BCSS - Forum

As some of you will know, some members of Birmingham branch volunteer at Winterbourne House and Gardens to help with the upkeep of the collection of succulents. It is quite an extensive collection with the arid house and then a large reserve collection which is also used to propagate plants for sale. There is still plenty to see should you be in the area - here are some pictures taken over the past few weeks.

The Arid House from the outside:

The picture was taken just after the plants bedded out for the summer were moved under cover; the Agave now received a rain cover too.
New this year were these wooden window boxes with smaller mesembs, particular Conos and Lithops. There are a good few in the reserve collection behind the public's view, but they were deemed too nice to be hidden away. Lots of nice comments from visitors on these, apparently.
Still plants flower, here is Parodia warasii. A nice clump of what I think might be Mammillaria geminispina.

Here is a quick view behind the scenes:
Propagations: And some of those plants that occasionally get an outing for public displays:

Many of you will know Derek Castle - here he is sitting at the potting bench. And here are some of the driving forces behind the branch's work at Winterbourne: Derek, Arthur Tomkins, Gill Mills and Peter Clarke.

Great pictures, Christian, and outstanding work from you all!

This is a credit to all the volunteers who work at Winterbourne. My wife and I visited the collection several years ago with Northampton & Milton Keynes branch and judging from the photos it looks as good as ever, especially with some of the plants in flower. Thanks for posting these photos, Christian.

An inspirational view of well kept plants. Great to know that you are there to care for them.

It's great to know about this Christian, what a marvellous and worthwhile project by your branch, plus good publicity for the BCSS. Well done! Thanks for posting the pictures.

Can only echo the others. I had the privilege of visiting when giving a talk to the branch - the display house is absolutely pristine!

I once went to Birmingham branch to give a talk, and no one came back after the break, so I went to find them. There was a Selenicereus grandiflorus in flower in the greenhouse, which was wowing everyone! It's the only time I've seen one in flower, and to use a much overused expression, it was awesome.

There's a wonderful collection of plants there, and friendly members too. Well worth going to see.

How wonderful and cheering that is. Good to know.