By Dawn Bazely I would definitely bet that when Alastair and Jonathan launched Advent Botany in 2014, they never imagined that the annual series would still be going four years…Read More >
Public Engagement with Science
#AdventBotany Day 1: Christmas Cherry or the not-so-false Jerusalem Cherry
By Alastair Culham The Christmas Cherry is a small, soft-leaved, shrub bearing many small white flowers through the summer that develop into bright orange-red fruit in the autumn. It is…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 25: Erica x darleyensis,
It seems only right to devote the Christmas Day blog for Advent Botany to a plant that has brightened my winter garden for many years, Erica x darleyensis. This hybrid…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 24: Professor Vernon Heywood
By DrM Dr M introduced to #adventbotany this year, #adventbotanists, botanists whose birthdays fall within advent. The first featured Erasmus Darwin a great botanical mind from a bygone age. Dr…Read More >
Advent Botany – Day 23: Vanilla – nothing plain about this flavour!
By Rachel Webster and Sophie Mogg I’m not one for cream on my Christmas pudding, it just has to be custard or ice cream and so what I’m really admitting…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 22: Crataegus mexicana (Tejocote)
By Megan Lynch Traditions are made by people. We do something at a certain time and then we repeat it when that time rolls around again. There are young traditions…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 21: Cornus mas, the cornelian cherry
By Sophie Mogg More commonly known as the cornelian cherry, Cornus mas is a medium-large deciduous tree of the dogwood family. Linnaeus referred to this species as both Cornus mas and Cornus mascula, translating…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 20: Virgin birth and hidden treasures: unwrapping some Christmas figs
By Katherine Preston & Jeanne Osnas Figs reach their peak in summertime, growing fat enough to split their skins under the hot sun. It’s nearly impossible to keep up with…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 19: Christmas Gourds
By Dawn Bazely Prince Albert, who moved to England from Germany, to marry the young Queen Victoria, led the Victorians in inventing much of today’s Christmas aesthetic that dominates Britain…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 18: The Madonna Lily
By Robbie Blackhall-Miles Not realising the hope they give me, through their winter rosettes of green, the bulbs of the Madonna lily (Lilium candidum) sit snugly in the soil year…Read More >