Today we celebrate the man who introduced the Monkey Puzzle tree to England. We'll also learn about the prolific plant explorer who was disabled after searching for the regal lily - but he never had any regrets. We hear some words about the 1927 expedition to South Africa. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a beautiful book about dried flowers - something anyone can do. And then we’ll wrap things up with garden design tips from the award-winning designer David Stevens.   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 The Importance of Pioneer Trees for Forest Gardens and Other Purposes | Treehugger | Elizabeth Waddington   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 February 15, 1842 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Scottish surgeon, botanist, and naturalist Archibald Menzies. The famous story about Archibald goes something like this: Once, Joseph Banks sent Archibald on an expedition. At some point, Archibald ended up warmly received in Chile, where he dined with the country’s leadership. During the meal, Archibald was served nuts from the Chile Pinetree to eat as part of the dessert. Archibald ate a few of the nuts, but then he managed to put a handful in his pocket after he recognized that the nuts were actually large seeds. On the trip back to England, Archibald could not wait and he started growing the five precious Chilean pinetree seeds and he managed to get them to grow successfully. Back in England, the evergreen Chili Pine Trees were blessed with a new common name - the Monkey Puzzle tree - after someone remarked that even a monkey would not be able to climb the tree. And Archibald’s unique introduction earned him the moniker “Monkey Puzzle Man.” Sadly, Monkey Puzzle trees (Araucaria araucana "arr-oh-KAR-ee-ah arr-oh-KAN-ah") are considered endangered today. But, like Archibald, gardeners still attempt to grow these curious trees from seed.   February 15, 1876 Today is the birthday of the prolific English plant collector, gardener, botanist, and explorer Ernest Henry Wilson. When the botanist Augustine Henry met with a 22-year-old Ernest Henry Wilson, he wrote to his friend, Evelyn Gleesen, to share his impressions of Ernest after their first visit together: “He is a self-made man, knows botany thoroughly, is young, and will get on.” Henry also shared with Evelyn that he, "would be glad if [Wilson] will continue to carry on the work in China which has been on my shoulders for some years. There is so much of interest and novelty." Later the same day, Henry also reported back to Kew about helping Ernest with his quest: “.... [I wrote] on a half-page of a notebook ... a sketch of a tract of country about the size of New York State [on which I marked the place where I had found the single tree of Davidia involucrata (the Dove Tree or Handkerchief Tree) in 1888. I also provided Wilson with useful information and hints