Category: horticulture

A day in the life of a WRAGS trainee…

Posted on by andy.winfield

Matt Croucher, a Work and Retrain as a Gardener Scheme (WRAGS) trainee, talks to Helen Roberts about working at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden, what first got him interested in botany and his aspirations within the horticultural profession.

I met up with Matt mid morning in the potting up area of the Garden. He was delicately placing seed into pots to supplement what is already planted in the ballast seed garden, an area for which he has sole responsibility. As he carried on with the task at hand, I asked him what first drew him to study horticulture, having previously come from a background in website design. (more…)

Botanic gardens: places of research, education and beauty

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Nicola Temple

There are an estimated 3,400 botanic gardens around the world, many of which are associated with universities or other research institutions. This association with research institutions can give the impression that these gardens, Bristol’s own Botanic Garden included, are primarily research oriented and not particularly appealing to the public – nothing could be further from the truth.
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We’re gardenin’ in the rain

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Helen Roberts

 
It has been unbelievably wet since the start of 2014 with England experiencing it’s wettest January since records began over 100 years ago. The Somerset levels have suffered dreadfully and huge areas are still underwater and are likely to remain so for weeks or even months to come. From where I live, on the Mendips, I have far-reaching views over to Glastonbury Tor and the Quantocks and the area of levels in between looks like the vast inland sea it once was. In most other areas, the ground is completely saturated and in some places water is bubbling up to the surface. (more…)

‘Tis the season of seed cleaning

Posted on by andy.winfield
Weeks ago, Nick suggested I come in on a rainy day to the garden as there was lots of seed cleaning going on in the potting shed. Then it didn’t rain for three weeks. Defeated by the glorious Autumn weather we’ve had, I phoned Froggie, and asked whether I could come in to learn about seed washing…yes, that’s right, I said “washing”. I’m such an amateur! However, Froggie was kind and  refrained from laughing at me and just said, “we don’t really wash the seeds unless they have a particularly fleshy covering”. (more…)