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Cambridge University Botanic Garden
@cubotanicgarden.bsky.social
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One of the largest university-owned botanic gardens in the world, CUBG's diverse collection of 8,000+ plant species supports leading scientific research. Welcoming 350,000+ visitors annually, it also inspires a love of plants, learning & horticulture.
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Cambridge University Botanic Garden @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social · Jan 6
🌿Embrace the New Year with us! From the tranquillity & winter beauty of the Garden – including free Winter Interest Tours – to seasonal family activities & inspiring courses, there’s something for everyone to enjoy this winter. Find out more on our website: bit.ly/4aMma3P
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How does Talking Plants work?🪴

Our helpful guide will show you how to spark up conversations with the 20 plants featured in our experimental exhibition, Talking Plants.

🌿Watch the video and start chatting!

More info: www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/talking-plan...

#TalkingPlants #CUBG
February 18, 2026 at 4:37 PM
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Did you know hazel (Corylus avellana) trees have both male and female flowers? 🌰

The yellow male catkins appear from February and the female flowers are tiny, red and bud-like – easy to miss! After pollination from other hazel trees, they develop into nut clusters by late summer.

#CUBG
Catkins hanging from a tree branch, with a background of greenery and bare branches in a garden setting. Hanging clusters of yellow catkins on a tree branch, set against a background of trees and a partly cloudy sky. A garden scene features a sign explaining that hazels are monoecious, having both male and female flowers. It mentions that the yellow catkins are male flowers and asks if one can spot the tiny red female flowers. In the background, there are trees and some small white flowers.
February 16, 2026 at 6:11 PM
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Half-term is coming up – looking for something to do?

🌿 Children aged 16 and under visit the Garden for free with an accompanying adult!

🌼 Snowdrops, a family mystery trail, winter scents, Talking Plants and more are waiting to be explored.

Plan your visit: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/whats-on/
Three individuals are closely observing a potted orchid in a greenhouse. They are holding smartphones. A sign with text is placed near the plant. A group of people walk along a path in a wooded park area, surrounded by patches of blooming white flowers. Bare trees and lush greenery fill the background. Two children wearing colourful coats and rain boots are walking along a path with puddles, surrounded by grass and small white flowers.
February 13, 2026 at 4:48 PM
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Twilight at the Museums is back this half-term 🌙

Museums across Cambridge are opening after hours with evening activities for families and curious minds.

Full programme: https://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/theme/twilight

@camunivmuseums.bsky.social

#TwilightAtTheMuseums #HalfTerm #CUBG
Colourful poster promoting "Twilight at the Museums." Features playful illustrations of a camera, binoculars, moon, and star. Text invites viewers to explore Cambridge museums after hours during half term.
February 12, 2026 at 4:53 PM
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Our Darwin’s orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale) is in flower.
Its incredibly long nectar tube led Darwin to predict a pollinator that didn’t yet exist — and he was later proven right when a hawkmoth was discovered with an equally long proboscis.
📍Find it in the Tropical Glasshouse near the Jade vine.
February 11, 2026 at 6:46 PM
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Talking Plants is hitting your screens tonight 🌿

Catch our new interactive exhibition on ITV Anglia (6.15pm) and BBC Look East (from 6.30pm).

Don’t just look - stop and chat 👉 https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/talking-plants/

#CambridgeUniversityBotanicGarden #TalkingPlants #AIExperiment
A person is being filmed inside a greenhouse filled with lush greenery. The camera operator is focusing on this individual. Sunlight filters through the glass ceiling, illuminating the plants. A person stands in a greenhouse surrounded by lush green plants, focusing on their phone. Another person operates a camera, filming the scene. Two individuals work together filming in a lush, green greenhouse. One operates a camera mounted on a stabilizer, while the other holds a phone. They are surrounded by various plants. Two people are operating a video camera on a stabilizer while standing on a garden path surrounded by lush green plants and foliage.
February 9, 2026 at 4:28 PM
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🌿 When was the last time you stopped to listen to a plant?

Our new exhibition Talking Plants gives AI voices to plants - and it’s featured in today’s Sunday Times.

🗓 11 Feb–12 Apr | Glasshouse Range
🔗 https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/talking-plants/

#TalkingPlants #CambridgeUniversityBotanicGarden
A person kneels on a paved path in a lush indoor garden filled with various tropical plants. They are holding a smartphone, pointing it towards the plants. The surroundings are vibrant and green, creating a serene botanical setting. A group of eight people standing in a greenhouse surrounded by lush green plants. One person holds a potted plant. The scene appears vibrant and natural, with sunlight streaming through the greenhouse roof. This image features an excerpt from an article about the tropical greenhouse at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, highlighting a plant named Ebony and a Mymarodendron tree. It discusses interactions with plant life and quotes Professor Sarah Rios. The right side mentions the '20 plants you can't live without' event and provides a website link for more information.
February 8, 2026 at 10:43 AM
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It’s National Snowdrop Day this Sunday!🌼

Come explore our Snowdrop Trail and see the Garden’s beautiful white blooms up close.
Learn something new and enjoy a peaceful walk!

