Are you a fan of basil? A few years ago, I produced an entire long-format show about basil for the Still Growing podcast. It was Episode 573, and I called it Basilmania. At one point or another, we’ve all needed an introduction to basil and to pesto.  So, if you’ve never grown basil, or smelled basil, or tasted it, or cooked with basil - I want to introduce you to it. I’d love it if someday you look back and say - yeah that Basilmania episode on Still Growing - that’s what made me want to give basil a try.  If you're an experienced basil gardener, you also it because I take you through some of the amazing varieties of basil - just know that there are over a hundred - (and I give you some ideas for what you can do with them).   From a growing standpoint, I share how to grow it from seed, how to propagate it (it’s so easy - its insane), offer some basic cultivation tips, and provide answers to some common questions about problems folks can have growing basil. I also tell you about harvesting and storing all of your green gold - your basil leaves. And then I wrap up with my favorite part of growing basil - eating it. I’ll share my pesto tips and give you some pretty amazing recipes that may or may not incorporate pesto. Whew! So, check it out on my blog or on your favorite podcast player just search for the word Basilmania (SG573) and the Still Growing podcast episode should pop right up.  Brevities     #OTD It's the birthday of Benning Wentworth who was born on this day in 1696.   Wentworth was the colonial governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766.   Wentworth is important to North American gardeners, because Wentworth had brought the lilac along with other trees and shrubs when he immigrated to America from England.   In 1750, the first lilac was planted at the Wentworth home. In 1919, it was adopted as the New Hampshire State Flower because lawmakers felt it was,  "symbolic  of the hardy character of the men and women of New Hampshire; the granite state."     #OTD  It's the birthday of one of the man who created the Missouri Botanical Gardens also known as "Shaw's Garden," or "Hank's Garden" - I'm talking about none other than the great Henry Shaw who was born on this day in 1800. Shaw is easily in the top ten of any list of great American botanical philanthropists.   Shaw is commemorated on the St. Louis Walk of Fame with this epitaph: Henry Shaw, only 18 when he came to St. Louis, was one of the city’s largest landowners by age 40. Working with leading botanists, he planned, funded and built the Missouri Botanical Garden, which opened in 1859. Shaw donated the land for Tower Grove Park and helped with its construction. He wrote botanical tracts, endowed Washington University’s School of Botany, helped found the Missouri Historical Society, and gave the city a school and land for a hospital. Of Shaw’s gifts, the Botanical Garden is best-known. Said as early as 1868 to have “no equal in the United States, and, indeed, few anywhere in the world." In addition to the Botanical Garden, Shaw built the Linnean House in 1882. It is the oldest continuously operated public greenhouse west of the Mississippi River and was originally designed to be an orangery; a place to overwinter citrus trees, palms and tree ferns. And, there's a little story I love that reveals Shaw's regard for the plants in his garden.  It was posted in the St. Louis Star and Times on April 5, 1933 "Mr. Shaw was escorting a lady through his gardens, pointing out objects of interest. The visitor said: " I cannot understand, Sir, how you are able to remember all of these difficult names." He replied, with a courtly bow, "Madame, did you ever know a mother to forget the names of her children? These plants and flowers are my little ones." #OTD Today in 1938, The Miami News posted an article about pigeon peas. The article begins this way,  "If English peas don't suit your palate, plant pigeon peas. The suggestion is that of a Miami pioneer,