Today we celebrate a man who was an avid gardener and a friend of John Bartram's, and we learn about the founder of bacteriology and modern microbiology. We'll learn about The impact of Wardian Cases on plant exploration and the American playwright who designed her own garden on her estate. Today’s Unearthed Words feature winter poems from the author of Anne of Green Gables. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a memoir from a modern scientist whose unique commentary on the natural world challenges our thinking, our responsibilities, and our actions. I'll talk about new tech to help you listen to podcasts - no matter where you are, and then we’ll wrap things up with a moving editorial about Skunkweed. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Curated Articles Ruskin Elwood by Fieldwork | HomeAdore You guys - this is still quite the house. Aside from the seamlessness with nature - check out the hidden bar, the light fixtures, the bathroom - basically all of it! This original three-story residence designed in 2017 by Fieldwork is situated in Melbourne, Australia.   Feed birds in winter: best food to choose - The English Garden What should you feed birds in winter? Now is the time of year when gardeners can expect to see lots of visiting birds in their gardens. Great post from @tegmagazine Kate Bradbury: "Birds need fat, and plenty of it: peanuts, suet, and sunflower seeds are ideal, while grated cheese, chopped apples, and cake-crumbs help ground-feeding species such as the song thrush and wren."   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 1735Today Peter Collinson wrote to John Bartram after receiving Skunk Weed (Symplocarpus foetidus). My good friend, John Bartram: I am very sensible of the great pains and many toilsome steps [you took] to collect so many rare plants scattered at a distance. I shall not soon forget it; ...in some measure to show my gratitude… I have sent thee a small token: a calico gown for thy wife and some odd little things that may be of use amongst the children and family. They come in a box of books… with …. waste paper which will serve to wrap up seeds, etc [You cannot believe] how well the little case of plants survived the [journey], being put under the captain's bed, and not [exposed to any] light [until I received them]. The warmth of the ship [caused] the Skunk-weed to put forth two fine blossoms - very beautiful - it is of the Arum genus. As I hope to make a present of part of the seeds, to a very curious person, Lord Petre, I hope to procure thee some present for thy trouble of collecting. I am thy very sincere friend, P. Collinson. Skunk Weed was one of Bartram’s favorite flowers. It is also known as Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), and it’s a low growing wetland or marsh plant from eastern North America. The bruised leaves of Skunk Weed release a fragrance reminiscent of Skunk. The botanist William Niering wrote about the odor of Skunk Cabbage in the National Audubon Society's Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: "It's strong, and fetid odor resembles decaying flesh." Skunk Cabbages are thermogenic, meaning they have the ability to generate temperatures up to 15–35 °C (27–63 °F) above the surrounding air temp so that it thaws the frozen ground and snow as it grows in the early spring. Thanks to its ability to thermoregulate, Skunk Cabbage emerges out of the earth and looks like a little teepee of leaves. Inside that teepee, the Skunk Cabbage is warm and working on sending up a bloom. Once it does - on a 42-degree day - you can reach under the hood of a Skunk Cabba