More info: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/whats-on/snowdrop-trail/

#NationalSnowdropDay #CUBG
A close-up of a white snowdrop flower with delicate petals and a green background. Close-up of several white snowdrop flowers with green markings, set against a background of green leaves. A cluster of snowdrop flowers with white petals and green stems blooming in a garden setting. Close-up of several blooming snowdrops with white petals and green markings, set against a blurred natural background.
February 7, 2026 at 4:51 PM
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Keep an eye out for us on ITV Weather this evening!

The crew are with us in the Winter Garden, preparing for the live broadcast at 7.15pm – be sure to tune in!

#CambridgeUniversityBotanicGarden #ITVWeather
February 6, 2026 at 6:22 PM
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🌱One week to go until Talking Plants opens!

📱Scan a QR code and strike up a conversation!

🪴Our team is busy preparing the plants and testing conversations before the exhibition opens on 11 February.

📍Find out more: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/talking-plants/

#CambridgeUniversityBotanicGarden
Two people are standing in a lush greenhouse, each holding a potted plant. One holds pink circular signs. There are various green plants in the background, and the ground is paved. A greenhouse door features a colourful poster for "Talking Plants" at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, running from 11 February to 12 April in the Glasshouse Range. The poster includes colourful plant illustrations, a QR code, and a note about free entry with garden admission. An individual stands in a greenhouse, holding a phone and looking at lush green plants and ferns. There's a sign in the background reading "Life Before Flowers." The setting is serene with natural lighting.
February 4, 2026 at 6:47 PM
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🌿It may be grey outside, but it’s never gloomy in the Garden!

Our new Station Road entrance and shop is open, daffodils are starting to bloom and bee hotels have been installed 🐝

🕔We’re also open 10am -5pm, so there’s even more time to enjoy the Garden. We hope to see you soon!

#BotanicGarden
Close-up of a vibrant yellow daffodil in a garden setting, surrounded by green grass and blurred foliage in the background. Curved entrance of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden with a sign displaying the name and a green leaf logo. Glass doors lead into a ticket shop, and people are seen nearby. The sky is overcast. A garden setting with bee hotels made from wooden logs, designed to attract solitary bees. A sign explains their purpose as homes for these bees. The landscape features trees and grass in the background.
February 3, 2026 at 9:44 AM
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🪴 Why Talking Plants?
An experiment using AI, exploring how people connect with plants and how digital tools can support biodiversity.

Offering another way to ask questions with each conversation using minimal energy, with any carbon offset.

More info: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/talking-plants/
January 28, 2026 at 6:45 PM
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🌱This is Titus Jr. the Titan Arum – one of the plants you can talk to in our #TalkingPlants exhibition from 11 Feb – 12 Apr.

🌿Scan a QR code in the Glasshouses to ask questions and learn about its origins, adaptations and why it matters.

📍Find out more through the link on our profile.
Image of a Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum), in a lush greenhouse environment. The plant features a large, tree-like structure and a prominent, elongated yellowish spadix surrounded by a dark, ruffled spathe.
January 22, 2026 at 6:11 PM
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New Year, new skills? Our 2026 short courses are available to book now. From drawing to design, watercolour to wildflowers, the Garden is the perfect place to learn something new. Which will you choose? bit.ly/3YKoktF
Illustration of a section of a branch displaying clusters of yellow crab apples A herbaceous border containing foxgloves in front of an old brick building, being photographed through a mobile phone Wildflower examples laid out individually to give a decorative wallpaper effect A woman sitting on a bench with a notebook on her lap in the Botanic Garden with a tree in blossom in front of her
January 20, 2026 at 11:54 AM
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🌼Winter is smelling wonderful!

🌿Wintersweet flowering on bare branches, sweet box and honeysuckle scenting the air and Japanese mahonia blooming – the Winter Garden rewards anyone who slows down enough to notice!

#WinterGarden #CambridgeUniversityBotanicGarden #WinterScents
A close-up of a yellow Chimonanthus praecox flower, also known as wintersweet, blooming on a branch with a blurred green background. Close-up of Lonicera x purpusii flowers with creamy white petals and prominent yellow stamens, against a blurred natural background. A close-up of bright yellow Mahonia flowers in bloom, surrounded by lush green leaves. Close-up of a Sarcococca plant, also known as sweet box, featuring shiny dark berries and small white flowers amidst glossy green leaves.
January 19, 2026 at 5:54 PM
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🌿We’re recruiting a Horticulture team leader (Landscape & Arboriculture)

🌳You’ll guide a dedicated team caring for trees, landscapes and horticultural spaces while helping plan their future.

