Today we celebrate the botanist who was also a spy during WWII. We'll learn about the German photographer who saw artistic inspiration in his close-ups of plants. We'll hear some prose about winter, We Grow That Garden Library with a book that offers us 100 tips for Growing a More Glorious Garden.  I'll talk about a sweet little gift of bling for your indoor pots and containers, and then we’ll wrap things up with the woman who became the beautiful face of a produce company. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.   Here's Today's Curated Articles:   Will I Ever Call Sansevieria by Its New Name? - The Houseplant Guru by Lisa Steinkopf Goodbye Sansevieria trifasciata... Hello, Dracaena trifasciata!   The Royal Society- Microscopic Blue Mould @royalsociety This beautiful illustration is actually a microscopic view of blue mold growing on leather. The original (1665) appears in Micrographia: or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses with observations and Inquiries thereupon, by Robert Hooke. Penicillium expansum is commonly known as Blue Mold. Blue molds are the bluish fungus that grows on food. Most people are familiar with the blue molds on some cheeses...   Substituting Herbs| @RosaleeForet “What herbs can I use instead of ________?” Great post from @RosaleeForet At first, it may seem like a simple question. But the reality is, herbal substitutions are more complicated than that. You need to know how to think about them first.”    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 on Facebook. So, there’s no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.     Here Are Today's Brevities: #OTD On this day in 1855, it was starting to snow on Walden Pond, and Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal: “At 8.30 a fine snow begins to fall, increasing very gradually, perfectly straight down, till in fifteen minutes the ground is white, the smooth places first, and thus the winter landscape is ushered in.  And now it is falling thus all the land over, sifting down through the tree-tops in woods, and on the meadow and pastures, where the dry grass and weeds conceal it at first, and on the river and ponds, in which it is dissolved. But in a few minutes, it turns to rain, and so the wintry landscape is postponed for the present.”   #OTD Today is the birthday of Peter Smithers, who was born on this day in 1913. Sir Peter Smithers, was a British politician and diplomat, but also an award-winning gardener. He worked as a British spy during World War II. Smithers was said to have inspired the fictional character of James Bond. His obituary stated that: "Flowers were ... important to him. [He said] "I regard gardening and planting as the other half of life, a counterpoint to the rough and tumble of politics."   Smithers learned to love the natural world from his nanny. When he was in his 50s, that Smithers was finally able to focus on horticulture and botany fulltime. Smithers loved rhododendrons, magnolias, tree peonies, lilies, and wisteria. He developed a garden that didn't require a ton of work - along the same lines as Ruth Stout. He wrote: “The garden is planted so as to reduce labor to an absolute minimum as the owner grows older.”    Thanks to Smither's travels, the Royal Horticulture Society asked Smithers to write his gardening memoirs. The book was a part-autobiography and part-garden book. Smithers had observed gardens in England, Mexico, Central America, and Switzerland. Smithers shared stories from his incredible career - like the time he was serving in naval intelligence in Washington when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. And, George Coen commented, "[Smithers is] as comfortable talking about [his career] as he is in explaining