to make her acquaintance; Maria was a one-woman repository of all the plants of Nantucket. When the botanist Bicknell published a follow-up catalog about Nantucket in the early 1900s, he continually referred to Maria's work, which explicitly documented when and where plants were introduced. For instance, when she wrote about chicory, she said it was, "a roadside plant along the south end of Orange Street" where it had thrived for "fifty years." At the age of 87, Maria was asked about one of the plants in her flora - Tillaea. The plant was hard to find, and botanists were curious about a location for it. Maria wrote, "My patch of Tillaea... doubtless still exists, and there is a happy day in store for any botanist who sees it at just the right season." Maria died in 1907. She had moved back to Nantucket to live with her daughter. Walter Deane wrote in his Rhodora biography of Maria that she died, "...on a bright morning with the room flooded with sunshine, which she always loved, and filled with iris, columbine, and cornflowers…. She lived true to the [Latin] motto of her mother's family 'Post tenebris, speramus lumen de lumine,' which [Maria] always loved to translate, 'After the darkness, we hope for light from the source of light.'"

Today we celebrate the King whose dream castle incorporated 1,200 varieties of tulips and the man who is regarded as the greatest channeler of the English rural landscape. We'll learn about the mathematician who wrote a book inspired by the Oxford Botanic Garden and the relatively young Botanic Garden that was started in the 90s for the Northern California region. Today’s Unearthed Words feature a beloved American poet who wrote a poem about Flowers in Winter. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that dives deep into the behind-the-scenes of Sissinghurst - sharing all of Vita’s plant choices and how she created her masterpiece. I'll talk about a garden item that can help you keep your phone clean and useable during the garden season - no more dirty or smudged screens! And then we’ll wrap things up with the anniversary of an important antibiotic discovery from a soil sample taken in the great state of Indiana. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Curated Articles Moths And Butterflies Shift Their Symmetry To Improve Camouflage - Discover Wildlife Using predation experiments and image analysis, this new study provides insights into how camouflaged prey have evolved. A symmetrical midline makes the animal more noticeable to predators who can compare closer symmetrical patterns more easily.   For The Love Of Peat - By John Walker Peat-free compost for carnivorous plants..."David Morris now grows his cobra lilies and sarracenias successfully in a basic mix of equal parts of Melcourt Growbark Pine, perlite and lime-free grit." (from John's article).   Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles 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. There’s no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events 1679 Today is the birthday of German King Karl Wilhelm von Baden-Durlach. In 1715, Karl founded the city Karl’s Ruhe or Charles’ Repose after he actually had a dream about building the city. At Karl’s castle in Durlach, there was a large flower garden with nearly 1,200 varieties of tulips. He also had over 7,000 orange trees. In 1738, Karl  died while he was working in his tulip bed. After his death, The Karlsruhe Pyramid was installed between 1823–1825 over his grave.   1805 Today is the birthday of the English painter, etcher, and printmaker Samuel Palmer. Samuel Palmer is regarded as the greatest artist of the English rural landscape. Palmer’s landscapes exude a strong connection with the land and nature. Samuel was one of the lead members of an artist group called The Ancients who followed the visionary artist William Blake in the final years before his death in 1827. The Ancients often expressed their work with a mystical view of nature. For instance, Palmer painted trees with as if they had individual personalities. It was Samuel Palmer who said, “The visions of the soul, being perfect, are the only true standard by which nature must be tried.” With regard to the garden, Palmer built a studio in for himself in his garden. He would access it by exiting the house through a secret door that looked like a bookcase.   1832 Today is the birthday of the English mathematician and writer Charles Lutwidge Dodgson also known as Lewis Carroll. Lewis had worked as a librarian at Christ Church College in Oxford. His office window had a view of the Dean's Garden. Lewis wrote in his diary on the 25th of April in 1856 that he had visited the Deanery Garden, where he was planning to take pictures of the cathedral. Instead, he ended up taking pictures of children in the garden. The children were allowed in the Deanery Garden But not in the Cathedral Garden, which was connected to the Deanery Garden by a door. The Oxford Botanic Garden inspired Lewis Carroll to write Alice in Wonderland. The same garden also inspired the authors JRR Tolkien and Philip Pullman. In Lewis Caroll’s Through the Looking-Glass is this favorite passage among gardeners: “In most gardens," the Tiger-lily said, "they make the beds too soft-so that the flowers are always asleep.”   1888 Today the National Geographic Society was officially incorporated. The National Geographic Society was founded by a group of elite scholars, explorers, and scientists. National Geographic celebrates the power of science, exploration, education, and storytelling. It was founded to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge while promoting the conservation of the world's cultural, historical, and natural resources." “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, shall all be saved.” –Jane Goodall   1992 The Humboldt Botanical Garden was incorporated in the State of California. Organized by a small group of volunteers, the goal was to create an educational botanical garden for the Northern California region. The Gardens are constructed on a 44.5 -acre site south of Eureka near the Humboldt Bay adjacent to the College of the Redwoods.   Unearthed Words Here’s a poem from the American poet John Greenleaf Whittier called Flowers in Winter. Whittier was a Quaker. He was a staunch abolitionist and a great lover of nature.   How strange to greet, this frosty morn, In graceful counterfeit of flowers,         These children of the meadows, born Of sunshine and of showers!         — A wizard of the Merrimac,         So old ancestral legends say,         Could call green leaf and blossom back         To frosted stem and spray. —         The settler saw his oaken flail Take bud, and bloom before his eyes; From frozen pools, he saw the pale,         Sweet summer lilies rise.         The beechen platter sprouted wild,         The pipkin wore its old-time green         The cradle o’er the sleeping child Became a leafy screen.          — And, while the dew on leaf and flower         Glistened in moonlight clear and still, Learned the dusk wizard’s spell of power,         And caught his trick of skill. — The one, with bridal blush of rose,         And sweetest breath of woodland balm,         And one whose matron lips unclose In smiles of saintly calm.         Fill soft and deep, O winter snow!         The sweet azalea’s oaken dells, And hide the bank where roses blow, And swing the azure bells! Overlay the amber violet’s leaves,         The purple aster’s brookside home,         Guard all the flowers her pencil gives A life beyond their bloom.         And she, when spring comes round again By greening slope and singing flood         Shall wander, seeking, not in vain,         Her darlings of the wood. — John Greenleaf Whittier, Flowers in Winter   Grow That Garden Library Sissinghurst by Vita Sackville-West and Sarah Raven The subtitle to this book is Vita Sackville-West and the Creation of a Garden. The British poet and writer Vita Sackville-West wrote a weekly column in The Observer, where she shared her life at Sissinghurst. Who better than Sarah Raven,  who happens to be married to Vita's grandson Adam Nicholson,  to write this extraordinary book and to share with us Vitas love of flowers and gardening. Every year, gardeners and non-gardeners alike visit Sissinghurst for inspiration and enjoyment. In fact, Sissinghurst remains one of the most visited gardens in the world. Sarah's book is loaded with beautiful photographs and drawings that help convey the triumph of this special place for gardeners and lovers of beauty. Gardeners will especially appreciate the level of detail regarding almost every plant in the garden - why they were chosen and Vita’s personal take on each plant. Vita’s plant lists are part of her legacy and gift to gardeners who want to model her gorgeous plant combinations. You can get a used copy of Sissinghurst by Vita Sackville-West and Sarah Raven and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $12 . Great Gifts for Gardeners LIBERRWAY Stylus Pen 10 Pack of Pink Purple Black Green Silver Stylus Universal Touch Screen Capacitive Stylus for Kindle Touch iPad iPhone 6/6s 6Plus 6s Plus Samsung S5 S6 S7 Edge S8 Plus Note $6.98   Here’s a great little item for your garden tote - it’s a ten pack of stylus pens. Slip them into your garden apron, put them in your shed or garage. Keep one in your purse, pocket, or in your truck. Now when you need to use your phone and your working in the garden, you won’t need to remove your gloves to use your phone. NO MORE BIG FINGERS - A stylus has a better touchpoint than the tip of your finger, giving better accuracy to little touch focuses like keys on the console. No more big finger troubles. ANTI-SCRATCH TIP - The stylus tip is made of soft, and scratch-resistant rubber. Fingerprint resistant and anti-stick screen tip, great for drawing writing, etc. EASY TO CARRY - It is very light and compact. The clip design is great for clipping in your pocket, iPad, diary, etc. SHARE THEM TO YOUR FRIENDS - Get 10 of the stylus with an unbeatable price instead of a high-priced apple pencil or Samsung pencil. You can share a stylus pen with your friends or family and still have plenty left for you. 1 YEAR WARRANTY! - This stylus fits for all kinds of touch screens, like iPhone 4S 5S 6/6s 6Plus 6s Plus/ iPad Samsung S7 S7 Edge S6 Edge Plus S5 Note 2 3 4 5/ Kindle 2/3/4/ Kindle Fire.   Today’s Botanic Spark 1950 Science magazine announced a brand new antibiotic made by Charles Pfizer & Company, and it was called Terramycin. Pfizer & Co. Was a small chemical company that was based in Brooklyn, New York. The company developed an expertise in fermentation with citric acid. The method allowed them to mass-produce drugs. When Pfizer scientists discovered an antibiotic in a soil sample from Indiana, their deep-tank fermentation method allowed them to mass-produce Terramycin. Pfizer had been searching through soil samples from around the world - isolating bacteria-fighting organisms when they stumbled on Terramycin - found to be effective against pneumonia, dysentery, and other infections. Later in 1950, it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The name Terramycin is created from the two Latin words: terra for earth and mycin, which means fungus. - thus earth fungus. Terramycin was the first mass-marketed product by a pharmaceutical company. Pfizer spent twice as much marketing Terramycin as it did on R&D for Terramycin. The gamble paid off; Terramycin, earth fungus, made Pfizer a pharmaceutical powerhouse.

