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| crocuses, cowslips and planting out in the Victorian Garden |
Over the last month or two I've been enjoying more walks in the Botanical Gardens. It's fascinating watching a garden change through the seasons and the Botanical Gardens is no exception.
There's so much to observe in the many areas each with a different emphasis in planting and following the original vision in the early Victorian period of creating a place 'to promote healthy recreation and self-education'. In 1834, the Sheffield Botanical and Horticultural Society appointed Rober Marnock, a well-known gardener, (who later on designed Regent's Park in London).
At Sheffield he acted as curator and designed the Gardens in the fashionable Gardenesque style of the day where plants were displayed in scattered plantings. You can just imagine the members of the Society promenading through the grounds and along the Long Walk to take a look at the various botanical specimens. In those days the Gardens were only open on Gala days until they were eventually bought for the benefit of the general public.
The last couple of times I've visited the gardens some of the borders were being cleared ready for the new season and the Victorian Garden was being planted out with pansies and daisies. Crocuses were in bloom in the grassy areas and there were more flowers out in the woodland such as cowslips.
All these lovely flowers so typical of Springtime are now under a blanket of snow and ice and one wonders whether they will survive in such cold conditions?
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| Palms, mimosa. Purple flowering Bengal clock vine ( Reinwardtia indica), yellow flax (Thunbergia grandiflora) |
Another enjoyable aspect of the Gardens are the glasshouses that are divided into rooms containing plants from each continent.
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| Camellias from South Asia. The pink one is called 'Mandalay Queen' |