Category Archives: Botany

Il Primo Orto Botanico

Posted on 03/09/2016 by carolinemmurray

The Botanical Garden of the University of Padua, set up by a decree of the Republic of Venice in 1545, is the oldest in the world. Well, actually, the University of Pisa founded its in 1544, but it moved site … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Gardens, History, Natural history, Venice | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Plant of the Month: August

Posted on 11/08/2016 by carolinemmurray

When everything else is looking a bit tired and dusty, there are some plants which you can rely on to go on and on. They are mostly ‘daisies’, Asteraceae, and mostly introductions from hotter climates, and my favourite is Cosmos. … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: July

Posted on 31/07/2016 by carolinemmurray

Though it’s difficult to select a subject in July (too much choice!), I decided to write about pinks – as opposed to carnations, sweet Williams, or any others of the Dianthus tribe – but the most superficial investigation shows that … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Botany, Cambridge, Gardens, Natural history, Venice | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Bemerton

Posted on 21/07/2016 by carolinemmurray

Our school hymnbook was Songs of Praise (without music). I still have my copy, and I honestly can’t remember whether it was mine to keep or whether I stole it (the latter by inadvertence, because I was far too Goody-Two-Shoes … Continue reading →

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Summer of the Slug

Posted on 07/07/2016 by carolinemmurray

Has there ever been a ‘summer’ (and that’s another problem, of course…) like this for slugs? I suppose it’s the combination of a mild winter (only one day on which the car windscreen was frosted, and no snow at all) … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: June

Posted on 18/06/2016 by carolinemmurray

The obvious plant would be the rose (which seems to be having a wonderful year in general, though I’m cheerfully expecting my ‘Félicité Perpétue’ flowers to turn into blue, mildewed mush, as it always rains in June just as their … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: May

Posted on 27/05/2016 by carolinemmurray

At the beginning of May last year, wisteria was flowering its head off in Venice. This year, at the same time, it was almost over, except for some plants on very shadowed or north-facing walls. And back at home, it … Continue reading →

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Pressing Matters

Posted on 24/04/2016 by carolinemmurray

In my view, you can never have too much of a good thing if that thing involves the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, so I was delighted a few days ago to participate in a study session on J.S. Henslow’s influence … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: April

Posted on 15/04/2016 by carolinemmurray

As a poet (rather than as an academic), A.E. Housman had the occasional lapse (who does not wince at the immortal lines, ‘The goal stands up, the keeper/Stands up to keep the goal’, in a stanza that Vaughan Williams refused … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: March

Posted on 27/03/2016 by carolinemmurray

Far be it from me to suggest that great minds work alike, but on returning from a happy expedition to photograph the species tulips in the alpine house at CUBG, I found that the Garden’s own ‘plant of the month’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Cambridge, Exploration, Gardens, Natural history | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments