St Andrews Botanic Garden Friends Newsletter Winter 2023

Friends Newsletter St Andrews Botanic Garden December 2023 No. 174

December 2023 Newsletter contents

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Rock garden under snow (Fiona Drummond)

Things to see and do in the Garden this winter Bekki Gorgon Top tips for climate friendly gardening Gillian Fyfe The unique power of collaboration Bekki Gorgon Inspiring more inclusive events Gill White Capital works programme Harry Watkins Red squirrels in the Garden Hollie Sutherland A growing garden team Autumn adventures at Planet Botanic Bekki Gorgon It’s all about the people... and the plants!

Sandy Pearson Fun at St Andrews Botanic Garden Aarni Priyadarshi Winter tips for your garden Beccy Middleton December crossword Angela Montford

PAMIS visit in October 2023 (Gill White)

Follow St Andrews Botanic Garden on Facebook and Instagram (@standrewsbotanicgarden) for updates on our projects and events Galanthus nivalis ‘Atkinsii’ (Fiona Drummond)

www.standrewsbotanic.org Friends of St Andrews Botanic Garden Charity Number SC006432

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Bekki Gorgon, Communication and Engagement Officer

The days may be getting shorter now that November is here, but there’s still plenty to see and do in the Garden this Winter!

There’s still plenty of autumn colour to enjoy in the Garden throughout November, as well as beautiful evergreen trees and colourful fruits and berries. Look out for the bark of silver birches and paperbark maples too. Winter is also a brilliant time to spot our Garden wildlife – with trees losing their leaves there’s more opportunity to spot garden birds, keep an eye out for robins and great tits. You might even see our red squirrels tucking into their food stores in the Pinetum!

Later in the winter, as we move through January and February, you can expect to see the first signs of spring in the Garden.

Keep an eye out for delicate white snowdrops, or colourful witch hazel and cyclamen, plus our grey herons courting by the pond. If you’d like to find out more about seasonal and festive plants which can be found in the Garden, make sure to join our Nursery & Facilities Supervisor Peter Watson for a festive Walk with Our Team from 11am on 20th December.

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We’ve got a packed schedule seasonal events coming up to enjoy, helping to get in the festive spirit! This year, we’ll be celebrating the launch of our Christmas Tree Sale with Torchlit Tours. These have now sold out thanks to fantastic support from our Friends and visitors, however keep an eye on your Friends E-News for more opportunities to take part in the new year.

You can still be one of the first to get your beautiful Christmas tree from Saturday 25th November!

All our trees are grown here in Scotland by Duff Trees, a familyrun tree farm with a focus on sustainability and conservation, located on the edge of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. All our Christmas trees are Nordman Firs, with great natural shape and long-lasting needles.

Don’t forget that if you pre-order online, you’ll receive a special early bird reward! Every tree pre-ordered before Saturday 25th November will come with a voucher for a free visit to the Garden for one household - enjoy it yourself or give it as a gift.

We’ll have more festive celebrations for families when

we’re joined by the Festive Fairy on Saturday 9th December! Bring some sparkle to your Christmas season by making your Christmas Wish and joining our elves to make your very own homemade Christmas decoration to take home! Plus, every child will receive a nature-themed book gift from our Festive Fairy! Spaces are still available throughout the day, so make sure to head to our website and secure your slot now.

Families with little ones under five can get involved in our Little Oaks Early Years sessions too, with sessions through November and December. These include a Festive-themed session on Tuesday 19th December and special Festive Dad’s Day on Saturday 16th December, packed with seasonal nature activities, songs and game to enjoy with your little one.

While you’re visiting the Garden, make sure to check out exciting new additions to our Bioscope.

The team from BioID at the Barlett School of Architecture, UCL, have added the first groundbreaking panels to the Bioscope – featuring carbon-sequestering panels made from biomineralised materials deposited by cyanobacteria and panels made from silk and bamboo, woven together by robot! The Bioscope is currently screening a short film about these technologies too – pop in any day from 12:00-16:00 to see this amazing technology for yourself.

We hope to see you enjoying winter in the Garden very soon!

Don’t forget that as a Friends Member, you can visit any of our “free with Garden admission” events completely free of charge – head to our website at www. standrewsbotanic.org/events to see all our upcoming events.

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Things to see and do in the Garden this winter

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Dr Gillian Fyfe, Climate Action Fife

Many people are looking for ways to garden more sustainably and make their gardens more resilient to our changing climate.

Climate Friendly Gardens has suggestions for ways you can make small changes in your garden to help tackle climate change.

Climate Friendly Gardens is part of Climate Action Fife and offers learning opportunities through workshops, leaflets and online resources. Visit our website 6

at Climate Action Fife or join our Facebook group: Climate Friendly Gardens.

Climate Action Fife is a Fifewide partnership project, bringing together individuals, communities, local government and businesses to tackle the climate emergency and make Fife a greener and fairer place to live. The project is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund.

Gillian’s Top Ten Tips for a climate-friendly garden 1. Plant a tree 2. Make your own compost 3. Avoid peat based composts 4. Saving water in your garden 5. Plant perennials instead of annuals 6. Reduce, reuse and recycle in your garden 7. Grow your own fruit, vegetables and cut flowers 8. Boost biodiversity 9. Keep your soil healthy 10. Opt for low carbon materials in the garden

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Top tips for climate friendly gardening

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Bekki Gorgon, Communication and Engagement Officer

As a Gateway to Inspiring Young People Botanic gardens have a key role in the learning landscape as a resource for communicating key issues, such as the biodiversity crisis, to the visitors, pupils and their families that they engage with.

They have huge potential to demonstrate the relevance of the biodiversity crisis to young people in Scotland, by sharing the research carried out in Scottish botanic gardens, providing local and relatable examples for pupils to be inspired by.

Over this last year, education and community teams from across St Andrews Botanic Garden, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and University of Dundee Botanic Garden have embarked on a new partnership – developing a brand-new biodiversity-focused workshop to be delivered collectively, reaching hundreds of pupils across Scotland. This is the first time all three education teams have come together for a project of this extent of collaboration and reach.

This hands-on, curriculum-

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linked workshop will be delivered to schools around Scotland, as well as at public events and workshops. It will focus on sharing how botanic gardens and their partners are taking action to tackle the biodiversity crisis, using exciting and engaging activities, providing relatable case studies and role models for young people find inspiration from.

As well as working in partnership to develop workshop content, our team at St Andrews Botanic Garden have been busy applying for travel funding to support schools in attending this workshops, targeting schools in areas of socio-economic deprivation to reduce the gap in opportunities for these pupils.

Our new schools workshop will launch in March 2023, with a special two-week programme of school visits, celebrating both the launch of our collaborative biodiversity workshop and British Science Week. This celebration will culminate in a community weekend, with events for families to attend together, allowing pupils to

share their learning with their whole family unit and encourage continued learning at home.

St Andrews Botanic Garden will also join the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s team onsite at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh for events as part of Edinburgh Science Festival 2024 next spring, engaging new audiences with our work here at the Garden and sharing the new biodiversity workshop.

Following these workshops, participants will be able to continue their learning using the Royal Botanic Garden

Edinburgh’s Plant Kind resource – an interactive online platform which creates a network of people taking action to protect plants and biodiversity by encouraging schools, community groups and individuals to share what they’re doing to protect plants.

The biodiversity workshop, developed in collaboration with University of Dundee Botanic Garden and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, will also become part of our schools programme for lots more classes to be inspired by and enjoy!

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

The Unique Power of Collaboration

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Gill White, PAMIS

Gill works with PAMIS Scotland within the Inclusive Culture & Leisure Programme and supports the development of the MultiSensory Story Programme. She is mum to Leo, who passed away in March 2022 aged 6½.

Before Leo passed away, the St Andrews Botanic Garden was our favourite place in the town to visit as a family. Leo was profoundly disabled, and we often struggled to find things in the area that he could fully engage with and enjoy, but within the Garden there were so many things for him to experience. He absolutely loved

the Butterly House - the change in climate, the tropical smells and all the butterflies landing on him. It was an absolute treat to come here. As you would imagine, the removal of the glasshouses was upsetting for us, as I’m sure it was for many.

Although we understood the reasoning for this, we were concerned that the Botanics was becoming yet one more place with nothing to offer our child.

This year however, the Botanic Garden ran a series of Campfire Consultations, asking children with disabilities and their families what they need and

what considerations are important to them. PAMIS (Promoting A More Inclusive Society) is a small charity that works with children, young people and adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and complex healthcare needs.

Following the Campfire Consultations, Lesley Gray, the PAMIS Inclusive Leisure and Culture Programme Development Officer for Fife, and I met with the Garden team and chatted through some of the ways they could run accessible and multi-sensory experiences for the group we support. The team welcomed feedback from PAMIS families and discussed ways to make both physical and sensory improvements throughout. Rebecca, Bekki and Callum were open to all the suggestions we made around inclusion and accessibility.

Their enthusiasm and desire to get things right was apparent from the beginning and through working closely together we had a successful Harvest Day celebration, despite the challenging weather conditions.

They cleared pathways making them wider, introduced ramps to ensure access to buildings was possible, planned and adapted activities to include

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everyone and warmly welcomed all the visitors, who enjoyed wheelchair pony rides with Obama and Simon from Pony Axe S and MultiSensory Storytelling as well as harvesting fruit, making delicious juice and crafting clay and pinecone animals. The PAMILOO mobile Changing Places Toilet was there to ensure that all visitors had access to toilet facilities that met their needs, without which most could not have attended.

We are looking forward to planning more events with the team and offering advice on larger projects, such as installing a Changing Places Toilet with the right space and equipment to enable people who need assistance to use the toilet safely, comfortably and with dignity.

Thank you to the Botanic Garden Team for your ongoing efforts to create an inclusive and accessible environment that can be used and enjoyed by everyone in the community, no matter what their age or physical capabilities. We are very excited to be a part of your development and look forward to seeing what the future holds for the Garden.

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Inspiring more inclusive events

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Harry Watkins, Executive Director

Visitors to the Garden have seen a lot of changes over the past 36 months and as we approach Christmas and the New Year, it’s exciting to see works on the Boiler House nearing completion: as I write, from my office window I can see roofers installing insulation, joiners measuring for new windows and engineers laying underfloor heating, all with the aim of making a fantastic new education space.

Since we began the consultation for the Garden’s master plan in Summer 2021, we have seen key themes emerging from the feedback, including the importance of the Garden for community groups and the need for indoor spaces. Juggling these with the botanical and education programmes has meant that we the master plan design process has been phased whilst we identify short-term projects that we can do on relatively constrained budgets and longer-term projects that will need more extended research and development - a complex balance to get right but it has had a number of advantages, including the

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opportunity for more discussion and reflection.

Spring 2024 will see the short(ish) term projects all coming to completion at around the same time, and allow us to move to the next phase of the master plan and look to the longer-term. At the entrance to the Garden, we are going to create a sheltered welcome area: it won’t be heated but it will have lots of rugs, plants and comfortable chairs! We have noticed that alongside seeing more people coming to the Garden, there are also more people just wanting to come to meet up and have a cup of coffee or a sandwich, and hopefully this new space will make that a lot easier, and a nice way of starting a visit to the Garden.

In the Herbarium, we have installed new heating systems and done some internal shifting around of offices and working areas, which means that there is now more space for working on the herbarium specimens, hot desking and having meetings: relatively small changes but ones that make a big difference

on a day-to-day basis, and changes that have also enabled us to start the early stages of planning new research projects.

More on this anon!

new one from scratch, we are also reducing our long-term footprint by ending the use of natural gas and enabling a switch to renewable energy.

