John Bartram S Garden

Originally Aired: November 10, 1937 Cavalcade of America #108, "John Bartram S Garden," In colonial Pennsylvania, a Quaker farmer named John Bartram experiences a profound awakening while plowing his fields. As his wife Mary brings him lunch, John becomes fascinated by the intricate design of the daisies he's been turning over with his plow for years without truly seeing. Determined to understand the natural world around him, he visits his friend Mr. Campbell's bookstore in Philadelphia, only to discover that the best botany books are written in Latin. Undeterred, Bartram teaches himself Latin in just three months and becomes captivated by the scientific work of Linnaeus. Despite Mary's protests, John purchases five acres to create an ambitious botanical garden that will showcase plant life from across the colonies and beyond. He begins building a stone house by moonlight after his farm work is done. After Mary's death in 1727, John remarries Anne Mendenhall and continues his pioneering work. His correspondence with English botanist Peter Collinson faces challenges as rats and insects damage precious shipments crossing the Atlantic, but Bartram perseveres in his mission to catalog America's botanical treasures.