It is no surprise that seed companies and nurseries grew after 1870 when suburbs spread around the perimeters of large cities. Patrice M. Tice in her book Gardening in America 1830-1910 wrote that the number of men employed as seedsmen,…
Garden flowers familiar to generations - We all love garden annuals like lobelia and asters in the summer garden. Such annuals, and many like them, have been part of our flower gardens for centuries. Why is it that every garden…
Flower gardening began mid nineteenth century - Just finished reading the book Handy Book of the Flower-Garden by English horticulturist David Thomson, editor of The Gardener journal. Thomson wrote the book in 1876. He makes the argument that flower gardening…
Darwin's research on earthworms - All gardeners treasure the soil, or at least try to do so. Both the goal and the reward as you can see from this photo is wonderful, healthy soil. Photo by Kyle Ellefson on Unsplash One way to…
Victorian Flower Fashion - American gardeners fell in love with annuals after 1850 during the Victorian period. The use of perennials in the garden re-emerged by the end of the century. They became stylish through the encouragement of English garden…