Today we celebrate the Indiana botanist remembered in a particular species of Red Oak (Quercus rubra). We'll also learn about the Red-Pole - one of the smallest birds in the finch family. We’ll recognize the French flower breeder remembered for his work with the Lilac (Syringa vulgaris). We hear a poem about the Winter garden from a man known as The People’s Poet. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about growing perennials - but not ornamentals. This book is all about perennial edibles for your garden. And then we’ll wrap things up with the story of a man known as Little Flower.   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 Brazil's Amazon: Deforestation 'surges to 12-year high' | BBC News   Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts 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. 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 11, 1843  Today is the birthday of the Indiana physician, naturalist, and botanist Jacob Schneck. Jacob loved plants. He had a special passion for trees, and he spent as much time as he could in the field botanizing. And for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Jacob put together a collection of various types of wood for an exhibition. Once while he was out botanizing, Jacob's observation and general cleverness allowed him to see a distinctive feature in a species of Red Oaks. To confirm his suspicions, Jacob shared his discovery with a fellow botanist named Nathaniel Lord Britton. Britton agreed with Jacob, and to recognize his discovery, Britton named the oak in Jacob’s honor, calling it the Quercus Schneckii(ii = "ee-eye"). Today, most people just call it the Schneck Oak. Jacob died at the age of 63.  Newspaper accounts indicated Jacob had been battling pneumonia but as a physician, he had still gone out on horseback to tend to his patients. Jacob's efforts probably cost him his life. It's no wonder that Jacob's funeral was reported to be the largest ever held in Mount Carmel, Illinois. Jacob's obituary said, “No man in Wabash county had endeared himself to so many people as had Dr. Schneck. Year after year he had gone about in our midst, quietly doing his great work for humanity, turning away now and then to investigate some scientific question, especially in the realm of botany, his favorite study, and one in which he had acquired a national reputation.” After Jacob died, his collection of specimens, stones, shells, and fossils was displayed at the Carnegie public library in 1934. When he was alive, Jacob spent a great deal of time fashioning cases and containers to display his collection. Each specimen was labeled in Dr. Schneck’s impeccable handwriting.   December 11, 1855 On this day, Henry David Thoreau wrote about walking through a spruce swamp and stumbling on a flock of Lesser Redpolls (“Red-Poles”). These little birds are some of the smallest in the finch family. Lesser Redpolls are small and brown with red foreheads. If you’ve ever stumbled on a flock of birds enjoying berries