The Boiler House project is our largest project to date, however, and is made possible by the new relationship with the University of St Andrews. Being able to secure new types of funding means that the building can be completely overhauled and embody our sustainability values: the construction industry is one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions and in this project we are not only minimising our footprint in the construction phase by retrofitting an existing building rather than building a

The design for the Boiler House is planned to retain the best features of the building, with lots of natural light and high ceilings but most importantly, it will be a great space for classes, group activities and away days.

The Boiler House will be a busy place, with lots of new types of activities suddenly possible, not only during the day but also evenings: the room will be available for bookings, so please do get in touch with the team at the visitor centre if you are planning a gathering.

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Capital works programme update

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Hollie Sutherland, Eastern Lowlands Red Squirrel Group

It is without doubt that most Friends of the St Andrews Botanic Garden have seen a fluffy red tail and tufty ears when visiting the Garden. Native Red Squirrels have been spotted running around the wooded areas for many years. The Eastern Lowlands Red Squirrel Group (ELRSG) - funded through the Red Squirrel Survival Trust, and Fife Red Squirrel Group (FRSG) are keen to protect our red squirrels, a beloved symbol of Scotland’s native wildlife.

Unfortunately red squirrels have been facing a daunting decline in many parts of the country. These charismatic creatures are at risk due to the relentless spread of invasive 14

non native grey squirrels, which outcompete red squirrels for resources and can transmit a deadly virus called the squirrelpox virus. As the grey squirrel population advances, red squirrels are pushed out of their natural habitats, making conservation efforts more critical than ever.

While the Kingdom of Fife still boasts significant red squirrel populations, we are not immune to the threat posed by grey squirrels. With careful monitoring and proactive conservation measures, ELRSG and FRSG aim to ensure that the red squirrel’s presence in this region remains strong.

October’s Red Squirrel Walk During October’s Red Squirrel Week (and the Great Scottish Squirrel Survey) ELRSG Project Coordinator (and Botanic Garden employee) Hollie Sutherland took visitors on a Red Squirrel Walk around the Garden. They spoke about squirrel ecology, the need for native species conservation, survey and monitoring of both species and grey squirrel management. They also walked the Garden looking for signs of squirrels, and were lucky enough to spot a young red squirrel. A number of visitors signed up to be volunteers with the project! ELRSG and FRSG are delighted to receive such amazing support.

Keep a look out for those tufty ears this Autumn and Winter when visiting the Garden! If you see a red or grey squirrel anywhere in Scotland, all local red squirrel groups ask that you report your sightings to https://scottishsquirrels.org.uk/ squirrel-sightings

There are a number of ways you can get involved with the community-driven initiative that calls upon residents, nature enthusiasts, and wildlife lovers to become guardians of their local wildlife and woodlands.

Eastern Lowlands Red Squirrel Group are looking for volunteers over 18 years of age to help with surveys, monitoring, woodland management, public outreach, data management and analysis and grey squirrel management. Please email elredsquirrelgroup@gmail.com to find out more.

About Fife Red Squirrel Group (FRSG) The Fife Red Squirrel Group aims to support the conservation of red squirrels across the Kingdom. The voluntary group was constituted in 2014 and focuses on monitoring, surveying and awareness raising. They welcome new members at any time. You can become a member of the Fife Red Squirrel Group for just £5 a year. Contact them via fiferedsquirrels@gmail.com for more information and for other ways to get involved.

Red Squirrel Week and the Great Scottish Squirrel Survey The Red Squirrel Walk coincided with Red Squirrel Week, a time to celebrate these remarkable creatures and raise awareness about their conservation needs.

The Great Scottish Squirrel Survey is a collaborative initiative aimed at gathering comprehensive data on squirrel populations across Scotland.

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Red squirrels in the Garden

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

A growing Garden team We are delighted to have welcomed three new members of staff to our Garden team this autumn! Laura Camfield and Lindsey Stainer-Lie have joined our Nursery & Facilities Team as Plant Nursery Horticulturists and Beth King has joined as our Garden & Conservation Apprentice.

