Category: horticulture

Plant blindness

Posted on by andy.winfield

You may or may not of heard of the term ‘plant blindness’; it’s a phrase that we in the Botanic Garden have been hearing much more of in recent years and will continue to throw around in the future. It refers to the slow shutting off of plant knowledge from generation to generation resulting in an inability to acknowledge plants around us. The simple things that were once common knowledge, such as dock leaves used for nettle stings are becoming bred out of a collective instinct and plants are becoming irrelevant and annoying green things to many people.
I can remember when my eyes were truly opened. I noticed trees that I hadn’t before; as I walked along the street I started looking at the borders and the hanging foliage all around me. Before, I’m not sure what I looked out for in the streets, the pavement or the shops, who knows, but plants for sure changed my life and I see them changing the lives around me at the Botanic Garden. I think I could live to be three hundred and still find something in the plant world that fascinated me. This week I learnt about the incredible relationships between some species of orchid and ants. The ants don’t pollinate the orchid flower but hang around the plant living off an ‘extrafloral’ nectar secreted elsewhere; they then do everything to protect their food source and keep the plant safe. Plants and animals have these delicate relationships that allow both to flourish, and it’s fair to say that ours has become less delicate over the years.
Dandelion seed head
This change in the collective instinct of people has come about through successive generations becoming more urbanised with less plant interaction such as blowing a dandelion seed head, throwing a grass seed dart, eating wild blackberries or sticking cleavers to jumpers; children still do this but there are many who don’t and lose a connection with the plant world. The result of this is that education reduces the amount of plant learning, and in biology courses there is a main focus on the animal kingdom; there is a perceived lack of interest in the plant world. Things have become so bad that the Oxford Junior Dictionary removed words like ‘acorn’ and ‘buttercup’ preferring instead ‘broadband’ and ‘cut and paste’; they were seen as no longer relevant to a child’s life.
University of Bristol Botanic Garden
There is however, a great appetite among young people to be green, to recycle and mend the excesses of the generations that went before them; often students tell me it’s the biggest issue for them and they’d like to make a difference. How is a difference made? I think we can all make a simple difference by introducing plants to friends and relatives, opening eyes to the trees and weeds and the force of life going on around us and under our feet. It could be argued that many of the world’s problems can be solved with plants; forests, food, habitats are all areas that need experts, and while there are many graduates of zoology degrees there are few from plant sciences. This is changing with Universities now offering full plant science degrees; there are many jobs in plant sciences as governments and companies are beginning to see how important it is. Bristol University is launching a plant science degree starting in September 2019 based in the magnificent Life Sciences building with a group of world experts in the field of plant science. Of course, undergraduates will use the Botanic Garden as a second home and have access to all our knowledge and experience, we’re really looking forward to it. If you, a relative, son or daughter are interested click here to view the degree.
We all have a role to play in protecting our relationship with the natural world which can be played by simply talking about the plants we see to people. I’m always disposed to optimism and today’s

young people seem to be committed to green ways; this problem arose through successive generations and perhaps it can be cured in the same way, the passing down of knowledge as we go.

By Andy Winfield

Native American foods

Posted on by andy.winfield
By Claire Cope

Having worked as a trainee at the Botanic Garden for nearly two years I am now coming to the end of my time with the garden. I have learned more than I thought possible to learn in just two years, have gained my RHS qualifications, have had the opportunity to work with an amazing range of plants and have acquired a huge amount of practical horticultural experience. Best of all, I have had the opportunity to work alongside some very wonderful people who have shared their knowledge and passion with me and have made me feel very welcomed into this beautiful community. 


In terms of my horticultural work here at the garden, my favourite part of this last year has been my project to work on the Native American Vegetable display. This included everything from designing the planting lay out, propagating and maintaining the plants, through to harvesting the food and collecting the seeds. Therefore, for this article I want to share with you some of the fascinating information I’ve learnt about this amazing group of plants.

Firstly, I had no idea that so much of our food originated in South America and has

Squash originated in South America and was one
of the ‘three sisters’.

been being cultivated for so many years. Many plants that today we consider as staples such as tomatoes, potatoes, beans, corn, squash, and peppers were originally cultivated thousands of years ago by native civilisations such as the Inca, Maya and Aztec peoples.


In North and Central America, prior to the European invasions, it was the three crops – Sweetcorn, Beans and Squash that formed the foundation of sustainable subsistence agriculture.  These crops became known as ‘The Three Sisters’ and were grown as companion plants where the tall stems of the sweetcorn support the climbing beans, the beans fix nitrogen into the soil to feed the hungry squash which in turn provides a living mulch to suppress weeds and shade the ground for the corn. Unfortunately, due to the differences in climate and the need to protect the corn from the badgers, we weren’t able to replicate this exactly but I made these three plants the centre of the display in order to tell the story of the three sisters and to show how these ancient cultures had devised methods to work with the plants and with natural systems to increase productivity …. Unfortunately, the pesky squirrels feasted on all of our tasty corn kernels but we did get some lovely large squash and lots of purple beans!

Quinoa
The next thing that I found exciting to grow was the more unusual range of plants that were grown in cultivation so long ago but are only just coming into popularity now such as Quinoa. This plant is grown for its grain which is high in protein and was originally domesticated by the Andean people over 3000 years ago! The Incas held this crop as sacred and referred to it as chisoya mama meaning ‘mother of all grains’. We grew two different cultivars of Chenopodium quinoa – The first ’Quinoa’ was the more common form and the second ‘Huauzontle’ is the lesser known and is primarily grown for the immature seed-heads which can be eaten as a vegetable like broccoli. This form grew extremely tall and bushy and by October it was looking very beautiful with its pink- burgundy seed heads.   

There were also plants in this display that were more unusual and some I hadn’t heard

Cyclanthera pedata

of before which have the potential to be incorporated into western food production in the future. For instance – I really enjoyed growing the Cyclanthera pedata ‘Fat Baby’ and ‘Bolivian Giant’. These were vigorous climbers which produced very strange spikey green fruits which tasted just like a cucumber!


Then there were plants that I had always considered as ornamentals which I can now look at in a new light – such as the Dahlias with their edible tubers, Lupins with their edible beans and Nasturtium with edible leaves and flowers.

Some of the cultivars chosen for the display had really interesting stories – for example the beans we grew, Phaseolus vulgaris ’Cherokee trail of tears’, were originally from the native American Cherokee people who were driven out of their homelands by European settlers – a forced march know as ‘Trail of Tears’. This bean was one of their heirlooms which has been passed from generation to generation ever since.


