After a hard day at work, battling with childcare or coping with the normal stresses and strains of everyday life, what could be more relaxing and enjoyable than spending the evening touring the Botanic Garden with an experienced, enthusiastic and knowledgeable garden guide? Come rain or shine there will be plenty to see. Tours are […]

This four-day course running during September and October will be linked with themed workshops, covering the different stages of botanical painting and drawing; suitable for both beginners and more advanced students. Sharpen up your pencils to improve your drawing skills, working from observation of different plant specimens. Explore different watercolour techniques of wet and dry […]

The greening of Ascension Island UPDATE: Please note that there is an error in the Autumn 2023 Friends' Newsletter, and this event will take place on Thursday 21st of September, and not the 14th as originally posted. Additionally, it will be held in the Frank Lecture Theatre, not the Tress. The Friends of the University […]

Why are the whitebeams in the Avon Gorge a wonder? Whitebeam, Sorbus avonensis, over the Avon Gorge Just what is it about Bristol’s amazing Avon Gorge that gives us 5 species of whitebeam which grow here and nowhere else in the world? Discover the answers in the Botanical Gardens with curator Nick Wray, and then […]

Join Tom Leonard, aka Daisy Desire the Drag Queen Gardener, someone who brings “the couture to your manure”. Tom Leonard is a trained horticulturist from Warwickshire, who happens to have a passion for drag. After a break up in 2019 he decided to get an allotment, where his love of gardening grew (and so did […]

Help make a proper Bristol Cider!  More apples than you can use? Donate them to be part of our local cider project and enjoy a free cider!  Apple Day aims to reduce wastage of garden apples, bringing together the community and The Cider Box taprooms for this one-day event here at the University of Bristol […]

This is a one-day course to introduce and develop understanding of bryophytes and to develop skills in their identification. It is aimed at beginners. The number of species in this group and the apparent similarity between many of them can make them daunting for a novice. The terminology itself can seem impenetrable. However, this course […]

A special fundraising lecture for the Friends' Education and Training Fund An evening with Adam Frost Join Adam Frost as he shares his life in gardening, starting out with his grandparents, then an apprenticeship in the Parks Department, time spent with Geoff Hamilton, and his story of the Chelsea Flower Show and how he ended […]

We welcome Elisabeth Cooper back to Bristol to tell us more about arctic plants, the challenges facing them, and arctic ecosystems in these times of change. Elisabeth is a Bristolian, living and working in the Arctic. She is a Professor of Plant Ecology at the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø and has many years […]

Simon Pugh-Jones Simon Pugh-Jones has travelled widely across the tropical world and led the Writhlington School Orchid Project in Radstock for 30 years before retiring and setting up his own nursery with his wife, Annie, on Portland.  Many Friends and visitors will have met Simon at the Botanic Garden, notably exhibiting their orchid collection during […]

An unusual chance to enjoy the Botanic Garden on a winter weekend. Wintersweet, Chimonanthus praecox, a welcome sight and smell in the Garden in December. A tour of the garden and glasshouses will run on the following date: Sunday February 25th 11.00am Please note the Garden is open only for the tour, and will not […]

CHANGE OF DATE AND LECTURE Please note the AGM and lecture will take place on Wednesday 20th March, rather than the previously advertised date of Thursday 21st March Wednesday 20 March 2024 Annual General Meeting at 7pm followed by the Lecture at 7.30pm The Annual report for the year ending 31 December 2023 will be […]

The 48th Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday 20 March 2024 at 7pm at the Frank Theatre, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL  followed by a lecture by Dr Chris Thorogood at 7.30pm. The Committee will present the financial report for the year ending 31 December 2023 which is available here. Any queries regarding the accounts should […]