Hi there, everyone, and welcome to The Daily Gardener, and thank you for listening. I'm your host, Jennifer Eveling. It's August 20th. Today we celebrate the patron saint of beekeepers.
We'll also revisit the letter that Jefferson wrote about gardening. It contains one of his most quoted lines. We'll remember the French landscape architect who designed 90% of the public spaces in Argentina. And we'll eavesdrop on another letter from Elizabeth Lawrence, the garden writer, who wrote some of the most wonderful letters about gardening.
We'll celebrate World Mosquito Day with some mosquito poems. And we grow that garden library with a book that will help you create some inspired gatherings in your garden. And then we'll wrap things up with one of my favorite lighthearted poets. But first, let's catch up on some greetings from gardeners from around the world in today's curated news.
Well, first up is a question that I received from Elizabeth, and she shared a photo showing echinacea. On one side, there's the standard echinacea, and on the other side, there's the double-bloomed echinacea. And Elizabeth's question is whether or not the double echinacea offers double the benefit for pollinators. And that's a great question.
But sadly, the answer is no. So while the double echinacea are beautiful, they're extremely showy, they look like they have a huge pom-pom on top, but they really don't help pollinators. Because those double petals make it very difficult for them to reach the nectar in pollen. So if you decide to add these beautiful ornamentals, they can really be stunning.
If your goal is to help pollinators stay away from the double blooms, just a little food for thought. Now, if you have a garden question or a picture, story, or a birthday wish that you'd like to share on the show, just go ahead and email me at jennifer at thedailygardener.org. That's jennifer at thedailygardener.org. And then you too can participate in the Gardener Greetings segment.
And don't forget that while you're home, you can listen to the show by asking Alexa or Google to play the latest Daily Gardener podcast. And she will. It's just that easy. Here's today's curated news.
Today's curated article was featured in The Spruce, and it was written by John Van Zyl. And the headline is, Get the Most from Your Potting Soil with These Tips. Here's an excerpt. Most soil mixes are peat-based, often made with reed or sedge peat, and pH adjusted with lime.
They're rich and loamy, fresh out of the bag, and they're often enhanced with fertilizer or water retention crystals. If you've been gardening for a long time, though, you may notice that plants rarely thrive in these kinds of soils for too long. This happens because peat-based soils really aren't designed for long-term use. They're actually not designed for plants at all.
They're made for your convenience. They're cheaper to produce, they're lightweight, and they're easy to bag and sell. Now, as these soils decompose, a number of negative forces can affect your plants. This is where John does a great job of outlining some of the steps that you can take to ensure that your plants have the soil they need.
One of John's suggestions is to improve your bagged soil. It's not a long-term fix, but you can improve on peat-based growing mixes by adding perlite. I love perlite. I order it in huge bags on Amazon.
And then I do exactly what John suggested. I add it to all of my soil mixes. Another one of John's suggestions is to flush the soil thoroughly every month at a minimum. Take the plant to the kitchen sink or outside and thoroughly flush the soil to wash out any accumulated salts from fertilizer or deposits from tap water.
And, you know, I'm a big believer that these spa days for your houseplants are also wonderful for the foliage. And I keep going back to my very first interview with Shane Smith, a man who wrote the first book on greenhouse gardening. And I'll never forget what he told me. He said that there is so much that we can accomplish just by using sharp streams of water in terms of pest control.
And I've always remembered that advice. So when my plants come in from outside, or whether they're just getting a nice little spa day, as I just mentioned, I always make sure to spray them thoroughly with plain old water. And it does the trick. Now, John has a few other tips here in this post, but I'll just share one more for you.
And then you can follow up on this post for yourself in the Facebook group for the show. John's suggestion is that you consider putting together your own potting mix. And I do this as well. Lots of gardeners make their own potting mix based on composted bark, coconut coir, peat, perlite, vermiculite, pumice, and other soil additives.
Now, this is a more advanced option, but it is possible to build a soil that will last for two or more seasons if you make it yourself. Just some things to consider. If you'd like to track down this article by John Banzile over at the Spruce, just search for the word soil in the Facebook group for the show, and John's post will pop up. Now, yesterday over at the blog, I wrote an original post that's all about pass-along plants.
