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Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art opens at Kew Gardens
Category(-ies): Botanical Art , Other Botanical Gardens
Many works of botanical art never before seen by the public will be exhibited in the newly-opened Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Read more, or watch the video:
New botanical art museum to open via the BBC
New Gallery of Botanical Art, an RBG Kew press release
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:52 PM | Comments (0)
Drought Affecting Kings Park and Botanic Garden
Category(-ies): Climate Change , Other Botanical Gardens
Ongoing drought conditions (including a lack of winter rain) have started to affect the collections of the Kings Park and Botanic Garden in Perth, Australia. Thirty year old sheoaks, banksias and eucalypts are succumbing to the dry conditions, causing losses in the range of ten to twelve percent of the collections (so far).
Drought Killing Western Australia's Biggest Tourist Attraction from the Sydney Morning Herald
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 9:38 AM
Three Gorges Botanical Garden Closes
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
Xiang Xiufa, a Chongqing businessman and plant conservationist, raced to rescue rare and endangered plants that were going to be exterminated by the Three Gorges Reservoir. His efforts initially met with some success: the formation of The Three Gorges Botanical Garden for Rare and Specious Plants. After startup funding of 53000 USD was received in 2002, government funding has run dry and the garden has been forced to close, placing the plants in jeopardy once again.
Garden’s Closure Leaves Nowhere to Go for Three Gorges’ Plants by Yunwu Cao for the Worldwatch Institute
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:59 PM
National Tropical Botanical Garden
Category(-ies): Invasive Plants , Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation
Though the article describes a tour of the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii, its emphasis is on the conservation of native Hawaiian plants and the efforts against invasives and plant extinction.
A Tour of Hawaii's Rare Paradise from The Christian Science Monitor
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:03 PM
Gardens by the Bay
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
Singapore's well-planned efforts to green the city over the past forty years have earned it a reputation as a leadingTropical Garden City. The city's newest project, The Gardens by the Bay, should secure Singapore's standing as a leader among tropical cities. An international design competition is being held to plan the three-garden complex that is to be built on 94 hectares of prime waterfront land. The Garden at Marina South will be a little larger than the existing Singapore Botanic Gardens. Plans include what is expected to be the largest cool house in the tropics. The other two sections of the project will offer beachfront recreation and water-sports in beautiful garden settings.
Links:
- Top talent invited to design Gardens at Marina Bay from Channel NewsAsia
- Gardens by the Bay website of the international design competition
- Singapore Botanic Gardens Singapore's premier botanic garden, founded in 1859
- National Parks Board, Singapore the lead agency in promoting garden and park development in Singapore
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
Furcraea selloa var. marginata
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
A close relative of agaves, Furcraea selloa var. marginata has put forth an impressive, gigantic inflorescence at the royal Botanic gardens in Hamilton, Ontario. The plant, which was accessioned by the garden in 1976, flowers only once and will die after blooming. Fortunately, many plantlets will form from the inflorescence, offering good opportunities for propagation.
Continue reading "Furcraea selloa var. marginata"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)
Auction of Jurassic Trees Brings in Over a Million Dollars
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation , Plant Discoveries
The Wollemi pine, a tree thought to have been extinct for millions of years, was discovered in Australia in 1994. Since then, the species has been a focus of fascination for botanists. Wollemia nobilis apparently survived in isolation in a small pocket of sheltered forest about 150 kilometres north of Sydney. Fewer than 40 adult trees in two small groves were discovered in the wild. The exact location of the groves has been kept secret.
The Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney held a special exhibition to promote and fund research and preservation of the Wollemi pine. A display grove was created from the first generation of plants grown from cuttings taken from the wild trees. 292 of the rare trees offered in an international Sotheby's auction at the close of the exhibition, raised over $ 1 million for conservation efforts.
Links:
- Dinosaur trees attract a mint from The Australian
- The Wollemi Pine Global Launch from Wollemi Pine International Pty Ltd
- Hawkesbury Valley Wollemi Pine a descriptive page about Wollemi pine from the Hawkesbury (tourist information)
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 2:08 PM | Comments (0)
Botswana to Open First Botanic Garden
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation
Botswana is to open its first botanic garden in November this year. The nine acre garden in Gaborone, Botwsana will feature collections of living plants for education and research in a beautiful natural setting with historic buildings. Established indigenous trees and shrubs at the site were incorporated into the garden design and other native plants were brought in from various areas around Botswana.
