Did you know that the most popular giant hosta is Empress Wu?   At maturity the plan is 5 feet tall with an 8 foot spread.   Pictures don't really do the Empress Wu hosta justice. Because of its size and fast rate of growth, Empress Wu demands soil that is consistently moist but not soggy.   Empress Wu was bred by Brian and Virginia Skag out of Lowell, Indiana. On February 23, 2010, they finally received their patent for the impressive Empress Wu hosta.           Brevities   #OTD   It was on this day in 1799, the Scottish botanist David Douglas was born.    Douglas was responsible for the identification over 200 new plant species in North America including the famous Douglas-fir.   Douglas never received a formal education, and he was primarily a plant collector rather than a published scientist.   Despite his lack of formal training, Douglas sent more plants to Europe than any other botanist of his time.   During his expeditions, Douglas was often accompanied by his little Scottish terrier named Billie.   Douglas's career ended tragically in 1834 when he was killed while exploring in Hawaii.   There is a memorial to Douglas and Honolulu which says:   "Here lies Master David Douglas - an indefatigable traveler. He was sent out by the Royal Horticultural Society of London and gave his life for science."   And on the second bronx tablet there is a quote by Virgil:   "Even here the tear of pity springs, And hearts are touched by human things."         #OTD   Today is the anniversary of the death of the landscape gardener and botanist William Robert Guilfoyle, who died on this day in 1912.   Guilfoyle was the architect of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne.   It took Guilfoyle over 35 years to transform the Botanic Gardens into what is now is widely accepted as one of the world's greatest botanical landscapes.   When the author of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, saw the garden, he said it was absolutely the most beautiful place he had ever seen.           #OTD   It's the anniversary of the death of Nathaniel Lord Britton; an America botanist and taxonomist who died on this day in 1934.   Britton married the famous brylogist Elizabeth Gertrude Knight. Together, they used Kew Gardens in London as their inspiration for the New York Botanical Garden.   Britain and the botanist Joseph Rose named Regina Carnegiea in 1908 as a tribute to his philanthropy.   In obituary of Britton, botanist Henry Rusby shared this charming anecdote:   "Attracted one day, by the beauty of some drawings that lay before him, I inquired as to their source. When told that he, himself, was the artist, I asked in astonishment, 'Can you draw like that?'  'Of course,' he said. 'What you suppose I did all that hard work in the drawing class for?'"         #OTD  And it was on this day in 1903 that the author George Orwell was born.   Over the past few decades Orwell's diaries have been made public. Across from his entry for October 3, 1946, there is a map for a fruit and vegetable garden. Orwell hoped to set up a small farm on the property, that he called Barnhill, on the island of Jura.   In reality, Orwell's health was not good when he was on the island. Before he arrived, he had actually received a diagnosis of tuberculosis. Working in the vegetable garden was considered good for him because, at that time, being in fresh air was considered part of the treatment for tuberculosis.   The last entry in his diary is for December 1949. It reads:   “Snowdrops all over the place. A few tulips showing. Some wallflowers still trying to flower.”       Unearthed Words Here are some quotes from George Orwell:   "Outside my work the thing I care most about is gardening, especially vegetable gardening."    "The plant is blind but it knows enough to keep pushing upwards towards the light, and it will continue to do this in the face of endless discouragements."   “So often like this, in lonely places in the forest, he would come upon something--bird, flower, tree--be