And it was based on an experience that I had last year with one of my student gardener families. And I started the post out with this great quote from Augusta Carter, who was a master gardener in Pound Ridge, Georgia. She said, you don't have a garden just for yourself. You have it to share.
Pass-along plants have the best stories, don't they? They have history. They have a personal history. Last year, one of my student gardeners had a grandmother who had passed away from breast cancer.
Now, her mother was no green thumb. And when her daughter started working in my garden, she let me know that her mom had some plants, that her grandfather was looking for a place for them. Would I be willing to take one? Sure, absolutely, I said.
Next thing I know, a few weeks later, mom is walking up to my driveway carrying one of the largest jade plants I'd ever seen. Now, the plant was in a container the size of a five-gallon bucket. And the plant was easily just as tall. So I took the plant from her with a promise to take good care of it.
And when she turned to leave, I asked her mom's name. I like to name my pass-along plants after the people I get them from. And that's when the tears started. When she left, I brought this jade plant over to the potting bench and let it sit there for a few days.
Then my student gardeners and I set about dividing it and taking care of it. And it was a good thing that we did, because the minute we started to take it out of the pot, it became very apparent that this plant was severely waterlogged. It wouldn't have made it had I not rescued it from the pot. We removed as much of the old potting soil as we could, we washed off the roots, and we split the plant in half, putting it into separate clay pots, which were filled with soil that was very heavily perlited.
And that was just what the doctor ordered. It was the perfect environment for these jade plants. And now they're both doing fantastic up here at the cabin. But I have to say that I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that these plants had a little more special meaning to me than just your typical jade plant, because of the look on this mother's face when she gave me this plant, passing on this little living thing that her mom had loved and nurtured.
All right, before I get to today's brevities, I had two other things that I wanted to share with you. The first is a reminder to keep harvesting your herbs. You can use them fresh in your cooking, but you can also dry them. Now, most herbs have a more concentrated flavor if they're not allowed to bolt or flower.
So frequent harvesting is a good thing. And as a bonus, harvesting encourages fresh, vigorous growth and keeps your herbs growing longer into the season. So go ahead and give your herbs a haircut. And finally, today is World Mosquito Day, the Minnesota state bird.
Just kidding. But here are a few interesting facts that I discovered about the mosquito, and I thought you might be interested. First, it's only the female mosquitoes that bite. It turns out the lady mosquitoes use blood protein and other compounds to help them produce and develop their eggs.
Second, mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide. They actually track it to find their protein sources. Very ingenious. And finally, three, mosquitoes are terrible flyers.
This is why windy days keep the mosquitoes away. And it's another reason why I drag a large fan around with me in the garden. I have this 50-foot extension cord, and I drag this 24-inch Lasko fan, very, very powerful fan, around with me in the garden. And it's not so much to keep me cool as it is to keep the mosquitoes at bay, because that constant flow of air stops the mosquitoes, as well as any bug spray.
All right, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out any of my curated news articles or original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the listener community in the free Facebook group for the show, The Daily Gardener Community. So there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, just go up to the search bar where you'd search for a friend and type in Daily Gardener Community and request to join.
I'd love to meet you in the group. Here's today's brevities. Today is St. Bernard of Clairvaux's day.
He's the patron saint of beekeepers, and he's also the patron saint of bees and candle makers. Now, St. Bernard was a doctor of the church and a French abbot, and he apparently was a fabulous preacher with excellent speaking skills. And he became known as the honey-sweet doctor for his honey-sweet language.
He would just draw people in. Now, when he decided to become part of the monastery, he had to get up and give a testimony. And history tells us that his testimony was so compelling that 30 members of his family and friends decided right then and there to join the monastery. And that's how he became associated with bees, all that sweet talk.
It was St. Bernard who said, Believe me, for I know you will find something far greater in the woods than in books. Stones and trees will teach you that which you cannot learn from the masters. And it was on this day in 1811 that Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the painter and naturalist Charles Wilson Peale about his farming and gardening at Monticello.
