Today we celebrate a woman who was once the wealthiest woman in England, and she happily spent a fortune on plants. We also celebrate the man who transformed his family farm into a glorious garden. And, we'll learn about the Oxford professor who is remembered by a flower known as the "Jewel of the Desert."  Today's Unearthed Words feature thoughts on winter. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that will help you develop a botanist's vocabulary. I'll talk about a garden item you can buy that I use all the time. And then, we'll wrap things up with some sweet February folklore. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Curated Articles Penelope Hobhouse wins Lifetime Achievement Award | @TEGmagazine Bravo for Penelope Hobhouse - awarded the 2020 Society of Garden Designers (SGD) Lifetime Achievement Award! Past winners: Piet Oudolf, Beth Chatto & Christopher Bradley-Hole. The award recognizes her outstanding contribution to landscape & garden design. Get inspired & grow with her many books on garden design & garden history.   Fertilizer Numbers: What They Mean and How to Use Them to Grow Better Excellent Comprehensive Post on Fertilizer @savvygardening @JessicaWalliser Know Your Numbers: What they mean and how to use them to grow better! NPK stands for "nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium," the three nutrients that comprise complete fertilizers. The description of the fertilizer may not expressly say "NPK," but you will at least see a series of three numbers. How do plants use N, P, & K? Nitrogen promotes shoot & leaf growth. Adding it to a green, leafy vegetable plant, such as spinach or lettuce, makes sense. Phosphorous generates fruit, flower, & root production. It's great for root crops, like beets, carrots, and onions, as well as for encouraging flower and fruit production. Potassium affects a plant's heartiness and vigor.   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 1715  Today is the birthday of the British aristocrat, naturalist, plant lover, and botanist Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, Duchess of Portland. Her family and friends called her Maria. Maria married when she was 19 years old. Together, she and William Bentinck had five children; one of their sons became prime minister twice. When William died after their 27th anniversary, Maria threw herself into her many passions. As the wealthiest woman in England, Maria could acquire virtually any treasure from the natural world - and she did. She cultivated an enormous collection of natural history, which was tended by two experts she hired to personally attend each item: the naturalist Reverend John Lightfoot and the Swedish botanist Daniel Solander. Maria's home in Buckinghamshire was referred to by society as the hive - it was the Hub of activity for Solander and Lightfoot and the other people who helped process her acquisitions. At one point, Maria had reached out to Captain James Cook and had secured some shells from his second expedition to Australia. Daniel Solander was focused on cataloging Maria's massive shell collection but sadly left to the work unfinished when he died in 1782. Maria had an enormous appetite for curation and collecting. In addition to her Botanic Garden on her property, Maria opened a zoo, kept rabbits, and had an aviary. A constant stream of scientists, explorers, socialites, and artists visited her to exchange ideas and to inspect her collections. And, think about the limitless ambition she must have had as Lightfoot wrote that Maria wanted, "Every unknown species in the three kingdoms of nature described and published to the w