We’re excited to have them all on board and look forward to sharing what they get up to in the Garden throughout the seasons with our Friends.

Laura has joined the nursery team as part-time Horticulturist

while she continues to study for her HND Horticulture with Plantsmanship at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh.

Laura previously worked with The National Trust for Scotland at Falkland Palace where she learned a broad range of horticulture skills but most enjoyed propagating and growing on new plants which prompted her move to learn more here at St Andrews Botanic Garden. Laura’s favourite plants include Echinacea, Magnolia, and Erythroniums. As well as spending time in her own garden, Laura enjoys mountain biking and skiing with her kids.

Lindsey Steiner-Lee, Laura Camfield and Beth King 16

Beth is at the beginning of her horticulture career, having been studying Horticulture with the British Academy of Garden Design part-time for the last 2 years. She has had a passion for plants, gardening, nature and the outdoors her entire life, with the desire to make a career change into horticulture coming to a head in lockdown.

She also volunteers with the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust working across Fife on various conservation projects, as well as being a registered Tree Warden within Fife, championing trees and tree planting.

She is particularly interested in creating gardens and spaces which are not only visually beautiful but are also useful and functional for humans and animals, growing all kinds of edibles and versatile crops.

Beth has the ambitious goal of becoming self-sufficient on her own land in the future, and currently enjoys growing as much of her own vegetables, fruits, herbs and edible flowers as possible. When she is not in the garden, either at work or at home, Beth can be found exploring the coast and countryside, bird and wildlife spotting, swimming in the sea, hunkered down in her ‘art studio’ painting and drawing, or behind a drum kit.

Lindsey has worked in horticulture for the last 12 years in a variety of roles. Early in her career she undertook a traineeship in Glasshouse Horticulture at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and is thrilled to finally be back in a botanic garden and to be joining the team here at St Andrews Botanic Garden. Lindsey has a passion for propagating and raising plants and is excited to be part of the growth and development of the Nursery Team. In her most recent job prior to starting at St Andrews, she worked for three seasons as a grower of cut flowers and vegetables at Largo Walled Garden. This was an exciting and creative role, and she hopes to bring flair and creativity to the nursery team.

Before moving back home to Scotland in 2020, Lindsey spent 7 years working as a gardener at the University of the West of England in Bristol. As well as getting stuck in with lots of general gardening graft, she also established an Edible Campus project and looked after the campus Community Garden.

She loves meeting new people and the social elements of gardening, and very much looks forward to meeting the wider community of Friends here at St Andrews.

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

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Bekki Gorgon, Communication and Engagement Officer

Our Planet Botanic Holiday Club enjoyed two weeks of awesome autumn activities this October break! We were thrilled to be able to offer over one hundred fully funded sessions to almost 20 children and their families, thanks to support from the St Andrews Community Trust.

For many families, the school holidays can be a financial strain, causing anxiety about finding affordable childcare, in combination with increased energy bills and reduced food security without receiving the Free School Meals provided for their children during term time. Many families in this position find themselves unable to spare money for days out and educational experiences, causing worry or guilt that their children are missing out in comparison to their peers.

Our Holiday Club programme aims to reduce this stress on families by providing a safe, supportive environment during the school holidays, including educational and stimulating outdoor activities – bridging the gap for families who otherwise would struggle to afford

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childcare and days out. Snacks, lunches and travel funding are also provided, reducing financial barriers to taking part in the sessions, as well as ensuring that children involved are receiving nutritious lunches in lieu of Free School Meals.

This autumn, we welcomed both new and returning Holiday Club participants from across Fife. Families most in need were allocated spaces through a partnership approach working with Fife Council local schools and other third sector organisations to ensure we could support local families who would benefit the most from this programme.

Our Holiday Club had an actionpacked fortnight, taking part in a huge range of exciting seasonal activities including campfires, potion making, apple juicing & bug hunt, and themed days all about Magic, Wildlife and Survival Skills!

Marshmallow toasting and our Exploratree play area were favourite activities for the group - “[my daughter’s] favourite part of the gardens, in her words, is ‘the fire and the park’”.

