Fascinating foraging walk and talk with Clare in the Garden yesterday - showing us all what is edible and what is not.

Angelica (edible) versus giant hogweed (poisonous) - same family

Friends plant sale in the Garden this Sunday 21st from 11am. Also lots of other things going on in the Garden - wood turners, the bee keepers, the birds of prey, the BarrowBand: Broccoli
( ww.youtube.com/watch?v=kCdJuk_2ix8 ) and much more. Free entry.

Plant of the month May 2017

Rhododendron augustinii
Family: Ericaceae
Origin: Central and Western China
Accession: 1985
Location: Asia

This evergreen rhododendron species is in the subsection Triflora, which are very free-flowering. It grows best in a woodland setting with some shelter, and will tolerate near neutral soil. It was discovered by Dr. Augustine Henry, a medical officer, in Szechuan, China, and introduced in 1899.

Plant of the Month April 2017

Amherstia nobilis - Pride of Burma
Family: Fabaceae
Origins: Burma
Location: Tropical Glasshouse
Accession: 1984

This tropical tree has spectacular flowers and large compound leaves bearing 6 - 8 leaflets, drooping and brown when young. It is widely cultivated for ornament in the humid tropics, but very rare in the wild. Discovered by Nathaniel Wallich in a Burmese temple in 1827, it was named after Lady Amherst, the wife of the British Governor General. The Duke of Devonshire obtained plants for a special ‘Amherstia house’ at Chatsworth, but could not to get it to flower for many years.

Easter eggventure in the Garden 9th April - a children's event

The Friends are holding a members' event in the Garden, aimed at children under the age of 10, accompanied by as many parents/grandparents as they like, on Sunday 9th April from 3pm - approximate end time 4.15pm.

There will be Easter related activities, including decorating an egg, but please bring your own hardboiled egg!

Numbers are limited for this event, so booking is essential.
Please book via email to the committee email address fudbg.committee@gmail.com

There is no charge.

Plant of the month March 2017

Cunninghamia lanceolata
Family: Cupressaceae
Origin: China
Accession: 1979
Location: Garden of Evolution

C. lanceolata is a conical evergreen tree with softly spined, needle-like leaves which spiral around the stem, bearing two greenish-white stomatal bands beneath. Cones are small, spherical and inconspicuous. The tree tends to sucker around the base and grow in a multi-trunked form. It is a prized timber tree in China, producing highly durable scented wood, and is also grown as an ornamental tree reaching 15-30m in height. It was named after Dr. James Cunningham, an East India Company surgeon at Amoy, China, who introduced it to cultivation in 1702.

New log play area in the Garden under construction - financed by the Friends.

Berry Good for You: Berries and Human Health.

Sunday 5th March 2017

Gordon McDougall of the James Hutton Institute.    The talk will cover work from the Institute and its collaborators which suggests that berries have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health, type 2 diabetes, cancers, neurodegenerative diseases and infections.  Berries have an ancient, almost mythological association with health and have been used as cures in Scottish folklore and from other cultures.  Dr McDougall examines the accruing evidence for health benefits from berries such as raspberries, black currants and strawberries, which have been bred at his institute for many years.  Education Centre in the Garden at 2 p.m. Free to members of the Friends; others – donations welcome.

Sunday 12th February 2017

We regret this event has had to be cancelled. We hope to reschedule later in the spring or summer.

Daryll Archibald, of the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research, and Policy at Edinburgh University will talk about his research on Green Gyms for Older People.  Education Centre in the Garden at 2 p.m.  Free to members of the Friends; others – donations welcome.

Some hard digging going on in the tropical glasshouse on Thursday as Clare and Kevin remove a date palm.

Plant of the month February 2017

Rhododendron dauricum
Family : Ericaceae
Origin: N & E Asia
Accession: 1987
Location: Asian area at the far end of the Garden

This rhododendron species, introduced to Britain in 1780, is a compact, deciduous shrub growing to 2 metres with some of its leaves persisting overwinter. It is native to Eastern Siberia, Mongolia, and the north of China and Japan. The specific name relates to the area of collection - Dauria in south-east Siberia, present day Transbaikal. Due to its hardiness, with reports of plants surviving to -32^oC, Rhododendron dauricum has been used widely for plant breeding. It requires a moist, well-drained, acid soil.

