New Friends of the Botanic Garden talks

In March the Friends of the Garden begin a new series of informal talks to complement their evening winter lecture programme.

These will be held on Wednesdays at the Botanic Garden, in the Knoll House. The format will be informal, with the opportunity to ask questions, have discussions and socialise over refreshments with other visitors.

Topics will include scientific research, conservation, travel, horticulture and the arts, reflecting the role of botanic gardens in promoting learning within a scientific, recreational and cultural mix.

We hope that these talks will prove popular, and easy for visitors to get to. Parking is available on Glebe Road and visitors can enter the Knoll through the main door off the driveway. Non-members of the Friends are welcome too (£2 each).

Refreshments will be served in the Knoll before and afterwards. Booking is not necessary.

The talks will begin on Wednesday 25 March at 10.30am (see below). Thereafter, the talks will take place on the first Wednesday of each month. The first talk is:

Fields of flowers – a visit to western Sichuan, China  – by Dr Mary Walmsley

Some of the great plant hunters of the 19th and 20th centuries travelled in China and in particular in Western Sichuan, from where they brought back to Europe a range of exciting new plants. This illustrated talk will show a variety of plants in their native habitats, high in the mountains, in a region adjacent to Tibet. This proximity to Tibet means that many of the people share the Tibetan culture and this is shown in the appearance of their houses and religious buildings.