We are now coming to the end of the season and soon the bed will be nearly empty again and ready for the next trainee to start all over again! What a great project to have been given, I have learnt so much and hope that those of you who saw it enjoyed the display!

Gardening keeps us grounded

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Helen Roberts

Sir David Attenborough once said:

Connect with Nature in any way you can. Contact with the natural world isn’t a luxury – it is actually a necessity for all of us. All we know about the natural world gives us pleasure, delight, expertise, continuous interest throughout the year – joy on many occasions and solace on sad ones. Knowing about the natural world and being in contact with it is the most precious inheritance that human beings can have.

Even containers in small spaces help make a
connection with nature. 

It is the word ‘connect’ that is so fundamentally important in a world that often feels to many people fraught, pressured and tiring. In the ever-stressful environments that humans have to confront, be it at work or home, working in gardens for many is a tonic and a way to reconnect with the landscape. For many it brings peace, a space in which to reflect and feel restored. The physicality of gardening is not only good for the body, it is good for the soul too.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week; a campaign set up and run by the charity the Mental Health Foundation. People across the nation will get together to discuss mental health through various activities, events, talks and sharing of stories. The theme this year is ‘Surviving or Thriving’ and seeks to look at why so few people are thriving with good mental health. The lovely illustration depicting this year’s theme is rather apt, it shows a tree or shrub growing through the words ‘surviving or thriving’. Gardening undoubtedly can make you thrive on many different levels and it certainly fulfils at least 8 out of the top 10 tips listed on the charity’s website on how to look after your own mental health.
I have seen the benefits that gardening can have on mental health through my work and teaching in horticulture. It can clearly turn people’s lives around, almost like a reset button to recharge and move positively forwards. It helps to build confidence, a sense of worth and forges new friendships and all of this happening as people begin to develop a lifelong love of gardening.
Gardening keeps you active physically, but once you get the gardening ‘bug’ it is mentally energising too. Gardening is both stimulating and relaxing (unless you are digging out a tree stump) and with it comes either peacefulness if working on one’s own or, if working with others, calm chatter. Some people loathe weeding, but I know of a great many who love it either because they can just concentrate entirely on the task at hand (like a form of horticultural meditation) or they get some good thinking done. I think some of my better ideas for writing have come to me when I have been weeding.
With regards to feeding the body, gardening to grow vegetables often means you eat well and nothing tastes better than home-grown produce. I think that people are more likely to eat healthily if they know that what they are about to eat they have put the effort into producing. As a child growing up with access to a family allotment, I was much more willing to ‘try’ a vegetable if it was something that I had grown. So in that sense it makes people more adventurous in their diet and variety is good for healthy eating.
Many of us do not have gardens big enough to grow our own food, and this could be viewed as unfortunate. But as we turn to allotments and community gardens to grow food, we find opportunities to not only reconnect with the landscape, but with people with whom we share at least one shared passion. It is an opportunity to step out of the digital confines of social media and meet with people face-to-face, or at the very least, work peacefully alongside each other in silent companionship.
One of the truly great things about gardening is that it helps to remove boundaries of age, gender and background; if you have an interest in it, then the margins of society that so often leave us feeling alienated and alone are removed. I personally have gardening friends from all walks of life, ranging in age from their twenties into their eighties. Gardening definitely has no barriers and it can be refreshing to meet people who can offer a different perspective or solution on matters (maybe not even related to horticulture). If you have a passion for gardening then you will find others that feel the same. If you garden because you love doing it, then that in itself will make you feel good, both in body and in mind.
In 2013, a review of all the scientific studies of gardening-based mental health interventions found that there was convincing evidence of its benefits. There were reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety and participants described many different emotional, physical, vocational, social and spiritual benefits. In 2015, the JointCommissioning Panel for Mental Health and the Centre for Sustainable Healthcarereleased a guidance document for commissioners of financially, environmentally, and socially sustainable mental health services. The guidance recommends horticulture therapy as an effective, sustainable and resilient intervention to promote mental health.

Helen Roberts is a trained landscape architect with a background in plant sciences. She is a probationary member of the Garden Media Guild and a regular contributor to the University of Bristol Botanic Garden blog.
Important links:

Sowing Victoria

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Nicola Temple

A photo taken a couple of years ago – I
have a grasp on my son as he leans
over into the tropical pool to get a
good look. Victoria cruziana is in flower
as is the lotus above us.
Photo credit: Shelby Temple

For me, one of the highlights at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden is the giant waterlily (Victoria cruziana) that lives in the pond in the tropical glass house. Its enormous leaves, which can reach 2 metres in diameter, are studded with spines on the underside and always provide ample wow factor for visiting children (my own included).  

The plant is found in slow moving waterways in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia – in places such as the Pantanal. Its pollination story is an interesting one in that it is pollinated by a beetle (Cyclocephata castaneal). Its white flowers give off a strong scent that attracts the beetles in the evening. The flower then closes around the beetles, trapping them in the flower overnight. The flower produces heat (thermogenesis), raising the temperature as much as 9oC above the ambient temperature outside, which means the beetles can maintain a high level of activity without using as much energy. It’s a thermal reward and the plant benefits as the active beetles will pollinate the flower. The pollinated flower opens the next evening, revealing a new light pink colouration to its petals. The beetles flee the flower and make their way to the next unpollinated flower.

Of course, this species of beetle isn’t found in the Botanic Garden, which makes pollination a bit more challenging. However, there are other insects in the Garden that have filled this niche and the plants have set seed over the last few years. However, this is the first year that staff at the Botanic Garden have tried to sow this seed and, so far, things are going well!
The seeds of Victoria cruziana are kept wet.
Photo credit: Andy Winfield

Replicating the natural environment

In its natural environment, the seeds from Victoria cruziana would be buried in the sediments, stirred up perhaps by grazing capybara and swirling river currents. It wouldn’t be until the high water levels following the rainy season had receded that the water temperature and the amount of light penetrating to the sediments beneath would be sufficient to prompt germination.

In the Botanic Garden, botanical horticulturist, Andy Winfield, first primed the seeds by scratching the tough seed coat with secateurs. The seeds were then sown into topsoil and covered with a layer of horticultural grit. The pots with the sown seeds were then placed in a container of water to a level about 10 cm depth above the seed. This replicates the approximate water depth in the natural environment. The water is heated to a temperature of between 30oC and 32oC; this is critical to start the germination process.