S01 Episode 13: Joined-up gardens. With Jo Thompson     A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing.   These notes may contain affiliate links.      Garden soundtrack   The fox who ate my socks.   Joined-up gardens     Micro book review   The Bumblebee Flies Anyway by Kate Bradbury, published by Bloomsbury 2018  https://amzn.to/2xqWSEw   Full review https://gardensweedsandwords.com/gwwblog/the-bumblebee-flies-anyway   Extract read by Rachel Coldbreath       Interview with Jo Thompson 07:46   08:27 The BBC Springwatch garden at RHS Hampton Court Flower show   17:05 Talking to the neighbours   17:44 Does a wildlife garden have to look messy?   21:45 Letting nature find its balance   22:46 A conversation with nature – a cooperative way to garden   26:12 An ongoing relationship between a designer and her gardens   30:42 The concept of “rewinding” in garden design   34:08 Jo’s planting style   38:21 Jo’s love for roses: what’s the attraction of roses?     Arne Maynard’s head gardener Steve Lannin on roses  http://arnemaynard.com/journal/garden-diary/a-good-year-for-the-roses/#.XRt2zJNKjJw   An article by Sarah Raven in the Telegraph on growing roses at Sissinghurst https://www.gardensillustrated.com/plants/15-roses-from-sissinghurst-castle/     Light touch gardening – a winning situation for all       A huge thank you to Jo for joining me on this episode. You can find her here: instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jothompsongarden/ website: http://jothompson-garden-design.co.uk/     Thanks also to Rachel Coldbreath for reading the extract from The Bumblebee Flies Anyway. You can find Rachel on Twitter at https://twitter.com/chiller.   And I’m indebted as ever to Richard Chivers, for giving voice to the Garden Jargon Buster. You can find Richard’s blog here http://sharpenyourspades.co.uk/, or seek him out on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sharpenyourspades/ or Twitter https://twitter.com/spadesharp.     website: gardensweedsandwords.com email: gardensweedsandwords@gmail.com Instagram: instagram.com/AndrewTimothyOB Twitter: twitter.com/AndrewTimothyOB             

