FEBRUARY FRIENDS TALK

Sunday 7 February 2016

Professor Michael Tooley, garden designer and author. The Restoration of Gardens of Historic Interest. Education Centre in the Garden at 2pm. Free to members of the Friends; donations welcome from others.

http://michaeltooley.com/

Set for ‘16

This event proved very popular on the day after New Year despite the wet and breezy weather conditions, attracting a wide range of ages and ambitions as can be seen from the photos below. Over 30 attended, walking, jogging or running, and our new record time for 3 laps of the Garden is 14m 25s. The warm drinks and eats following the run in the Education Centre capped off an enjoyable hour.

PLANT OF THE MONTH JANUARY

Araucaria araucana (Monkey puzzle, Chile pine)

Family: Araucariaceae

Origin: Chile, Argentina

 The monkey puzzle is an evergreen conifer native to Chile and Argentina. It was introduced to England by Archibald Menzies in 1795. Its branches are clothed in sharply pointed, triangular dark green leaves, and mature plants bear cones on the upper branches, usually male and female on separate trees. It has existed for 200 million years, and each tree can live for 1,000 years. Once logged for its fine knot-free timber, it is now listed as 'endangered' on the IUCN’s Global Red List of Conifers.

 Find it in the Americas section of the Garden