Andy scores the seeds with secateurs
before sowing.
Photo credit: Nicola Rathbone

Victoria cruziana grows around the edges of water bodies and in wetland areas where there is no forest canopy. In order to replicate the amount of daily sun it would be receiving in the tropics and sub-tropics, grow lights on a 12h on/12h off cycle were hung above the pots. Then the whole contraption was covered in plastic film to reduce evaporation and maintain humidity.

Andy had read that germination time is generally about 2-3 weeks in this type of scenario, but within a few days he noticed that the seeds were starting to send out roots and when I visited a week after sowing, the hypocotyledonous stems were clearly emerging from the seeds and shooting upwards toward the surface of the water. 

Preparing to plant Victoria out

At the moment, the water temperature in the pool in the tropical glasshouse is only about 14oC, far too chilly for Victoria. In the coming weeks, however, these plants are

likely to grow quite quickly. Andy and the rest of the team at the Garden will pot them on several

times, gradually reducing their water temperature. At the same time, Bristol temperatures will be increasing and the tropical glasshouse will start getting warmer, as will the pool. By the time the Victoria plants have a few decent leaves, the temperatures between the tropical pool and the plants will have become similar enough that Victoria can be put into the planters in the pond.

The annual light intensity here in Bristol is considerably less than Victoria cruziana would receive in South America. However, the long summer days here mean that during those months more solar radiation is received here in a single day than in tropical South America. This helps Victoria cruziana flourish in the Botanic Garden tropical pool over the summer and it will be worth a visit to see it in flower. See the series of photos below taken the day the seeds were sown.

Andy prepares the loamy mix for sowing.
Photo credit: Nicola Rathbone

The seeds are sown into a loamy mix.
Photo credit: Nicola Rathbone

The soil is covered with a horticultural grit.
Photo credit: Nicola Rathbone

The seeds are sown and are ready for immersion
in a nice warm bath.
Photo credit: Andy Winfield
The pots immersed in the warm bath.
Photo credit: Nicola Temple
Only one week after sowing, the embryonic stem
has emerged and is stretching for the surface.
Photo credit: Nicola Temple

Sources:

Seymour, R.S. and Matthews, P.G.D. 2006. The role of thermogenesis in the pollination biology of the Amazon waterlily 
     Victoria amazonica. Annals of Botany 98(6): 1129-35.

Seed sowing at the Botanic Garden

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Helen Roberts

Last month I met up with Penny Harms, Glasshouse Co-ordinator at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden to explore the many different plants they grow from seed. At the end of May the garden staff were nearing the end of a mammoth seed sowing frenzy in preparation for the summer ahead, but Penny explained that seed is continuously sown throughout the year depending on a particular plant’s germination requirements. 
We entered the glasshouses via the potting house, which contains a whole range of pots, growing media and tools for propagation. There are different shaped tampers for firming down compost, and numerous dibbers and widgers to gently prick out seedlings. The growing substrate typically used for most seed germinated at the Botanic Garden is a neutral peat-free compost composed mainly of composted bark, coir and composted green material. 
Penny explained the finer details of the growing media used, “This compost can be altered by sieving out larger chunks for those seeds that require a finer grade tilth, such as poppy species. Fine and medium grades can be produced depending on the particular size of the sieve pores with perlite often added to help with drainage and aeration.”

Some seeds need constant warmer temperatures

Seed sowing occurs in a number of places within the gardens. Some seed needs a dose of warmth to get germination underway and are sown in propagators in the glasshouses to ensure a stable warm temperature of about 22°C. Others can be directly sown into prepared soil and include many of the ballast seed garden species like Calendula officinalis and Amaranthus caudatus, which form a display in the gardens. Those species destined for the grain barge are grown under glass and have recently been ferried across to the barge and planted. I spied seedlings destined to make the watery journey including Avena sativa (oats) and Eruca sativa (rocket). 
Some of the Amaranthus caudatus Helen has grown from seed
at home. Photo credit: Helen Roberts.
Back in the warmth of the propagation glasshouses, Penny pointed to a number of seedlings planted at the start of April including the beautiful but very poisonous half-hardy annual Ricinus communis var. gibsonii, otherwise known as the castor oil plant. This species is grown for its dark red metallic foliage and is planted out in the hot border once all risk of frost is past. A dark purple bronze variety of this species, equally as lovely, is ‘New Zealand Purple’. 
Penny explained how to grow Ricinus communis, “The species is easy to germinate from seed, but does require a temperature of 20-25°C, so it is best grown in a propagator case in a cool greenhouse where the temperature can be kept stable. Once big enough, it is carefully pricked out and hardened off to then be planted out in June.”
Growing steadily under cover of glass are a number of seedlings destined for the hot border that act as effective border fillers. They include the lovely canary creeper, Tropaeolum peregrinum, a half-hardy annual climber with pale green stems, leaves and yellow flowers, and Tropaeolum majus ‘Black Velvet’, another half-hardy annual with beautiful almost black flowers. Other climbers sown in the glasshouses are the common but wonderfully scented varieties of Lathyrus odoratus (sweet peas). The sunny yellow flowers of Tithonia rotundifolia ‘Yellow Torch’ and Helianthus ‘Mongolian Giant’ currently growing in the glasshouses are also useful border fillers. The latter species is a giant that grows up to four metres high, making it a favourite amongst children. More delicate looking blooms also need the warmth of the glasshouses for germination, such as Digitalis lanata (Woolley Foxglove), which has woolly spikes of fawn coloured flowers with a pearlized lower lip. 

