Lecture Programme

Currently we offer a lecture programme which starts each October. Monthly talks are scheduled throughout the winter, and are usually held in the Zoology Building, University of Aberdeen, on Tillydrone Road. Topics are varied, but concentrate on horticulture and the natural world.

Please see below for the latest programme. Talks are usually on the second Thursday of the month at 1930. Refreshments are provided afterwards, and Friends are encouraged to socialise and have the opportunity to chat to the speaker.

Featured
Alan Featherstone : "Restoring the Caledonian Forest"
Dec 12
Alan Featherstone : "Restoring the Caledonian Forest"

Now less than 1% of its original 1.5 million hectares, Alan is restoring parts of this forest in Glen Affric via his charity Trees for Life.

Prof Lorna Dawson CBE : "Natural Justice: How soil and plants have helped solve crimes"
Jan 9
Prof Lorna Dawson CBE : "Natural Justice: How soil and plants have helped solve crimes"

Having worked on over 200 criminal cases, Lorna discusses this discipline using examples from UK and abroad.

Jane Clifford : “A journey through the Japanese Garden at Cowden, 1908-2025”
Feb 13
Jane Clifford : “A journey through the Japanese Garden at Cowden, 1908-2025”

ONLINE ONLY ON TEAMS

How this amazing garden was created, destroyed by vandals and then restored in the past decade.

Past events

Featured
Pamela Ferns : "Siberian Iris and their history in British Gardens”
Nov 14
Pamela Ferns : "Siberian Iris and their history in British Gardens”

What is a Siberian Iris, and how/who introduced them to our gardens from as early as 1597.

Natasha Lloyd : “An introduction to foraging in the Cairngorms”
Oct 10
Natasha Lloyd : “An introduction to foraging in the Cairngorms”

Looking at plants used for food, cosmetics and medicine.

Caroline Holmes: “Impressionists in their Garden – Living light and colour”
May 16
Caroline Holmes: “Impressionists in their Garden – Living light and colour”

This lecture explores gardens through the senses of the Impressionists. ENTRY IS FREE TO ALL. PLEASE JOIN US.

David Rankin: “The Rocky Road to Chelsea”
Apr 11
David Rankin: “The Rocky Road to Chelsea”

How Kevock Nursery prepares an exhibit for Chelsea

John Mattingly: “Cluny after Arwen”
Mar 14
John Mattingly: “Cluny after Arwen”

Discovering how the garden at Cluny is recovering two years after Storm Arwen.

Razvan Chisu: “Plants and Castles of Transylvania: (online event)
Feb 8
Razvan Chisu: “Plants and Castles of Transylvania: (online event)

Discover the amazingly diverse wild plants in woodlands, meadows and high mountains of Transylvania.

Harry Watkins: “The Tangled Bank - how changing the landscape affects the atmosphere of the botanic garden”
Jan 11
Harry Watkins: “The Tangled Bank - how changing the landscape affects the atmosphere of the botanic garden”

The Tangled Bank project in St Andrews Botanic Garden is recreating some of Fife’s most threatened habitats. Drawing inspiration from Darwin, the Tangled Bank will be

an ecologically vibrant place to learn about evolution and botany.

Andrea Britton: "Looking at Lichens - an introduction to lichens and their ecology"
Dec 14
Andrea Britton: "Looking at Lichens - an introduction to lichens and their ecology"

An introduction into the fascinating symbiotic world of lichens, exploring their habitats across Scotland and what lichens can tell us about our environment.

Frazer Henderson: “Kyrgyzstan – In search of wild tulips”
Nov 9
Frazer Henderson: “Kyrgyzstan – In search of wild tulips”

An exploration of Kyrgyzstan in search of tulips and other botanical riches.

Lecture series 2023-4
Oct 12
Lecture series 2023-4

A Summary of the 2023-24 FCBG Lecture Programme. Lectures are held in UoA Zoology Lecture Theatre between October 2023 - May 2024. Full details for each will be published nearer the event date. A link to the simultaneous Teams broadcast can be obtained on request.

Nancy Stevens: “Delightful, De-lovely & Deranged”
Oct 12
Nancy Stevens: “Delightful, De-lovely & Deranged”

Nancy will take us on a trip around the world looking at the wonderful world of plants: From the super bloom of the Atacama and the Flying Duck Orchid of Australia to the 'Apple of Death' of Central America, the Red Spider Lily of Japan and all points in between.

Speaker Fergus Garrett - "Designing with Plants the Great Dixter way".
May 18
Speaker Fergus Garrett - "Designing with Plants the Great Dixter way".

Fergus will talk about connecting to the countryside, and how to combine plants using colour, shape, texture, repetition and punctuation, using Great Dixter and other gardens as examples.

Speaker Gavin McNaughton - “Blue is the colour - Big blue poppies and autumn gentians”
Apr 13
Speaker Gavin McNaughton - “Blue is the colour - Big blue poppies and autumn gentians”

Gavin McNaughton, owner of Macplants, will talk about meconopsis and gentians, in which he specialises. He will bring plants for sale.

Speaker Jimmy McRae - “The Tea and Spice Gardens of South India”
Mar 9
Speaker Jimmy McRae - “The Tea and Spice Gardens of South India”

Jimmy MacRae is a recently retired nurseryman who has been visiting Kerala, South India, for several years. He will speak about his extensive travels in the tea estates and the exotic spices grown there.

Speaker Colin Belton - “Logan Botanic Garden”
Feb 9
Speaker Colin Belton - “Logan Botanic Garden”

ONLINE ONLY - TEAMS BROADCAST

Due to unforeseen circumstances this lecture will now be given by Colin Belton, the Garden Supervisor at Logan and not Richard Baines (Curator)

Colin’s’s talk will showcase this sub-tropical paradise, known widely as Scotland’s Most Exotic Garden, featuring Southern hemisphere exotics such as Palms, bananas, tree ferns, Proteas and luxurious half hardy perennials.

Speaker Stuart Wale - “A potato miscellany - a global overview of the humble spud”
Jan 12
Speaker Stuart Wale - “A potato miscellany - a global overview of the humble spud”

Dr Stuart Wale is a potato consultant and formerly Dean at the Scottish Agricultural College, Aberdeen.

After working professionally in this area for more than 40 years and over 5 continents, Stuart will share his enthusiasm for the third most important crop in the world.

Speaker Jim Jermyn - “The challenge of growing European alpines”
Dec 8
Speaker Jim Jermyn - “The challenge of growing European alpines”

Jim Jermyn is the Property Manager and Head Gardener at NTS Branklyn Garden.

Areas such as the Maritime Alps can be visited at peak times of the year to view alpines in flower. But how to grow them in the UK? Jim looks at some new and creative approaches.