Preparing the pool for Victoria

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By Nicola Temple

Each year at the Botanic Garden, the pool in the tropical zone glasshouse is drained of two thirds of its water and prepared for a new growing season of water-dwellers. The most dramatic of these, is without a doubt, Victoria – the giant water lily. The enormous round leaves, spanning as much as six feet (~2m) across, provide a floating habitat for insects that crawl from leaf to leaf, while anacondas and piranha lurk in the waters beneath. Penny Harms is the Glasshouse Coordinator at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden and she spoke to me this week about what’s involved with providing these native South American giants with the best habitat possible in a northern temperate climate. (more…)

Pondlife

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By Andy Winfield

As I always say, I love water, I couldn’t live without it… pause for laughter…🤦 Water is a life giver; in its primordial soup days it was the catalyst for all organisms.  Deep down I think we all, one way or the other, have a fascination with bodies of water, from the biggest ocean or lake to a small rockpool or garden pond, we all can while away time watching the world within a world. Our Botanic Garden pool is no different, a captivating show full of skilled performers at the top of their game. (more…)

Pollinator walk with Steven Falk

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September 5th and 6th would have been our Bee and Pollination Festival which had to be postponed this year. So, we asked Steven Falk, national expert on all things pollination, to take a walk around the Botanic Garden and see what we would find. Here is the results, we hope you enjoy watching it as much as did making it.

 

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…)