Here's an excerpt. I have heard that you have retired from the city to a farm and that you give your whole time to that. Does not the museum suffer? And is the farm as interesting to you?
I have often thought that if heaven had given me a choice of my position in calling, it should have been a rich spot of earth, well watered and near a good market for the produce from the garden. No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth and no culture comparable to that of the garden. Such a variety of subjects, someone always coming to perfection, the failure of one thing repaired by the success of another. And instead of one harvest, a continued one through the year, I am still devoted to the garden.
But though an old man, I am but a young gardener. Your application to whatever you are engaged in, I know to be incessant. But Sundays and rainy days are always days of writing for the farmer. And today is the birthday of the French Argentine landscape architect, Charles or Carlos Tays.
He was born on this day in 1849. Carlos took a business trip to Argentina when he turned 40 in 1889. His job was to design a park in Cordoba. The project was life-changing for Carlos when Argentina unexpectedly captured his heart.
He decided to move to Argentina right then and there, and he spent the back half of his life in his adopted homeland. If you visit Argentina today, the green spaces in the capital city of Buenos Aires are all thanks to Carlos Tays, the tree-lined streets, the parks, the paths, and the promenades. Essentially, Carlos brought the French landscape to Argentina, which is one of the many reasons why the country has such a strong European vibe. It's hard to imagine a Buenos Aires without trees, and yet that's the site that greeted Carlos when he arrived in 1889.
Now, Carlos immediately recognized the country's need for trees. You know the old saying that the best time to plant a tree is 30 years ago, and the second best time is today. Well, that essentially is a philosophy that Carlos adopted. He knew that the quickest way to transform Argentina into the lush landscape that we know today meant making a commitment to planting trees.
So over his lifetime, Carlos planted over 1.2 million trees in the capital city. Now, the other smart decision that Carlos made was to focus on native trees for his plantings. And one of the most impressive trees in all of Buenos Aires is the oldest tree in the city. It's a massive rubber tree that the locals call El Gran Gomero.
The crown of this tree is over 50 meters wide. In Buenos Aires alone, Carlos designed over 90% of the public spaces in and around the city. In addition, Carlos worked on hundreds of projects all across Argentina. But a project that was near to his heart was the creation of the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden, and it covers eight hectares.
The garden was established a decade after Carlos arrived in Argentina, and he considered the Botanical Garden to be his masterpiece. It was Charles Taze who said, To achieve happiness, it's better to live in a cabin in a forest than in a palace without a garden. And it was on this day, in 1940, that the garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence wrote to her sister, I have finished the chapter on summer and only have the chapter on fall to do, which is short. I hope I can get it done quickly and have time to rewrite after your reading.
If you get back before I do and can find time to look into my garden, will you see if Norini unduleta is in bloom? And if it is, pick it when all the flowers are out and put it in your refrigerator until I get back. It bloomed last year while I was gone. Thank you very much.
Thank you, mate. and I have never seen it, and it's the most exciting bulb I have. I enclose a map of where it is and of other things that might bloom. Don't bother about any of them.
Don't look for Ridgeway, the color chart. I'm taking it with me in case we get to any nurseries. Isn't that fabulous? Now, in case you're wondering, Norini unduleta is an amaryllis.
It grows 18 inches tall and has umbels of 8 to 12 slender, crinkled, pale pink flowers, and it blooms in autumn. It's wonderful. And today is the birthday of a man who has a last name that all gardeners covet. It's the lead singer of Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant.
He was born on this day in 1948. Which makes him 72 today, so happy birthday to Robert Plant from all the Daily Gardeners. In honest words, today is World Mosquito Day, so today's poems are all about the mosquito. This first one's from the Australian author and poet Doug McCloid, and it's called Lovely Mosquito.
Lovely mosquito attacking my arm, as quiet and still as a statue. Stay right where you are, I'll do you no harm, I simply desire to pat you. Just puncture my veins and swallow your fill, for nobody's going to swat you. Now, lovely mosquito, stay perfectly still, a swipe and a splat, I got you.
