Cam Botanic Garden
@CUBotanicGarden
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🌱 Official account of Cambridge University Botanic Garden 🌿 Discover 8,000 plants from around the world 🔎 Research, Conservation, Education, Relaxation
Cambridge
Joined November 2009
🌿Embrace the New Year in the beautiful seasonal landscapes of Cambridge University Botanic Garden. From the tranquillity and winter beauty of the Garden to seasonal family activities and inspiring courses, there’s something for everyone. Find out more:
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Its happening now! This is not a drill! . It appears that our moonflower is a bit of a sunlover and it has started opening during the day, just to keep us all on our toes!. Visit the livestream to see it in action:
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Its been an amazing 16 days, but we have now taken the Moonflower livestream down - the flower had faded so much that there wasn't much left to see. We have absolutely loved sharing this experience, thank you to everyone who has joined in the excitement about this amazing plant.
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The Moonflower (Strophocactus wittii) has surprised us with a late afternoon bloom! . It should be in flower for 12 hours before fading. See it now on our livestream & enjoy it in all its glory!. #Moonflower23 #Strophocactuswittii .
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It’s not just leaves that are showing off their autumn colour at the moment! Just look at the berries of the Amur peppervine or porcelain berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata). These amazing colours result from a pigment that reacts to pH changes as the berries ripen.
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From Saturday 21 March, Cambridge University Botanic Garden will be opening free of charge, daily, 11am - 3pm. Please see a statement from our Director below or visit our website
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Our biggest loss is Newton’s Apple Tree. We had recently become aware that the tree had died & the strong winds proved too much. We have a clone that will be planted elsewhere in the Garden soon, so Newton’s Apple will remain in the Garden, but sadly not in its accustomed place.
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A rare tropical cactus from the Amazon rainforest is going to flower at CUBG for the first time in the UK – for 12 hours only!. It opens at sunset & is over by sunrise, & we’re livestreaming every night until it opens. Find out more & watch the livestream:
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We have been overwhelmed by the interest in, & love for, the Moonflower, thank you!. After yesterday's excitement, you can find out what was going on behind the scenes during the flowering, watch the full flowering timelapse and more on our website:.
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(1/3) We’re excited to have our first ever flower on the rare and endangered wild tulip species – Tulipa regelii. This unique species has pleated leaves to ensure it maximises the water it collects in the dry mountainous conditions in SE Kazakhstan where it originates.
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Hear more about our Moonflower tonight as @AliFortescue @SkyNews was here to see it open live - her bulletins will run throughout the eve
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Great to see our #Moonflower making today's national papers with these images by @jjgiddens. He captured it in all its glory late into the evening; being examined by our Director @Beverley_CUBG for research & being pollinated by Glasshouse Supervisor Alex Summers @CamPlantsman
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Delighted that @ITN News at 10 will be live streaming our Moonflower feed tonight - tune in to see it unfurl if you missed it earlier & see it in all its full glory now before it begins to wane #moonflower #Cambridge #botany
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Two hours on and the Moonflower has opened and is looking stunning. Congratulations to our Glasshouse Team on this wonderful achievement. @Cambridge_Uni
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If you would like to hear more about the Moonflower flowering, and what happened overnight, @CamPlantsman is talking all about it this morning on @BBCBreakfast at 7.20 and @bbc5live at 7.40.
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(1/3) Darwin’s orchid - the exquisite, white, star-shaped orchid, Angraecum sesquipedale, is now in bloom in our Tropical Glasshouse. It fascinated Darwin because of its extraordinary long nectar tube. He predicted a pollinator partner with an equally long proboscis…
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If you missed our Moonflower flower (& even if you didn’t) you can watch the timelapse & see the bud swell before bursting into bloom. We hope you enjoyed watching & waiting, thank you for all the lovely comments about this enigmatic plant, its been great sharing it with you!
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Join us for a Moonflower Facebook Live Q&A this evening at 6pm! . Find out about the sweet then sour scent, its structure & how we are self-pollinating it. We’ll be there to answer your questions so please send them to the Live comments. We’re @CUBotanicGarden over there too.
