Category: horticulture

Gardening keeps us grounded

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Helen Roberts

Sir David Attenborough once said:

Connect with Nature in any way you can. Contact with the natural world isn’t a luxury – it is actually a necessity for all of us. All we know about the natural world gives us pleasure, delight, expertise, continuous interest throughout the year – joy on many occasions and solace on sad ones. Knowing about the natural world and being in contact with it is the most precious inheritance that human beings can have.

Even containers in small spaces help make a
connection with nature.

It is the word ‘connect’ that is so fundamentally important in a world that often feels to many people fraught, pressured and tiring. In the ever-stressful environments that humans have to confront, be it at work or home, working in gardens for many is a tonic and a way to reconnect with the landscape. For many it brings peace, a space in which to reflect and feel restored. The physicality of gardening is not only good for the body, it is good for the soul too. (more…)

Sowing Victoria

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Nicola Temple
A photo taken a couple of years ago – I have a grasp on my son as he leans over into the tropical pool to get a good look. Victoria cruziana is in flower as is the lotus above us. Photo credit: Shelby Temple

For me, one of the highlights at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden is the giant waterlily (Victoria cruziana) that lives in the pond in the tropical glass house. Its enormous leaves, which can reach 2 metres in diameter, are studded with spines on the underside and always provide ample wow factor for visiting children (my own included). (more…)

Seed sowing at the Botanic Garden

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Helen Roberts

Last month I met up with Penny Harms, Glasshouse Co-ordinator at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden to explore the many different plants they grow from seed. At the end of May the garden staff were nearing the end of a mammoth seed sowing frenzy in preparation for the summer ahead, but Penny explained that seed is continuously sown throughout the year depending on a particular plant’s germination requirements. (more…)

Plants that work together

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Helen Roberts

As we roll into spring, gardeners eagerly collect packets of flower and vegetable seed to plant in their gardens. I have my disorganised pile of seeds ready and waiting, nestled in their respective packets, overflowing out of a tin stored on my kitchen dresser. Random seed that I have gleaned from gardens over the course of the year can be found in bags and random pockets. (more…)