And here's one from the English publisher and poet David Salas, it's called Mosquito. Announcing your arrival in a high-pitched, buzzing tone, as a tactic for survival, you're seldom on your own. Red lumps display where you have been, often felt but rarely seen. But if I catch a glimpse of you, my little vampire chum, I'll make sure you get what you're due and crush you with my thumb.
It's time to grow that garden library with today's book, French Country Cottage-Inspired Gatherings, by Courtney Allison. This book came out in May of 2020, and in case you didn't know, Courtney is the author of the blog French Country Cottage, and she also has a floral line with Balsam Hill, and she also is a freelance photographer and stylist for magazines. So, in short, she was the perfect person to write this book, and the only bummer is that it had to get released during a pandemic. Now, what gardeners will love about Courtney's book is that she shares all of her secrets for creating beautiful gatherings.
And hey, nowadays, we only entertain with the people that are the very closest to us in our lives, so why not make it special? Now, what I love about Courtney's book is that she shares all of her gorgeous tips and tricks for elevating your gatherings. She shows how to add layer and depth to all of your entertaining, and her flower arrangements really set the stage. And here's what Courtney's editor wrote about this book.
Courtney provides styling expertise so that you can host your own French Country Cottage-Inspired Gathering, whether in the backyard, at the beach, under an old oak tree, or in a country barn. A simple picnic, coffee by the lake, a cheese board with friends outdoors, a bistro table for two, or a long table for a formal meal. Each setting exhibits Allison's dreamy style for you to emulate. And the piece de resistance in every venue, in any setting, is the generous arrangements of seasonal flowers.
Courtney's bouquets will take your breath away from spring to fall for outdoors and inside. This is definitely one of my favorite books for 2020. This book is 224 pages of French Country Cottage-Style for the gardener. And you can get a copy of French Country Cottage-Inspired Gatherings by Courtney Allison and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $30.
Finally, here's something sweet to revive the little botanic spark in your heart. Today we celebrate the birthday of the poet Edgar Albert Guest, who was born on this day in 1881. Edgar was known as the people's poet during the first half of the 20th century. His poems were happy and hopeful, which is why people liked them.
Here's his poem called To Plant a Garden. It's one of my favorites. If your purse no longer bulges and you've lost your golden treasure, if at times you think you're lonely and have hungry, groan for pleasure, don't sit by your hearth and grumble. Don't let your mind and spirit harden.
If it's thrills of joy you wish for, get to work and plant a garden. If it's drama that you sigh for, plant a garden and you'll get it. You will know the thrill of battle, fighting foes that will beset it. If you long for entertainment and for pageantry most glowing, plant a garden and this summer spend your time with green things growing.
If it's comradeship you sigh for, learn the fellowship of daisies. You will come to know your neighbor by the blossoms that he raises. If you'd get away from boredom and find new delights to look for, learn the joy of budding pansies, which you've kept a special nook for. If you ever think of dying and you fear to wake tomorrow, plant a garden.
It will cure you of your melancholy sorrow. Once you've learned to know peonies, petunias, and roses, you will find every morning some new happiness discloses. Isn't that sweet? Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener, and remember, for a happy, healthy life, garden every day.
The Daily Gardener is produced in lovely Wyoming, Minnesota with the help of Paige Vance, Brooke Beerbaum, Kiana Raley, Maddie Doyle, Natalie Becker, and Eric Begay. You can find The Daily Gardener on all your favorite social media. You can follow the show on Instagram, and listeners always have a standing invitation to join the free Facebook group for the show. Just search for Daily Gardener Community the next time you're on Facebook and request to join.
All the stories and books that are featured on the show can be found over at thedailygardener.org, thedailygardener.org, and while you're there, be sure to sign up for my free Friday newsletter. Last but not least, you can share your own gardener greetings on the show by emailing me at jennifer at thedailygardener.org. I'm your host, Jennifer Ebling, and as always, have a great day in the garden, and we'll see you tomorrow.