Newsletter
A small team of volunteers have been producing newsletters since 1997.
Each newsletter includes a report from the Curator, a range of articles that have wide appeal to gardeners, horticulturalists, botanists, and those with an interest in the natural environment and local history.
A list of our newsletters, with a summary of the articles in each one, and a link to the newsletter, can be found below.
The latest issue is not listed, as it is available only to members of the Friends for the first six months after publication. Newsletters are now issued at the end of the following months: February and October.
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Newsletter contributions
Would you like to contribute an article to our newsletter? Perhaps you have been facing a particular challenge in your own garden, or have been on one of our Friends of Treborth events, or have visited an interesting botanic garden, or have some thoughts on a current horticultural or environmental topic.
Do write about it – we’d love to hear from you! Please contact us
Issue 84, September 2025
Content
Chair’s Introduction, September 2025 3
Head of Garden’s Report—May to September 2025 4
Yr Alwad 10
Botanic Gardens and Conservation 11
Head of Garden’s response 12
The Swallow-Tailed Moth, Ourapteryx sambucaria 13
A Tribute to Enid Griffith 14
How Volunteering at Treborth Botanic Garden Supports
Wellbeing — and Eases Pressure on the NHS 16
The Fronds of Treborth Botanic Garden 27
Honouring a Life among Ferns 29
Len Jones—Horticulturalist 30
Treborth Met Data—January to July 2025 34
Treborth Weather Station, an Exciting New Development 35
Trouble with Mice 36
Orchid of the Season: Miltonia flavescens 37
Dye Plants: Indigo 39
FTBG Library News 40
Some Gardens in Norway 42
The Bishop’s Gate 43
Note for Contributors 44
Issue 83 May 2025
Chair’s Introduction, May 2025 Page 3
Head of Botanic Garden Report Jan-April 2025 6
Nigel Brown, Honorary Doctor of Science 9
Identifying Species in Treborth’s Bamboo Collection 11
Biochar Doesn’t Just Store Carbon—It Stores Water and
Boosts Farmers’ Drought Resilience 12
Orchid of the Season. Brassia Chieftain W.W.G. Moir 1961 14
Friends of Treborth Botanic Garden Library 16
The Puss Moth 18
Interview with Dr. Pat Denne 23
Disease has Killed Most of the U.K. Elm Trees since the
1960s — But There are Signs They May be Making a Comeback 26
Treborth Meteorological Data December 2024-March 2025 28
In Defence of Woodlice and their Complicated Sex Lives 30
Guided Garden Tours at Treborth 33
XLAB Collaboration Transforms Plant Labelling at Treborth Botanic Garden 34
Cactus and Succulent Poaching 36
Issue 82, January 2025
In Memoriam: Ann Wood (Nigel Brown);
Beaumaris Allotments (Jon Keymer);
Fungus Forays are Fun and Fundamental (Nigel Brown);
Treborth Fungus Foray, Sep 24 (Charles Aron);
In Memoriam: Peggy Gollogly (Sarah Edgar);
Clifden Nonpareil Moth (Charles Aron);
Orchid Coelogyne mooreana (Simon Retallick);
Alaska’s Inside Passage (John Gorham);
Tan Dinas Quarry (Sarah Edgar);
Treborth Met Data 2024 (Pat Denne);
Sky Garden Project, Manchester: Castlefield Railway Viaduct (Gerry Downing).