Today we celebrate one of the first botanists to explore South Carolina and a German botanist who met his end during the 1841 Expedition to Niger.  We'll learn about the man who discovered why the sky is blue, and one of Australia's top garden designers, in addition to the monument to one of Australia's greatest botanical collectors. We'll hear some thoughts on the birds of winter and, we Grow That Garden Library with a book that helps us become a seed starting and saving champion. I'll talk about my favorite brand for wooden plant labels (the come in a pack of 60!) and then we'll end today with a garden club story out of Davenport Iowa. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.   Today's curated articles: Branching Out: The Arborists Behind (and in) Central Park’s Trees - The Official Website of Central Park NYC I think that I shall never see... a team as lovely as @centralparknyc Arborists!   Bookmark this Great Post w/ A+ Video ~ Meeting the Arborists Behind (and IN) Central Park’s Trees!   As we talk to kids about careers, Arborist needs to be on the list!       Dahlias -Overwintering Dilemmas | Bramble Garden Hi Dahlings! Here's a great behind-the-scenes post with advice and tips from @kgimson on Dahlias:   “I’ll take basal softwood cuttings when shoots are 1″ tall...Cuttings will make good size tubers and will flower in one season.”         Plantlife: Mission to save gin plant Juniper a recipe for success | @Love_plants   This is great news for Junipers and a fascinating post.   "No wonder the English ‘gin plant’ is under threat - the battle really begins at birth.   Juniper seeds require two winters before they even germinate and seedlings then require very specific conditions to grow.   If they survive childhood, it takes another 10 years or more before these ‘teenagers’ mature and begin producing those lovely gin-flavored berries.”   I'll never look at gin the same way!     Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck- because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There’s no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.       Brevities #OTD On this day in 1788, Andre Michaux made his way from Georgia into South Carolina by crossing the Tugalo River. In his journal, Michaux wrote: "At dawn, I went to look at the banks of the river and I recognized the yellow root, [a new species of rhododendron], mountain laurel, hydrangea, [and] hemlock spruce. . . ." Harvard's Charles Sprague Sargent concluded this moment was significant because it was the first time that Michaux laid eyes on the Rhododendron minus. Rhododendron minus grows naturally in Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama along streams and rocky ridges.   Four years after first seeing it, Andre Michaux described the Rhododendron minus in detail. He called it the minus meaning smaller, due to the size of its leaves as compared to Rhododendron maximum.       #OTD  On this day in 1841, the German botanist Theodore Vogel was laid low with dysentery. Vogel was botanizing in Niger (“nee-ZHER") after joining the Niger expedition in May of that year. By August, Vogel recorded the hardships of traveling by naval warship in his journal: "As soon as I got on board the Wilberforce, my first care was to shift my entire collection, especially the plants gathered since we arrived at Cape Coast Castle. But though I had taken all possible care, much was spoilt and almost everything in a bad state. It has been my lot ... that after endless labor, I could only get together ill-conditioned plants; for dampness and want of room are obstacles impossible to be overcome... I mention this, on purpose, that in case my collection comes into other hands, I may not be accused of negligence.    I have sacrif