Some seed is worth the wait

Some seed germinates very quickly if conditions are right – sometimes within a week – but other seed can be extremely difficult and requires a great deal of molly-coddling in order to get germination success. Penny carefully pointed to a seedling of Cardiocrinum giganteum var. yunnanense, the Giant Yunnan Lily, which as an adult is a beast of a plant and can grow up to 2.5 metres with huge fragrant nodding creamy inflorescences. This species is normally propagated from either seed or by bulbs and can take as long as 4 to 5 years before it flowers. It is a monocarpic species that will die after it flowers leaving offsets, which will then become subsequent plants. This is certainly a species for a patient gardener; it takes a long time to flower but it also takes a considerable time to germinate as Penny emphasised.
Blooms of the Cardiocrinum giganteum var yunnanense
– the Giant Yunnan Lily.
Photo credit: Col Ford and Natasha de Vere
[via Flicr CC licence 2.0]
“This species can be tricky to germinate,” explained Penny, “This one has taken over a year to germinate so it is quite special.”
This is a species that appeals partly due to the fantastic inflorescences, but it has freaky (and rather scary) looking seedpods that resemble vegetative heads with fangs. In my opinion, the lengthy germination and time to flowering is worth the wait. 
Tropical and subtropical plants that only survive as mature specimens in the glasshouses can be even trickier to propagate by seed. The seed from Passiflora, a large genus of mostly vines needs to be sown quickly when fresh as dried seed takes much longer to germinate. The subtropical vines of the Aristolochia species, aptly named Dutchman’s pipe, require similar treatment. Species grown at the gardens are A. labiata and A. trilobata, and have beautiful ornate blooms of about 15cm. A. labiata flowers resemble the mottling and coloration of a rooster’s comb. Although tropical and sub tropical species can be a bit trickier to grow up from seed, most species can be sown throughout the year. 
Some species do not need the cosseting of warmth and will happily germinate outside although some seedlings, like borecole (kale), are protected with wire mesh to prevent bird damage particularly from pigeons. Species that have germinated and are growing happily outside at the Garden include the mixed colours of Salvia viridus, more commonly known as the Clary Sage. This produces small spires of lovely flowering bracts loved by pollinators. These are intended for the Mediterranean beds along with the tall spires of Echium italicum, the Pale Bugloss, a beautiful pyramidal plant belonging to the Borage family and Viola arborescens, a pretty violet with large lavender coloured flowers. 
Other plants need to be sown at different times of the year and some species have enough flexibility in this that you can sow depending on when you want a plant to flower in the subsequent year. For most gardeners, autumn and spring sowing are the busy sowing months. At the Botanic Garden, for example the open faced flowers of Papaver somniferum, (Opium Poppy), are sown in the autumn.
“These poppies are treated differently to other poppy species,” said Penny, “in that they have been sown in September and will be good strong plants by the time they are planted out the following year, producing flowers earlier than if seed had been sown in the spring.”

Helen Roberts is a trained landscape architect with a background in plant sciences. She is a probationary member of the Garden Media Guild and a regular contributor to the University of Bristol Botanic Garden blog.

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.

Companion planting.
Photo credit: Brian Pettinger courtesy of Flickr.

My vegetable garden at home is minuscule and consists of a number of pots in the front and rear garden. I don’t own a greenhouse but use an area in my parent’s and beg ground from a friend to grow larger vegetables. Space is limited and therefore my crop is valuable. I don’t want attacks by cabbage white or carrot fly, I need to grow at different levels to maximise space and grow a wide range of small crops to give a varied meal. This has made me think more about what I can do to increase my crop productivity. I never use pesticides or herbicides in my garden and my resolve in this has been reinforced by recent press coverage over the importance of urban gardens for pollinators. I actually quite like cabbage white butterflies – my children do anyway – and they would be horrified if they knew I sprayed to rid the garden of them. Instead, I have decided to use the art of companion planting.

What is companion planting?

Companion planting is an age-old agricultural technique used for centuries across the world. It involves the idea of planting crops that are mutually beneficial to each other in order to increase productivity.

Why should gardeners companion plant?

Companion planting has a very wide number of benefits and uses:

1. Mix it up

It is best not to put all of your eggs in one basket when growing crops – grow a mix of crops rather than a monoculture so if one crop fails you have other crops as a fall back option. Moreover, a mix of crops will make it more difficult for pests to find their host plants, a hypothesis known as the ‘disruptive-crop hypothesis’.

2. Plants that give a helping hand

The other advantage is, if like me your garden is space constrained, you can plant on different levels. For example, a tall crop (such as corn) can provide a trellis support for a climbing crop (such as beans) and a ground crop (such as squash) provides shade and discourages weeds. You get three crops in a small amount of space and the companion plants provide physical advantages for the other crops.

3. Provide a home

Some plants provide shelter and shade for other plants; for example, the planting of corn can provide shade for lettuce or spinach (although most vegetable planting in this country requires as much sun as possible). Companion plants can also provide refuges for many beneficial insects.

4. Pest control

Marigolds are supposed to help keep aphids away from tomato
plants. Photo credit: Ruth Hartnup (on Flickr).

Companion planting is also supposedly helpful in pest suppression through the release of repellent chemicals. Numerous companion plants also attract beneficial insects, such as ladybirds and lacewings, which predate on crop pests and many of these insects also act as important pollinators. Some plant species are used as ‘trap-crops’ drawing the attention of pests away from the crop and acting as sacrificial plants. Companion plants also provide a visual distraction to pests. In a monoculture, pests move easily from one plant to another, but companion plants break up this assault.

Folklore or scientific fact?

It is hard to know whether some traditional planting combinations that have endured the decades are based on any sound evidence of benefits. Certainly there is plenty of information about companion planting in the popular press and gardening books, but most is not backed up by any rigorous scientific trials in the peer reviewed literature. In academic literature, experimental results investigating the use of certain companion plants are varied as to their effectiveness. Here are some examples that I have come across:

Odorous onions

I learned from my maternal grandfather to plant Allium species in amongst my carrot rows to help deter the pesky carrot fly, Psila rosae. This annoying pest feeds not only on the roots of carrots but also on other crops too including parsnip, celery, parsley and celeriac. The small 9 mm creamy white maggots cause scarring of the tap roots making them inedible and more prone to secondary rots. This year I plan to plant my carrots in amongst garlic chives, a plant similar to the onion chive and which also produces pretty white edible flowers.

It is generally thought that aromatic species deter pests by exuding repellent chemicals. Most relevant to the carrot-allium combination was a study that looked at mixed cropping of onion and carrots and the effects on pests of these crops. They found that there were reduced attacks by carrot fly compared to monocultures of both crops and that when the plants were planted together in high densities this also reduced plant pests and increased predators of carrot fly eggs. Stan Finch and his colleagues from Horticulture Research International in Warwick found no evidence that odours from aromatic plants repel or deter crop pests, suggesting that reduced attacks on host plants were a result of other mechanisms, such as simple disruptive effect.

