Today we celebrate the woman who has been called the greatest painter of plants and insects who ever lived and the birthday of a man who is remembered in the name of one of the most ubiquitous garden plants. We'll learn about an Austrian-American plant explorer who grew to feel his “real” home was in China, and we’ll learn about today’s tradition: Plough Monday - the first Monday after the 12 days of Christmas. Today’s Unearthed Words feature sweet poetry from a little-known woman who lived in Concord Massachusetts; she was a suffragist, animal rights activist, and American poet. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps us turn our gardens into a sanctuary for restoration and healing. I'll talk about a simple garden item that serves a great purpose and looks great with a simple terra cotta pot, and then we’ll wrap things up with an article from the 1930s about how to propagate a popular houseplant through air layering. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Curated Articles Around the World in Rare and Beautiful Apples - Gastro Obscura Here's a post about William Mullan, who takes gorgeous photos of Rare and Beautiful Apples. His images will open your eyes to the wider spectrum of varieties of the fruit known as apples.   The giants of Cornell - Cornell College Here is an excellent post - actually, it's a "Tree-tise." Professor of History Catherine Stewart visited eight trees on the hilltop at Cornell College & wrote about each- imagining what they might tell us if they could speak. Her words appear with each tree. Catherine's post features the Cottonwood, the Redbud (Cercis spp.), the Blue Spruce, Larches, Magnolia, Ginkgo, and White Ash.  Here's one of her entries. It is for the Blue Spruce: Botanical name: Picea pungens ("Pie-SEA-ah PUN-gins"). Locations: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is west of King Chapel. A second blue spruce that has been noted for its size is in front of Armstrong Hall. Identification: The blue spruce has a pyramidal shape with horizontal, dense branches with sharp blue needles. The bark is silver, grey, and brown with vertical scales. Known for: Providing homes to wildlife in the winter. Then Catherine writes: Most likely to assist you with time travel if you look long enough, and lean in, and breathe in the elixir of its scent. Take a moment and "Tree-t" yourself - by reading this wonderful article.   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, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events 1717   Today is the anniversary of the death of the naturalist and botanical illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian. She was born on April 2, 1647. As a frame of reference, Isaac Newton was only a few years older than her. Unlike Newton, Merian’s work was largely forgotten over time. However, during the past century, her work has made its way to us. In 2011, Janet Dailey, a retired teacher, and artist from Springfield, Illinois, became so captivated by Merian’s life story that she started a Kickstarter campaign to follow Merian’s footsteps to the mecca of her best work - Surinam, in South America. And, in 2013, Merian's birthday was commemorated with a "Google Doodle.” Merian would have delighted in our modern-day effort to plant milkweed for the Monarchs. The concept that insects and plants are inextricably bound together was not lost on Merian. In her work, she carefully noted which caterpillars were specialists - the ones that ate only one kind of plant. (You can relate to that concept if your kid only wants to eat Mac and cheese; Hey - they aren't picky - they're specialists.) For centuries, drawings like Merian's were a holy grail fo