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Autumn Adventures at Planet Botanic

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One of the key benefits to children who take part in Holiday Club is the improved confidence that results from meeting new people and engaging with new activities and environments. This was a common observation from both our staff and families taking part, with many sharing how much their children had ‘come out of their shells’ and found their confidence again - “It allowed my son the opportunity to find his passion for outdoor play and plants again. He is more confident and more resilient when it comes to going to new places… [I] feel like I have my boy back”.

The Holiday Club programme 20

also provides a safe environment for the children involved to meet new people and form new friendships outwith school. One mum shared that “[her son] has met a variety of different people he wouldn’t of otherwise and has formed a few friends outwith his usual group.”

Parents and carers also shared the positive impact that being part of the Holiday Club programme has brought them, and the rest of their family.

Many commented that not having to focus on childcare during the school holidays had a significant benefit to their finances and mental health, with one parent sharing how “It

Families also shared how the programme enabled their children to take part in activities they wouldn’t have been able to afford otherwise, alleviating concerns that their children were falling behind or missing out during the October break – “Without the funded place, I unfortunately wouldn’t be able to afford the group as my budget is tight, it’s such a weight off my mind/‘mum guilt’ when I can know she has the group to look forward to”.

Our staff love seeing how much children at Holiday Club grow in confidence throughout the sessions, seeing them bond as a group and make new friends. Our Education Lead Calum explained, “Working with the children at the holiday club provides a great sense of achievement for both myself and the rest of the team. It’s particularly rewarding watching the children gain in confidence and skills over the week.” Our team are very proud of our Holiday Club team who go above and beyond to support the families that attend.

We’re so grateful for support from the St Andrews Community Trust which allowed us to run our funded Holiday Club programme this October break!

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

helped massively after coming out of homelessness I was able to concentrate on work/uni rather than finding money for childcare. The money I saved helped go toward white goods.”

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Sandy Pearson, Garden volunteer

This was my initial response to the query “What does volunteering at St Andrews Botanical Gardens mean to you Sandy?” On further reflection I decided there was a little bit more to it than that. The people I refer to are like-minded, dynamic individuals who have a thirst to gain and share horticultural experiences.

Volunteering means I gain access to a fountain of information on practices and procedures imparted by welcoming, engaging and clever staff. Volunteers are also very knowledgeable with their wide and varied backgrounds. Each has a tale to tell and in ways are on their own personal journeys.

These combinations mean every volunteering session is like a school day, only much more fun.

I relish the thought of what I will learn on each day.

Making new friends and enjoying cut price coffee and brought-along biscuits and cake is a compelling combination. I enjoy the opportunity to work alongside people and plants with such diverse backgrounds!

Giving of my time freely means I

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have a feeling of contributing to the community, with the added bonus of working at something I love doing, especially at times of the year when things are traditionally quiet in my own garden.

negatives to all this volunteering malarkey and of course you are right: Admittedly the overtime rates are not great! If you come by car on a wet day the loose car park surface can cling onto your

gleaming bodywork. Oh yes, you will have to contend with cheery people who will make an enjoyable session go in really quickly!

Being a volunteer means I also qualify for a free t-shirt! Worn as a badge of honour and to utilise throughout the year, with shorts on summer days and over waterproofs on inclement occasions. Volunteers are snazzily dressed and some can extend the ‘shorts-wearing’ season even longer than postmen.

I think it fair to say St Andrews is not your typical Botanical Gardens. Unique, with its emphasis on urban, coastal and ecological projects running alongside the botanical ones, it also has a thriving engagement with children and families, in a fun, educational manner. I benefit from being a part of all this team interaction and 40% discount on plant sales on volunteer days helps too!

Perhaps now you are thinking, come on there must be some

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

It’s all about the People……and the Plants!

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Arni Priyadarshi

“We’re really pleased to be able to share this brilliant article, written by Aarni about her experience exploring the Garden. Aarni’s mum is one of our wonderful volunteers, which gave her some time to investigate the Garden and share what it’s like to visit when you’re 11. Thank you so much to Aarni and Ribha for sharing this with us - it’s great to hear about your adventure and we hope to have you back to explore more soon!”

