Tag Archives: Cambridge University Botanic Garden

Plant of the Month, November 2018

Posted on 28/11/2018 by carolinemmurray

This is an unlikely pick for the time of year: an aloe which looks as though it ought to be under glass but none the less is thriving (so far, in this unnaturally warm autumn) outdoors, in front of the … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month, October 2018

Posted on 04/10/2018 by carolinemmurray

What is an autumn crocus? The easy answer is that it is not in fact a crocus (in the Iridaceae family) but a colchicum (in the Colchicaceae family), Colchicum autumnale to be precise. Needless to say, neither life nor taxonomy … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: July 2018

Posted on 27/07/2018 by carolinemmurray

I had vaguely hoped that during my recent sojourn in Florida I might see a catalpa in (almost) its native habitat. Its usual southernmost range is further north in the state, but I had plans to visit botanic gardens, until … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: March 2018

Posted on 27/03/2018 by carolinemmurray

The primroses are out in splendid fashion this year – two severe blasts of snow appear not to have cramped their style (let’s see what the third, allegedly due later this week, will do). Quintessentially plants of woodland and hedgerow, … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: December 2017

Posted on 31/12/2017 by carolinemmurray

This piece runs the risk of being the most boring blog ever – even by my own soporific-tending standards. Yet it seemed a good idea at the time … I decided to take one picture every month in 2017 of … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: March 2017

Posted on 26/03/2017 by carolinemmurray

I have to confess that I had hoped that the Persian ironwood tree, Parrotia persica, had obtained its botanical name (first applied by C.A. von Meyer in 1831) because it was observed to be a favourite perch for parrots, but … 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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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 →

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Plant of the Month: January

Posted on 10/01/2016 by carolinemmurray

Quite a difficult decision, especially this season, when so many plants are prolonging their flowering, or beginning freakishly early. In the Botanic Garden, the native daffodils seem to have forgotten Perdita’s observation that they take the winds of March with … Continue reading →

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Halcyon Days

Posted on 07/01/2016 by carolinemmurray

The myth first. Halcyone was the daughter of Aeolus, the god of the winds. She and her husband Ceyx, king of Thessaly (or of Trachis, in some versions), were among the dim bunch (see Niobe, Marsyas, Ixion et al.) who … Continue reading →

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