Today we celebrate a colonial botanist who introduced nearly 200 plants to British horticulture after sourcing them from his good friend John Bartram in America. We'll also learn about the man who mastered growing the Poinsettia and established it as the official plant of Christmas. We’ll hear some wonderful thoughts on the Common Daisy (Bellis perennis) from one of my favorite writers. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about styling your home with botanicals - making your own horticultural haven. And then we’ll wrap things up with the story of a woman who found her way to the best job ever: creating herb gardens.   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 New Year Plant Hunt 2021: Day One | BSBI: Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland | Louise Marsh   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 28, 1694   Today is the birthday of a Fellow of the Royal Society, an avid gardener, and a friend to many scientific leaders in London in the mid-18th century, Peter Collinson. Peter Collinson introduced nearly 200 species of plants to British horticulture - importing many from his friend John Bartram in America. And when the American gardener John Custis learned that Peter was looking for the mountain cowslip (Primula auricula), he happily sent him a sample. Auricula means ear-shaped, and the mountain cowslip is commonly known as a bear's ear - from the shape of its leaves. And the cowslip is a spring-flowering plant, and it is native to the mountains of Europe. Custis also sent Peter a Virginia Bluebell Or Virginia cowslip (Mertensia virginica). This plant is another spring beauty that can be found in woodlands. And I have to say that the blue about Virginia Bluebell is so striking - it's an old fashioned favorite for many gardeners. The Virginia Bluebell is known as lungwort or oyster wort. And it got those rather unattractive common names because people believed the plant could treat lung disorders, and also, the leaves taste like oysters. Virginia bluebells bloom alongside daffodils, so you end up with a beautiful yellow and blue combination in the spring garden - something highly desired and gorgeous. Peter was not the only gardener in search of Virginia bluebells. Thomas Jefferson grew them at Monticello ("MontiCHELLo”) and loved them so much that they were often referred to as Jefferson's blue funnel flowers.  As for Peter, he once wrote, "Forget not me and my garden."  Given Peter’s influence on English gardens, he would be pleased to know that, after all these years, he has not been forgotten. In fact, in 2010, the author Andrea Wulf wrote about Peter in her book The Brother Gardeners: A Generation of Gentlemen Naturalists and the Birth of an Obsession - one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors.    January 28, 1895 Today is the birthday of the nurseryman known as “Mr. Poinsettia,” Paul Ecke Sr. ("Ec