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.

Plant Sale

Plant Power

The Garden is hosting a day of activities for all the family 

on 

Saturday, 17th May from 10 am - 4.0 pm

Entrance to the Garden is free during these times. 

Don't miss the key event 

THE FRIENDS' ANNUAL PLANT SALE

from 12.0 AM - 3.0 PM

see the poster on the Plant Power page for further details

Fun Run

This year the 

5K Fun Run 

will take place on Thursday,  15th May, beginning at 7.30 PM.

Entry £5 payable on the night. 

The Run is open to all levels of ability and offers a unique opportunity

 to enjoy this remarkable setting. 

In association with the Institute of Sport and Exercise

April:Plant of the Month

Rhododendron uvariifolium ‘Yangtse Bend’

Family: Ericaceae   Origin: China    Accession: 1976

find it among the Asian Plants

This Saturday!

Saturday, March 29th, at 2.0 PM Plant Heritage Lecture; 
Professor Michael Tooley will give a talk on “Gertrude Jekyll and the plants she bred at Munstead Wood”. Admission is £5 and booking is essential. Contact Frances Tait 01382 665719

March plant of the month

Cornus mas (Cornelian cherry)

Family: Cornaceae   Origin: Central & Southern Europe   Accession: 1975

find it north of Loch Macar

Cornus mas is a hardy deciduous shrub up to 4m in height and spread, with oval leaves turning purple in autumn. Small clusters of tiny flowers each with 4 bright yellow petals open in late winter before the leaves appear, to be followed by glossy red, cherry-like fruits. The fruit is edible, it has an acidic flavour and is mainly used for making jam. In Azerbaijan and Armenia, the fruit is used for distilling vodka. It is often used as a medicine in Eastern Europe, being high in Vitamin C. The wood of C. mas is extremely dense and has traditionally been used for making weapons and tool handles

Minutes

January's minutes are now ready to view. Our next meeting is on 
16th April so the Minutes for February won't be published until then. 

Reminder

Ideas for the Small Garden

Local Garden Designer Alison Hogg will discuss the topic and answer your questions

on Sunday, 16th February

at 2.00 PM

in the Education Centre

The event is free to Friends and £2 for visitors

February's Plant of the Month

Callistemon citrinus ‘Splendens’ (Bottlebrush)

Family: Myrtaceae     Origin: Australia      Accession: 1976

find it in the temperate glasshouse

HERA

On Monday evening the Chair and committee members of the Harris Academy Adult Education Group presented a cheque to the Friends, represented here by Donald, Sylvia, Frances, and Pam, on the disbandment of the charity  The Friends of Balgay also benefited from a donation. 

Talk

Ideas for the Small Garden

Local Garden Designer Alison Hogg will discuss the topic and answer your questions

on Sunday, 16th February

at 2.00 PM

in the Education Centre

The event is free to Friends and £2 for visitors

Minutes

The Minutes of the November meeting are now available.

Happy New Year!

Phormium tenax (New Zealand flax, harakeke

Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae  Origin: New Zealand  Accession: 1979

Location:Australasian plants

It is native to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. The long fibres extracted from its leaves were widely used, originally in Māori traditional textiles and also in rope and sail making after the arrival of Europeans up until at least WWII. It is an invasive species in some of the Pacific islands and in Australia.

West End Window Spotting

On Friday, 20th December, at Blackness Library, William Monk of Blackness Primary was awarded a year's Family Membership of the Friends and a voucher from Harris Education and Recreation Association as the prize for his winning entry into the Window Spotting Competition. 

HOLLY Good, William!

from the Committee

All good wishes for  a happy and peaceful Christmas and a flourishing New Year

December's Plant of the Month

Citrus maxina (Pomelo, Shaddock)

Family: Rutaceae  Origin: Southeast Asia Accession: 1981

Find it in the tropical glass house

All sorts of interesting things happen in the garden.
Today, members of the British Trust for Ornithology were ringing birds.

