Every now and then, plants can surprise you.   In this case I’m talking about more than just a beautiful bloom or general survival. I’m talking about variations that could lead to exciting new varieties. This topic was covered in the newspaper out of Richmond Indiana on this day in 1938.   Here’s what it said:  "Black Hull Wheat - the wheat that increased production by millions of bushels in the Southwest - came from just one plant discovered in his wheat field by Earl Clark in Sedgwick county, Kans. The Wayzata ever-bearing strawberry came from just one plant discovered in a patch of June-bearing strawberries in Hennepin county, Minn. And, John Brown discovered an entirely new kind of watermelon - and a dandy - in his melon patch in White county, Illinois. Keep your eyes open."     Brevities   #OTD  It was on this day that the German botanist and internationally-regarded landscape architect Ludwig Winter was born.   Winter taught Karl Forrester - of Karl Forrester grass fame - when he came to visit him in Italy.  Early on, Winter was drawn to exotic plants.  When he began gardening in Italy he experimented with them. Instead of letting them go crazy or turn into a jungle, Winter's tropical gardens were very controlled and created a scene.    Winter's reputation is inextricably bound to palm trees and Palm Gardens became symbolic of the seaside resorts along the Italian Riviera. Ultimately, Winter’s contribution was making exotic plants accessible to all gardeners, not just to the wealthy.   Winter also created new concepts in the marketing of nurseries. Winter came up with the idea of using nurseries to permanently exhibit plants. This would help his clients imagine the end result of garden designs and to promote various schemes that could  be replicated in the clients garden.   Winter's best gardens were created along the Italian Riviera - some exist still today.   When Monet saw the area, he wrote:  "Water, flowers, and poetry merge into a musical harmony of colors that my eyes have never met…. In addition, to paint certain landscapes you should have a palette of gems and diamonds. It is wonderful."       #OTD  It was on this day in 1854 that two years of simple living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts was shared with the world in the form of a book; Henry David Thoreau's Walden was published. It was Henry David Thoreau who said:   ”The question is not what you look at, but what you see."    "Gardening is civil and social, but it wants the vigor and freedom of the forest and the outlaw."      #OTD   Today, in 1869, the explorer John Wesley Powell named an area of the Grand Canyon after his botanist George Vasey. Known as Vasey’s Paradise,water spills out from the north rim of the Grand Canyon into the Colorado river. It’s a spectacularly beautiful waterfall.   A year earlier, in 1868, during Powell‘s preliminary expedition, Vasey had accompanied him and collected a large number of plants. Vasey returned to Illinois where he became the curator of the Illinois State University Natural History Museum and ultimately the chief botanist of the USDA.    Here’s what Powell wrote in his about Vasey's Paradise, on August 9, 1869:   "The river turns sharply to the east, and seems enclosed by a wall, set; with a million brilliant gems. What can it mean? Every eye is engaged, everyone wonders.    On coming nearer, we find fountains bursting from the rock, high overhead, and the spray in the sunshine forms the gems which bedeck the wall.    The rocks below the fountain are covered with mosses, and ferns, and many beautiful flowering plants.    We name it Vasey's Paradise, in honor of the botanist who traveled with us last year."       #OTD Today is the birthday of the Belgium botanical illustrator, Helen Durand, who was born on this day in 1883. After taking classes in art and botany, Durand worked full-time in the garden of the royal Belgian Institute.   Durand was meticulous and her work as an artist.   Once she spent more than 105 hou