Minutes

The Minutes for the second of the July meetings are now posted. 

Advance notice - Propagation workshop in the Garden

Sunday 28 September. Propagation workshop led by Clare Reaney, Horticultural Technician at the Garden. The workshop will be held in the glasshouse in the Garden (meet at Reception in the main building) from 2-4pm and take the format of a “walk and talk” in the garden to discuss suitable plants for autumn propagation, followed by a practical session. Cost free to members of the Friends; non-members £5. Wear suitable clothing and bring your own secateurs and gloves. Numbers are limited to 15 so booking essential. Please book by Thursday 18 September - email Alison Gordon alisongordon49@gmail.com or telephone 01382 350990.

Please share this with friends and family if you think they would be interested.

August's flower

Eucryphia glutinosa (Guindo Santo)

Family: Cunoniaceae: Origin: Chile: Accession: 1978

find it opposite the Education Centre

Committee members

We are looking for five Friends to join the committee for the next session to replace members who are retiring. Please  consider standing or persuading a friend to stand - the nomination form will arrive shortly along with the notice of September's AGM

Minutes

The Minutes of July's committee meeting are posted.

Friends' visit to Kellie Castle Wednesday 16 July

I regret to say the visit to Kellie Castle gardens next week has been cancelled, due to lack of numbers wishing to go.

If there are any gardens which any of you would like to suggest for a future visit, please let the committee know and we can consider them.

Alison Gordon

July Plant of the Month

Leptospermum lanigerum (Woolly Tea Tree)

Family: Myrtaceae    Origin: Tasmania & SE Australia   Accession: 1982

find it among the Australasian plants

Minutes

The minutes of May's committee meeting are now posted.

Endowment Trust

The Dundee Botanic Gardens Endowment Trust and ShortbreadStories is hosting a day-long writing course entitled 'The Nature of Narrative' set in the beautiful Dundee Botanic Garden.
This course is for the beginning writer, professional novelist, or curious enthusiast. Using a combination of lecture, writing exercises, group interaction, and free writing-time, this class will explore how natural surroundings can inspire language, setting, character and plot. The class will be taught by Rachel Marsh, ShortbreadStories Chief Executive Trustee and creative writing tutor (marshrachel . wordpress . com).

This class is a fundraising event, with half the class fees being donated to the Dundee Botanic Gardens Endowment Trust and the other half donated to the educational writing charity, ShortbreadStories.
 

You can book through the University of Dundee online store: www . buyat . dundee . ac . uk [Link:http ://www . buyat . dundee . ac . uk/browse/product . asp?compid=1&modid=1&catid=417]"

Great Day on the Green!

Hooray - the solar panels are installed on the Macro Micro Building in the Garden!

Minutes

The Minutes of April's committee meeting are now published.

Meconopsis looking good in the Garden - as a volunteer it is very gratifying to see what you handled as a tiny seedling grow into something like this!

Plant Sale - 17th May

      

Garden Visit

The visit to Frances's garden -  one of the best kept secrets of the West End -  was a great success. The plants were outstanding and the sun shone!

Friends of the Botanic Garden - our plant sale is this Saturday, 17 May, from 12 noon to 3pm, in the Garden
Do  come along and see what we have to offer.
Also in the Garden - Plant Power. Click on the the tab above to see more.

Riverside Nature Park

Welcome back our Summer visitor. Come along and spot  old residents and new arrivals. Keen birders have spotted 135 species at the Park since it opened.

The Friends of Riverside Nature Park are hosting bird-watching events:

Sunday 4 May at 6:00 am to witness the  Dawn Chorus 

and on Saturday, 3  May at 8.30 am for a Guided Walk. 

Please wear suitable clothing and footwear. 

Free event and all welcome. 

Meet at car park, Wright Avenue. 

Binoculars, birding scopes and field guides would be 

useful but not vital. 

For further information please contact: 

Natalie Mackland 

Email: natalie.mackland@dundeecity.gov.ukTelephone: 435873 

The Work of the Woodland Trust in Scotland

10 members of the Friends enjoyed an excellent talk from Jim Christie of the Woodland Trust Scotland on Thursday 24th April, focusing on the work done by the Trust at Glen Devon, east of Dollar, and at Glen Finglas, west of Callander. 
Jim's wide ranging talk covered the effects of humans and animals on the demise of the native forests, and how the Trust is restoring them.
The UK is one of the least wooded countries in Europe, and the Trust aims to improve that.
We heard how they use cattle (trampling the ground making it receptive to seed germination), and children (local schools are invited to help with tree planting, on the basis that these children will be the future custodians of the woods).
We heard how the vole population exploded when sheep numbers at Glen Finglas were drastically reduced, because the vole burrows were undisturbed by sheep hooves, and how perching poles had to be put up for raptors to control the voles.
From Jim's photographs we saw how discreet the Woodland Trust access roads are compared to those for the nearby wind farm.
We heard about planting wildflowers in Geordie's wood at Glen Devon.
Just a few snippets of information from a most interesting talk.
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/

Minutes

February's minutes are now posted. The next committee meeting is at the end of May.

The Work of the Woodland Trust in Scotland

Thursday, 24th April 2014 at 7pm - 8pm

Education Centre, Dundee University Botanic Garden

On Thursday 24 April Jim Christie of the Woodland Trust will give a talk at the Education Centre at the Garden at 7pm. Jim is a voluntary warden at the Woodland Trust’s Glen Devon site, and was instrumental in setting the site up. Friends of the garden free, visitors £2.