Deep dives.   Gardeners love to fall in love with particular plants.   We can fall so hard, that we tune out other possibilities for our gardens.   Then, in a fascinating twist, our deep dives can suddenly stop.   As is often the case, those deep dives can be followed by a pivot.   I started out as a shrub gardener. Then, I made a pivot to annuals and ornamentals and had nary a shrub in my garden.   Then I was anti-annual.   Then I moved into herbs and edibles.   Now I'm a little bit of everything.   Deep dives and pivots. Part of the process of growing a gardener.       Brevities   #OTD  It's the birthday of the Dutch botanist Gerard van Swieten, born on this day in 1700. In 1740, Maria Theresa inherited the Habsburg Empire. When it came to medicine, Austria was about 200 years behind its European neighbors. Maria Theresa acted quickly, recruiting the best available medical experts to her court. Gerard van Swieten was one of the most important people she brought to Vienna.  By May 1745, the Van Swieten family had sold all their belongings in the Netherlands and traveled to Vienna. Van Swieten laid the foundation for Austria's medical institutions. He totally reorganized the medical faculty of the University of Vienna; adding a botanical garden and a chemical laboratory, each headed by a professor.  Swieten published, in Latin, five volumes on the writings of Boerhaave; the work influenced medical practice throughout Europe. It also contained the first description of episodic cluster headache. Swieten exchanged letters with Linnaeus on botanical matters for over a decade. He named his youngest daughter, Maria Theresia after the Empress, who was also her godmother. His son Godfried would become famous in his own right as Austrian ambassador and patron of great classical composers such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. One fascinating story about Swieten was his role in fighting superstition during the enlightenment, specifically with regard to vampires.  In 1755 the Empress sent Swieten to Serbia to investigate. Swieten viewed the vampire myth as a "barbarism of ignorance" and his aim was to completely crush it.    In 1768 "that all the fuss .... [comes from] vain fear, a superstitious credulity, a dark and eventful imagination, simplicity and ignorance among the people."   Based on Swieten's report, Maria Theresa issue a decree that banned all traditional defences to vampires being put to the stakes, beheaded and burned.   The genus of mahogany, Swietenia,was named after Swieten.       #OTD in 1888, the first organizational meeting of the Rochester Parks Commission was held in Rochester, New York.  They decided to invite the great American landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted to design a park system for the city. In fact, Rochester was the last municipal park system designed by the renowned Olmsted. Charles Sprague Sargent, the first director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum, called Rochester "a city in a forest." Trees have been a vital part of Rochester since the city's founding. It was essentially an impenetrable forest when the first settlers arrived. In early Rochester, trees were so plentiful that early settlers built roads from them. Rochester's Plank Road, now paved, is a nod to the road's original construction.     #OTD  On this day in 1901, the Fruit and Vegetable Committee reviewed 16 stocks of radish in Drill Hall as part of the Royal Horticultural Society's trial of salad plants at Chiswick. All of the radish were sown in a cold frame on March 7. Except on cold nights the lights were not put on the frames.  1. Early Gem ''. Veitch).-Ready for use April 29. Roots longish oval, scarlet, tipped with white. Foliage moderate. A very crisp and pleasant-flavored variety. 2. Ever Tender (R. Veitch).-Same as No. 3. 3. Gem (Barr).-Distinct from No. 1, being rounder, paler scarlet, but ready for use at the same time, and similar in foliage and flavor. 4. Krewson's Oblong Black (Masters).-Not true. Roots white. 5. Lily White (R. Veitch).-Ready for use April 30. Roots long, white. Foliage short and distinct. Crisp, and of very good flavor. 6. Mortlake Gem (Carter).-Ready for use April 29. Roots turnip-shaped, white, beautifully speckled and mottled with scarlet. Foliage very short. Crisp, and of good flavor. A very pretty variety. 7. Olive-shaped Extra Early Scarlet (J. Veitch). Ready for use April 26. Roots deep round or olive-shaped. Foliage short. Excellent in all respects, and one of the earliest and best. This variety is the same as “Deep Scarlet Olive-shaped,” which received a F.C.C. April 21, 1897. 8. Olive-shaped Extra Early White (J. Veitch).-Ready for use April 26. A white form of No. 7, and equally good and early. (Syn.) “Forcing White Olive-shaped" and “ First of All White,” which received A.M. May 10, 1898. 9. Olive-shaped Jewel for use. April 29. , Roots oblong, deep scarlet. Foliage remarkably short. Crisp and of good flavor. (Syn.) “Olive-shaped Bright Red,” which received A.M. May 5, 1896. This variety is also known as “Leafless,” probably from the exceeding smallness of the foliage. 10. Scarlet Queen (Barr).-Ready for use April 30. Roots long, scarlet tipped with white. Foliage rather large. Crisp and sweet in flavor. 11. Triumph (J. Veitch).-Same as No. 6. 12. Turnip-shaped Extra Early Scarlet (J. Veitch).-Ready for use April 26. Roots scarlet. Foliage very short. Crisp and of excellent flavor; one of the best and earliest. 13. Turnip-shaped Extra Early White (J. Veitch).-Ready for use April 29. A white form of No. 12, but three ays later in com ing into use.  14. Turnip-shaped Early White (Barr). Same as No. 13. 15. Turnip-shaped (Barr).