Browse our list of upcoming events, or use the month view to look ahead.
If you are searching by date, use the format DD/MM/YYYY and select 'Find Events'.
Past Events
Events List Navigation
All about seeds – family workshop
Join Julie Henderson for a fun exploration of seeds this Easter! This workshop for children and parents will look at many different seeds and some of the plants they come from. You’ll find out what they are for, how they were made and how they spread around. You'll also have a go at planting some seeds in a pot which you can bring home with you, and learn how to help them grow into lovely new plants. Price £5 per…
Find out more »All about seeds – family workshop
Join Julie Henderson for a fun exploration of seeds this Easter! This workshop for children and parents will look at many different seeds and some of the plants they come from. You’ll find out what they are for, how they were made and how they spread around. You'll also have a go at planting some seeds in a pot which you can bring home with you, and learn how to help them grow into lovely new plants. Price £5 per…
Find out more »Easter sculpture festival
Greek gods, tagelmust attired Tuareg musicians from the Sahara, a bronze fox skulking across the grass, swirling multimedia figures, stunning stained glass creations and bronze and marble sculptures based on Buddhist prayer wheels are all waiting to welcome the visitor to this year’s Sculpture Festival. Now an established event in the South West arts and gardening calendar, this year’s Festival features more sculptors than ever before, working in a wide range of different materials. The Botanic Garden provides a unique…
Find out more »Intermediate photography
This one day workshop will help you build on an existing knowledge of your camera functions. Graham Parish will show you manual focusing, Auto Focus modes, Metering modes, White balance, Bracketing, Histograms and Monochrome. You will take this information and put it into practice in the Botanic Garden. By the end of the day you will have learnt how to further improve your photos by using some of the more advanced features on your camera. You'll have an understanding of…
Find out more »Eight week drawing course – Appreciate nature with pencil and paper
Eight week drawing class on Wednesday mornings, led by Sheena Vallely. With Spring firmly established and Summer on it’s way, there can’t be a better time to experience drawing outdoors and in the Botanic Garden. Each morning, with attention to form, shape, colour and scent, drawing exercises will be carried out in a different part of the garden. This is a course for people new to the group as well as for those who wish to continue to draw. All…
Find out more »Introduction to plant propagation
An introduction to the exciting world of propagating plants. The tutor Julie Henderson will guide you through the various methods of creating new plants. You will learn the principles behind plant propagation with a general overview of the basic types of propagation for the average gardener; including seed collecting and sowing, division, layering and the various types of cuttings, including some houseplants. The practical session will focus on what is suitable for the time of year, but the skills you…
Find out more »Peony study day
With medicinal uses and many layers of symbolism Peonies are one of the most important plants in Chinese culture. The new peony garden here at the Botanic Garden is the first stage of a planned Chinese Culture Garden, an extension of the Chinese Herb Garden; this opening is to celebrate the fruitful partnership between the University of Bristol, the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine and the Bristol China Bureau as founders of the Chinese Culture garden. Throughout the day there…
Find out more »The IsamBards’ Botanic Verses – two poetry walks
The IsamBards are four Bristol-based poets who, from time to time, collaborate on site specific poetry projects. These have included Brunel’s Bristol and The Clifton Suspension Bridge. Three of the original IsamBards, Pameli Benham, Deborah Harvey and David C Johnson, are delighted that prize-winning poet, Dominic Fisher, has joined them for this botanic adventure. Pameli Benham is a Londoner now happily settled in Bristol. She is an actor and director who sings with Gasworks Choir, dances, gardens and makes jam,…
Find out more »Seasonal gardening – make the best of your garden in time for summer
Expect an informal and supportive atmosphere with lots of opportunities to discuss aspects of the garden that are relevant to the coming gardening season. This might range from pruning and propagation to lawn maintenance. Christine Pritchard will introduce you to a range of plants that will make your garden more beautiful every summer. We will concentrate on the decorative aspects of your garden so we will not cover fruit or vegetable production. The aim is to make every gardening season…
Find out more »Landscape masterclass
Low-input, high-impact gardens and landscapes — by Professor Nigel Dunnett Planting Design is a complex art form. In this masterclass we will take a deeper look at natural plant communities, learn about Professor Nigel Dunnett’s design philosophy, and his pioneering approach to new ecological planting design for public spaces and gardens. The masterclass will comprise of three sessions: Introduction: why naturalistic planting design? ‘Reading Nature’: 10 principles of naturalistic planting design derived from the way that plants grow in the wild A planting design methodology…
