ArtPlantae Today

Festival of Plants
Saturday, May 17, 2014
10 AM – 4 PM

The Cambridge University Botanic Garden invites you to the Festival of Plants!

The second Festival of Plants at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden builds on the success of this event last year and brings together horticulture and science in a day devoted to all things plant, from propagation to pollination, from seed to shopping! Join our team of horticulturists, plant experts and scientists from across the region for a garden event with a difference.

A range of events and exhibits timetabled throughout the day include ‘ask the gardener’ sessions, pop-up plant science demonstrations, and plant shopping along the Garden’s majestic Main Walk.

Activity hubs, listed below, make full use of the Garden, which is at its best in late spring:

Pop-up Plant Science

Here some of the top plant scientists from the East of England will be talking about their research and demonstrating scientific experiments to visitors. Visitors will be able to extract plant pigments, take the temperature of a leaf and find out how plants know their ABC!

Talking Plants
Leading scientists will give short talks about their research focusing on how science underpins how your garden grows.

Plant Promenade
The Garden’s majestic Main Walk will be transformed into a Plant Promenade of shopping stalls with a boutique selection of local independent nurseries with choice plants for sale. Also, visitors can drop in to the Talking Plants tent to get advice from our expert horticultural staff about horticultural problems and gardening dilemmas.

Meet the Family
Learn all about plant families in the Garden’s unique Systematic Beds. Experts will be on hand to explain the key differences between plant families and invite visitors to pull apart some flowers and use the structures to determine which plants belong together and build a family tree.

So whether it’s getting advice on which plant goes where or how to home compost, discovering the inner workings of flowers, picking up some unusual plants for the garden, or simply having a fun day out with the family, there will be something for everyone at the Botanic Garden’s Festival of Plants.

The Festival of Plants is supported by members of the Cambridge Partnership for Plant Sciences (CPPS) and the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University.

Admission is £4.50/£4.95 gift aid (£3.95/£4.30 concession) and accompanied children 16 and under are admitted free of charge. For more information, please call 01223 336265 or visit www.botanic.cam.ac.uk.