Friends

  • Glasgow Flower Gardens

    Creating a community space that is teeming with wildlife isn’t only about getting the planting and management right. It’s also about other creative endeavours.

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  • R rarilepidotum in bloom

    Vireya Rhodododendrons

    This time of year, there will be quite a few rhododendrons flowering in the Gardens and elsewhere. These are usually Himalayan and Chinese species and hybrids – huge numbers of which were introduced in the late 19th and early 20th century. But there is a whole group which need to be grown indoors in Britain…

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  • 2024 CPH Graduates

    The Friends would like to congratulate the most recent cohort of CPH graduates on completing their certification! Well done to all and a big THANK YOU to our instructors on another successful season!

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  • Bust of Archibald Menzies

    Tales from the Tours: Plant Hunters

    Everyone loves a monkey puzzle. Araucaria araucana is a unique and popular ornamental conifer in UK gardens. But how did it get here? In 1795 Archibald Menzies (1754-1842) voyaged with Captain George Vancouver on HMS Discovery. Invited to dinner by the Governor of Chile in Santiago, he was served some large seeds for dessert, slipped

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  • Glasgow Flower Gardens

    Sweet peas are going to make a come back in our Annuals Garden this year. They were a highlight in our first year at the Botanics in 2017 so we are excited to have new space for them with the removal of the little Thuya hedge edging our plot. Seed sowing has begun in earnest

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  • Kibble Palace tours

    Many of those reading will be aware of the very successful summer and autumn tours of Glasgow Botanic Gardens led by our garden guides in 2023. As a further development The Friends and garden guides will commence winter tours of The Kibble Palace from mid January onwards 2024. These will be led by our volunteer

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  • Tour Guide Volunteers

    The Friends of the Glasgow Botanic Gardens are planning to start public tours of the Botanics in July. The aim is to raise awareness of the fascinating plant collections, conservation work and history of the Gardens and also to help raise funds for its continuing growth and maintenance. We are looking for Guides. Would you

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  • Friends of Glasgow Botanic Gardens logo

    Please vote to fund our new project!!

    The Gardens are just waking up but the Friends have been active over the winter and in particular supporting the Friends of Glasgow Parks Forum. The Forum has been leading the “Participatory Budgeting” process with the City Council – this sounds complicated but can be summarised by saying there is £90,000 available for new projects funded by Wee Green

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  • Happy New Year, what will 2020 bring?

    Happy New Year to all visitors and Friends of Glasgow Botanic Gardens. We will hopefully bring you lots of exciting events and highlight interesting additions to the collections over the next couple of months. One interesting point to make is that 2020 marks the 200th anniversary of the arrival of renown plant collector David Douglas

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  • Maureen Bell Bequest

    Maureen was a generous supporter of the Friends of the Botanic Gardens by making a major bequest to the Friends and we are currently developing the best way to utilise the funds. The Gardens restored the last glasshouse requiring major work (Pit 1), as well as a £10,000 donation towards enhancing a number of plant

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