An herbarium has been set up for research. One of the main goals of the garden's planners was to promote awareness of the biodiversity of the region and to conserve its rare indigenous plant species.
Link: First botanical garden opens from the Daily News
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 3:45 PM
Microchips Foil Theft of Rare Plants
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Legal News and Issues
Curators at Ventnor Botanic Gardens on the Isle of Wight had microchips inserted into two rare tree ferns when they first arrived at the garden. After the ferns were stolen recently, this fact was made public. The two pilfered plants were found shortly after, having been dumped off by the thieves, who must have realized that they would not be able to sell the plants.
Link: Microchips save rare tree ferns from the BBC News
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 9:55 AM
Artistic Vision Guides Garden's Rise from Ruins
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
The Italian village of Ninfa was so lovely it was named for the nymphs that the residents believed inhabited the area. Destroyed as an act of revenge in a dispute between members of the Caetani family, the village lay in ruins for nearly six centuries. When Ada Wilbraham married into the family, in 1920, she became enamoured with the village and set about to create a garden from its ruins.
Continue reading "Artistic Vision Guides Garden's Rise from Ruins"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 4:41 PM
New Chinese Garden Planned for Seattle
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
Seattle is planning the construction of a Chinese garden that will be three times the combined area of the Chinese gardens in Portland and Vancouver. The four and a half acre garden is expected to cost US$30 million and take ten years to construct. The Seattle garden will be built in the style of the Sichuan province to reflect the culture of Seattle’s sister city, Chongqing.
Links:
- Elaborate 4.5-acre Chinese garden planned from the Seattle Times
- Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
- Portland Classical Chinese Garden
- The New York Chinese Scholar's Garden
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 2:35 PM
New Device Takes Children Beyond the Garden
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
The 4-H Children’s Garden at Michigan State University has introduced technology to allow visitors to explore the world of plants beyond the botanical garden’s beds. Personal Science Assistants (PSAs) can scan a tag on displays at the garden to call up additional information and photos of the plants. The devices connect science learning to a real world experience and they are a hit with kids.
Link: Garden gizmo puts plant info in visitor’s hands from Lansing State Journal
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 2:27 PM | Comments (0)
Ozarks Botanical Garden Creates Educational Displays for the Backyard
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plants in the Landscape
The Botanical Garden Society of the Ozarks announced plans to create nine diverse gardens, each measuring 2,000 square feet, to demonstrate creative possibilities that can be adapted to the average backyard landscape. The concept arose from questions received from newcomers to the area about which plants grow best in the local climate.
Continue reading "Ozarks Botanical Garden Creates Educational Displays for the Backyard"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 1:37 PM
China's Jiangxi Province to Expand Gene Base for Endangered Plants
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation
East China's Jiangxi Province has plans to expand its botanical garden in Jiujiang to 231 hectares, over ten times its current holdings. The garden has served as a gene base for the propagation of rare plants. It has sent thousands of cuttings to research stations and botanical gardens around the country. Expansion is expected to be completed by 2020.
Link: East China province to expand gene base for rare plants from the People's Daily
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 2:58 PM
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Faces Invasive Weed
Category(-ies): Invasive Plants , Other Botanical Gardens
A 16-hectare plot of Britain's beloved bluebells is under threat from an invasive weed. Perfoliate alexanders (Smyrnium perfoliatum) were intentionally introduced to the gardens, but are shading the bluebells, robbing them of the sunlight they need to survive. There is a danger of the weed becoming a serious problem in Britain as it thrives in the same conditions as the native bluebells.
Continue reading "Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Faces Invasive Weed"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 4:47 PM
Committee Report on Royal Botanical Gardens
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
A report released on April 1, by the Royal Botanical Gardens Review Committee on the status and future of the provincial garden in Ontario has been well received by stakeholders and public officials. The garden has been experiencing financial difficulties and administrators had feared they would have to close the facility. The Review Committee was co-chaired by former Hamilton mayor Robert Wade and regional planning expert David Carter.
Continue reading "Committee Report on Royal Botanical Gardens"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 3:36 PM
Kudos for North Carolina Botanical Garden
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
The North Carolina Botanical Garden, in Chapel Hill, was awarded the 2004 Sustainable Business Award in the nonprofit category, by Sustainable North Carolina, a non-profit agency that promotes sustainable development and conservation in the state. The garden received the award for the design of its future Visitors' Education Centre.