-Ready for use April 26. Roots deep, round, scarlet. Foliage very short. Crisp and excellent. Very similar to No. 7. 16. Wood's Frame White (R. Veitch). Ready for use April 30. A white form of the well-known Wood's Frame.   #OTD On this day in 1936, Henry Teuscher arranged for the first sod was cut in preparing the space for the Montreal Botanical Garden.   Teuscher had been appointed superintendent and chief horticulturalist of the future Montreal Botanical Garden. A visionary, Teuscher began dreaming of an ideal botanical garden. By fall, Teuscher had hired 2,000 unemployed men through Quebec government's unemployment assistance program to get building underway.  By 1939, the administration building, production greenhouses, roads, and two lakes had been installed.    WWII brought challenges for Teuscher that extended outside of the garden. A German, Teuscher was accused of being aspy for the Nazis.  Although he was declared innocent, the accusations took a toll. In 1956, Teauscher was there to see the opening of his greenhouses, the realization of his dream for the garden.        #OTD On this day in 2015, Bartram’s Garden, in Philadelphia, was designated an American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) Horticultural Landmark.   The prestigious award commemorates sites of horticultural accomplishments selected for historical, scientific, environmental, and aesthetic value. Bartram’s joins an elite group of ASHS Horticultural Landmarks. The award was first presented to Monticello, home of President Thomas Jefferson. Other recipients include Longwood Gardens, Missouri Botanical Garden, New York Botanical Garden, Arnold Arboretum, and Fairchild Botanical Garden.   How were Bartram’s Gardens preserved?     Andrew McCalla Eastwick (1806-1879) an engineer and the inventor of the steam shovel, made sure the historic garden was kept intact.  Eastwick had banked a personal mint after building railroads for Czar Nicholas I of Russia.  In 1850, he bought the 46-acre Bartram estate from John Bartram’s granddaughter; Ann Bartram Carr.   Unlike the fate of many old homes, Eastwick decided not to tear down the existing house.  Instead, he kept the Bartram family homestead as a memorial, building his own mansion beside Bartrams. He vowed not to harm “one bush” planted by the Bartrams.       Unearthed Words   "Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven." ~ Rabindranath Tagore, born on this day in 1861   Today's book recommendation: Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively Penelope Lively takes up her key themes of time and memory, and her lifelong passions for art, literature, and gardening in this philosophical and poetic memoir. From the courtyards of her childhood home in Cairo to a family cottage in Somerset, to her own gardens in Oxford and London, Lively conducts an expert tour, taking us from Eden to Sissinghurst and into her own backyard, traversing the lives of writers like Virginia Woolf and Philip Larkin while imparting her own sly and spare wisdom. "Her body of work proves that certain themes never go out of fashion," writes the New York Times Book Review, as true of this beautiful volume as of the rest of the Lively canon. Lively said, "To garden is to elide past, present, and future; it is a defiance of time." Today's Garden Chore Trial something this year. Experiment with a few new varieties. Notice the differences. If you've ever seen the movie Runaway Bride, with Julia Roberts, there's a scene where she (Maggie) and Richard Gere (Ike) are arguing about eggs. Throughout the movie, Ike has been interviewing her former fiancés. He'd ask them how Maggie liked her eggs cooked. Maggie never formulated her own opinion, she just ordered whatever her fiancé ordered. Take basil.  How can you know if you prefer Mammoth or Purple Ruffles until you've grown or cooked with both? Whatever plants you think you love, the odds are good you'll love a variation of it even more.     Something Sweet  Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart In 1855, Darwin wrote to William Darwin Fox I am rather low today about all my experiments,—everything has been going wrong—the fan-tails have picked the feathers out of the Pouters in their Journey home—the fish at the Zoological Gardens after eating seeds would spit them all out again—Seeds will sink in salt-water—all nature is perverse & will not do as I wish it, & just at present I wish I had the old Barnacles to work at & nothing new.   It was just a bad day. 23 years later - in 1878 on this day, he wrote to Thomas Henry Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer "At present I care for nothing in this wide world except the biology of seedling plants."       Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Så här till påskhelgen tänkte vi bjuda på ett innehållsrikt påskägg fullt av färgstarka reportage som vi plockat ur vårt stora arkiv. I detta specialprogram besöker vi författaren Vita Sackville-Wests berömda trädgård på slottet Sissinghurst en trädgård som anses vara en av Englands allra finaste. Vi pratar med konstnären Hanna Lidén som bland annat blivit känd för sin utställning Everything, som var ett hedersuppdrag för staden New York och bestod av skulpturer föreställande gigantiska bagels. Vi besöker Rådmansgatan 72 i Stockholm. Trots sin nedtonade och vardagliga fasad och det undanskymda läget blev huset mytomspunnet under det glada 80-talet. Då köpte nämligen finansmannen och konsthandlaren Fredrik Roos hela fastigheten och många av husets 18 lägenheter delade han ut till sina vänner och bekanta.  Och så berättar vi om punkikonen Poly Styrene från bandet X-Ray Spex, vars liv nu finns dokumenterat i den nya biografin Dayglo the Poly Styrene Story.

