Hi there and welcome to The Daily Gardener, a podcast about gardening, botanical history, and literature. I'm your host, Jennifer Ebeling, and today is April 30th. Today we celebrate the woman who was the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein, and we'll hear all about their wonderful garden at Villeneuve. We'll also learn about the French modernist painter known for his peonies and his peony art.
We'll hear an excerpt about a perfect spring day, and we grow back Garden Library today with a book that is pure gold. It's all about an honest journey to beekeeping between two unlikely friends. And then we'll wrap things up with the 10-year anniversary of a botanical society located in northern New York, about four hours north of Manhattan and about two hours south of Montreal. But first, here's today's curated news.
Today's curated news comes to us from Teresa Bajan over at her blog, Shoestring Elegance. Teresa wrote a post recently called Goodbye April, Hello May Already. And in this post, Teresa shares a nice roundup of spring posts. She shares Claire Justine's jam recipe, the house on Silverado's bakery-style chocolate chip pecan cookies.
They look fantastic. And then for the home, she has an upcycled chair. This is a great idea from the Apple Street Cottage. They took an old chair, they painted it a beautiful mint green, and then there's a cute little pink cushion on it.
Then there's Life in Kentucky's Spring Into Purple with Earth Day. It's a great post for gardeners. Over at She's Crafty, there's a living room spring home tour, plus a vintage garden tour that you probably like. And then last but not least, the crowned goat is sharing how to create a console table from an old door.
This is great. And you know, I was in someone's she shed two years ago, and that's exactly what they did, is across the back of the shed, they used an old door, and they repurposed it, and that became their workbench or in their potting shed, which I thought was fantastic. And then where one of the panels of the door was, they put hardware cloth, so that way when they're using it for potting, the soil can just fall right through the hardware cloth into a bin. That was right below that.
I thought it was a great idea. All right, now if you would like to track down this post from Teresa Bajan and see all of these great recipes and ideas, all you need to do is, the next time you're in the Facebook group for the show, just search for the word hello, because Teresa's post is called Goodbye April, Hello May, and then Teresa's post will pop up, and then you'll have access to all of these really great blog posts that Teresa has curated for the beginning of May. Now, if you're not in the Facebook group for the show, don't worry about it. You can always join anytime.
Just head on up to the search bar in Facebook and search for the words Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend and then request a join. I'd love to meet you in the group. It's time for today's botanical history. Here's botanical history for April 30th.
Today is the birthday of the American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century and the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, who was born on this day, April 30th in 1877. In 1954, Alice's cookbook, simply called The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook, was published.
It became one of the best-selling cookbooks of all time, thanks to Alice's recipe for hashish fudge. It was made with nuts, spices, fruit, and cannabis. Calling it the food of paradise, Alice recommended serving her special fudge at gatherings to lighten things up, but she advised limiting oneself to no more than two pieces. She also casually mentioned that it was, quote, easy to whip up on a rainy day.
Now, the last chapter of Alice's cookbook offers a delightful glimpse into her and Gertrude's vegetable garden at Billignac in southeastern France, and I thought I'd share a few lovely excerpts with you today in honor of Alice's birthday. Here's what she wrote. For 14 successive years, the gardens at Billignac were my joy, working in them during the summers and planning and dreaming of them during the winters. The summers frequently commenced early in April with the planting and ended late in October with the last gathering of the winter vegetables.
Billignac, surrounded by mountains and not far from the French Alps, made early planting uncertain. One year, we lost the first planting of string beans. Another year, the green peas were caught by a late frost. It took me several years to know the climate and quite as many more to know the weather.
Experience is never at a bargain price. Then, too, I obstinately refused to accept the lore of the farmers. They told me never to transplant parsley and not to plant it on Good Friday. We did it in California, was my weak reply.
In the spring of 1929, we became the tenants of what had become the manor of Billignac. We were enchanted with everything. But after careful examination of the two large vegetable gardens, it was to my horror that I discovered the state they were in. Nothing but potatoes had been planted the year before.
Poking about with a heavy stick, there seemed to be some resistance in a corner, followed by a rippling movement. The rubbish and weeds would have to be cleared out at once. In six days, the seven men we mobilized in the village had accomplished this. In the corner where I had poked, a snake's nest and several snakes had been found.
But so were raspberries and strawberries. The work in the vegetables was a full-time job and more. Later, it became a joke. Gertrude Stein asking me what I saw when I closed my eyes.
And I answered, weeds. That, she said, was not the answer. And so weeds were changed to strawberries. It took me an hour to gather a small basket for Gertrude Stein's breakfast.
And later, when there was a plantation of them in the upper garden, our young guests were told that if they cared to eat them, they should do the picking themselves. The first gathering of the garden in May of salads, radishes, and herbs made me feel like a mother about her baby. How could anything so beautiful be mine? And this emotion of wonder filled me for each vegetable as it was gathered every year.
There is nothing that is comparable to it as satisfactory or as thrilling as gathering the vegetables one has grown. And today's the anniversary of the death of the French modernist painter, Edouard Manet, who died on this day, April 30th in 1883. His painting, Music in the Tuileries Garden, was his first significant work depicting modern city life. Sensitive to criticism, Manet once wrote, the attacks of which I have been the object have broken the spring of life in me.
