Friends
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Remembering Boxer Peter Keenan
The many memorial benches in Glasgow Botanic Gardens show how for many people and families this place holds a deep meaning for them. The benches also provide a welcome place of rest and somewhere to chat with friends. However, outside of direct families relations, the names on the benches seldom give the sitter much information…
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Chair’s report
Even at the climax of summer, gardeners are planning ahead for the change of season. As previously intimated, our forthcoming AGM is on Monday the 7th September in the Kibble. By that date I will have been Chair for three years and in the six months before that I was heavily involved with setting up…
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A letter to the Friends of Queen’s Park
To Whom It May Concern, On behalf of the Friends of the Glasgow Botanic Gardens, we write to express our strongest opposition to the proposed closure of the Queen’s Park Glasshouse on the grounds of cost-cutting. This is a false economy. In the 1960s the misguided council of the era wanted to demolish all the…
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Judging for the British Orchid Council
I recently qualified as a British Orchid Council Judge and was presented with my badge at the Orchid Fair last weekend. I was inspired to train as a BOC judge by Alan Mackenzie, Chair of the Scottish Orchid Society and also a Friend of GBG who had already started the training program. David Menzies agreed…
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Magnificent Magnolia
The gardens are full of wonderful Magnolia blossoms just now. Magnolias are named in honour of the French botanist Pierre Magnol, professor of botany at Montpellier University in the late 17th century. He was the first person to suggest that plants with similar characters could be grouped together into families. Magnolias are native to China…
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Plant markers
For my university project, I was tasked with implementing type into a spatial environment. I chose to explore the Botanic Gardens and responded to the brief by creating a series of plant markers. I took inspiration from the history of the botanic gardens, specifically kibble palace, with its roots in Victorian Britain. I looked into…
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Exclusive tour with our orchid propagator
The Glasgow Botanic Gardens is renowned for its collection of dendrobium orchids and a group of Friends were fortunate enough to be given a guided tour of the orchid collection by Christine Nicholson. Christine is the head of orchid propagation and she was able to give us a glimpse into the magical world of orchids…
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Flint Mill Preservation
Last year, the Friends of Glasgow Botanics were successful in supporting Glasgow City Council gain Scheduled Monuments Consent to carry out physical works to consolidate and repair the remains of the former North Woodside Flint Mill Lade on the River Kelvin. The Friends contributed £3k to meet the costs of initial assessments which in turn…
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Chair’s report
The festive season is receding in our memories as we hopefully notice an increase in the length of day and also the improved brightness, at least on some days. The welcome sight of faithful snowdrops, aconites and hellebores is uplifting. The witch hazel to the right of the path leading to the Botanics Tearooms has…