Every second closer, the feeling of dread churned around my nervous tummy like an overexcited washing machine. As I shakily stepped out of my car, I felt doomed at the prospect of having to spend a whole two hours here while mum worked.

I tapped my foot impatiently on the wide gravel path, and didn’t half propel my bemused mum to the real start, two different winding paths which I suspected met at the opposite point I was standing at. She handed me an activity sheet I had to solve and waved me off cheerily before retreating back to one of the chairs. I felt like Indiana Jones, venturing

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into the dangerously exiting world, with no second thought of the word DANGER, even though it was written in bold letters literally everywhere. I mentally reminded myself to sit on a paper-white chair which strangely enough reminded me of a seashell!

I strode among some unknown bushes of pruned plants and slid into an unseen opening. And, oh my days, was I surprised, what with my mouth open so wide mum would’ve asked if I were looking to catch flies. I shut it in disgust and stepped cautiously onto a polished wooden platform. An OPENAIR THEATRE!!! In…in…in a blooming botanic garden!

I gingerly reached out and fingered the sturdy lavendercoloured panels which formed a circular igloo-like shape.

But minus all the slabs of ice.

It was then I noticed some, well, many gaps in the wood to allow an open sort of feeling.

I hovered by the entrance to a miniature chamber where a small huddle of people were clustered. I raced across a trampled, yet itchy, patch of

grass which led to a pavilion. It was a deep oak-coloured mixed with arty strips of red, with faded bunting strung across the tall, sturdy logs supporting the dome-shaped roof. There were benches to laze on while enjoying the majestic views of the sand-dunes of the Tangled Woods to the right, sorry, left.

To the right, there were the deep dark woods where the howls of treacherous wolves and dying screams of a wounded deer being ripped to pieces could be heard. Nah, just pulling your leg!

I was almost too happy to leave the wilderness-less woods and emerge out into bright, bedazzling sunshine. It was the most intriguing sight had yet to see. It was the smallest island in the dead centre of the large pond. Tree branches stretched

high as the long grass skimmed the water. Water lilies gently floated about. The whole pond was surrounded by a magnitude of flowers and plants, from the endangered bluebells to medicinal poppies to flag irises.

Sitting on a bench looking out to the pond, I could feel all my worries evaporating and relaxing my body.

All aboard for the train departing to the adventure playground! A clear picture of the garden, dry and boring, had haunted me for days: rows of various plants with confusing names, in neat rows, all leading to a fenced exit. Just walk up and down the rows while waiting for your time to be up.

How wrong I was!!

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Fun at St Andrews Botanic Garden

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Beccy Middleton, Curator

Hardwood cuttings Winter is a good time to take hardwood cuttings – very straightforward to prepare, and the easiest type of cutting to look after. These work well for almost all deciduous shrubs, soft fruit, and many climbers too. Choose straight sections of stem, about the thickness of a pencil, and cut up into pieces of around 15-30cm in length.

It’s useful to make the top cut a sloping cut, so that it reminds you which end is which!

Push the cuttings into deep pots of sand or free-draining compost – and then put them somewhere cool and sheltered (a coldframe or cold greenhouse is ideal, but a sheltered part of the garden will be fine too). Be patient and don’t disturb them until the following autumn.

Order and sow seeds of herbaceous perennials At this time of year, the nursery team is busy poring over seed catalogues, selecting the seeds they will be growing next year.

Most of our hardy perennials are sown just before Christmas and then left outdoors in a cold frame over the winter. Peter says “Now is a great time to

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get Mother Nature to help with the hard work. Seeds which need stratification will get this naturally over the winter, and we should get good germination as temperatures warm in spring”.

Planning ahead Winter can also be a great time to plan any changes you want to make in your garden.