Red squirrels being very bold this morning in the Garden. There were three, but they didn't oblige me by all being in the frame at the same time. The greedy one in the feeder was very possessive.

Plant of the month January 2017

Tibouchina urvilleana (Glory flower)

Family: Melastomataceae
Origin: S. Brazil
Accession: 1976
Location: Temperate Glasshouse

Tibouchina urvilleana is a sprawling evergreen shrub native to Brazil, growing 3-6m tall and 2-3m wide. Its elliptic, softly hairy leaves have prominent longitudinal veins, and the rich violet-purple flowers have exserted, blackish stamens. Requiring a minimum temperature of 3°C, in temperate areas it is often grown in a conservatory, though in frost-free areas around the world it is a very popular outdoor landscape plant.

The specific epithet urvilleana commemorates the 19^th century French explorer and botanist Jules Dumont d’Urville (1790-1842).

Plant of the month December 2016

Sequoia sempervirens (Coast redwood)

Family: Cupressaceae
Origin: Oregon & California
Accession: 1971
Location: by the Education Centre

Sequoia sempervirens is the only living species in the genus Sequoia, within the same sub-family as Sequoiadendron and Metasequoia. It is an evergreen monoecious tree living 1,200–1,800 years or more and includes the tallest living trees, reaching up to 379 feet in height. Before commercial logging commenced in the 1850s, it occurred naturally along much of coastal California and SW Oregon, dependent on precipitation especially fog coming off the ocean. As a timber species it is highly valued for its beauty, light weight, and resistance to fire and decay, which has contributed to its current “Endangered” conservation status.

On page 10 of the Autumn newsletter (click on the Public documents tab at the top of this page) you will have read an article about argan trees (argania spinosa) - endemic to Morocco. These can grow to 8-10 metres, but you can see a small one in the temperate glasshouse in the Garden.

The Wikipedia article about argan trees shows a photograph of goats climbing in the trees and eating the foliage - not a problem we are likely to have in the glasshouse I hope!

In the Garden in October - I wonder if they are edible?

Plant of the month October 2016

Colquhounia coccinea (Himalayan mint)
Family: Lamiaceae
Origin: SW China, E Malaysia
Accession: 1994
Location: Asian Plants

 



















Colquhounia is a genus of five species of evergreen shrubs. C. coccinea has large, downy, aromatic leaves, finely toothed and borne in opposite pairs on square stems, and can reach up to 3m in height. The tubular flowers are two-lipped, deep orange in colour and are carried on terminal spikes in late summer. It was first described in 1822 by the Dutch botanist Nathaniel Wallich who worked for the East India Company, and was involved in the early development of the Calcutta Botanical Garden. It was named after Sir Robert Colquhoun, a soldier and plant collector.

Explore the wonders and beauty of the rare native alpine plants of Angus at this free University of Dundee Botanic Garden event.

A varied collection of photographs and art pieces of these plants, currently facing survival problems due to factors such as overgrazing and changing tidal conditions, will be displayed and the exhibition will celebrate their magnificence and uniqueness.

The event and exhibition is part of a three-year project run by the University of Dundee Botanic Garden that aims to conserve many of these species as part of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.

You can also enjoy guided walks from the Angus Glens to the Sea and meet the great Dundonian botanist William Gardiner.

Free guides and refreshments will also be provided.

The event will take place on Wednesday 14^th September from 4.30pm until 6.30pm.  Entry is free but please note – tickets must be booked for this event before the 13 September 2016.

Book your ticket via Eventbrite uod.ac.uk/glens-to-sea or telephone Neil Paterson on 07931 767089

Plant of the month September 2016

Monarda didyma (Bee balm, Wild bergamot)

Family: Lamiaceae

Origin: N America

Location: Beside pond

A herbaceous perennial native to eastern N America, forming a clump of erect stems up to 1m tall, with aromatic, lance-shaped leaves and showy 2-lipped red or pink flowers 3-4cm in length in dense terminal whorls. The flowers are visited by long-tongued bumblebees - short-tongued bumblebees need to make holes at the base of the flowers to obtain nectar, and these holes may also be used by honeybees. Bee balm was used as a medicinal plant by Native Americans, who recognized its strong antiseptic action, and it is the natural source of the antiseptic thymol, the primary active ingredient in modern commercial mouthwash formulas. The genus is named after Nicolas Monardes, who described the first American flora in 1569.