Right now is the perfect time to bring some nature indoors.  Why buy something manufactured to look like nature, when some of the most impactful pieces can be found right in your own garden? I love to bring in some of the bird's nests from my garden. I place them on top of a stack of books, in a crystal bowl or on a bookshelf. They add wonderful, texture and interest to help ground your interior for winter. Adding leaves and berries to ledges and to your arrangements accomplishes the same thing. And, an interesting branch placed on a mantle, suspended from the ceiling or propped in the corner of a room,, adds an attractive seasonal form; a natural element, that costs nothing, but brings a part of the garden, of the woods or the forest, into your home.     Brevities #OTD  Today is the birthday of the Father of Plant Anatomy, Nehemiah Grew, who was born on this day in 1641. Grew was an English botanist and was the first person to illustrate the inner structures and functions of plants in all their wondrous intricacy.    If you've ever seen a Nehemiah Grew drawing, you'll never forget it; you're probably able to spot them a mile away. But, if you've never seen a Nehemiah Grew drawing, imagine an etch-a-sketch drawing on steroids. The lines are impossibly thin. The level of detail is staggering. For instance, Grew's drawings of tree parts cut transversely look like elaborate Japanese fans. This is because Grew was one of the first naturalists to incorporate the microscope in the study of plant morphology.   It was his use of the microscope that allowed Grew to give the first known microscopic description of pollen. Along those same lines, Grew was also the first person to analyze the ridges, furrows, grooves, and pores on human hands and feet. He published his incredibly accurate drawings of finger ridge patterns in  1684. Palm readers owe Grew a debt of gratitude. (Just kidding.... or am I?)       #OTD   Today is the birthday of John Chapman who was born on this day in 1774. You may never have heard of John Chapman, but you've probably heard of his nickname; Johnny Appleseed. Chapman was born in Massachusetts and the street where he was born is now  called Johnny Appleseed Lane. As a young man, Chapman became an apprentice to an orchardist named Crawford. The image most of us have of Chapman, traipsing through the country planting one apple tree at a time is off base. Chapman actually traipsed through the country planting entire apple orchards, then he protected the orchard by building a fence around it, and then arranging a deal with a neighboring farmer to sell trees from the orchard in exchange for shares. It was a genius setup. During his life, Chapman had a special regard for and relationship with Native  Americans who regarded him as a medicine man.  At the same time, Chapman wanted early American settlers to succeed; he often acted as a one-man welcome wagon; showing up at door with a gift of herbs as a gesture of support. For his part, Chapman was an expert in more plants than just apple trees; he was one of our country's first naturalists and herbalists. Chapman used many herbs for healing like catnip, hoarhound, pennyroyal, rattlesnake weed, and dog-fennel. In fact, dog fennel (Eupatorium) was also called "Johnny weed" because Chapman planted it believing it was antimalarial. Whenever you hear Eupatorium, you can deduce that the plant is closely related to joe pye weed. Unfortunately, dog fennel was not a good thing to spread around; it's a noxious weed. The Johnny Appleseed Center on the campus of Urbana University in Urbana, Ohio holds the largest collection of memorabilia and information on Chapmen. In 1999, seedlings from the last-known surviving Johnny Appleseed tree were transplanted into the courtyard around the museum.     #OTD   Today is the birthday of the botanist Oakes Ames who was born on this day in 1874. What a great name for a botanist, huh?  Ames was trained as an economic botanist, but