Today we celebrate living virtually - we can tour one of the world’s greatest museums - which opened on this day in 1759. We'll also learn about a man who endeared himself to his countrymen when he published a book about the plant life found within sixteen miles of his hometown. We’ll hear some thoughts on identifying wildlife in the winter garden. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a beautiful book that’s full of incredible wisdom from a seasoned gardener and stylist. And then we’ll wrap things up with the story of the woman who wrote about her garden and called herself the commuter's wife.    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 How to Grow and Care for Spirea Shrubs | The Spruce | Les Engels   Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original 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 January 15, 1759 On this day, the British Museum opened. The British Museum was founded in 1753 when Sir Hans Hans left his entire collection to the country of England. At first glance, a personal collection doesn't sound worthy of starting a museum. But over his lifetime, Hans ended up becoming a one-person repository for all things relating to the natural world. Hans outlived many of the explorers and collectors of his day, and as they would die, they would bequeath him their herbariums and collections. So when Hans passed away, he practically had become the caretaker of the world’s Natural History, aka the British Museum. Today the British Museum is the largest indoor space captured by Google Street View. Google mapped the museum in November of 2015, and so it's now available online to all of us. So, today if someone asks you what you’re doing, you can say, "I'm going to tour the British Museum. What are you up to?"   January 15, 1786 Today is the birthday of the British shoemaker and amateur botanist Richard Buxton. Born into poverty in Lancashire, as a young boy, Richard enjoyed picking his favorite wildflowers: Germander Speedwell, Creeping Tormentil or Cinquefoil, and Common Chickweed. Now, although it has pretty deep blue flowers, I think it's a little funny that Richard picked Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys "kam-EE-driss") because the blossoms wilt quickly after picking or cutting them - which is how it got the ironic common name "Männertreu" in Germany. "Männertreu" means "men's faithfulness."  As for Creeping Tormentil or Cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans) - today, that plant is considered a lawn weed. And a clue to the medicinal power of this invasive plant is its name: Potentilla, which means "powerful, despite its small size."  Finally, all species of Chickweed are in the genus Stellaria. And, the adorable little chickweed blossoms resemble carnations, which makes sense because chickweed is actually a member of the carnation family, Caryophyllaceae ("kair-ee-off-il-AYE-see-ee"). And before we get back to Richard's story, there's another great thing to know about Chickwee