Fen Violet Project

In May of this year there were several pleasing reports in the national media that fen violet, Viola stagnina, had been recorded in the wild at Wicken Fen for the first time since 2003. This is one of only three sites known in the country, another being Otmoor near Oxford. The  Oxford Flora Group has been actively monitoring the status of this plant for several decades and hopes to establish populations in other sites in Oxfordshire. At the Botanic Garden we have been raising plants to provide material for these projects. This summer Tom Carruthers, an undergraduate in Biological Sciences from the University of Oxford, has been conducting some research on Viola stagnina:

Wild fen violet flowering on Wicken Fen, May 2014

Fen violets growing at the Botanic Garden

The last few months have seen literally hundreds of fen violets take over a corner of the Botanic Garden. These violets are part of a project I am carrying out to determine the effects of potassium on this endangered species. The project started in March, when, over one weekend, I potted 386 of the plants into pure perlite, creating a somewhat dazzling sea of white. Thankfully over the next few weeks the plants started to grow. This was a great relief as the plants had never been grown in perlite before. I had also seen a few slightly surprised looks on the faces of the staff at the gardens when I mentioned I would be growing them like this! 

By the beginning of May, the plants had grown sufficiently to cover the bright white perlite they were growing in and by the middle of May they were producing lots of their characteristic pale violet flowers. 

By this time the data collection operation was also in full swing. The purpose of the investigation is to determine the effect of high potassium levels on the plant, given there are some reports that high potassium has had a positive effect on wild populations. Because the Botanic Garden has a number of different genetic ‘lines’, I will also hopefully be able to determine the extent to which genetic variation affects their response to potassium. I am therefore busy taking measurements of the plants to see if there are differences in the timing of flower production and the ratio of sexual to asexual flowers produced. I will also take other measurements, such as the extent of seed production later in the year.

Hopefully the results from this experiment will provide valuable information to help maintain wild populations of this species in Great Britain.  

                                                                                     Tom Carruthers 

The Harcourt Arboretum

Volunteers working in Bluebell Wood

Our trees faired well through the strong winds over the Christmas period, with only one Giant Fir blown down on the edge of the bluebell wood and some minor branches elsewhere. Januarys main focus is on the coppice, planning and timing of works within the areas of silver birch, hazel and sweet chestnut all depends on what the material will be used for. Birch is mostly used by Botanic Garden staff for plant supports so is cut mid-late March to prolong its whippy/bendy nature, and the hazel and sweet chestnut is mostly used for hedge-laying so can be cut from any time now. Also for the first time ever we now have our woodland barn to hide in for a warm cup of coffee!

Our regular volunteer work parties have been devastatingly effective as normal. In the last two months we have removed two large areas of Rhododendron ponticum, these areas included halting the spread of the Rhododendron into the bluebell wood and the other has opened up an exciting new planting for all our new plants in the temporary nursery.

HLF Skills for the Future traineeship

Tim Dobson is our latest trainee to have completed a placement at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum.  Here are his reflections on his time with us...

For the last six months, the HLF Skills for the Future program has brought me to the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum.  This placement was divided evenly between the two sites, and I spent May to July at the Garden, and August to October at the Arboretum.

With little previous experience of teaching in an outdoor environment, it has been a wonderful and refreshing (often due to the rain!) experience.  Wellies and waterproofs at the ready, I have worked closely with the Education Team.  I have been involved in teaching many school sessions at both sites, including making art using the natural autumn colours of the fallen leaves at the Arboretum with Key Stage 2 groups (aged 7 – 11 years), and finding naughty Peter Rabbit amongst the rhubarb with Reception classes (aged 4 – 5 years) at the Garden.

Tim at the Cowley Road Carnival with pupils from Bayard's Hill Primary School

We’ve planned and delivered what feels like an infinite number of family friendly activity days from making “greenhouses” out of sandwich bags in the Conservatory that protected us from the howling wind and rain of late spring to an Alice in Wonderland themed picnic in the beautiful hot July sun!

Making habitat puppets at a family friendly event

Storytelling at the Garden's first Under 5's event

These are just a few example of what I’ve been doing over the last six months, and sadly my time here is up.  As luck would have it, I spent my placement here in the best months of the year.  I started at the Garden in time for the spring blooms, and finished at the Arboretum amidst its remarkable autumn colours.  The Ashmolean now calls, which will be my new home for my third and final placement.

I will miss both sites and the staff a great deal.  However, the good news is that I will be returning very soon!  I’ve been working on a project for GCSE art students, to help them with their exam preparation, and will be using the collections of the Ashmolean, Garden and Arboretum.  I think the contrast between the Ashmolean’s historical art collection from ancient Greece to the Pre-Raphaelites and the Garden and Arboretum’s natural collection is unique.  It also gives me a great excuse to continue working outside… rain, wind or snow!