The Garden Blog

Winter and the sacred lotus

Posted on by andy.winfield
By Matt Philpott, Botanic Garden
trainee
Late summer seems like a lifetime ago now the days are short and we’ve seen the first frosts of the season. But, if I cast my mind back to the first time I stepped into our tropical glasshouse this summer, as a shiny new trainee….I wiped clean my foggy glasses and was immediately blown away by the stunning Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), in full flower in the pool. The vibrant colours and sheer height of the flowers looked stunning against the backdrop of green foliage in the glasshouse. (more…)

Native American foods

Posted on by andy.winfield
By Claire Cope

Having worked as a trainee at the Botanic Garden for nearly two years I am now coming to the end of my time with the garden. I have learned more than I thought possible to learn in just two years, have gained my RHS qualifications, have had the opportunity to work with an amazing range of plants and have acquired a huge amount of practical horticultural experience. Best of all, I have had the opportunity to work alongside some very wonderful people who have shared their knowledge and passion with me and have made me feel very welcomed into this beautiful community. (more…)

The Garden blog

Posted on by andy.winfield
By Andy Winfield
Here at the Botanic Garden we’ve decided to take a slight change of direction on the blog; while there will still be science based items, there will be much more about the day to day running of the Garden and various experiences of the small team who work here. There may be items from volunteers or staff and the subject matter will be diverse, you will be surprised at the areas of life plants take us. (more…)

The new Australian display

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Helen Roberts

The newly established Australian display is thriving at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden. This new area has been developed over the last year few years with the aim of introducing visitors to the captivating flora from the Mediterranean climatic region of Western and Southern Australia. The new display is part of the strategic plan for the Garden and follows on from the creation of the Mediterranean and southwest South Africa zones (N Wray 2017, personal communication, 27th July). (more…)