Continue reading "Kudos for North Carolina Botanical Garden"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 12:30 PM
World's Highest Botanical Garden Opens
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation
What is believed to be the highest-altitude botanic garden in the world recently opened in Yunnan Province in southern China. The Lijiang Alpine Botanical Garden was built jointly by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the Kunming Plant Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Elevations in the garden range from 2,680 metres to 4,300 metres.
Continue reading "World's Highest Botanical Garden Opens"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 4:14 PM
Shanghai Plans New Botanic Garden
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
Shanghai plans to build a new botanic garden in suburban Songjiang District. The current Shanghai Botanical Garden is surrounded by buildings and has no room for expansion. The new garden will cover 210 hectares, an area three and a half times that of the existing garden.
Continue reading "Shanghai Plans New Botanic Garden"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 5:31 PM
Classical Chinese Garden Planned for Washington, DC
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
Construction of a classical Chinese garden is planned for the US National Arboretum in Washington, DC. The garden will be a gift from the Chinese people to the American people and will symbolize friendship between the two nations. Design and construction of the garden will be a cooperative effort of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the State Forestry Administration of the People's Republic of China.
Continue reading "Classical Chinese Garden Planned for Washington, DC"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 3:41 PM
New Name for Strybing Arboretum
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
The Strybing Arboretum has changed its name to the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum. The garden was originally named after Helene Strybing, who donated the funds to start the garden. Administrators felt the name was not well recognized by the public and hope that the new name will help generate public support for the garden. The name change coincides with several large improvement projects in Golden Gate Park, where the botanical garden is located.
Continue reading "New Name for Strybing Arboretum"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 1:27 PM
Royal Botanical Gardens Gets Reprieve
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
The financially troubled RBG in Hamilton has been granted $1.87 million in funding assistance to maintain operations. Although the amount is more than the gardens board of directors had requested, it is only a one-year deal. The Ontario government expects the board to make revisions to its financial systems and will provide financial consultants.
Continue reading "Royal Botanical Gardens Gets Reprieve"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 1:48 PM
Dr. David Mabberley Joins Faculty at Univ. of Washington
Category(-ies): Botanists and Horticulturists , Other Botanical Gardens
David J. Mabberley, an internationally renowned botanist, has been hired as director of the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture and Seattle's Washington Park Arboretum. He will join the faculty at UW as professor of economic botany in the College of Forest Resources and hold the UW's Orin and Althea Soest Chair in Horticultural Science.
Continue reading "Dr. David Mabberley Joins Faculty at Univ. of Washington"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 1:43 PM
Premier Committed to Supporting RBG in Hamilton
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has promised to give the financially strapped Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton the support it needs to stay open. Although no guarantees of additional provincial funding were made, the premier was confident that a plan could be worked out to keep the gardens open.
Continue reading "Premier Committed to Supporting RBG in Hamilton"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 2:16 PM
Queen Honours Kew, A World Heritage Site
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew received a visit from the Queen and Prince Philip of England on June 4. The royal couple presented the gardens with a plaque to honour the selection of the garden as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Continue reading "Queen Honours Kew, A World Heritage Site"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 6:45 PM
RBG in Hamilton Ready to Close Its Doors
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
The Royal Botanical Garden in Hamiton may close its doors on July 31st if it cannot secure the additional $1.7 million needed for annual operating funds from the provincial government in Ontario.
Continue reading "RBG in Hamilton Ready to Close Its Doors"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 4:11 PM
A Delightfully Horrible Garden
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plants, Food and Medicine
The Alnwick Garden in Britain is opening the “Poison Garden” in August of 2004. The Poison Garden will feature some familiar plants such as belladonna and foxglove (which can both be seen in the UBC Physic Garden), but visitors to the Alnwick Gardens will also see many plants that they are unlikely to encounter elsewhere, such as coca and strychnine.
Continue reading "A Delightfully Horrible Garden"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 1:14 PM
More Bad News for RBG in Hamilton
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
The Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton is seeking an extra $1.7 million in annual operating funds from the provincial government of Ontario. Administrators are making the case that they are underfunded by the province compared to other similar agencies. A tour has been set up for Ontario Culture Minister Madeleine Meilleur so she can see firsthand the value of the gardens and the potential loss if regular maintenance cannot be sustained.