People don't realize what it feels like to be constantly insulted. When it came to the complexity of still life painting, Manet wrote, bring a brioche. I want to see you paint one. Still life is the touchstone of painting.
Manet grew peonies in his garden at Genvilliers. They were reportedly his favorite flower. Manet's paintings of peonies were the perfect blend of skill and subject. Manet's blousy technique was perfect for the petals and the leaves.
Today, in many of Manet's paintings, the pink peonies have turned white due to deterioration of the pigments in the paint. His peonies in a vase on a stand is considered one of his best pieces. And a 1983 exhibition catalog by the National Gallery of Art in Paris wrote, Van Gogh was much struck by this painting. And he asked, Do you remember that one day we saw a very extraordinary Manet with some huge pink peonies with their green leaves against a light background, as free in the open air and as much a flower as anything could be, and yet painted in a perfectly solid anpasto?
In China, the peony is known as the shoyu, which means most beautiful. And when the explorer Marco Polo saw peonies in China for the first time, he misidentified them, calling them roses as big as cabbages. Traditionally, peonies are used to celebrate the 12th wedding anniversary. And if you planted one on your first anniversary, the peony would easily outlast your marriage, because peonies can live for over 100 years.
It's time for today's Unearthed Words. Today's Unearthed Words come to us from the British author Rachel Joyce. This is an excerpt from her book, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. It was a perfect spring day.
The air was sweet and gentle, and the sky stretched high, an intense blue. Harold was certain that the last time he had peered through the net drapes of Fossbridge Road, his home, the trees and hedges were dark bones and spindles against the skyline. Yet now that he was out and on his feet, it was as if everywhere he looked, the fields, gardens, trees, and hedgerows had exploded with growth. A canopy of sticky young leaves clung to the branches above him.
There were startling yellow clouds of forsythia, trails of purple abrisia. A young willow shook in a fountain of silver. The first of the potato shoots fingered through the soil, and already tiny buds hung from the gooseberry and currant shrubs, like the earrings Maureen used to wear. The abundance of new life was enough to make him giddy.
It's time to grow that garden library with today's book, Liquid Gold, by Roger Morgan Grenville. This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is Bees and the Pursuit of Midlife Honey. Thor Hansen, the author of Buzz, said this about Roger's book. Beekeeping builds from lark to revelation in this carefully observed story of midlife friendship.
Filled with humor and surprising insight, Liquid Gold is as richly rewarding as its namesake. Roger writes about meeting his friend Duncan in a pub, and on a chance decision, they resolve to become beekeepers. Ignorant but eager, the two men learn through their mistakes and their friendship how to care for bees and become master beekeepers. After two years, they have more honey than they can personally use.
The experience teaches them resilience along with a newfound appreciation for nature and a desire to protect the honeybee from increased threats and extinction. Humorous and informative, Liquid Gold is an uplifting and educational story about humans and bees, making it pure gold for your summer reading. This book is 272 pages of an honest journey to beekeeping between two unlikely friends. You can get a copy of Liquid Gold by Roger Morgan Grenville and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $15.
Finally, here's something sweet to revive the little botanic spark in your heart. Today is the 10th anniversary of the Adirondack Botanical Society, which was started on this day, April 30th in 2011. ADS is, quote, an organization dedicated to the study, preservation, and enjoyment of the plants of the Adirondack Mountain region. Members may live in, visit, or care about the region and strive to educate others about the importance of its plant life and the environment that supports it.
Now, this group has an active Facebook page, and if you want, you can search for it and then like it, and you should see their posts pop up in your feed. If you've been on a hike or a paddle recently in the area and have a few pictures that you'd like to share, you can also do that on the Facebook page for this group. And I thought you'd enjoy this recent post on their page. It says, Ray and I visited Elders Grove today.
I used the Measure app on my iPhone to measure the trunk of a large eastern white pine, and I attached a photo that the app generates with the total length printed on the screen. The trunk lying on the ground was 159 feet and 10 inches. Add the 16 feet of still-standing stump, and the total height of the tree before it fell was approximately 176 feet. I neglected to bring my D-tape, but the DBH, or diameter at breast height, was well over 50 inches.
An amazing tree, even dead and turning to humus. Isn't that fascinating? In any case, join me in toasting the Adirondack Botanical Society. Happy 10th anniversary, and here's to many more.
Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener, and remember, for a happy, healthy life, garden every day. The Daily Gardener is produced in lovely Maple Grove in Wyoming, Minnesota, with the help of Paige Vance, Brooke Beerbaum, and Eric Begay. If you want to read today's show notes, just head on over to thedailygardener.org. And while you're there, be sure to sign up for my free Friday newsletter.
And don't forget that you have a standing invitation to join the free Facebook group for listeners of the show. Just search for Daily Gardener Community the next time you're on Facebook and request to join. Last but not least, you can always get in touch by emailing me at jennifer at thedailygardener.org. I'm your host, Jennifer Eveline, and as always, have a great day in the garden, and we'll see you on Monday.