Welcome to Episode 55 of the garden log in which we shunt bulbs, buy trees and gossip about UK horticulture.   Feel free to email me about plants you have known: thegardenlogpodcast@gmail.com   The National Trust’s Sissinghurst video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbm14Q-teLo&feature=youtu.be

Time for another "What's Up at our Houses"... Purging is a hot topic for us this month. Personal purging & hosting the DTT Urge to Purge Challenge. Other stuff includes a life changing event at Kelly's that has nothing to do with decorating. At Anita's house she has embraced the de-cluttering concept with both arms. And she comes ready with lots of great tips on everything from seat covers to slippers. Speaking of slippers - here is a darling pair in case you are in the market. HERE (https://amzn.to/2MBfB78). You decide "house shoe", slipper, carpet slipper or heck, wear them out of the town! Too cute!! Kelly is working on her white garden during the 'winter' in Cali. Her plan is based losely on the white garden at Sissinghurst. See HERE. Anita mentioned a blog post on an Australian garden. See that post HERE (https://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2019/01/down-under-with-jenny-rose-innes.html). De-Toxifying our homes has been on our minds and Anita has a new way to clean the water you drink. Try a Berkey water filter. Check them out HERE (https://amzn.to/2Tnjorr). Someone asked for our blog links. Here you go Cedar Hill Farmhouse (https://cedarhillfarmhouse.com) and My Soulful Home (https://mysoulfulhome.com). Let us know what is up at YOUR house! Thanks for ALL of you who have joined in the URGE to PURGE Challenge. We hope you are getting a lot out of it and want to see your purging piles! Get our best 101 decorating tips PDF for free by signing up for our insider emails. CLICK HERE to sign up. Subscribe so you never miss an episode. And please drop us a line and let us know what you think of the podcast. Our email is decoratingtipsandtricks@gmail.com xx, Kelly & Anita

In this hot episode of Britain's favourite horticultural podcast we labour in desperate pursuit of beauty. Also, tips on how to NOT boil your plants, which bacopa is not worth the seed price and staying safe with cycads. Have fun gardeners! 