Get a sniff of marigolds

I am not a big fan of Tagetes species, more commonly known as marigolds. They just remind me of old fashioned bedding plants in staid Victorian parks, but if they ward off pests in the vegetable plot then I am willing to use them. Tagetes sp. exude a strong odour that is apparently not pleasant for plant pests. They are supposedly useful to plant with tomatoes to ward off greenfly but I have yet to find any scientific literature to support this planting combination. Again, Finch and his associates specifically found that it was not the odour of the marigolds that repelled the pests, but simply the fact that they acted as a diversion for the pests.

Setting a trap

I often grow pots of nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) in my garden. I like the look of the flowers and especially the leaves, using them as salad garnishes and the seed to make capers. This plant is said to help attract black fly, aphids and other pests away from host plants acting as a crop trap and functioning as a sacrificial plant. There are mixed results as to whether nasturtiums really do this. One year in my garden I grew cabbage and nasturtium together and both crops were smothered in cabbage white caterpillars. The butterflies definitely did not show a preference for the Nasturtium and the caterpillars eventually obliterated both plants. Certainly there is not a wide range of recent academic literature investigating the use of nasturtiums as a companion plant. However, according to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), this plant is beneficial to pollinators and as I can also eat it, I plan to trial a variety known as Blue Pepe, known for its distinctive bluish leaves and bright red flowers.

The scientific literature on many companion plant combinations is mixed, but what is clear is that there are no disadvantages to using companion planting. The physical advantages of companion planting will be evident even if the other benefits are less obvious, and many companion plants can be found in the RHS’s ‘Perfect for Pollinators plant list‘. Even if you don’t get increased crop productivity, then the garden will be diverse and look beautiful too.

Helen Roberts is a trained landscape architect with a background in plant sciences. She is a probationary member of the Garden Media Guild and a regular contributor to the University of Bristol Botanic Garden blog.

Sources:

Associate Professor Jane Mt. Pleasant 

Uvah, I. I. I. and Coaker, T. H.  Effect of mixed cropping on some insect pests of carrots and onions. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 1984; 36: 159-167

Finch, S., Billiald, H. and Collier, R. H. Companion planting-do aromatic plants disrupt host-plant finding by the cabbage root fly and the onion fly more effectively than non-aromatic plants? Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 2003; 109: 183-195

To grow or not to grow: plant propagation at the Botanic Garden

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Helen Roberts

At the start of December, I met up with Penny Harms, Glasshouse Co-ordinator at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden, to discuss the plants that are propagated at the Garden and how this valuable work is carried out. Over the course of the year, I will be investigating the different forms of propagation techniques used in the Garden to maintain and enhance their existing stock of plants. I will cover briefly how these techniques are carried out (bearing in mind that there are a plethora of books available on plant propagation), but I’ll also examine what is happening at the cellular level and examine the ‘why’ behind certain propagating techniques.

As Penny and I examined some seedling plants, she explained to me why propagation is so important at the Botanic Garden. “If we lose some plants outdoors in a cold wet winter, we have a back up of new plants. Some are not simply insurance plants, but are taken as cuttings as a necessity every year as they survive in our climate as annuals, particularly those plants from the South African collection. Others, such as the Mediterranean plants, do not survive as long here in Bristol as it’s generally much wetter and therefore they need to be replaced fairly frequently. Most plants we take from cuttings are mainly tender perennials and frost tender plants.”

Propagation in the Garden won’t likely restart until the spring depending on weather conditions.

In the glasshouses, Penny showed me many of the plants that have been propagated from cuttings, including some beautiful decorative Aeonium species (commonly known as tree houseleek), as well as Pelargonium (geranium), Clematis, Salvia and Passiflora (passion vines) species. Some plants raised from cuttings  are placed in a unit that is misted with water regularly and the bottom is heated to a temperature of 25°C in order to encourage roots to form. The plants all looked wonderfully healthy, not at all like my puny looking specimens that I had taken cuttings of back in September at home. However, the plants that really caught my eye were some small fern plants potted up, which Penny called “fernlets”.

Ferntastic ferns

Ferns belong to the plant division of pteridophytes (spore-producing vascular plants) and are extremely diverse in habitat, form and reproductive methods. Most ferns grow in moist warm conditions and very few tolerate dry cold places. Although they aren’t flowering plants, the frond shapes and colours can be exquisite. Closer inspection of the undersides of the leaves reveal beautiful patterns of sporangia – the vessels containing the spores.

Fern reproduction 101

Fern lifecycle
Image credit: Carl Axel Magnus Lindman
[CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Like other plants, ferns have alternating haploid (single set of chromosomes) and diploid (two sets of chromosomes – one from each parent) generations; the haploid gametophyte produces the cells for sexual reproduction while the diploid sporophyte produces spores that produce the gametophyte. Unlike flowering plants where the gametophyte is reduced to the pollen and embryo sac, fern gametophytes are free-living. (Although they are admittedly less conspicuous than the sporophyte we generally identify as ferns.)

In brief, the sporophyte produces spores, which are shed and grow into gametophytes (also often called the prothallium). In some species, individual gametophytes will be either male or female, while in others an individual gametophyte will function as both sexes. When the conditions are right, the gametophyte releases mature sperm from the antheridium, which swim to the egg-producing part called the archegonia under the gametophyte’s underside. Fertilisation produces a zygote, which develops into an embryo and eventually outgrows the gametophyte to become the sporophyte.

The plantlet sailboats on the fronds of Woodwardia prolifera.
Photo credit: Andy Winfield.

Like many other plants, ferns can also reproduce asexually through branching of the underground root stem or rhizome. Some species will even produce leaf proliferations known as plantlets or offsets, such as the beautiful Woodwardia prolifera, which comes from Asia and grows in coastal regions. It’s small plantlets (or “sailboats” as Penny calls them) drop off the plant and fall to the ground, securing themselves quickly with their roots.

Fern propagation at the Botanic Garden

Fern spores are carefully collected when the ferns are sporolating by cutting fronds and letting spores fall into paper bags. Spores are only collected when they are ripe; usually the sporangia will swell and will turn brown, black, blue or orange depending on the species.

“As far as when to collect the spores,” said Penny, “it is really a case of watching and waiting. The beautiful orange [sporangia] on the Phlebodium aureum var glaucum go a slightly darker brown when they are ready, which makes it easier to know when to collect. And if you lightly tap the frond over some white paper you can watch to see if the spores are being released.”

The underside of a frond from Phelbodium aureum var. glaucum,
showing the sporangia. Photo: Andy Winfield.

