Webteam: February 2019
The Chester Lecture Society
If you are interested in the history of gardens and love Ness Gardens then this might be of interest to you.
Tim Baxter, the botanist from Ness Gardens,is giving a talk to The Chester Lecture Society about the founder of Ness Gardens, A.K.Bulley.
Tim Baxter the Botanist from Liverpool University's Ness Gardens talks about Arthur Kilpin Bulley, the founder of Bees Nursery and creator of Ness Gardens, and his insatiable appetite for new plant species brought home by the plant hunters George Forrest, Frank Kingdon Ward and others whose expeditions to China and the Himalayan regions he financed.
Ness Botanic Gardens was born of one man's passionate interest in plants and his desire to share that interest with others.
When the Liverpool cotton merchant Arthur Kilpin Bulley began to create a garden in 1898, he laid the foundations of one of the major botanic gardens in the United Kingdom.
Bulley was interested in introducing new plant species from abroad. As he believed that Himalayan and Chinese mountain plants could be established in Britain, he sponsored expeditions to the Far East employing the renowned British plant collectors George Forrest and Frank Kingdon Ward to prove his theory.
Pieris Formosa forrestii, after George Forrest who collected the seed from China. A popular garden shrub.
In this way Bulley was responsible for introducing hundreds of new plants to Britain. Two species introduced by Forrest, Rhododendron griersonianum and Camelia saluenensis, have both been used in hybridisation programmes resulting in many hybrids common in Britain today.
The beautiful blue Gentiana sino-ornata, in flower at Ness in the autumn, is another of his introductions, and the Pieris formosa 'Forrestii', which can be seen in all its glory on the Specimen Lawn in spring, was actually grown from seed collected by Forrest in China. Part of the Bulley's garden was devoted to the propagation of these plants, and it was here that many of the seeds from the Far East were first cultivated and where his plant and seed company, Bees Ltd, had its beginnings.
This meeting will take place at St Mary's Creative space, which is situated at the top of St Mary's Hill, by Chester Castle.
The venue for the talk is St.Mary's Creative Space by the Castle in
Chester on Thursday 28th February at 7.30 pm.
If you need any more information: please use link to:chesterlecturesociety.org
Chester Lecture Society online you can find more.
Photographs : A.K. Bully and Pieris Formosa Forrestii
popular recent storiesAlso in the news

Cheshire police and crime commissioner David Keane is encouraging community groups to apply for emergency funding to support residents who have been affected by flooding.Grants of up to £1,000 are available for projects supporting those recovering from flood damage or people who have been evacuated from their homes due to the flood waters.It's after a major incident was declared in...

Would you like to work at Beeston Castle? They are currently recruiting for the following positions:Catering Supervisor CLICK HERE - THIS IS A PERMANENT POSITION — Closing Date 2 February 2021Visitor Assistant — Historic Property Steward — https://www.english-heritage.org...

Esther and Peter wish to say a heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to everyone who helped in the search for 'Monty' yesterday morning; their 10 year old cocker spaniel 'Monty' having gone missing near the Flacca. In all of his 10 years .. well actually nearly 11 .. he had never (even as a puppy) gone out of sight when off the lead. Peter was momentarily distracted looking...
What's on

Sportsmans Arms Car Park

Barbour Institute

Sportsmans Arms Car Park

Sportsmans Arms Car Park
Latest news











