<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we did not have a Show\nthis September Glen Link arranged a visit to the Cambridge University Botanic\ngarden. The tour with a knowledgeable\nguide certainly broadened the pleasure and value of the walk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is Glen\u2019s account of\nthe visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of our guides on the\n10th<\/sup> September had a special interest in trees and highlighted some\nof the exotic specimens the University had been encouraged to establish when it\nopened in 1846. The lime tree, Tilia Europaea, planted beside the original\nentrance in Trumpington Road, became the Garden\u2019s logo. Related trees, in\nfamily groups, were planted on the perimeter. Juglandaceae, near the entrance,\ninclude Walnuts, Hickories and the Caucasian Wingnut. At the edge of Brookside\nLawn is Isaac Newton\u2019s apple tree, a selection called \u201cFlower of Kent\u201d, a scion\nof the original tree at Woolsthorpe Manor, Lincolnshire (Newton\u2019s family home).\nIt was this original tree which inspired his theory of gravity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who could fail to be\nimpressed by the giant redwood, Sequoiadendron giganteum? The two and a half\nfeet thick, spongey, reddish bark acts as insulating fire protection, although\nthe cones need encouragement from heat to release seeds. In their native\nCalifornia, a dance floor was created on the stump of a felled specimen;\napparently it could accommodate 8 sets of 4 couples!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Growing on West Walk, the\nOsage orange (Maclura pomifera) is one of the most unusual members of the\nmulberry family, Moraceae. The tree bears orange-size fruit high up in the\nbranches, but the autumn winds often bring them down to litter the grass\nbeneath. They have the appearance of large, deeply fissured, lurid neon green\ntennis balls or, as the horticultural staff call them, \u201cpickled gardeners\u2019\nbrains\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cSystematic Beds\u201d are\na Grade II listed feature of the Garden, designed in a \u201cgardenesque\nstyle\u201d by the\nfirst curator, Andrew Murray. They are used for teaching plant taxonomy, the\nscience of naming and classifying organisms. Related species of plants are\ngrown together in family beds. We tend to shy away from using Latin names for\nplants, but the binomial system developed by Linnaeus, where you have the genus\n(family name) and the species (first name), ensures there is no confusion with\nthe identity of a plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many other famous\nhistorical names are associated with the Botanic Garden. John Stevens Henslow,\nprofessor of Botany at Cambridge from 1825-1861 and his most famous student,\nCharles Darwin (often described as the man who walked with Henslow) studied how\nspecies vary according to their environment. Reginald Cory was another, whose\nmagnificent legacy enabled 20 acres of land on the eastern side of the Garden\nto be developed in 1934; a philanthropist, a\nwriter on horticulture, a researcher and liveryman<\/a> of the Ancient Guild\nof Gardeners<\/a>. The former residence of the Director, the construction of which he funded in 1924, is named Cory Lodge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I can only encourage you to visit and discover the ways in which the\nBotanic garden fulfils its mantra of CARE: conservation, amenity, research and\neducation. There is so much for all the family to see and learn throughout the\nyear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Glen Link<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As we did not have a Show this September Glen Link arranged a visit to the Cambridge University Botanic garden. The tour with a knowledgeable guide certainly broadened the pleasure and value of the walk. Here is Glen\u2019s account of … Continue reading