Penny added that she often collects additional spores by simply placing a fern frond onto a tray containing already wetted peat-neutral compost with bark mulch to allow spores to drop onto the substrate. Penny had great success growing new plants from spores harvested from a miniature tree fern species called Blechnum gibbum. This plant was looking in a sorry state before the move to The Holmes at Stoke Bishop and so Penny collected spores just in case it didn’t survive the move. However, research revealed that this fern was behaving like a deciduous plant -it had died back, but wasn’t dead. Thanks to Penny’s careful propagation, the glasshouse now holds a number of specimens from this species – all grown from spores of the original plant.

The tree huggers

Some the glasshouse ferns are also epiphytic and will reproduce effectively from spores. One such example is Stenochlaena tenufolia, a South African fern that will grow up trees. Its climbing rhizome can reach up to 20m in length and 15mm in diameter. As young plants, they start off on the ground, but soon start to ascend trees, trading in their connection with the soil for life in the trees. Often plants don’t produce fertile fronds until the rhizome has climbed sufficiently to expose the apical region of the plant to sufficient light. These ferns are grown both from spores and vegetatively at the Botanic Garden.

The runners

Other species require a different approach. Diplazium proliferum, a fern that is widespread in the tropics and subtropics, produces little rooting plantlets along its fronds that can be developed into new plants. The frond is simply cut and laid onto bark mulch, pegged with wire and then half buried with the substrate.

The chain fern, Woodwardia radicans (from the Macaronesian region but also found on other Mediterranean islands) also produces bulbils but these are usually located at the ends of the fronds as a hard nodule. The roots start to develop in the air but when they touch the ground will root into the substrate and form new plants.

Penny explained, “We got these plants from Tresco where they grow as huge sprawling mounds. The small bulbils eventually form quite large plants, but are still connected to the original. This gives this fern its very relevant name. New plants can simply have the connection cut and be dug up and transplanted elsewhere.”

A brief step-by-step lesson on how to propagate ferns

At the Botanic Garden ferns are being propagated very successfully, but there is no reason why horticulturists at home should not be able to have the same degree of success. Penny offers her expert advice in propagating ferns by spores below:

Ferns can be propagated vegetatively, by division, or similar to sowing seed from flowering plants, by spores, which are found on the underside of the fern fronds. Some fern species are very difficult to propagate from spores, however Adiantum, Pteris and many Blechnum species are reliable.

Here are the main points for the propagation of cool glasshouse ferns from spores:

  1. The spores should be collected when ripe. The sporangia found on the underside of the frond, will (in most cases) change in colour from a light to dark brown to indicate the spores are ripe. To check, lightly tap the frond to see whether the tiny brown spore cases (sori) are released. If so, the fronds can be cut and gently placed into paper bags in order to collect the fine sori ready for sowing (see point 2) or the frond can be cut and placed directly onto the surface of a pre-prepared tray of compost, allowing the spores to fall naturally as the frond dies away. 
  2. Sow the fern spores. Collect the spores from the bottom of the paper bag and sow immediately. Fresh spores will germinate far more successfully than ones that have been kept for some time and dried out. Use clean, shallow, pots and/or trays with drainage holes. Place a fine layer of gravel on the bottom. Add a layer of peat-free, fine grade compost and gently firm down. Stand the pots and/or trays in water to allow the compost to absorb the water. When the compost is wet, lightly and evenly sow the spores over the surface of the compost. The spores are very fine and on no account should they be covered with more compost, as this will prevent them from germinating.
  3. Keep moist. The trays and/or pots should be covered either with a propagator lid or glass and stood in a shallow tray of water. It is important that the compost does not dry out. 
  4. Position in a semi shaded spot ideally at temperature of 16 – 20°C.
  5. Once the spores start to germinate, the young fern plants (prothalli) should become visible within a couple of weeks. Allow the prothalli to establish themselves for a little while before moving on to the next stage, that of pricking out the delicate new plants.

 Moisture is the most important element for the successful propagation of ferns. 

Saving our nation’s lost landscapes

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Helen Roberts

Historic gardens are an integral part of our cultural link with landscapes; a place where we can connect with nature. They represent a form of artistic expression and illustrate snapshots of past ages, cultures and societies. For that reason alone these garden masterpieces deserve recognition and preservation. 
Often the final level of protection for many of these gardens falls to English Heritage, a registered charity, independent of government since April 2015, which essentially acts as guardians for the upkeep of some 400 historic sites. English Heritage is often seen as the last resort of protection for these sites, some of which are so special that the government has stepped in to look after them and rescue them for the nation. 
Late last year the Friends’ Lecture was given by Christopher Wedell, a former trainee of The University of Bristol Botanic Garden (21 years ago) and now senior gardens advisor to English Heritage. 
Bridge in Sheffield Park Garden.
Photo credit: ReflectedSerendipity
courtesy Flickr [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Christopher’s horticultural career began early; as a teenager he already expressed a keen interest in the outdoors. A stint of work at Sheffield Park in Sussex fuelled his passion for horticulture and historic landscapes and led to a degree in Horticulture at Writtle College with a final year dissertation on historic gardens. After his work at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden and Tylney Hall, Christopher obtained his Kew Diploma in Horticulture and then spent 18 months working in the famous Palm House. From Kew he went to Wisley where he eventually became superintendent under curator. When a 6-month contract offered itself at English Heritage he applied and 7 years later he is looking after 23 historic and contemporary gardens ranging from Elizabethan to contemporary in design.  
Christopher spoke in detail about the gardens under the care of English Heritage, the complexities of restoration and the many challenges the team faces when completing historic garden works. 

