Category Archives: Botany

Dried Flowers

Posted on 12/11/2015 by carolinemmurray

Just back from a brilliant tour of the Cambridge University Herbarium, in the Sainsbury Laboratory next to, but not formally connected to, the Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Many thanks to Christine Bartram, the Chief Herbarium Technician, for making us so … Continue reading →

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Ghostly Vegetables (Part 2)

Posted on 09/11/2015 by carolinemmurray

Returning to the remarkable plant portraits of late Victorian gardener Charles Jones, I thought I would look at the varieties he photographed, and see whether any of those that he named still exist. (There are some generic labels, such as … Continue reading →

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Ghostly Vegetables (Part 1)

Posted on 03/11/2015 by carolinemmurray

The botanical theme continues, because I have just acquired a lovely book, The Plant Kingdoms of Charles Jones, by Sean Sexton and Robert Flynn Johnson, on the recommendation of the estimable Gentle Author, on whose blog you can see some … Continue reading →

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Apples

Posted on 26/10/2015 by carolinemmurray

Upon St Crispin’s Day, what better way to celebrate England than to go to the Apple Day at Cambridge University Botanic Garden? For the second time, I had the fun of being a helper, slicing fruit for tasting, and bagging … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: October

Posted on 23/10/2015 by carolinemmurray

No difficulty in choice this month: the cyclamen, in all its varieties, is the outstanding plant of October. If asked to choose my own favourite flowering plant, I’d be torn between the cyclamen or the clematis (in all its varieties … Continue reading →

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St Helena

Posted on 06/10/2015 by carolinemmurray

I say St Helena, you say Napoleon, or possibly vice versa. It’s undoubtedly the case that this tiny and remote island is most famous because of its reluctant and ex-imperial guest between 1815 and his death in 1821. Large numbers … Continue reading →

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Manila

Posted on 30/09/2015 by carolinemmurray

I was reading a novel the other day in which mention was made of ‘a blue manila folder’. This brought me up short, because surely manila is (a) an envelope and (b) the substance for which the adjective ‘buff-coloured’ was … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: September

Posted on 26/09/2015 by carolinemmurray

Decisions, decisions: the autumn equinox is producing such wonderful sights that I’m spoiled for choice for September’s plant of the month. Sedums, rudbeckias, penstemons, cyclamen, colchicums, and of course Michaelmas daisies – which I’m alarmed to see are undergoing a … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: August

Posted on 14/08/2015 by carolinemmurray

This month’s plant is the dahlia: they are everywhere at the moment, in their incredible variety, and I know almost nothing about them. I’m not even sure I like them all that much – their colours, and especially the complex … Continue reading →

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Compositae

Posted on 11/08/2015 by carolinemmurray

… or Asteraceae, if you prefer, are basically the daisy family, ranging in size from the largest sunflowers to the smallest common daisy, Bellis perennis, and encompassing shrubs, vines and trees as well as the familiar herbaceous varieties. In terms … Continue reading →

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