The Friends will have a stall at the West End Community Fayre on Saturday 23 November from 10am to 12 noon at Dundee West Church, 132 Perth Road

Free entry - come along and find out how you can become involved in helping Dundee University Botanic Garden

Prize Draw

West End Christmas Fortnight Window Spotting Competition

Rules of Entry : You must be aged under 16 and resident in Dundee. Visit each of the windows of the shops in Perth Road (between Tartan Coffee House and the Sinderins junction – both sides of the road) and write the name of the shop in which you find each of the letters of the word :

                                                         H-O-L-L-Y

Then place your completed entry in the Prize Draw box in either of the following Perth Road shops – Lynn’s Barber Shop or Andrew Bolton Opticians (or Gallery Q in Nethergate or The Hardware Shop in Blackness Road or the Visitors' Centre at the Garden,   by Monday 9th December at the latest. 

All correct entries will be entered into the Prize Draw 

The winner will receive Free Family Membership for a year 
and a Gift Voucher for £20. 

 Good Luck!

October's minutes

The minutes of the Friends' October meeting are now posted. Note: November's minutes will be posted in January as no meeting is taking place in December. 

November's plant of the month

Ginkgo biloba (Maidenhair Tree)

Family: Ginkgoaceae   Origin: Eastern China   Accession: 1978

find it in the Evolution Garden. 

Plant of the month

Euonymus oxyphyllus (Korean Spindle Tree)

Family: Celastraceae      Origin: Japan, Korea      Accession: 1985

find it in the Asian plant area

Fund - raising Event

 Choosing  Wines for Christmas 

 A wine tasting at Aitken's Warehouse 

Unit 7, Annfield Row, Dundee.  

Friday, 15th November

7.15 - 9.15 p.m.  

  Cost £15 per person.     

Booking essential 

Cheques made payable to "Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden"  should be sent to Frances Tait c/o University Botanic Garden, Riverside Drive, Dundee DD2 1QH 

or telephone 01382 665719

Newsletter

Sylvia speaks for all of us in saying "I thought I would like to put something on the blog to say thanks to Hugh Ingram, John Stocks and Paul Gault for a well presented and interesting Newsletter"

The macro/micro building in the Garden is making progress - next step the solar panels on the roof

Minutes

The Minutes for August are published.

October lecture

University Afternoon Lecture

Wednesday, 16th October

 at 2.15 PM in the Tower Building.

 Dr Tony Miller of the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh will give a lecture on reclamation and regeneration of the Marshes of Iraq,  
The entrance fee will be £2. 

Garden revealed

Before the AGM the Friends took a tour of the new entrance and western boundary and the amazing macro/micro building ...

AGM

The AGM took place after a talk about the new Macro/Micro building and a tour of the the changes to the  entrance, western boundary, and allotment area, You can read Frances's Letter to the Friends and check out the new Committee.
The next Committee meeting will be in October after which September's minutes will be posted on the web.

September's Plant of the Month

Hydrangea aspera

Family: Hydrangaceae             Origin: China                    Accession: 1975

find it opposite the entrance to the Evolution Garden

Minutes

The July Minutes are ready to view. 

The AGM will be held at the Education Centre at 7.0 pm on Wednesday, 18th September. The Curator will give a guided tour of the developments round the entrance starting at 5.30 pm and this will be followed by light refreshments before the meeting begins. 
Friends and those who have yet to become Friends are encouraged to attend!

Scotland in Bloom

The judges being shown round  the allotments and new entrance by Alasdair and Frances. 

Plant of the month

AUGUST

Actaea racemosa (syn. Cimicifuga racemosa)

Family: Ranunculaceae         Origin: East N. America        Accession: 1984

Find it in North American Plants

Talk

PLANTS & GEOGRAPHY: talks and drinks reception. 

Friday August 16th 2013 at 2.30 pm

Botanic Garden Education Centre

• Neil Paterson (Botanic Garden) “Biogeography: Darwin, Wallace, Evolution and the Dundee Botanic Garden”

• Mark Cutler (Geography): Dr Mark Cutler is Head of Geography and has a special interest in remote sensing of lakes and tropical forests

• John Rowan (Geography):John Rowan is Professor of Physical Geography and researches into the sensitivity and resilience of environments to change

This event is free but places are limited so please book. Telephone 01382 381190

Minutes

The Minutes of the June meeting are now available.