The importance of authenticity

The restoration of historic gardens is a difficult task in itself when there is a lack of historical information in the form of maps, descriptions and documents. Often gardens are multi-layered over time, making it difficult to know at what particular point in time to restore the garden to. 
Belsay Hall, a thirteenth century site located just north of Newcastle has magnificent Grade I listed gardens and were primarily the work of Sir Charles Monck (1779-1867). He was influenced by the Picturesque movement, which sought to create landscapes less conventionally beautiful and more naturalistic in design. The restoration of the unique Quarry Garden, a dramatic place with a special microclimate with many exotic trees and shrubs, presented English Heritage with a challenge of maintaining the correct authenticity. To achieve this, the team used a number of photographs collected over the decades to aid in the restoration process.
“Photographic and historical documents are very important in the restoration process,” explained Christopher, “and it is vital that as much historical information is collated as possible, thereby restoring the landscape at the most significant point in historical time”. 
Osborne House from the road to Swiss Cottage.
Photo credit: By Loz Pycock from London, UK
[CC BY-SA 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
Sometimes, as gardens change over time, plants become over-mature and cease to provide the effect for which they were first planted. English Heritage faces a number of challenges with such restoration projects because people often develop strong attachment to these mature trees. One such example includes Sovereign Avenue at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight – the private home of Queen Victoria. The avenue was planted in 1851-1854 with two lines of alternating deciduous and coniferous trees. Over time (as expected), these trees matured, but eventually became too large and made the avenue dark and oppressive. This was not the intention of the design when planted by Prince Albert. English Heritage then faced the challenge of how to visually present this avenue with the possibility of replanting every 50 years to maintain authenticity. 

Maintaining the fabric of the garden

The fabric of a historic garden represents the context in which a garden is situated. Gardens do not simply exist as islands on their own but connect and integrate with surrounding landscapes to create cohesion and robustness, both of which are sought after qualities in designed landscapes. Often it is difficult to maintain connectedness in historic landscapes due to the simple issue of land ownership. 
One such English Heritage example is that of Audley End House, a Jacobean Mansion landscaped by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and set within the rolling countryside of Essex. English Heritage has in their care the mansion and grounds itself, but also a tower located outside of the boundary of the mansion grounds some distance away and the land in between is not under English Heritage ownership. Here, English Heritage faces the difficulty of maintaining a connected landscape, as the sites are geographically distant from one another, but sit within the same landscape. Belsay Hall also faces similar challenges as the existing car park is set within the historical landscape fabric, which disrupts the harmony of the site. 

The visitor experience

It can be difficult to maintain a good visitor experience all year round in many of the English Heritage gardens. Many of the gardens are very seasonal in nature as bedding schemes took precedence over year-round interest. At Kenilworth Castle (just north of Warwick) an Elizabethan garden was created by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester in order to seduce Queen Elizabeth I when she was staying at the property for a mere 19 days. This garden was restored in May 2009 using advances in garden archaeology and the survival of a fascinating eyewitness description from 1575. When the garden was originally designed for a short spell of interest, English Heritage now faces the difficult task of creating a garden that is attractive to visitors throughout the year. 
To attract visitors to the gardens, many English Heritage sites hold contemporary art exhibitions, such as the one held at Belsay Hall called ‘Extraordinary Measures’ with many of the installations located in the grounds of the Hall. 
Other attractions to entice families have recently been sensitively incorporated into some historic landscapes. An imaginative wooden play structure for children has proved very popular at Witley Court near Bromsgrove with a tree house in the form of a seed pod, outdoor musical instruments and wobbly bridges, scramble nets and slides. The opening of the beach at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight has been well received with people enjoying swimming, paddling, building sandcastles and looking inside a bathing machine. With the opening of access to the beach though, English Heritage was then faced with the challenge of incorporating essential utilities, such as power and water, into a historic landscape. Other interesting plans for enhancing the visitor experience described by Christopher included the potential restoration of the unique hard tennis court at Down House, home of Charles Darwin, which would provide a great play facility for adults and children alike when visiting this historically significant place. 
“It’s really important that sites do not simply stagnate in terms of a design sense and that the gardens are able to evolve and be used imaginatively,” explained Christopher. 
Many sites have successfully integrated contemporary spaces into the gardens adding a new vitality to these historic places. A new contemporary garden was added in 2000 to the kitchen garden of Osborne House by designer Rupert Golby as part of the contemporary heritage garden project. It includes many plants with names associated with Albert and Victoria. 

The future

Christopher’s message was clear throughout the talk. These gardens need to be brought to life for current and future visitors and be places that continually thrive for decades and centuries hereinafter. 
Christopher emphasised that, “English Heritage is playing a vitally important role in looking after these sites; we are the landscape custodians helping to safeguard some of England’s most treasured historic gardens.”
The next Friends’ Lecture will be given by Nick Wray, Curator, University of Bristol Botanic Garden on 21 January 2016, Frank Theatre, Wills Physics Laboratory from 7:30pm – 9:00pm. Nick will be speaking about the ballast seed garden project. Friends are free with presentation of membership card; non-Friends will be asked for a donation (suggested £5).

Growing orchids, growing future horticulturists

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Helen Roberts

Zoe Parfitt is no stranger to the University of Bristol Botanic Garden. When she was just 16 years old, Zoe did a work experience with the Garden. Now, she is the Botanic Garden’s first full time trainee entirely sponsored by the Friends through their Education and Training Fund. I recently caught up with Zoe in the glasshouses to discuss her work at the Botanic Garden, her future career plans and her long-standing interest in orchids.
Zoe in Rwanda.
Zoe is a graduate of Writhlington School and was involved with the School’s Orchid Project from the moment she got there at age 11 –  in fact, she still has close links with the project. During her time with the Orchid Project, Zoe not only learned a vast amount about orchids, she had opportunities to travel and share her knowledge in different countries, including South Africa, India (Sikkim) and Rwanda. Whilst in Rwanda, Zoe visited local schools to teach orchid conservation and propagation methods.
I asked Zoe if she could show me some of the orchids on display in the glasshouses – including some that were propagated at Writhlington School.
‘I grow a lot of orchids at home,’ explained Zoe. ‘Some of which I have had a long time and are quite rare. In fact, for my interview at the Botanic Garden I took one of my favourite orchids, as I wanted to talk about it. It’s Stelis aprica, an epiphytic orchid that is quite rare with tiny flowers that are no more than 4mm in length, which are probably pollinated by gnats.’
At the Botanic Garden, Zoe looks after the orchids – watering, feeding, repotting, pollinating (which is done with a matchstick) and nurturing sick orchids back to health. She showed me several different species in the ‘orchid hospital’ that are currently being treated for lime scale insects.
‘This is Rhynchostylisgigantea,‘ said Zoe, ‘which I have treated by brushing on its leaves a dilute solution of methylated spirits to kill the lime scale insects. Orchids can be prone to both lime scale insects and red spider mites in the glasshouse environment. They can also be susceptible to fungal infections. It’s important when you water Cymbidium species, for example, that you water directly into the pot and not onto the plant to reduce the risk of fungal infection. Although not all orchids I have seen in the wild are a picture of health. In Sikkim, we saw orchids being eaten by slugs!’