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Moonflower watch! Almost 22cm today & more than we ever expected! Our colleagues at Bonn BG flowered theirs at 20cm & we were expecting the same. It flowers 25/27cm in the wild. @CamPlantsman is on nightwatch. The sepals are not parting, it may still grow longer! #watchthisspace!
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We think tonight is the night!. You can see the overnight developments -we’re expecting it to open after sunset. There will be a Q&A on Facebook at 9.30pm with @Beverley_CUBG & @CamPlantsman. Join us there to find out more about this amazing plant. See you later! #fingerscrossed
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Hello frost-tinged Tuesday! The seed heads in our Mediterranean Beds look stunning coated in frost & bring some magic to the Garden as well as providing seeds for the wildlife! #gardening #wildlife #Cambridge
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CUBG will remain open during the upcoming lockdown. We are pleased to provide a green space for walking & wellbeing in the city at this time. To visit the Garden, you must purchase a ticket online: For more details please visit:
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* #Moonflower update 😬will tonight be THE NIGHT?! Our German colleagues who have flowered one before say it could be. The bud is big enough to flower but it’s not giving us any other signs so it’s impossible to predict. It could be anytime! Will let you know as soon as we know🤞
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A reminder from today onwards, we are open free of charge, 11-3pm via our Brookside Gate only. For those unable to visit, we are sharing informal virtual walks through parts of the Garden - full walk here: we hope you enjoy them #wellness #outdoorspace
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After further advice from the Government, & taking into account the number of visitors we anticipate on Mother’s Day & beyond, we have made the sad decision to close the Garden with immediate effect. We will continue to share Spring unfolding in the Garden & will stay in touch.
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We are delighted to be reopening the Garden, with some changes, to our Friends from 9 June and to the wider public from 16 June. Please see our website for details - please note that admission will be with pre-booked tickets only.
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*Moonflower watch* - it’s still growing and unlikely to bloom now tonight. Will it reach the length it does in the wild before it flowers? We think it might! We’ll update you again tomorrow or check it out on our live webcam here: #moonflower #cambridge
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Our #TitanArum has grown 20cm since Saturday. The countdown to flowering has started! #ReturnOfTheTitan @plantsci
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We’ve just taken our reading for yesterday’s temp (19 July) . It reached 39.9 degrees C at 2.02pm. This beats our previous record high of 38.7 degrees C 25 July 2019. The highest temp recorded yesterday in the UK was 40.3 degrees C at Conningsby, Lincs .#Heatwave2022
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Wow! Did you see it?.#CoronationConcert . CUBG was honoured to be one of the iconic landmarks illuminated as part of ‘Lighting up the Nation’ during the King’s Coronation Concert. #sustainability #climate #plantcollection
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The Winter Garden is an absolute jewel box of colour right now, not to mention the textures and scent! Uplift your spirits with a visit this weekend and don't forget, we have free expert led tours of the Winter Garden incl the snowdrop trail every Sunday 2pm!
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Blooming tonight? We’re all waiting with bated breath but we think we’re in for ANOTHER night of waiting!! It’s certainly keeping us all guessing! It’s now 26cm, slightly pigmented which @Beverley_CUBG says is likely to be protect against UV light #moonflower #cactus #cambridge
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Moonflower update, day 9: There has been some movement - it's grown to 26cm, the bud is starting to swell & the sepals are starting to pull up from the bud a tiny bit. BUT, Alex doesn’t think its going to be tonight as the sepals haven't begun to part. It'll be v soon though!
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🌸 Yoshino cherry update 🌸 . Its looking beautiful! . Spring has arrived in the Garden over the weekend as the cherry blossom is out in full, plus we now have frogspawn in the stream, the magnolias are starting to look luscious, trees are beginning to bud & the sun is out!
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Don't panic! If you noticed the livestream was down this morning, we were switching cameras so you can see the flowering in more detail when it happens. The flower is now at 25cm. A sepal peeled back at the tip in the night which is the first movement that we've had on the bud.