The Garden and Conservation team are busy planning improvements to the Meanwhile Garden at the moment, which should be completed by next Easter. It’s a good time to put in new paths or beds, whilst most plants are dormant. Will says “You can see the structure of the garden much better at this time of year, without the distraction of all the leaves and flowers.

This makes it easier to envisage any changes you want to make.”

Pruning roses Many modern bush roses benefit from being pruned twice – with the main, careful pruning being carried out at the end of winter, usually in late February or March when the worst of the frosts are over. However, it can also be helpful to reduce the

height of your plants now by about a third, especially if you live in a windy spot. Beccy says “This first prune doesn’t need to be too precise, but shortening the longest stems now does save your bush roses from being rocked around too much over the winter”.

The team’s favourite winter plants: Dipsacus fullonum – teasel seed heads look wonderful on a frosty morning.

Hamamelis sp – witch hazels flower in late winter and release

clouds of perfume on milder days – enough to lift the spirits even on a dreich day. There is a large H. japonica ‘Arborea’ in the botanic garden between the Visitor Centre and the Bioscope cinema which is reliably gorgeous.

Galanthus sp. – there are drifts of common snowdrop to enjoy in January and February throughout the garden, but keep an eye out on the rock garden for some more usual species, including G. plicathus and G. woronowii.

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Tips for your winter garden

29 Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Friends office bearers and Garden contacts Convener: Dorothea Morrison Vice-Convener: Julia Young Membership: friendsmembership@standrewsbotanic.org Volunteering: volunteer@standrewsbotanic.org Garden bookings and enquiries: info@standrewsbotanic.org Visitor centre: 01334 461 200 Garden website: www.standrewsbotanic.org

Friends of St Andrews Botanic Garden Committee 2022/23 Michael Ashburn, Pamela Brunt (Treasurer), Hazel Gillion, Christina MacDairmid, Prof Thomas Meagher, Dorothea Morrison (Convener), Julia Young (Vice Convener)

Friends Honorary Life Members

If you have received this newsletter as a paper copy and would prefer a digital copy instead, please contact us at the Friends Membership email address above.

The digital version helps us keep our membership costs down and redces our environmental impact.

St Andrews Botanic Garden Canongate St Andrews Fife KY16 8RT +44 (0)1334 461 200 www.standrewsbotanic.org

28

Across

DOWN

4 Drain exhaust fluid (3)

1 Posh Sam munched a banana (4)

7 True crime Involves missing eastern spice (8)

2 Road with poster on each side or in the middle (4)

8 Removes weeds with shrunken footwear (4)

3 Runs up, fells tree (6)

9 Red churchman next to the pope (8)

4 Bulb found on shelf in South Africa (5)

10 Ridiculous rate of false wheat (4)

5 Leave nothing out of photo of one excellent northern

11 Horse is laid on mountain cress (6)

shrub (8)

14 Mountain tobacco found in barn I came across (6)

6 Calm rite results in poetic measurement (8)

15 Menace a naughty child at the finish (6)

8 Tea can give one a bit of a stomach ache (3)

17 Heads of some nasties an ideal lunch snack (6)

12 Bantu ram can digest Asian fruit (8)

19 Prickly case when heads of bureau undergo rapid

13 Boot tree used in the vegetable garden (8)

retraining (4)

16 Be really boring about mythical beast (6)

20 Corinthian leaf maybe seen in a tin in this

17 Organ produces part of first “Amen” (6)

manner (8)

18 Letters sent during an emergency (3)

23 Dog asks to get back some of his pudding (4)

21 Adjust sound of a fish (4)

24 Learn ode about a rose laurel (8)

22 Manipulated second hand (4)

25 First take the only alternative before eleven (3)

Friends Newsletter winter 2023

Mrs Jean Allardice, Prof Richard and Dr Edith Cormack, Prof Robert Crawford, Lesley Cunningham, David Douglas, Ian Douglas, Prof David Ingram, Jim McColl, Robert and Felicity Mitchell, Dr Angela Montford, Louise Roger, Dr Jean Stewart, Roger Waldron, Robin Waterstone