Continue reading "More Bad News for RBG in Hamilton"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 3:11 PM
Kudos for Quarryhill
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
Quarryhill Botanical Garden, located in Sonoma Country, California, has drawn a rave review from Alice Joyce in The San Francisco Chronicle. A relatively new garden (nothing planted before 1990), Quarryhill Botanical Garden and the David C. Lam Asian Garden at UBC share a similar mandate: a focus on wild-collected Asian plants.
Continue reading "Kudos for Quarryhill"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:14 PM
Royal Botanical Gardens Posts Large Deficit
Category(-ies): Herbaria , Other Botanical Gardens
The Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, has lost over two million CAD since 2001. To tackle the deficit, they have closed their herbarium to researchers and students, closed their library to the public, laid off staff and imposed parking fees on trailheads (RBG's landbase includes four nature sanctuaries).
Continue reading "Royal Botanical Gardens Posts Large Deficit"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:38 PM
Middleton Secure for Now
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
The financially troubled Botanic Garden of Wales has been granted approximately $7 million CDN to continue operations. Created in 2000 as one of the United Kingdom's millennium projects, it has been troubled by financial shortfalls since shortly after its opening.
Continue reading "Middleton Secure for Now"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 10:20 AM
Anecdotal Evidence of Climate Change
Category(-ies): Climate Change , Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has been operating a phenology project in some form for one hundred and fifty years. Trends from the study suggest that plants are flowering earlier than average in recent years.
Continue reading "Anecdotal Evidence of Climate Change"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:49 AM
Botanical Books Pillaged for Prints
Category(-ies): Botanical Art , Other Botanical Gardens
Nicholas A. Basbanes, an author and obvious bibliophile, wrote a piece in The Boston Globe detailing the story of a book that was auctioned in New York and later discovered to have been destroyed for its illustrations.
Continue reading "Botanical Books Pillaged for Prints"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:22 AM
Fine Fertilizer, Those Dollar Bills
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
Anne Raver of The New York Times writes about the new garden shop at New York Botanical Garden:
“In some ways, this is a wonderful extension of the service and education the garden has provided since its first garden classes in 1917, because the books and art and plants have been judiciously selected... But is this what a botanical garden should be doing?”
Continue reading "Fine Fertilizer, Those Dollar Bills"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 11:24 PM
Rhododendron uvariifolium
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation
From the Glasgow Herald:
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is helping to restore natural populations of Rhododendron uvariifolium on Yulong Xue Shan (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain) in Yunnan, China. The wild population of Rhododendron uvariifolium on the mountain has declined in recent years due partially to a cultural practice of women using the flowers as hair adornments, preventing seed set.
Continue reading "Rhododendron uvariifolium"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:23 PM
Three gardens planned to close in California
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
Los Angeles County has plans to close three botanical gardens and to deed the remaining garden to a garden-associated organization.
Continue reading "Three gardens planned to close in California"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:07 PM
Lighting a Candle for Middleton
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
On Friday, the 19th of December, UBC Botanical Garden will be lighting a candle in support of the National Botanic Garden of Wales, which faces closure due to funding shortfalls.
Continue reading "Lighting a Candle for Middleton"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:36 PM
Selby Botanical Gardens pleads guilty
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Legal News and Issues
For background on this story, please read this weblog entry: Phragmipedium kovachii.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of violating the US Endangered Species Act for its role in illegally importing Phragmipedium kovachii. Selby Botanical Gardens will pay a fine of $5000, be placed on probation and also petition to have the name of the orchid revoked (please read the background for details about the name).
Continue reading "Selby Botanical Gardens pleads guilty"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:11 PM
Tropical fruit conservation receives a boost
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation
Fairchild Tropical Garden in Florida has received a 5 million USD donation from Mr. and Mrs. William F. Whitman to endow its Tropical Fruit Garden.
Dr. Mike Maunder, Acting Director of Fairchild, had this to say:
Continue reading "Tropical fruit conservation receives a boost"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:21 AM
Phragmipedium kovachii
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation , Plant Legal News and Issues
Named and described in 2002 by researchers at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, this “Holy Grail of the orchid world” is at the centre of controversy and legal issues.
Continue reading "Phragmipedium kovachii"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:57 PM | Comments (1)
Middleton, the National Botanic Garden of Wales, falters
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
Britain's first national botanical garden created in over 200 years, Middleton, the National Botanic Garden of Wales, is in dire financial straits.
Continue reading "Middleton, the National Botanic Garden of Wales, falters"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:40 PM