Tips for growing orchids at home 

Zoe gave me some useful advice regarding my own orchids at home. They like to be constricted in their pots and should never be over potted. Zoe is involved in potting up any orchids and for this the media used is cork bark, sphagnum and for those that need it more moist, some perlite. It is important that orchids are fed regularly too and in the glasshouses Zoe feeds the orchids once a week in the summer and twice a week in the winter.
Bifrenaria harrisoniae by Orchi.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
via Wikimedia Commons
Zoe is currently looking after, re-potting and sorting the Bifrenaria harrisoniae, a species endemic to Brazil, display at the Garden. This species can grow as an epiphyte (living harmlessly on another plant) or as a lithophyte (living in or on rocks), and has showy flowers that are pollinated by bees and bumblebees. She hopes to propagate from a seedpod Epidendrum nocturnum, a beautiful orchid that is only fragrant in the evening and hence is pollinated by moths. Growing terrestrial orchids from seed is difficult and it can take up to 2 years for the plants to be transplanted from the micro propagation jars into growing media.
‘Orchids are amazing plants, it’s a wonder they survive,’ explained Zoe. ‘In the seed pods there are about 2.6 million seeds, yet only 10 will survive in the wild. They rely on mycorrhizae to help them and each species will have its own particular kind.’

Looking forward

As well as the orchid duties that Zoe is responsible for, she also helps out in other parts of the garden on different projects. On the day I visited, she was helping a team get all the planting ready for transport down to the ballast seed garden barge to be planted the following day. Zoe explained that she is gaining invaluable horticultural experience at the Garden, diversifying her knowledge beyond orchid biology and horticulture.
‘I am really enjoying working here. The learning and skills gained have been so helpful. I finish my traineeship in November this year and hope to go onto a career in orchid horticulture. I also want to gain my RHS level 3 award in Horticulture.’
In terms of her future career, Zoe is optimistic about her prospects in the orchid industry.
‘I have been in touch with a number of different orchid growers. One in Jersey, the Eric Young Orchid Foundation, and the other is Motes Orchids based in Florida. I hope to secure work at these well-known orchid nurseries. In the next few years I would love to do more orchid hunting, but this time in Central America with the long term career goal to eventually set up and teach projects in orchid conservation.’
Zoe currently writes a number of orchid articles for various publications and these include The Cheltenham & District Orchid Society and Orchid Review. She has also spoken at and attended the World Orchid Congress (funded by The Cheltenham & District Orchid Society) in South Africa and attended the European Orchid Congress in London and taken part in many different orchid and flower shows including Hampton Court Flower Show where MontyDon interviewed her.

A day in the life of a WRAGS trainee…

Posted on by andy.winfield

Matt Croucher, a Work and Retrain as a Gardener Scheme (WRAGS) trainee, talks to Helen Roberts about working at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden, what first got him interested in botany and his aspirations within the horticultural profession.

I met up with Matt mid morning in the potting up area of the Garden. He was delicately placing seed into pots to supplement what is already planted in the ballast seed garden, an area for which he has sole responsibility. As he carried on with the task at hand, I asked him what first drew him to study horticulture, having previously come from a background in website design.

“My girlfriend and I had moved house and decided to get an allotment. Plants became important to me when I first started working on our own allotment and my interest in horticulture just emerged from that. However, even as a child I always had a small piece of the garden to grow something; I think an interest was probably always there.”

Matt started volunteering at the beautiful 10 acre gardens at Goldney Hall in Clifton, owned by the University of Bristol, and from there secured a WRAGS traineeship at the Botanic Garden. WRAGS provides hands-on practical training in horticulture, with the trainee working under the guidance of staff at a host location. WRAGS trainees do not receive funding from the scheme itself; rather, the scheme acts as an organizer and coordinator, helping to find trainees suitable host placements. Matt is funded by Perennial, a charity organisation that helps to support people in horticulture. He has also gained experience at a number of larger estates, including the National Trust property of Tyntesfield.

Matt started his traineeship with the University of Bristol Botanic Garden in August 2014, and will work two days a week there for a year. When he’s not at the Botanic Garden, he is working for a local landscape firm and studying for the RHS Level II course at the Garden.

As we take a walk through the gardens I ask Matt about a typical day’s work and what it involves.

“A typical day at the Botanic Garden is never really the same. One of the first things I do when I arrive is water the tropical houses. After that, I could be working on a range of different tasks. For instance, last week I was helping to re-pot the water lilies in the main pond and apply a solution containing nematode worms to control vine weevils to different plants. No one day is the same and that makes the work really interesting.”

He also had the chance to go further afield with work when he took a trip down to Chelsea Physic Garden with fellow trainee, Zoe Parfitt, and curator Nick Wray to collect eight specimens of Welwitschia mirablis, a rare ancient cone-bearing plant from the Namib coastal desert.

Matt holding the Welwitschia mirablis.

Matt showed me the Welwitschia mirablis potted up very neatly and snugly sitting in a specially constructed heated planter. They are indeed very weird looking plants and although I thought they looked small and were therefore probably not that old, they are already 25 years old. Matt was obviously really pleased to be involved in the collecting and potting up of these plants, which are a valuable addition to the plant collection.

“It was amazing to go to the Chelsea Physic garden and have the chance to help out with the Welwitschia. Nick Wray said to me that I would probably only get the opportunity once in a lifetime to pot up something that is so unique.”

Matt’s deep-rooted (excuse the pun) fascination with horticulture was evident as we talked about the plants whilst strolling through the different areas of the gardens. He relishes the time he spends on his own allotment and is now successfully growing and selling plants from his plot to friends and clients. He is also an avid collector of interesting plants, taking cuttings whenever and wherever he can; his home is crammed full of greenery. Towards the end of the tour, Matt sums up his training at the Botanic Garden and tells me of his plans for his horticultural career.

“The experience I have gained at the Botanic Garden has been invaluable and has enabled me to secure work at large estates, such as Tyntesfield. Ultimately, I would love to secure a full time position at a botanic garden.”

WRAGS was launched in 1993 and was originally intended for women returning to work after starting a family. Though the scheme is still administered through the Women’s Farm & Garden Association, it is no longer just for women. Matt is among an increasing number of men applying for the scheme – many of which are career changers. To learn more about the scheme, visit wfga.org.uk.