Juliet Nicolson is the author of two works of history, 'The Great Silence 1918–1920', 'Living in the Shadow of the Great War' and 'The Perfect Summer: Dancing into Shadow in 1911', and a novel, 'Abdication'. As the grand- daughter of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson and the daughter of Nigel Nicolson she is part of a renowned and much scrutinised family and the latest in the family line of record-keepers of the past. She lives in East Sussex, not far from Sissinghurst, where she spent her childhood. She has two daughters, Clemmie and Flora, and one grand- daughter, Imogen. 5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each. Learn more about 5x15 events: http://5x15stories.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/5x15stories

Vi ska i veckans Stil ta en titt på en brittisk kvinna som kan beskrivas som en sann aristokrat och en stor snobb, men också som häpnadsväckande modern Vita Sackville-West. Vita Sackville-Wests namn får kanske inte självklart klockor att klinga igenkännande idag, men om man säger såhär det är hon som ligger till grund för den idag världsberömda romanklassikern Orlando, av Virgina Woolf. En av Vita Sackville-Wests söner, Nigel Nicolson, har kallat romanen för ett av de längsta och mest fängslande kärleksbreven i historien. För Vita Sackville-West och Virgina Woolf hade en intensiv kärleksrelation som inte bara resulterade i romanen Orlando. Den gav också upphov till över femhundra brev och en till synes aldrig sinande nyfikenhet på dessa kvinnors förhållande.  Men, den historien är egentligen bara toppen av isberget. För Vita Sackville-West var själv en, vid tiden, populär författare och omsusad person. Hon var dessutom en person med en mycket framsynt syn på syn på kärlek, äktenskap och, inte minst, trädgårdar. I veckans program berättar vi mer om Vita Sackville-West och hennes liv. Vi pratar också med författaren och journalisten Ann Larås om Vita Sackville-West och maken Harold Nicolsons berömda trädgård på slottet Sissinghurst en trädgård som anses vara en av Englands allra finaste. Vi pratar också med konstvetaren Patrik Steorn om kulturtips som modevärlden kan ge oss. Och så träffar vi genus- och teatervetaren Tiina Rosenberg för att diskutera kärleksallianser. Veckans gäst är Ingela Lind, författare till boken Ta sig frihet: Bloomsburygruppen, Indien och konsten att leva.

In this episode (Part one of two) sponsored by mywindowbox.com Joff Elphick talks to Johns Sales. John has just brought out a book; Shades of Green-My Life as The National Trust Head of Gardens (Unicorn). John talks of his early memories as a wartime child and of catching the gardening bug. We go on to discuss his first job in a nursery growing Cape Heaths, begonias, and cyclamen for the christmas market. Of particular interest is his account of working with Graham Stuart Thomas, and of Graham's legendary work ethic. He meets 'sloans' for the first time, and has a cleverly orchestrated 'interview' at 'The Trust' where he 'bumps into' Lord Antrim on the stairs."Afternoon tea anyone?" I produce a photo of holders of The Victoria Medal of Honour, of which John is one, and we reel off the names that shared the medal with him on it's centenary celebration; Christo Lloyd, Adrain Bloom, Valerie Finnis, Roy Lancaster, Graham Stuart Thomas, Penny Hobhouse and more. It's a real who's who of horticulture! In part two of this interview we talk more about the book, of The Trust's gardens, more on G.S.T. and also Pam and Sybil. The episode ends with our regular feature of 'A Product Review' with my long time gardening friend Geoff Carr (www.geoffreycarr.co.uk) In part two of this interview we talk about his book, of The Trust's Gardens, more on G.S.T., Sissinghurst, Pam and Sybil and more. Many thanks once again to our lovely sponsors mywindowbox 'Bringing the garden to your window'. (www.mywindow.com)

In the latest episode of the #wildflowerhour podcast, Isabel Hardman interviews Joshua Sparkes, a gardener at Sissinghurst, about how we can make wild flowers culturally important in Britain and Ireland. We also hear a reading from Zoe Devlin from her book, Blooming Marvellous, and find out about the new #wildflowerhour challenge, on rosettes.

In the latest episode of the #wildflowerhour podcast, Isabel Hardman interviews Joshua Sparkes, a gardener at Sissinghurst, about how we can make wild flowers culturally important in Britain and Ireland. We also hear a reading from Zoe Devlin from her book, Blooming Marvellous, and find out about the new #wildflowerhour challenge, on rosettes.