Talk

Dundee Green Party 

are hosting a talk by 

Dr Neil Burford, Senior Lecturer in Department of Education at Dundee University, 

about the new Macro-micro building in the Garden, as part of their AGM, 

on Monday September 9th at 7pm.

It will be in the Education Centre in the Garden and the Greens are inviting Friends of the Garden to join them.

As space is limited please e-mail srmeek@blueyonder.co.uk if you plan to come - Thanks

As a volunteer in the garden it's very rewarding to see the results of your work - especially when the seedlings were as tiny as these


These seedlings were pricked out 2 weeks ago, and were almost too small to handle. The seeds were collected in Australia by the Curator last year, so even more pressure to get them to grow!

July's Plant

Eucalyptus pauciflora ssp. niphophila (Snow Gum)

Family: Myrtaceae                Origin: SE Australia        Accession: 1985

Location: Australasian plants

Friends' outing 30 June

Some members of the Friends visited the beautiful garden at Garden Cottage, Dunnichen on 30 June

Examining the seedheads of cardiocrinum

 

 

May minutes

Now published!

WestFest

Congratulations to the organisers for a splendid day! The Friends' plant sale raised over £100 for the Garden and attracted a good deal of interest from gardeners and non-gardeners alike. 

Plant of the month: JUNE

Sorbus alnifolia var. submollis (Alder-leaved Whitebeam)

Family: Rosaceae                 Origin: China                  Accession: 1982

find it in the native hillside section 

Can we do better?

The plant sale raised £800 so can we do even better in June? 

The Friends will be taking part in the 

WestFest Big Sunday, 9th June, 

selling plants 

from 1 - 4 pm.on Magdalen Green 

If you can support the Friends by offering plants for sale please bring them along to the Green after 11.30 am that morning.  

Thank you

to all those of you who supported the Friends' Plant Sale, Despite the showers we sold a record number of plants, enjoyed some fascinating conversations, and made a healthy contribution towards funding for the Garden. 

If you missed the sale this time don't despair. We'll be selling more plants on 

Magdalen Green during WestFest's Big Sunday on 9th June. 

Sale

Perfect weather for planting!

Choose a challenge or indulge in the exotic!

Sale of plants TODAY from 12.0 - 3.0 

Plant of the month

May

Trillium grandiflorum (American wake-robin)

find it in the American section 

Family: Melanthiaceae    Origin: Eastern North America

Trillium are herbaceous perennials with erect stems bearing a whorl of ovate or diamond-shaped leaves, with one or more erect or nodding flowers borne at the tip in spring. T. grandiflorum is a vigorous perennial forming a large clump of erect stems each carrying a whorl of three broadly ovate leaves and a solitary terminal flower to 10cm across, with three recurved white petals.

Plant Sale on 11th May

Calling all Friends....

Donations of plants labelled and potted if possible should be brought to the Botanic Garden anytime after 10.00 a.m. on Friday 10th May or

 on Saturday before the Plant Sale from 10.00 am. 

If you can help on Friday to receive the plants or on Saturday during the Sale 

please phone Frances on 665719

Plant Sale

For the unusual, the exotic, the excellent value, come to the 

 Friends' Annual Plant Sale 

 at the Garden 

on 

Saturday 11th May 

between 12.0 am and 3,0 pm

As a volunteer in the garden it's very pleasing to see the results - a tray of plants from cuttings taken last autumn. Well, apart from the yellow leaved one bottom right!

A busy morning volunteering in the Garden
Hopefully the sun will shine and we can all enjoy the flowers in a couple of months.

No Fun

The Family Fun Day due to take place on Saturday has been cancelled. 

April's plant of the month

Primula elatior (Oxlip)

Family: Primulaceae        Origin: Central & Southern Europe         Accession: 2011

flowering in the Native Woodland area now.

Family Fun Day

The 13 of April will see the Garden host its annual family fun day from 10am to 4pm.

Entry charges will apply and the day should be full of activity for all.

I hope to see you there.

