Start of the Virtual Poisons Garden

Test for embedded stuff

Test this is Jake Thackray code for embedding is the one with the html line embed, i should just need to chnage the bit just after that. all 4 work test2

Walkabout Tree goes Walkabout

A surprise awaited a plant expert at the National Botanic Garden of Wales when he returned from a recent holiday - one of his plants had gone for a walk!

Bob Edwards, who works for the Australian Plant Research Organisation, Northern Europe, explained. “ I had collected the plant (Pandanus Pedis) in Eastern Australia a few years ago, and when a few of the Park Rangers told me I had better keep it chained up at night, I assumed they were having fun at the expense of a Brit. However, events have proved them right - the plant is indeed capable of moving. Basically, it sends out surface roots in the same manner as strawberries; normally it would then use these roots to anchor itself to the rocky terrain that it likes. In rare cases however, it can use the roots to pull itself into a better position. My guess that this part of Wales is too wet for it, and the plant, which can travel up to 500 metres per day, will try to find a suitable south facing rocky coastal area. We managed to follow the tracks for several kilometres before we lost the trail at the main road. I wouldn’t be surprised if in years to come, there is a colony of Pandanus Pedis on the cliffs at Tenby!

Apothecaries Hall for vols

Apothecaries Hall

The majority of the furniture in the hall was donated by a pharmacist from North Wales, with a few items being donated from a shop in Whitchurch, Cardiff. Many of the display items have been loaned by Professor Terry Turner, some items were ordered from a specialist company, and a few items have been donated by members and friends.

Having someone present in the hall to engage the public helps to bring it to life; don't forget that even if you think you know very little, you will know a lot more than the general public. If they know more than you, encourage them to talk!

The hall is also a wonderful background to do talks in.

Perhaps you could develop your own talks - I suggest 20 minutes is probably enough,  although it would be useful to have a series of short anecdotes about a minute or so long.

Some thoughts on subject matter

Food as medicine.
Spices as medicine.
The Apothecaries Garden
History of (for instance) Plant Collectors, Herbalists, Wallace and Darwin.
Gruesome medicine (the kids love this sort of stuff)
Growing herbs on a windowsill, and how to use them.
Home remedies
Oddball cures.
Folklore and plants.
Folklore of Welsh plants.
Witchy things - why did they use henbane? Why don't witches like holly and Rowan?
Plants and religion
Poisonous plants.
Victorian pharmacy.
Ships surgeon
What are complementary medicines/therapies?

There is a massive amount of info freely available on the internet. There are also a lot of people at the Garden who can help/advise.

Education (Jane or Diane)
Professor Terry Turner.
Interpretations (Bruce)
Horticulture
Bob Edwards buskingbob@aol.com

Apothecary Hall for vols

Apothecaries Hall

The majority of the furniture in the hall was donated by a pharmacist from North Wales, with a few items being donated from a shop in Whitchurch, Cardiff. Many of the display items have been loaned by Professor Terry Turner, some items were ordered from a specialist company, and a few items have been donated by members and friends.

Having someone present in the hall to engage the public helps to bring it to life; don't forget that even if you think you know very little, you will know a lot more than the general public. If they know more than you, encourage them to talk!

The hall is also a wonderful background to do talks in.

Perhaps you could develop your own talks - I suggest 20 minutes is probably enough.

Some thoughts on subject matter

Food as medicine.
Spices as medicine.
The Apothecaries Garden
History of (for instance) Plant Collectors, Herbalists, Wallace and Darwin.
Gruesome medicine (the kids love this sort of stuff)
Growing herbs on a windowsill, and how to use them.
Home remedies
Oddball cures.
Folklore and plants.
Folklore of Welsh plants.
Witchy things - why did they use henbane? Why don't witches like holly and Rowan?
Plants and religion
Poisonous plants.
Victorian pharmacy.
Ships surgeon
What are complementary medicines/therapies?

There is a massive amount of info freely available on the internet. There are also a lot of people at the Garden who can help/advise.

Education (Jane or Diane)
Professor Terry Turner.
Interpretations (Bruce)
Horticulture
Bob Edwards buskingbob@aol.com

What I did in my holidays

During the summer holidays the Garden has tried to have some form of activity each weekday.  This has included walks, den building, worms, and pond dipping.
My involvement was to be inside the Physicians Barn and cover 4000 years of plant medicine in 20 minutes!  As a bonus for the younger visitors I had borrowed a couple of medicinal leeches from my friends at Biopharm, Hendy and  showed these.  They had been fed recently, so I was reasonably comfortable having them on my hands.  I noticed that when I took the leeches out of the jar the older people tended to take a step back, while the youngsters moved forward.

The leeches were kept on site,  and the water was replaced twice a week.  Normally I would only do this once a week, but freshly fed leeches can cause the water to get murky very quickly.

Tap water is harmful to the leeches skin, so I used water from the feature in the square;  this is sourced from an underground supply,  and has none of the chemicals that can upset the leeches.
They were obviously comfortable with their living conditions; when I returned the leeches the manager at Biopharm told me that one was pregnant!  Apparently the third segment changes colour slightly, but I couldn't see the difference.

The next step  will be to have live leeches permanenly on display.  The leech jars in the Physicians Hall are great for short-term storage but not ideal for long term.  If anyone has something such as a large sweetie jar or a large pickle onion type jar that I could have......? It must be glass, and if it has a Victorian feel to it that would be brilliant,  although I  have some ideas as to how to make the jar look "leechy".