Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee    Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community   Historical Events Happy Earth Day - a celebration that started in 1970.   1812 On this day, Mary Russell Mitford (books by this person), the English writer and poet, wrote to Sir William Elford, an English banker, politician, and amateur artist. In her letter, Mary wrote, I place flowers in the very first rank of simple pleasures, and I have no very good opinion of the hard worldly people who take no delight in them.   1832 Birth of Julius Sterling Morton (books about this person), American newspaper editor, Secretary of Agriculture, and father of Arbor Day. In 1867, after moving west from Detroit, J. Sterling and his wife Caroline were shocked by Nebraska's treeless landscape. Together, they conceived of a day to promote tree planting. The original proposal to the agricultural board of Nebraska was for a “Sylvan Day” - to promote forest trees. In Latin, “sylva” means "wood" or "forest." And Sylvanus was the Roman god of woods and fields. But, J. Sterling decided that a broader celebration of all trees was in order, and he proposed “Arbor Day.” The first Arbor Day on April 10, 1872, was an overwhelming success - with over a million trees planted in frontier Nebraska. Arbor Day quickly became a national holiday - celebrated on April 22 to honor J. Sterling Morton's birthday. Nowadays, Arbor Day is generally celebrated on the last Friday in April in the United States. Arbor Day 2022 will occur on Friday, April 29th. Despite his many professional and honorable appointments at the state and federal levels, J. Sterling considered Arbor Day the ultimate accomplishment of his life. In 1923, the beautiful Morton family home, known as Arbor Lodge, and the surrounding property were gifted to Nebraska. Today Arbor Lodge is a historic state park. It was J. Sterling Morton who said, Other holidays repose upon the past; Arbor Day proposes for the future.   1839 Birth of August Wilhelm Eichler, German botanist. Wilhelm developed one of the first widely used natural plant classification systems to reflect evolution. In addition, he divided the plant kingdom into non-floral plants and floral plants. Wilhelm worked tirelessly as a private assistant to the naturalist Karl Friedrich Philipp von Martinus. When Karl died, Wilhelm continued working on Karl's Flora Brasiliensis. It was a labor of love, but it was still unfinished. And after Wilhelm died, botanist Ignatius Urban continued with the project until its completion. Today, Wilhelm Eichler Strasse (Street) in Dresden is named in Wilhelm’s honor. It was Wilhelm Eichler who said, The felling of the first tree is the beginning of human civilization.  The felling of the last is his end.   1946 Birth of Midas Dekkers (books by this author), Dutch biologist, and writer. A beloved children's book author, Midas has written over fifty children's and young adult books. In his book about "the way things fall apart -- about the inevitable ruin of everything from bodies and works of art to ideals and whole societies," called The Way of All Flesh: The Romance of Ruins, Midas wrote, It’s a sign of wisdom that seeds don’t squander their energy all at once, instead calmly waiting until the time is right. Seeds aren’t stupid.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The First Mess Cookbook by Laura Wright This book came out in 2017, and the subtitle is Vibrant, Plant-based Recipes to Eat Well Through the Seasons. To review the book today, I had to run over into my kitchen about 15 steps away and grab my dog-eared copy of The First Mess.  I love this cookbook. If you're looking to totally revamp the way you cook, if you want to make plants the star of most of the dishes you're making- especially in the summertime- you need to get a copy of Laura Wright's The First Mess Cookbook. It's a beautiful, beautiful book. It actually looks