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Welcome to a new series of timelapse films showing the unfurling of some of the amazing plants in our Glasshouses - starting with the Jade vine. We plan to showcase a different plant each month. Films taken using a timelapse camera kindly donated to CUBG by @Brinno_Global
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Low Winter light reveals the skeletal forms of naked plants. Stem & branch, colour & texture, discover #winter drama
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The frost this morning added to the beauty of the Winter Garden. Don't let the cold put you off a visit, the light on the plants is stunning #winterwonderland
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Love night-scented plants? Tonight BBC Gardeners’ World @GWandShows repeat a film made here about night-scented plants, featuring some of the Garden’s #moths too! 8pm tonight/8.30am Sun BBC Two. Who else is dreaming of balmy summer eves?! #gardening #wildlife #Biodiversity
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It looks as though things might be happening with our Moonflower (Strophocactus wittii) bud! Its now 29.5cm, the bud has swollen & the tips are starting to separate out. Check out the livestream to see how things progress.
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STOP PRESS! A new #TitanArum flower is on its way. Come & watch it grow in our Glasshouse. More info next week. #ReturnOfTheTitan
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Today our #Moonflower Strophocactus wittii is measuring 24cm. Our Glasshouse team think it may flower tonight or tomorrow night🤍. Read more & see live webcam for flowering: Listen to @BBCCambs Drivetime 4.25pm to hear the latest from our Glasshouse team!
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TQ for your pollen @edenproject @TheBotanics, we're pollinating right now, fingers crossed for baby titans!
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We are closed but can still share the beauty of CUBG with you! We’re hoping to bring a ‘daily dose of nature’ to keep in touch. Today our Yoshino cherry is still looking stunning esp against the blue sky - we just had to post it!#TogetherAtHome #nature #springtime #cambridge
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To all our visitors & followers- we hope to stay open for as long as we can. The Garden shop & cafe are currently open too. Keep an eye on our website & s/media for updates. We plan to share spring joy in pictures via our s/media channels - this is our Yoshino cherry today 🌸
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Snowy scenes from the Garden today! It’s been a bright & beautiful Monday #MondayMood #wintercolour #snowday
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It’s ready to burst! Who else is waiting with baited breath for this beauty to be in full bloom? Our #Yoshino cherry is an annual spring highlight here & with all these buds, we’re sure it won’t dissapoint with an abundance of blossom this year too 🌸#hurryup #blossom #cambridge
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Deceptive daisy tricks male pollinators by producing fake female flies on its petals. Research published today from CUBG Director @Beverley_CUBG & @RT_Kellenberger @plantsci reveals the genes involved in this mimicry. Read more at
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We hope to reopen the Garden soon, please continue to check in with us for updates. When we do reopen, things will look a bit different as we’re putting changes in place to make sure that reopening is as safe as possible for our staff and visitors.
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We’re excited to be heading into Spring but our Winter Garden is still working its magic so we thought we’d share a bit of it with you! #mondaythoughts
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Perfect weather today to capture the light in our #WinterGarden - grasses, trees & some stems are placed so they are back lit by the ☀️ while others on the south facing side are perfectly spot lit #gardening #design #wintercolour #40years #visitcambridge
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Autumn fire & autumn gold - enjoy the colours of autumn provided by Liquidambar/Sweetgum & Ginkgo/Maiden Hair tree 🧡 here at the Garden by @slcuplants #autumncolours
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Happy New Year!! If you're ready to walk off the mince pies, the Garden reopens tomorrow at 10am - tickets must be purchased in advance of visiting online via our website: .We're looking forward to seeing you all again soon!
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While we've been concentrating on the exciting developments in the Glasshouses, elsewhere in the Garden, it looks like spring is on its way, hurrah!. #Daffodils #firstsignofspring
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It’s been magical in the Garden this week & chilly too (-10oC overnight). With warmer weather heading our way this weekend, we wanted to share some #Botanical #WinterWonderland #Joy with you before the #Snow disappears.
