Today we celebrate an American poet, essayist, and editor who is often remembered in a photograph where she is dressed as Saint Barbara with a laurel wreath around her head. We'll also learn about the woman who started a flower club that offered rare and exotic plants to Swedish homemakers during World War II. We’ll hear about the enticing words used to describe the gorgeous plants in garden catalogs - they work so well on gardeners. We Grow That Garden Library™ with an old book by a stylist who loves to incorporate nature into her interior designs. And then we’ll wrap things up with a cheery story about the man who saw life through rose-colored glasses—chin up. 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
[email protected] Curated News Beautiful Bark on Deciduous Trees | Fine Gardening | Kristin Green 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 January 7, 1861 Today is the birthday of the American poet, essayist, and editor Louise Imogen Guiney. Louise was the daughter of a Tipperary-born Civil War General named Patrick Guiney. And after living in constant pain from his war injuries, Louise’s father died when she was 16. But her dad’s bravery and morality helped to shape Louise’s work. As her family struggled to make ends meet, Louise worked several jobs. In 1894, she ended up working for her local post office in Auburndale, Massachusetts. She was the postmistress. And when locals protested her appointment because she was Catholic, her friends responded to the backlash by buying so many stamps that Louise kept her job and actually even got a raise. I think of that little incident when I read a poem often attributed to Louise - but its origins remain uncertain. The foolish fears of what may come, I cast them all away Among the clover-scented grass, Among the new-mown hay; Among the hushing of the corn, Where drowsing poppies nod. Ill thoughts can die, and good be born, Out in the fields of God. During Louise's early life in Boston, she lived on Pinckney Street. And that street served as a hub for creatives like Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Thoreau family, and the publisher Elizabeth Peabody. Imagine living there... Louise’s work was featured in popular magazines like Harper’s and The Atlantic Monthly. And has she matured in her adulthood, Louise fell in love with England’s history and she made repeated trips there before permanently moving to the country in the early 1900s. In one of her beautiful pieces of correspondence, Louise was asked if her poem A Song Of The Lilac could be set to music - and it was. It’s a charming verse that goes like this: And when by night the May wind blows The lilac-blooms apart, The memory of his first love Is shaken on his heart. Today if you search for Louise online, you’ll see beautiful images of her dressed as Saint Barbara with a laurel wreath around her head and, in some photos, someone faintly penciled a hal