Joff Elphick speaks to The Times garden writer Stephen Anderton about his book 'Lives of the Great Gardeners'. They talk about Charles Jencks and The Garden of Cosmic Speculation, Alexander Reford from Les Jardins de Metis (Reford Gardens), Lawrence Johnston,Hidcote, and Vita Sackville-West and Sissinghurst. They talk too about Stephen's own garden in Wales. Geoff Carr joins Joff in 'The Long Border' and P.R. team discuss a favourite item in a Product Review. It's all a secret until the recording starts. Joff decides he must have this item. But what's it called and where can you get it? Help? Joff finishes by going 'off piste' after an enquiry about his Wildlife Sound Recording. A Nightingale signs off the show.

Judy Murray talks about her family and their tennis story - and her subsequent projects from dancing the Viennese Waltz at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, to heading the women's tennis coaching initiative She Rallies. Jamie Chadwick has just become the youngest British female racing driver to sign for a Formula 1 feeder series team. She explains how she got into the sport and became the first female and youngest racing driver to win a British GT championship. Wolfgang Puck has catered to the Oscars for 23 consecutive years. With the 35th anniversary of his flagship restaurant Spago this year, he recalls his culinary career. JP Devlin meets James Shepherd-Barron, the son of the inventor of the ATM, which celebrates it's 50th anniversary this week. The prize-winning author Adam Nicolson describes his childhood at Sissinghurst and how his visits to the Hebridean Islands sparked his fascination with seabirds. And the actress and singer Ute Lemper shares her Inheritance Tracks: Where Have All The Flowers Gone, performed by Marlene Dietrich, and The Rose performed by Bette Midler. Knowing the Score: My Family and Our Tennis Story is out now. Wolfgang Puck is hosting Spago pop-up at CUT at 45 Park Lane until 1st July. The Seabird's Cry, The Lives and Loves of Puffins, Gannets and Other Ocean Voyagers, is out now. Ute Lemper will be performing the album 9 Secrets at the Cadogan Hall on 15th September; and will also be touring her 'Last Tango in Berlin - The Best of Ute'. Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.

Att hon blev journalist var en lågoddsare – redan som barn gjorde hon tidningar, om än med katter istället för människor. Att hon blev miljöjournalist var inte heller förvånande – även naturintresset har funnits med henne sedan barnsben. Att hon skulle bli en hängiven trädgårdsodlare var däremot långt ifrån självklart – efter uppväxten med stora grönsaksland och odlande föräldrar i Blekinge var hon övertygad om att trädgård inte var något för henne. Här berättar Charlotte Permell, chefredaktör för Världsnaturfondens tidning Eko och för många känd som programledare för Mitt i naturen, hur hon, tvärt emot vad hon kunnat föreställa sig, ändå tog klivet ut från Stockholms innerstad och hur hennes dotters födelse därmed också blev födelsen för det spirande trädgårdsintresse som idag står i full blom. Hör hur det lilla barnets lekyta blev till en plats som Charlotte – trots dess tuffa förutsättningar – aldrig mer vill leva utan, om drömmen att skapa ett eget Sissinghurst i Mälarhöjden och om att få djur att hälsa på och trivas i trädgården. Charlotte, som varit med och skrivit Trädgårdsboken om jord, berättar också hur avgörande det är för vårt jordklot att värna just jorden, om uppvaknandet som fått rosorna i hennes trädgård att gå från att vägra växa till att frodas, och om Skräphögen som, sitt namn till trots, absolut inte innehåller sådant som ska slängas. Dessutom påminns du om hur syndigt det är att inte ta tillvara på grässvålen. Intervjun är inspelad den 18 maj på Ulriksdals slott där Charlotte har sin arbetsplats.

With tricky clay soil – our gardeners in the veg garden at Sissinghurst explain how no dig gardening has worked deliciously well to provide fresh vegetables to our restaurant… even when it’s snowing outside! We'd love to know what you thought of this series to help us make more of them in the future. Please let us know in our survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/gardens-survey

Alan meets Josh Sparkes – one of our gardeners at Sissinghurst and self-proclaimed meadow obsessive. He explains how a return to traditional practises has revitalised the wildlife at Sissinghurst. Scythe at the ready! We'd love to know what you thought of this series to help us make more of them in the future. Please let us know in our survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/gardens-survey PLANTS AND TREES IN ORDER OF REFERENCE Leucanthemum vulgare – Oxeye daisy Lychnis flos-cuculi – Ragged robin

