IN THE GARDEN
T he Rock Garden at Cambridge University Botanic Garden is one of our key features, sitting beside the lake and displaying a host of alpine plants from across the globe such as Primula marginata (silver- edged primrose), Tulipa montana (mountain tulip), Aethionema grandiflorum (Persian stonecress), Pulsatilla rubra (red pasque flower) and Sisyrinchium macrocarpum . Of course, in our mountain-free region of Cambridgeshire, the Rock Garden is man-made. It was constructed in the 1950s using 500 tons of carboniferous limestone from Milnthorpe in Cumbria. Covering approximately one acre, it was developed on an open site under the watchful eye of the then superintendent, Bob Younger, who directed the construction to include planting pockets, crevices and screes to provide full sun and shade for a diversity of species. Today, the Rock Garden is an established historical feature where bulbous, herbaceous, perennial and woody plants grow, all of which are beautiful and jewel-like. For me, it’s hard to equate the delicate appearance of these alpine gems with the tough, inhospitable conditions from which many of them originate. Top of the rocks Across the country there are many well-known rock gardens to admire, each with its own distinct character. Perhaps the most iconic is the rock garden at RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) Wisley, where sandstone blocks are embedded into a steep, north-facing slope.
AROUND THE WORLD The Rock Garden at Cambridge University Botanic Garden was laid out to represent the mountain flora of different continents
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