Today we celebrate the birthday of the English Statesman who created “Garden walks” and the birthday of a man who is remembered by Muhly grass. We'll learn about the man memorialized by a plant name that misspells his last name, and we'll also learn about the disastrous freeze for Florida growers that happened in the mid-1980s. Today’s Unearthed Words feature poetry and quotes that teach the lessons we can learn from winter. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that shares terrific essays on the benefits of gardening. I'll talk about a garden item that can definitely come in handy for gardeners, and then we’ll wrap things up with the story of a botanist who recognized that new species can always be discovered, even in areas previously explored. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Curated Articles The Wardian case: Botany game-changer | Kew From @kewgardens The Wardian case: Botany game-changer: It's incredible to think that the Wardian case was invented by British doctor and amateur naturalist Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward in 1829 by complete accident...   Gardens: Winning ways for winter Oodles of great tips for designing a Winter Garden from Anglesey’s assistant head gardener David Jordan: One of Jordan’s favorite combinations is the shaggy-barked paperbark maple teamed with the variegated evergreen shrub Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaiety’ and the pink, scented blossoms of Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn.’ At Anglesey, the euonymus is cloud-pruned in summer to create a sinuous shape, but as Jordan points out, “It has adventitious roots, so you could grow it up the walls of a house and have it as a backdrop.” Jordan also recommends the crab apple tree Malus ‘Evereste’ as a centerpiece to a winter border. “You get long, persistent fruit, and you can underplant with dogwood in red or orange that works with the color of the fruit. Underplant with snowdrops, then daffodils, and this takes you through to May when you get the flowers – that gives you a long window of interest.” The winter garden recipe runs something like this: a tree with colorful or tactile bark – try Tibetan cherry (Prunus serrula), paperbark maple (Acer griseum) or Arbutus unedo, the strawberry tree – acts as an anchor for the rest of the planting; then add a mid-level shrub with scented flowers, colored stems or attractive leaves (dogwoods, euonymus, daphnes, viburnums or sarcococcas); finally, there’s the option of a low-growing ground cover (snowdrops and hardy cyclamen, or foliage such as bergenias or pulmonarias).   Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There’s no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events 1561 Today is the birthday of the English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon. Francis wrote a splendid essay called “Of Gardens.” The essay contains many quotable thoughts on gardening - although the opening line is the most quoted. “God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures. It is the greatest refreshment to the spirits of man; without which, buildings and palaces are but gross handiworks; and a man shall ever see, that when ages grow to civility and elegancy, men come to build stately sooner than to garden finely; as if gardening were the greater perfection. I do hold it, in the royal ordering of gardens, there ought to be gardens, for all the months in the year, in which several things of beauty may be then in season.” In 1606, Francis introduced “Garden Walks” as a concept at Gray's Inn field. Bacon lived at Gray’s Inn, and during that time, the Inns were putting gates and fencing around their land to provide greater privacy and security