April 25, 2023 John Mulso, Thomas Jefferson, George Herbert Engleheart, David Fairchild, Harry Radlund, Leslie Young Carrethers, The Gardener's Guide to Prairie Plants by Neil Diboll and Hilary Cox, and Maurice Baring

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Historical Events

1766 John Mulso writes to his friend English naturalist, Gilbert White, in Selborne

Gilbert White was born in 1720, So he was 46 when he received this letter from John.

At the time. Gilbert had been keeping a journal about the goings on in his garden. Gilbert kept a journal for about three decades, and it was eventually published to the delight of readers everywhere. Today people still love reading through Gilbert White's notations, drawings, and comments.

Gilbert had a knack for observing the natural world and describing in a relatable way all the goings on outdoors. Gilbert was very curious. He was also really personable.

When John Mulso begins his letter with a comment on the garden, he finds a point of agreement.

Vegetation thrives apace now, and I suppose you are quite intent on your new study.

You will not perhaps relish a Prospect the worse when we force you to look up, as presume you will go with your eyes fixed on the ground most part of the summer.

You will pass with country folks as a man always making sermons, while you are only considering a Weed.

John makes a very astute observation - Gilbert liked gardening more than anything else on Earth. Gilbert was like many pastors or reverends of his time who also pursued their hobbies as naturalists or gardeners. During the growing season, it was coming for a naturalist parson to get distracted by their gardens.

1809 A retired Thomas Jefferson enjoyed spending most of his time in his garden. (Finally!)

In the spring of this year. Thomas was no longer consumed with the duties of being president. We know that in the last year of his presidency, he spent many hours pining for his garden and accumulating plants from his friend Bernard McMann and other plantsmen.

So in April of 1809, Thomas Jefferson was living his dream and his best life as a gardener. He wrote to his friend, Etienne Lemaire, on this day,

I am constantly in my garden or farms. And am exclusively employed out of doors as I was within doors when I was at Washington.

I find myself infinitely happier in my new mode of life.

Isn't that an interesting observation? Comments like that may pass unnoticed, but this change in seasons, the warmer weather, and getting outdoors is powerful medicine. Spending time outdoors plays a role in our attitudes and our moods. We get more vitamin D we feel more energy.

This time of year, we eat the fresh green offerings from our gardens, whether microgreens or asparagus. The rhubarb is popping. You can even eat some hosta leaves, little tiny rolled-up cigars, as they emerge from the Earth. You can cut and fry them up in a pan the same way you would asparagus. (If they're good enough for the deer, they're good enough for us.) They're pretty tasty. The key is to harvest them early - just like you would the fiddleheads. The joys of spring...

1851 George Herbert Engleheart, English pastor and plant breeder, was born.

Like Gilbert White, George Herbert Engleheart was a gardener and a pastor.

In 1889, George began breeding daffodils - some 700 varieties in his lifetime. Sadly many of them have been lost to time, but we know that some survived.

Fans of 'Beersheba,' 'Lucifer,' or 'White Lady' owe a debt of gratitude to Reverend Engleheart. Engleheart spent every spare minute breeding, and his parishioners would often find a note tacked to the church door saying, "No service today, working with daffodils."

Engleheart's charming note reminds me of the little notes that gardeners hang on their porches or somewhere on their front door saying something sweet, like, " in the garden." And if you don't have one of those signs, you can grab a little chalkboard and a little twine And make your own.

1905 On this day, David Fairchild, the great botanist, married Marian Graham Bell, the dau...