Today we celebrate the botanist who discovered photosynthesis. We'll also learn about the Linnean Society Librarian, who was a botanist and explorer in his own right. We’ll remember the judge who created a new kind of berry. We hear a long-forgotten verse about a rose and a raspberry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about smart gardening in harsh, dry places. And then we’ll wrap things up with adorable instructions about how to make a sugarplum tree out of pine cones.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to “Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast.” And she will. It's just that easy.   The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf.   Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org.   Curated News Italy's Olive Trees Are Dying. Can They Be Saved? | National Geographic | Alejandra Borunda    Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there’s no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community where you’d search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events  December 8, 1730 Today is the birthday of the Dutch physician, physiologist, and botanist Jan Ingenhousz (“ENG-in-house”). Jan made one of the most significant botanical discoveries in history: photosynthesis. Jan served as the personal physician to the royal Habsburg family in Austria. In 1771, Jan traveled to England with a group that included Benjamin Franklin. During their trip, the group called on Joseph Priestley, who had just made his own impressive discovery: that plant leaves absorb and emit gases. Eight years later, Jan wrapped up his work with the Habsburgs and moved his family to England. In a fascinating turn of events, Jan started testing his ideas about plants in the same laboratory that Joseph Priestly had used - at Bowood House. Jan extended Priestley’s work by adding light as a variable to his experiments. When Jan’s plants were placed underwater in a clear container, Jan exposed them to darkness and sunlight. In the dark, only a few bubbles appeared on the plant. A more exaggerated reaction occurred when Jan’s plants in the tank were placed in the sun: lots of little bubbles appeared on the leaves’ undersides. Jan learned that the bubbles made in sunlight contained oxygen, and the bubbles made in darkness contained carbon dioxide. Jan had proved photosynthesis.   December 8, 1800  Today is the birthday of the Scottish botanist, naturalist, and explorer David Don. David grew up in a family with five brothers and one sister. His father, George Don, was a nurseryman. The Don’s provided plants to botanists and supplied produce to the people living near their nursery. In 1802, David’s father became Superintendent of the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens. Both David and his older brother, George Jr, became botanists. As a young man, David moved to London and became a fellow of the Linnean Society. One of David’s first jobs was as the botanist Aylmer Bourke Lambert’s personal librarian, and Aylmer had an extraordinary personal library and herbarium. This job helped David become the Linnean Society librarian - a position he held for almost twenty years. At the age of 35, David became the first Professor of Botany at Kings College in London. Shortly after starting his professorsh