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An uplifting spring day today ☀️🌸 - here our daffodils, cherry blossom & purple toothwort are out and here to bring some colour & cheer to your day #tuesdayvibe #cambridge #spring
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We hope you enjoy these Monday morning ‘Bitesize Botanics’ reflections taken along our Stream Garden 😊💚 #Mondaymotivation #nature #wellbeing
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We remain open to provide green space, walking & wellbeing for our local Friends & visitors. This is in line with latest Govt guidance allowing botanic gardens to stay open. Entry tickets are v limited; advance booking essential . More details: #staylocal
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We're always happy to celebrate trees but especially in #NationalTreeWeek! Welcoming the start of the tree planting season, it's wonderful to share some tree love in all their stunning forms. Too hard to pick a favourite! @TheTreeCouncil
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Heavenly hellebores! They are the shy stars of the Garden, thriving in shadier parts, heads held low but still put on a beautiful show from winter into spring. If you are local, tickets for next week are now on the website to pre-book for fresh air & exercise #staylocal
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It hasn’t taken long for our third and final moonflower - Strophocactus wittii - to open this afternoon 🌙🌸🌵.We hope you agree it looks beautiful. It’s been enjoyed by a steady stream of admirers!.The Garden is now closed but you can still track it here:
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We are expecting another flowering of the Moonflower cactus plant Strophocactus wittii (formerly Selenicereus wittii). It is likely this will flower in the next few days & at night so we have set up a webcam live feed so you can watch it grow & flower.
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Did you know #snowdrops have anti-freeze proteins that help stop ice crystals forming, protecting the plant cells from frost damage? Our snowdrops have collapsed in the overnight frost but will revive as the temperatures rise #plantscience
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Take a two minute break, slow down and gently breathe to two minute moments of springtime natural beauty and calm here in the Garden #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #mentalhealth
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Blossom of snow. our #yoshinocherry is known to be one of the most floriferous and beautiful of the flowering cherry trees & is one this week's #plantpicks in the Garden. #whatson #Mothersday2019 #cambridge #springtime #cherryblossom
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Our #wintergarden is shining with colour as bark and stem glisten in the frost. Get outside this weekend and take a look #visitcambridge
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Sometimes it's hard to believe we're in a city! Come & escape - even if it's for a lunchtime stroll as the Garden is erupting with colour & scent at every turn #springtime #wisteria #roses #alliums #lilac #nature #mindfulness #Cambridge #visitcambridge
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Our #jadevine is just beginning to flower! Long racemes 75cm+ long with plenty of buds are promising an extra special emerald display over the next few weeks! #strongylodonmacrobotrys #cambridge #visitcambridge #glasshouseflowers
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A little moment of peace for your #ThursdayThoughts thanks to @davidaustrin in the Winter Garden - enjoy the sound if you can!
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What a stunning start to Tuesday! We arrived to a real winter wonderland ❄️ here in the Garden . with glistening glimpses of frost across the Mediterranean Beds, Dry Meadow & Rock Garden.#frost #winter #Tuesdaythoughts
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🌸Yoshino cherry update🌸. We’re still on #blossomwatch - the lower buds are now open & next week we hope the higher ones will follow & we can all enjoy it in all its full blossom 🌸glory! .🤞☀️🐝🌸☺️.#yoshino #cherryblossom #cambridge
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It’s snowdrop time! 🤍💚. Blow away the winter blues & discover drifts of these dainty flowers, scattered all across the Garden 🤍. Our free snowdrop trail is also available to collect from the Garden gates 😊 .#BlueMonday #snowdrops #wellness
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From #flower to #fruit! Our #TitanArum is 'expecting'! On show in our Glasshouses #ReturnOfTheTitan #nature #lifecycle #babies
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[1/4]🍁 Peak autumn colour alert!🍁.The Garden is currently ablaze with fiery oranges, golden yellows and deep reds. But why is it that leaves change colour at this time of year?.#AutumnColours #AutumnsVibes #AppleDay
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Today we're joining @nationaltrust in celebrating #NationalSnowdropDay. Take a closer look at these delicate beauties and you'll see differences in their leaves as well as flower size, shape & markings.
