May is monstrous, in a good way. An unstoppable surge of green enveloping everything, gunnera leaves fighting their way from the earth like zombies and the croziers of tree ferns unwinding like the kraken from sea water. This beast like energy is on our side, scaring away spring and winter back to the past where it now belongs, the power of nature is never felt more intensely. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “there is potent blood in modest May”. (more…)
The Garden is open again and we’re all looking forward to seeing visitors back, and they’ll be back in time to catch the optimism of spring throughout the displays. Tulips in the Mediterranean, magnolias in the family beds and ruffled new leaves clambering out of buds and stretching into action. They’ll also see carpets of flowers that we didn’t plant, they were here before the Botanic Garden and maybe before whatever was before the Botanic Garden; they’re Anemone nemerosa otherwise known as wood anemones. (more…)
by Alice Maltby, Voluntary Marketing and Publicity Officer, University of Bristol Botanic Garden
Sculpture is alive and well during lockdown. Behind closed doors, the kilns have still been busy firing up; stained glass scored, cut and soldered; bronze statues polished and ideas for new prototypes conceived.
While most of their shows have been cancelled and the sculptors have missed the interaction with their audience, much of an artist’s life is a solitary one, so they have been able to use their time creatively.
Hopefully we shall see their new ideas next Easter (2022). However if you are racking your brains because you cannot find the ideal present, have a look at the sculptors’ websites. (more…)
After winter, the ground slowly wakes up in increments; snowdrops and hellebores in January, crocus in February. By March we’re looking up at magnolias and cherries, down at daffodils and forward to longer days and warmer temperatures. The old spring favourites quicken our heartbeat, but I’m going to talk about an understated gem at the Botanic Garden. This is a plant that I look forward to seeing every year; you could easily walk its path without noticing, as it produces flower low to the ground while everyone is looking elsewhere. One of those plants that when you’ve seen it one year you look out for it again, until it becomes like greeting an old friend who always seems happy to see you. (more…)