Alan visits Sissinghurst in Kent, previously home to poet and novelist Vita Sackville-West and her husband, diplomat Harold Nicolson. Working from ruins, the couple’s personalities collided and combined to create this dramatic, world-renowned garden. It comes complete with 300 varieties of rose, an area that’s planted to sparkle at twilight, and a castle tower with views to take your breath away. We'd love to know what you thought of this series to help us make more of them in the future. Please let us know in our survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/gardens-survey PLANT LIST Sweet chestnut coppice woodland – Castanea sativa Azalea mollis The Himalayan blue poppy – Meconopsis betonicifolia Polyanthus – various Pleached lime trees - Tilia platyphyllos ‘Rubra’ Fritillaria imperialis Tulips – various Narcissus – various Alba rose – various Bourbon rose – Mme. Lauriol de Barny, Souvenir de la Malmaison Centifolia rose – various Damask rose – various Gallica rose – Tuscany Superb, Cardinal de Richelieu, Belle de Crécy Moss rose – Général Kléber Peony Iris Eremurus – various Phlox paniculata 'David'

Vita Sackville-West and her husband Nigel Nicolson bought their home, Sissinghurst, in 1930 and gradually created one of the most famous gardens of all time.

1930's Paris, post-war London and the '60s in Sissinghurst; we've slipped the shackles of the studio for this month's podcast and gone on location for a special featuring apricot cocktails, top London trivia and a unique insight into one of the most famous gardens in the Garden of England. Will Rycroft talks to Sarah Bakewell about Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and modern existentialism whilst sipping apricot cocktails at Le Beaujolais. Alex Clark walks through London with Anthony Quinn as they discuss the landscape of his latest novel, Freya. She then gets an exclusive tour of Sissinghurst Castle from Juliet Nicolson, who grew up there during the 1960s. There's a time and a place for everything and this month the Vintage podcast takes you to three very specific times and places. An immersive listen for every type of reader. Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/vintagebooksSign up to our bookish newsletter to hear all about our new releases, see exclusive extracts and win prizes: po.st/vintagenewsletterAnthony Quinn - FreyaFreya Wyley meets Nancy Holdaway amid the wild celebrations of VE Day, the prelude to a devoted and competitive friendship…Freya, ambitious and outspoken, pursues a career on Fleet Street while Nancy, less self-confident, struggles to get her first novel published. Both friends become entangled with Robert Cosway, a charismatic young man whose own ambition will have a momentous bearing on their lives.Flitting from war-haunted Oxford to the bright new shallows of the 1960s, Freya plots the unpredictable course of a woman’s life and loves in extraordinary times.https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1089993/at-the-existentialist-cafe/9780701186586/ https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1110797/freya/9781910702505/ https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1099352/a-house-full-of-daughters/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Adam Nicolson has the privilege, and the burden, of an extraordinary inheritance: Sissinghurst, that quintessentially English house and garden created by his grandparents Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West. In his own right, he's the author of a series of highly esteemed history books and television series, about the making of the King James Bible, about the English gentry, and most recently about 17th-century writers. But it's that Sissinghurst connection which fascinates us all: growing up with bohemian writers and artists, there must have been music going on there all the time? Not at all - Adam reveals that his family were musical philistines. His father hated music because it moved him, and made him emotional ? so for an Englishman of that generation and class it was deeply suspect. It's only in middle age that Adam is discovering music, and he admits cheerfully that his musical taste is 'dreadful'. He also talks about walking 6000 miles round Europe, about his love for the Hebrides, and about his disastrous 'open' marriage. Adam and his wife had a deal ? they were allowed to have two affairs a year, as long as they were abroad. This too was the legacy of Sissinghurst, and a father who urged him to have as many affairs as possible. What followed was predictable, and messy, but with a happy ending - as Adam's choice of music reveals. A light-hearted programme, which includes music by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Eric Whitacre, Prokofiev, Roberta Flack, and a reading by Alec Guinness of T.S.Eliot's 'Little Gidding'.

Biographer, critic, broadcaster and novelist Victoria Glendinning was born in Sheffield, and educated at Somerville College, Oxford, where she read Modern Languages. She worked as a teacher and social worker before becoming an editorial assistant for the Times Literary Supplement in 1974. President of English PEN, she was awarded a CBE in 1998. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and holds honorary doctorates from the universities of Southampton, Ulster, Dublin and York. Her biographies include Elizabeth Bowen: Portrait of a Writer, 1977; Edith Sitwell: A Unicorn Among Lions (1981), which won both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize (for biography) and the Duff Cooper Prize; and Rebecca West: A Life (1987), and Vita: The Life of V. Sackville-West (1983) and Trollope (1992) both of which won the Whitbread Biography Award. We talk here ostensibly about her latest book, Love's Civil War: Elizabeth Bowen and Charles Ritchie: Letters and Diaries 1941- 1973 but in fact, mostly about the nature of biography, the difference between editing letters and writing lives, fabricating dialogue, compiling data, selecting facts; the importance of place, material and familial limitations, life over art, Virginia Woolf, Vita Sackville-West, Sissinghurst, and text versus context.