Alasdair

Friends on line

As Friends will read in their Newsletter, we have set up a web site on Group Spaces to enable the committee to contact by email those Friends who join the group  If you would like to take part please follow the link on the panel to the right.
We hope that we can use the system to cut down on our very expensive postal charges Equally important is being able to notify the Friends of events in the Garden and to consult on the ways the Friends choose to contribute towards the development of the Garden. 

Also on the right is the link to MyDonate, which is the on-line method of renewing membership fees. It's very easy to use and you don't have to register if you don't wish to do so!   More information about  MyDonate is on a separate page. 

Talk

The Grampian & Tayside Group of Plant Heritage

Saturday 30^th March 2pm

The Education Centre, Dundee Botanic Garden

Riverside Drive, Dundee DD2 1QH 

A Tour of Scotland's Rich Heritage of 'Useful Plants'

 By Greg Kenicer

Head of Education, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Tickets on the door or by advance booking. £4

To make a booking or for more details, contact Sue Hewer on 01575 560259 or suehewer1@btopenworld.com

Come along and join RBGE’s Gregory Kenicer for a whirlwind tour through Scotland’s ‘useful plant heritage’ as seen through the eyes of everyone from the first hunter-gatherers to the gentlemen botanists of the Enlightenment. Scotland’s useful wild plants are superbly versatile, and we’re very lucky to have excellent accounts of their traditional uses. The spread from pragmatic everyday food and materials, to mainstays of local economies, to weird and wonderful magical cures adds a fascinating dimension to the plants beyond our gardens.

If you've heard Greg speak before, you'll know that this is going to be a really good one!

Plant of the month - March

Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Charles Lamont’

Family: Adoxaceae           Origin: Garden              Accession: 1974

find it at the end of the rose garden 

Viburnum x bodnantense is the result of a cross between V. farreri  and V. grandiflorum. The cross was originally made by Charles Lamont, Assistant Curator at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh in 1933, but was not widely propagated until 1935 when the same cross was made at Bodnant, hence the name of the hybrid. ‘Dawn’ was the first named form, and ‘Charles Lamont’ was subsequently named as one of the original seedlings raised at Edinburgh.

A medium to large deciduous shrub, it has a strong upright habit when young, later arching outwards gracefully. Ample clusters of exquisitely fragrant, rose-tinted flowers are produced in winter, before the leaves appear in spring. The foliage also turns an attractive bronze in autumn.

Originally thought to belong to the family Caprifoliaceae, recent studies using DNA sequencing have shown Viburnum to be a member of the family Adoxaceae.

Email address

Up to now we have not been able to make use of email to inform those Friends' happy to be contacted in this way about forthcoming events and matters of general concern to the Garden. Hopefully this is about to change - details will be published in the next Newsletter due out around Easter. 

Plant of the Month

February

Hamamelis mollis (Chinese Witch Hazel)

Family: Hamamelidaceae         Origin: China           Accession: 1978

Afternoon talk

 The Garden's Curator, Alasdair Hood, will give a talk about his adventures Down Under 

in the Visitors' Centre

on Wednesday, 6th February from 1 - 2 PM

This is the first time we have held a Friends; meeting at lunchtime so please come along and show your support. Visitors' welcome too!

Happy New Year!

Gardeners' Question Time

The audience may have been small but the enthusiasm was great. Our thanks go to our panel of Experts.

Gardeners' Question Time

TODAY

Saturday, 1st  December

GARDENERS' QUESTION TIME

2.30 PM

at

St Peter's Church Hall

Notes for November

Mid-November and the sound of a digger accompanied me on a recent walk round the Garden. This was not clearance of some wind-damaged victim. This was deliberate prior to establishing an eco building to the east of the Mediterranean Section. The building is an on-going project by Architecture students and Dundee University. Modern architecture can be exciting so we will watch this space. 
Alasdair Hood is now safely back from his visit to Australia and New Zealand. He obviously encountered more sun than those of us who stayed at home. 
As the clocks were put back it seemed to stimulate a change and autumn came to the Garden in a few short days Leaves carpet the the ground in shades of gold as the temperature fluctuates between 13 degrees C and very cold. A recent forecast of the winter to come suggests I buy some more thermals.
The Friends are participating in the West End Christmas Fayre on Saturday, 17th November. This allows us to meet people who may not be visitors to the Garden and hopefully they will fill in our questionnaire so we can discover what would make it attractive to them. We will also publicise Gardens' Question time which takes place on 1st December. 
Christmas is fast approaching - and still the grass grows!