Find out more »Rare native plants of the Avon Gorge
Enjoy a collection of original paintings and drawings by local botanical artists which record the rare and endangered plants of the Avon Gorge. The artists are Annie Morris, Jenny Brooks, Anne Girling, Andrea Pomroy, Erica Thomas and Fiona Williams. They were all Friends of the University of Bristol Botanic Garden and at the request of the Curator, Nicholas Wray, undertook to record the rare and endangered plants grown in the conservation zone of the Botanic Garden. The skill of botanical…
Find out more »Outdoor drawing evening – Western Herb Garden
Drawing on a summer evening is possibly the most satisfying way and time of day to appreciate and enjoy the colour and form and scent of the gardens. Based on the design of a Renaissance physic garden, this collection makes a perfect starting point for this series of drawing evenings (all drawing materials are provided). Sheena Vallely trained at Liverpool College of Art and at Camberwell College of Arts, London. Now living in Bristol, she leads Pupgroup and is Senior…
Find out more »National Garden Scheme open day
The National Garden Scheme open day returns to the Botanic Garden in July this year where you can see the Garden in all its summer glory. The NGS has been running since 1927 initially to support district nurses; there are now over 3500 gardens across the country open as part of the scheme which last year raised £3.1 million for nursing and health charities. Here at the Botanic Garden there will be tours, displays, plant sales, refreshments and, fingers crossed,…
Find out more »Outdoor drawing evenings – The Evolution Dell
Drawing on a summer evening is possibly the most satisfying way and time of day to appreciate and enjoy the colour and form and scent of the gardens. The treacherously sharp bladed cycad and the monkey puzzle are two of many highly evolved plants we will be studying with pencil and paper on this evening in the Evolution Dell (all drawing materials are provided). Sheena Vallely trained at Liverpool College of Art and at Camberwell College of Arts, London. Now…
Find out more »Jazz concert
The Blue notes and Hannah Wedlock return to the Garden for our summer evening Jazz concert. This is a favourite evening with many and a wonderful way to see the Garden as the summer sun sets and the melodic Jazz drifts over the plants with the bees and butterflies. Bring a picnic and low seating or a rug and take a drink of pimms, wine, beer or a soft drink from our bar which opens at 6pm; music starts at…
Find out more »Join an inspiring special tour of the Garden with the Curator, Nicholas Wray. Enjoy hearing about the new South African Rondaval and the exciting tea garden. Then, experience the secret treasures of the Amazon rainforest in the exotic glasshouses; enjoy enchanting orchids, bromeliads and a magical world of tropical food and medicinal plants. Come rain or shine there will be plenty to see. Tours are an excellent opportunity to hear updates of the innumerable new developments and also learn about…
Find out more »Family Big Butterfly Count; how to identify common butterflies
Butterflies are a big part of summer and essential pollinators in the garden. Join Maggie Moss from Butterfly Conservation and learn how to identify common butterflies; armed with this information you can take part in the Big Butterfly Count and help butterfly conservation in the UK. This is a two hour drop in event open to all ages and particularly aimed at families; no ticket necessary just turn up, adults pay the usual entry fee; children, all students, UoB staff …
Find out more »Sun printing for children (under 12s)
Come along and try out the vintage process of sun-printing with Sophie Sherwood; its a fun, quick, chemical free photographic process, and one of the oldest techniques of printing. You'll be briefly introduced to the plants in the Garden before getting stuck into the sun-printing process and, at the end of the session have some of your own sun-prints to share with family and friends. Price £10 per child and one free adult. This workshop is suitable for children up to 12 years old.…
Find out more »Sun printing for children (under 12s)
Come along and try out the vintage process of sun-printing with Sophie Sherwood; its a fun, quick, chemical free photographic process, and one of the oldest techniques of printing. You'll be briefly introduced to the plants in the Garden before getting stuck into the sun-printing process and, at the end of the session have some of your own sun-prints to share with family and friends. Price £10 per child and one free adult. This workshop is suitable for children up to 12 years old.…
Find out more »Herb walk with Chris Roe
A guided walk through the herb garden looking at which herbs can safely be used to support and treat each major system of the body. You will look at the major classes of medicinal action in herbs, how they work in each system, and how they relate to the taste and substance of the plant. Chris Roe was trained at the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine and has his own medicinal herb garden in the North of Bristol from which…
Find out more »