Today in botanical history, we celebrate an English earl, an English poet, a forgotten garden, and a national floral emblem. We hear a floral excerpt from a best-selling fiction book - it’s a little love story about an extraordinary woman who gave birth to a painter who became the Father of Impressionism. We Grow That Garden Library™, with a book that came out in 2015 and seems to grow ever more relevant. And then we’ll wrap things up with an American poet and some of his garden-inspired work. 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] 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. Curated News Small Flowering Shrubs with Big Impact | Garden Gate Magazine | Susan Martin Important Events September 23, 1717 Birth of Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, English writer, art historian, and Whig politician. His father served as the first British Prime Minister. As an adult, he designed a picturesque summer home for himself in southwest London, which he called Strawberry Hill. Horace’s little castle caused a sensation, and he opened his home to four lucky visitors each day. An 1842 admission ticket spelled out rules for tourists: The House and Garden are never shown in an evening; and persons are desired not to bring children with them. The Gothic Revival architecture complete with a round tower was a nod to his accomplished ancestry and is gorgeous inside and out. The stained glass and the library are two favorite aspects among visitors. Horace was a hardworking writer and a serious scholar. Horace coined the word serendipity after he finally located a painting he wanted for his home. He wrote the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto (1764), ten years later. In addition to his other works, Horace wrote The History of the Modern Taste in Gardening (1771). A fan of natural gardens, he famously observed that his garden hero William Kent was the first garden designer to “[leap] the fence, and [see] that all of nature was a garden.” Horace immensely enjoyed his five-acre romantic garden at Strawberry Hill, which he affectionately called his “enchanted little landscape” and his “land of beauties.” In addition to a grove of lime trees, the garden featured a sizeable Rococo shell seat with a back designed to look like an enormous shell. Today the one-of-a-kind bench has been recreated, and copies are available for gardeners to place in their own gardens. The oldest tree on the grounds is called the Walpole Oak, and a servant is said to have hung himself from the tree after stealing silver. In 2019, the first Strawberry Hill House Flower Festival offered local florists a chance to share their creations inside Horace’s Gothic masterpiece. The event is now an annual celebration of flowers. Today Strawberry Hill House hosts a community garden. Rose lovers can enjoy their own nod to Horace Walpole with the bubblegum-pink David Austin rose Strawberry Hill. As for Horac