Frances Tait 

Updates

Frances has offered to give us monthly updates on what to look for in the garden. Here's the first one. 

The Wednesday afternoon lecture series got off to a splendid start on 10^th October when Louise Bustard, Education Officer at Glasgow Botanic Garden, spoke on “Plants Can Kill”. This humorous and knowledgeable lecturer talked with enthusiasm about every day plants known to us all in gardens or on countryside walks. Almost fifty people attended and, despite hiccups with the University’s I T system, this was a remarkable start to the season. As a gardener I am accustomed to wearing gloves and  washing my hands when I come inside. Now I shall do it with a little more care and I shall watch with trepidation where my host puts her proffered bunch of daffodils when I call in spring. (Don't ask) After such a successful beginning whom shall we call on for the 2012/14 session? Suggestions are welcome!

As the days and nights grow colder, the Garden puts on a new set of clothes. Gone are the greens, the blue-greens and the green-greens. Now come a range not seen throughout the rest of the year. The weeping branches of the parotia on the far side of the pond seem to be on fire while the birch leaves glow creamy yellow and greenish bronze. Look out for the oaks, both English and Red, that surprise us with their variations in colour and shape.

There are still flowers to be found;: peppermint pink nerines at the rear of the glasshouse, muted red species dahlias to the south and, nearby, the ranks of watsonia and crocosmia stand in orange livery. Look at the trees outside the Visitors’ centre and you will see  texture and bark colour that rivals their spring display.  Search and you will find the leaves and flowers of winter-flowering cyclamen. Deeper In the Garden the rhododendrons, camellias, and magnolias are carrying their spring buds.  Take a walk yourself! There is much to enjoy  to in these winter months.

On Being Happy

Don't miss Neil's talk at Dundee University in the Baxter Conference Room 1.36, 1st Floor, Tower Building at 2.20 pm on Wednesday, 3rd October.

Neil Paterson (Botanic Garden)
On Being Happy: Epicureans in the Garden
Our health is intimately connected to our mental attitudes and approach to life.  The Greeks advocated living the Good Life but what precisely is that to be - Epicurus had an interesting answer.

See "Feeling Good" for the full programme.
All the talks are free!

Special Event

University of Dundee Wednesday Afternoon Lectures

To be held in Lecture Theatre, Tower Building, Perth Road

No need to book - Tickets  £2 per person available at the door.

           

The Friends have been asked to open the 2012/13 series of the University’s Afternoon Lectures on Wednesday 10^th October at 2.15p.m.

Our speaker for this occasion is Louise Bustard, Education Officer, at Glasgow Botanic Garden.   Her illustrated talk is entitled “Plants that Kill”  Do we know how treacherous some of our plants can be?  We know about foxgloves and laburnum but what about daffodils and snowdrops?   Came along and learn more from this excellent and humerous speaker who will keep us entertained while passing on some of her considerable knowledge. 

Other lectures in the series are –

            14^th November   Susan Keracher: Dundee’s Two Intrepid Ladies

            12^th December    Jim Cook: The History of Local Natural History

            16^th January        Bob McCurly & Graham Smith: The Birds of Angus

            6^th February        Derek Hall: Recalling a More Ancient Perth

            13^th March          Martin Kirkbride: How Green Was My Valley

AGM 2012

As you can see from the video the meeting was lively and well attended. It was a lovely autumn evening and many of those present had accompanied Alasdair on his guided walk round the Garden. Frances's report and the names of the members  of the new committee will be posted here shortly for those of you who missed the meeting. At the close of the meeting our Honorary President, Hugh Ingram, gave a moving tribute to Eddie Kemp, the Garden's first curator, who died recently, at the age of 101. He was the inspiration for the innovative design of the Garden. 

AGM 2012