23 min

March 8, 2021 Build an Affordable Grow Light System, André Michaux, William Roscoe, Getting Wisteria to Bloom, Floral Libations by Cassie Winslow, and Charlotte Wheeler-Cuffe The Daily Gardener

    • Home & Garden

Today we celebrate a French botanist and explorer who became an accomplished botanist after losing his wife.
We'll also learn about the man remembered in the late spring/summer-flowering genus Roscoea (ross-COE-ee-uh), which includes extremely fragrant herbaceous perennials in the Zingiberaceae “Zin- jah-bah-RAY-see-ee" or ginger family.
We hear an excerpt from a delightful book about pruning wisteria - if you have a wisteria in full sun that hasn’t bloomed - you can thank your pruning regimen for that.
We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about floral cocktails. Cheers to that.
And then we’ll wrap things up with a little story about a female botanist and botanical illustrator known to her family and friends by her nickname: Shadow.
 
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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 Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org
 
Curated News
Build an Affordable Grow Light System | Fine Gardening | Carol Collins
 
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
March 8, 1746
Today is the birthday of the French botanist and explorer André Michaux.
Most people think of André Michaux as the accomplished old botanist, but I always prefer to recall the beginning of his story because that’s what set him on his course.
André grew up on a royal farm in Satory south of Versailles. His father trained both he and his brother in horticulture, and after his father died, André carried on at the farm. André married a prosperous farmer’s daughter from a nearby farm named Cécile Claye. Within a month after marrying, Cécile became pregnant. And a month shy of their first wedding anniversary Cécile delivered a son, Francois-André, and later in life, André named an oak in his son’s honor.
Tragically, Cécile died after the delivery of their only son, which plunged André into depression. Yet mercifully, the decade after Cécile’s death ended up accelerating André’s horticultural learning and development. First, his friend, the naturalist Louis-Guillaume Le Monnier, persuaded André to work with exotic plants that needed study and acclimation to France’s weather. Then, André started studying with the great botanist Bernard de Jussieu at Versailles and in the Royal Botanic Garden in Paris. And then, André began starting to travel to collect plants.
In 1786, André was asked to go to North America, and he brought his 15-year-old son François-Andre along with him. André’s mission was to establish a botanical garden in America and send specimens back to France. In quick fashion, André established his nursery on the property that the Charleston Area National Airport now occupies.
Today, as you leave the Charleston airport, you’ll notice a stunning mural that honors Andre and his son. The mural was installed in 2016. In one panel, Andre-François and his father are depicted in the potager or kitchen garden. The

Today we celebrate a French botanist and explorer who became an accomplished botanist after losing his wife.
We'll also learn about the man remembered in the late spring/summer-flowering genus Roscoea (ross-COE-ee-uh), which includes extremely fragrant herbaceous perennials in the Zingiberaceae “Zin- jah-bah-RAY-see-ee" or ginger family.
We hear an excerpt from a delightful book about pruning wisteria - if you have a wisteria in full sun that hasn’t bloomed - you can thank your pruning regimen for that.
We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about floral cocktails. Cheers to that.
And then we’ll wrap things up with a little story about a female botanist and botanical illustrator known to her family and friends by her nickname: Shadow.
 
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 Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org
 
Curated News
Build an Affordable Grow Light System | Fine Gardening | Carol Collins
 
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
March 8, 1746
Today is the birthday of the French botanist and explorer André Michaux.
Most people think of André Michaux as the accomplished old botanist, but I always prefer to recall the beginning of his story because that’s what set him on his course.
André grew up on a royal farm in Satory south of Versailles. His father trained both he and his brother in horticulture, and after his father died, André carried on at the farm. André married a prosperous farmer’s daughter from a nearby farm named Cécile Claye. Within a month after marrying, Cécile became pregnant. And a month shy of their first wedding anniversary Cécile delivered a son, Francois-André, and later in life, André named an oak in his son’s honor.
Tragically, Cécile died after the delivery of their only son, which plunged André into depression. Yet mercifully, the decade after Cécile’s death ended up accelerating André’s horticultural learning and development. First, his friend, the naturalist Louis-Guillaume Le Monnier, persuaded André to work with exotic plants that needed study and acclimation to France’s weather. Then, André started studying with the great botanist Bernard de Jussieu at Versailles and in the Royal Botanic Garden in Paris. And then, André began starting to travel to collect plants.
In 1786, André was asked to go to North America, and he brought his 15-year-old son François-Andre along with him. André’s mission was to establish a botanical garden in America and send specimens back to France. In quick fashion, André established his nursery on the property that the Charleston Area National Airport now occupies.
Today, as you leave the Charleston airport, you’ll notice a stunning mural that honors Andre and his son. The mural was installed in 2016. In one panel, Andre-François and his father are depicted in the potager or kitchen garden. The

23 min