📍Find out more: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/horticulture-team-leader-landscape-and-arboriculture/
A person uses a blue jackhammer outdoors to break ground, wearing ear protection, amidst a backdrop of large trees and a distant utility cart. A person uses a blue jackhammer outdoors to break ground, wearing ear protection, amidst a backdrop of large trees and a distant utility cart. A person uses a blue jackhammer outdoors to break ground, wearing ear protection, amidst a backdrop of large trees and a distant utility cart.
January 16, 2026 at 4:55 PM
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🪴From 11 Feb-12 Apr, Talking Plants invites you to the Glasshouse Range to scan QR codes, ask questions and get a unique response inspired by that plant’s story.

🌱An interactive exhibition using AI to explore the stories of living plants – included with Garden admission.

🌿So, what would you ask?
Close-up of a vibrant jade vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) with its distinctive turquoise, claw-shaped flowers hanging in a cascade. Close-up image of a passion flower in bloom, showing detailed yellow filaments and green petals, against a blurred natural background.
January 14, 2026 at 5:08 PM
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Join us as we celebrate 20 years of #TwilightAtTheMuseums 🌟
Enjoy a garden adventure after hours with your family this February half-term.
📅 17–21 February
🔗 Find out more & book: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/whats-on/

@camunivmuseums.bsky.social
Promotional poster for 'Twilight at the Museums' event in Cambridge, featuring colourful cartoon-style illustrations of various museum objects like a plane, vase, and dinosaur, set against a dark blue background.
January 14, 2026 at 10:09 AM
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A new nature Plants paper led by #CUBG Curator Professor Sam Brockington calls for gardens to work as a shared 'meta-collection' to tackle the biodiversity crisis.

Read the article here: www.cam.ac.uk/research/new...
World’s vast plant knowledge not being fully exploited to tackle biodiversity and climate challenges, warn researchers
An international group of researchers says that biodiversity conservation and scientific research are not benefiting from the vast knowledge about the world’s
www.cam.ac.uk
January 9, 2026 at 12:31 PM
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🪴Applications now open🪴

🌿Train as a horticultural technician at #CambridgeUniversityBotanicGarden

🌿Hands-on experience, expert teaching and a CUBG Certificate.

📍Apply here: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/join-support/job-opportunities/trainee-horticultural-technician-scheme-2026-2027/
Group photo of nine individuals standing on the grass in front of a large building on a sunny day. A person tends to a lush garden with various plants and flowers, under a clear blue sky. In the foreground, there are garden tools and wheelbarrows filled with gardening supplies. Two people loading mulch into a wheelbarrow from a red tractor trailer in a garden.
January 8, 2026 at 4:51 PM
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🌲Our Winter Interest Tours are taking place on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, now until 1 March.

🍂Explore the Garden with an expert guide and discover winter highlights.

📍Find out more here: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/visit-us/tours/free-drop-in-winter-interest-tours-2026/

#WinterTours
Wintery scene of a garden path winding through frost-covered plants and trees, with a prominent tall green tree in the center. A frost-covered garden with tall trees, a small pond, and sunlight streaming through the branches on a clear day. Frosty morning at Cambridge University Botanic Garden with a sunrise backlighting a bare tree, the path curving beside frosted grass and shrubbery.
January 7, 2026 at 7:07 PM
cubotanicgarden.bsky.social
🌿Embrace the New Year with us! From the tranquillity & winter beauty of the Garden – including free Winter Interest Tours – to seasonal family activities & inspiring courses, there’s something for everyone to enjoy this winter. Find out more on our website: bit.ly/4aMma3P
January 6, 2026 at 4:22 PM
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A snowy transformation at #CambridgeBotanicGarden ❄️

Winter walks, frosted plants and beautiful seasonal views - a chance to slow down and enjoy nature 🌿

Warm up in our Glasshouse Range or with a hot chocolate from the Garden Cafe!
January 5, 2026 at 12:52 PM
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Have you seen Sleeping Beauty at Cambridge Arts Theatre? 👸

The cast recently visited the real-life Botanic Garden featured in this year’s pantomime 🌷

Come and explore where Princess Rose spent her first 18 years 🌸

🎫 There’s still time to see it!

📸Richard Hubert Smith
January 2, 2026 at 5:50 PM
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The Garden is open! 🌳

Enjoy the start of the New Year with activities for all!

Make bird feeders, uncover the mystery of who's stealing pinecone seeds, explore snowdrop hotspots, stroll through the Winter Garden and warm up in the Glasshouse Range.

Find out more through the link on our profile.
A vibrant and lush garden scene with a variety of flowering plants, tall grasses and manicured bushes. A serene forest scene with sunlight filtering through trees, highlighting a carpet of white flowers and lush ferns.
January 2, 2026 at 4:48 PM