Take two gardeners.   They grow up learning to garden from the same person.   They read the same books on gardening.   They go to the same gardening workshops.   They tour the same public gardens.   Yet, their gardens will look different from each other. Unique. Gardens are art. They are personal. Remember that the next time you are trying to copy the look of another garden. The difference isn't just topographical... When it comes to your garden: yes, consider microclimates, plant varieties, soil, sun, and so forth.  But also, make sure to add yourself to the list of variables.     Brevities   #OTD Today is the birthday of botanist Count Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini born on this day in 1781.    His second great grandfather was the famous Italian astronomer, Giovanni Domenico Cassini; he discovered Jupiter's Great Red Spot and the Cassini division in Saturn's rings.   By the time Alexander was born, his family had married into French nobility (that's why he was born in Paris). Unfortunately, it was a bad time to go to France. Their Italian heritage and scientific work would not insulate the Cassini's from public resentment as the stage was set for the French Revolution.   Cassini took a decidedly different path than his ancestors. He was the fifth generation in a family of star scholars, so Alexandre is often distinguished from the rest of his family as Cassini V.   Cassini pursued the bar instead of the stars; as in the legal profession. As a lawyer, Cassini worked his way to the highest legal position in France in his time; "President of the Chamber." Like many folks, botany was his hobby; not his day job. It is quite notable that Cassini's botanical accomplishments took place in his off time.   Cassini's heart belonged to the sunflower family (Asteraceae) and he focused pretty much exclusively on the Compositae. It was fitting then, that the genus Cassinia(the sunflower genus) was named in his honor by the botanist Robert Brown. Over two hundred years later, many of Cassini’s detailed descriptions are still valid.   Cassini married his cousin. At the age of fifty, Cassini died of cholera. His father outlived him by thirteen years. Alexandre Cassini was the last of his name; a punctuation mark on the wonderful Cassini legacy.         #OTD On this day in 1807, Lewis and Clark returned a book that they had borrowed from Benjamin Smith and Barton to help them on their expedition.   Before they had started their track, Meriwether Lewishad visited Bartonat his home. Upon leaving, he left with a copy of The History of Louisianaby Antoine le Page.   Lewis memorialized the gesture in the flyleaf of the book. Here's what he wrote: "Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton was so obliging as to lend me this copy of Mons. le Page's History of Louisiana in June 1803.   It has been since conveyed by me to the Pacific ocean through the interior of North America on my late tour thither and is now returned to its proprietor by his friends and obedient servant,   Meriwether Lewis.   Philadelphia, May 9, 1807."       #OTD On this day in 1888 in Delaware, the Peach Blossom was voted in as the State Flower.   Peach blossoms are a beautiful, deep pink color. The blooms appear very early in the year. Frost is always a concern.   The fruit is botanically known as a drupe; It has a fleshy outer layer that covers a hard shell which contains a single seed.   The decision to go with the peach blossom, was prompted by Delaware's reputation as the peach state.   At the time, Delaware was known as the peach state and she boasted orchards containing more than 800,000 peach trees (Prunus persico, a native of China).   Delaware's peach trees were introduced by the Spanish. By the 1600s, peaches were so plentiful, it was said that Delaware farmers fed them to their pigs.   By 1875, Delaware was the country's top peach producer... until the yellows.   The yellows was a blight that destroyed Delaware's orchards. In the late 1800s, Delaware was knocked from the top s