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Welcome to our snow day! . We're open as usual - if you're local, come and enjoy our snowy scenes❄️🤍. #snowday #snowuk #Cambridgesnow
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A cold morning but it transformed the Garden into this magical winter wonderland ❄️#freezing #sunrise #TuesdayMorning #Cambridge
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The Winter Garden covered in dusting of snow looked just stunning this morning #wintergardening #visitcambridge
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The first of our moonflower (Strophocactus wittii) buds flowered yesterday to the delight of staff & visitors. Whilst unfortunately one of the four buds may not make it to flowering stage, we are updating the livestream to track Buds B & C (which could flower anytime!)
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The beautiful calming colours of autumn captured here by the Lake last week by garden photographer Howard Rice #wellbeing #nature #MondayMorning
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(1/3) Are you hanging up the mistletoe this year & hoping for a kiss? There’s just one native species of mistletoe in the UK - Viscum album. Like holly, mistletoe is dioecious – plants are either male or female & it’s the female plants that have the characteristic white berries.
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We're looking forward to opening our gates to the public tomorrow for the first time since March . There are still tickets available (though the weekend is getting pretty booked up), visit our website to book & we will look forward to seeing you very soon.
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Agave update!! Our giant #Agave spear or 'mast' is still growing - almost 8cm in last 24 hrs - almost reaching the roof! 😳. Branches & flower buds are forming. Today it stands at 4.23m tall. We wonder how it will perform during the hot weather spell?! #Agavewatch #flowering
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We hope everyone has had a Happy Easter! The Garden is looking bright & beautiful this morning - full of fresh & bright spring colour 🌼#tuesdayvibe #Wellbeing #springtime
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Sharing some beautiful, quiet, reflective spaces of CUBG as we join together to commemorate, remember and be thankful this #VEDay75
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We're barking up all the right trees today! Feast your eyes on the tactile, hugely varied barks of the Winter Garden trees. L-R: Acer davidii subsp. grosseri, Prunus serrula, Acer griseum and Betula albosinensis var septentrionalis. Which is your favourite? #trees
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Tonight's the night some of our plants star alongside Sir David Attenborough in The Green Planet! Fancy a sneak preview? See what happened when Sir David encountered our squirting cucumber plant! @BBC @Cambridge_Uni @plantsci .#TheGreenPlanet
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The #jadevine continues to flower & delight our visitors here at the Garden and there are still more buds to flower!
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If you’re local & able to visit for exercise and recreation, next week’s tickets are now available to pre-book on our website. Enjoy a wander through the cherry blossoms which are starting to emerge. Prunus pseudocerasus var. cantabrigiensis is one of the first to flower 🌸
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1/2 Hear about one of the most famous botanical books, the 17th century Hortus Eystettensis in a film by @GermanHistSoc using CUBG's first edition copy. 50cm+ in size, full of detailed drawings, it elevated plants as things of beauty in their own right.
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Are you interested in joining our horticultural trainee scheme? We are now taking applications. More info & to apply: #trainee #horticulture #botanicgarden #jobs #cambridge
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Our titanic success! From flowering to pollination to fruiting to germination & now thru first dormancy! We have 160 titan babies - how did we do it? Read here: #titanarum #stinkyplant #endangered #IUCNRedList #conservation
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BBC Gardeners World have arrived to film pollination happening tonight!
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❄️A lovely frosty start to the day in the Garden this morning with plants glistening in the winter sunshine & a very happy robin visiting the Winter Garden!❄️ #FrostyMorning #WinterWonderland
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This year we are expecting not one but FOUR blooms on our Strophocactus wittii (our Amazonian moonflower)!.We’re not sure exactly when it will flower, but it could be as soon as this weekend and our cameras are livestreaming already!.🔗
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😢today to be saying farewell to our wonderful Glasshouse Supervisor Alex @CamPlantsman after almost 10 years of being here. He has nurtured our collection, contributed so much to research & shared so much knowledge. @walesbotanic are lucky to have him & we wish him all the best!
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We thought we'd share a few of our winter #January gems currently flowering in our Winter Garden. Please r/t & enjoy! #gardening #wintercolour #cambridge #40years
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