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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 »Bee and Pollination festival
This year’s Bee and Pollination Festival will be the best ever with tours, talks demos, exhibitions, tastings, plant sales; now in its tenth year the event has become an important feature in the south west’s horticultural, beekeeping and wildlife calendar. Demonstrations will range from beekeeping techniques and the workings of a live hive, to learning how to build bee skeps and weave enchanting willow sculptures. As always we will have a full programme of talks by experts in their field,…
Find out more »All about trees
During this workshop you will gain an insight into the wonderful world of trees; how to choose a small tree, how to identify trees around you and the problems and pests that might be associated with caring for them. There will also be a demonstration on how to plant and stake a tree correctly and tips on how to establish a hedge. The Botanic Garden is a perfect setting for this workshop and Roger Mellors, after a working life with…
Find out more »Herb walk with Chris Roe
Many people are becoming interested in foraging for both food and medicine. Learn some of the basic skills in plant identification along with some of the major plant families and some of the key medicinal and edible plants in each family. You will look at common medicinal traits in each family, which plants can easily be found, responsibly foraged and safely used, and some of the more toxic species to be aware of. Chris Roe was trained at the Scottish School…
Find out more »Bristol Open Doors
For one day only as part of Bristol Open Doors you can visit the Botanic Garden for free on Friday 13th September. See giant waterlilies, prehistoric planting and plenty of late season colour. Bristol Open Doors celebrates the past, present and future of our city through a programme of quality events and innovative, one-off experiences, so why not kick start your weekend of discovering Bristol with a trip to the Botanic Garden!
Find out more »All about trees
During this workshop you will gain an insight into the wonderful world of trees; how to choose a small tree, how to identify trees around you and the problems and pests that might be associated with caring for them. There will also be a demonstration on how to plant and stake a tree correctly and tips on how to establish a hedge. The Botanic Garden is a perfect setting for this workshop and Roger Mellors, after a working life with…
Find out more »Curator’s September tour
Sternbergia lutea, the autumn daffodil. 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…
Find out more »Plant hunting in Eastern Anatolia – Timothy Walker – Lecture
Timothy joined the staff of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden in 1980 as a trainee gardener and in 1988 became the Horti Praefectus (director), a post that he held for 26 years until July 2014. He now lectures in plant sciences at Somerville College Oxford. In May 2011 he presented a BBC4 series on the history of botany. He has travelled widely in the UK and Europe, and further afield in search of plants. In addition to working in…
Find out more »Seasonal gardening – make the best of your garden in time for autumn
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. You will also be introduced to a range of plants that will make your garden more beautiful every autumn. 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 »Herb talk – tincture making with Chris Roe
Alcohol is a common medium of extraction for making plant medicine, it both extracts and preserves the medicinal properties of plants. Learn about how to make your own medicinal herb tincture for common complaints, from the most simple method to the more complex. Which herbs give themselves well to tinctures? How do they compare to other types of preparation? How do we assess strength and potency? How does the strength of the alcohol affect the final preparation? During the workshop…
Find out more »Propagation workshop
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 home 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 »Herb talk – Physiology of stress with Chris Roe
What do we mean by stress? What are the signs and symptoms of stress? We will discuss the manifestation of stress in the nervous and endocrine systems. How stress effects the heart and blood vessels, digestive function, the liver and pancreas, the immune system and ourselves? What Herbs and Botanics can we use to help guard against stress? What does temperament tell us about our predisposition towards stress? Finally, we shall look at the role of consciousness in stress. How…
Find out more »Herb talk – Back to our senses with Chris Roe
Mostly when we learn about herbs we rely upon information from a book and we think of their medicinal action in terms of biochemistry. But what can we learn about herbs from our own senses? During this workshop we will look at the 5 tastes and how taste can have specific physiologic effects as well as telling us something about its medicinal action. In the past people believed in the doctrine of signatures that a plant conveyed in its form…
Find out more »The role of Botanic Gardens as a positive force to mitigate against climate change and biodiversity loss
The Botanic Garden and the Annals of Botany are delighted to host Dr. Paul Smith, Secretary General of the world’s largest plant conservation network, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), for this year's Annals of Botany lecture. The mission of BGCI is ‘to mobilize botanic gardens and engage partners in securing plant diversity for the well-being of people and the planet’. Dr Smith has travelled widely, helping to set up botanic gardens and bring people together with a shared interest to…
Find out more »Photography at Twilight workshop with Graham Parish
Sunset and twilight are considered by many photographers to be two of the best times in the day to take pictures. Join Graham Parish and have a look at the reasons why. The first half of the workshop will be in the classroom. We’ll have a look at some twilight images, consider how they were achieved and also consider how we can overcome some of the challenges twilight may present. In the second half we’ll go out and find some…
Find out more »Curator’s tour
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 »The orchid hunter: a summer in search of our tresses and twayblades – Leif Bersweden – Lecture
Leif Bersweden has had a lifelong interest in nature, focusing on plants from the age of seven. He grew up in rural Wiltshire where he taught himself how to identify the local flora and now regularly leads plant identification training courses for The Species Recovery Trust. Leif graduated in biology from the University of Oxford and is now a PhD student at Kew Gardens, where his research focuses on orchid genetics. In a world where an interest in botany is…
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