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Category: Gardening

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How Community Gardens Can Save America: Book Talk and Lecture, May 19

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

LaManda Joy wants to inspire everyone she meets to grow their own food. She is an author, national speaker, award winning master gardener, and considered the “Best Urban Farmer in Chicago.” Her rallying cry “We can grow it!” recognizes the influence of the past while invigorating the American can-do spirit to create a positive future. …

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The Plant Hunters

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Today’s post is authored by Constance Carter, head of the science reference section. Connie has written for Inside Adams before- see her posts on Presidential Food, Presidential Wheels, Civil War Thanksgiving Foods,  Food Thrift, the Chocolate Chip Cookie, LC Science Tracer Bullets, and her mentor Ruth S. Freitag. Plant hunters were adventurous, passionate, and innovative. They were …

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The President and the Parsnip: Thomas Jefferson’s Vegetable Market Chart (1801-1808)

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Today’s post is guest authored by Julie Miller, historian of early America in the Library’s Manuscript Division During most of his two terms as president of the United States, (1801-1809) Thomas Jefferson carefully compiled a chart recording the seasonal appearances of fruits and vegetables in Washington’s market. This seems like a funny way for a president …

Photograph of young African American students gardening at a rural school.

George Washington Carver and Nature Study

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Today’s post is guest authored by Michelle Cadoree Bradley, a science reference specialist in the Science, Technology, and Business Division of the Library of Congress. She is also the author of the blog post, “Stumbled Upon in the Stacks, or the Chimp in my Office.” …a very large part of the child’s education must be …

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‘Tis the Season for Squash

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Once Autumn hits the Northern Hemisphere we begin to see a plethora of gourds, such as pumpkins and squash, popping up all around our towns and homes. We use them as decorations to signify the season, as well consume them in pies, casseroles, and even beverages! Squash and pumpkins are angiosperms (flowering plants) and part …

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Stinky Flowers

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

As the world was on royal baby watch there was another arrival that folks have been waiting for here in D.C. (and perhaps the world as well) – the blooming of the Sumatran (Indonesian) Amorphophallus titanum (titan arum) a.k.a. the corpse flower or stinky plant at the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG). Like the arrival of …