This summer (2002) I attended a wonderful course in Flowering Plant Systematics at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden in England. Here in the Botanic garden are to be found a number of unique systematic beds set up in circular arrangements for illustrative study of the plant botanical families, and we were told that this site is the only place in the world where one can see beds laid out with plants grouped in families and arranged in this manner. We were told of a similar three- dimensionally arranged systematic garden in Austria, and Kew Gardens are maybe now adopting ideas from Cambridge, but this particular garden has the most diverse collection of global species and is therefore unique. The city of Cambridge is of course unique anyway, being historically important and one of the top universities in the world, but I was unaware before I visited the Garden that it is also one of the driest places in the world, having a rainfall lower than many Middle Eastern locations. This causes many problems for the plant caretakers but for my visit the weather was great, mostly warm and sunny - unlike my previous experiences here in this usually cloudy and cold country (well for me being from Florida anyway!).

We were instructed by some of the worlds leading botanists and taxonomists, including such famous names as James Cullen (who co-wrote The Identification of Flowering Plant Families with P. Davis), Charles Sell and Clive King, (Common Families of Flowering Plants), and Professor John Parker the current director of the Cambridge University Botanical garden. We studied many of the aromatic plant families (including the Cruciferae, the Scrophulariaceae, the Leguminosae, the Labiatae, the Umbelliferae, the Compositae, the Gramineae etc ) two families per day - by going out to the beds and assembling flowers/plant samples and then taking them back into the classroom where we dissected them under stereo microscopes to see the necessary details to classify them taxonomically! This botanical garden is intended for just this sort of study so we were allowed to cut plants for sampling. In this way we could compare many plants within a family. It was a wonderful learning experience since we covered many of the aromatic plants we are familiar with. It was possible to identify oil glands in many plants under the stereo microscopes. And at times, the classroom was full of wonderful smells! Additionally, there were many interesting plants in the Garden that were aromatic, but not (yet) offered as essential oils. The garden also has a very impressive collection of lavender cultivars, and it was particularly interesting to be able to touch and smell the different varieties.

I also visited the herbarium which is one of the oldest in the world containing a million specimens. Here are housed the original specimens brought back by Charles Darwin from the Galapagos and some of Mendel's collection. Being able to actually see and be in this herbarium was a treat in itself. It was thrilling to be able to witness a part of botanical history here.

Cambridge Botanic Garden generally runs this course annually provided there are sufficient numbers and if they can find a sponsor. This year it was sponsored by the Linnean Society of London, and so comparatively the cost was incredibly low ($150 US approx.) including lodging in St. Catherine's college, though we opted for more comfortable lodging in a nearby B&B!. The Garden offers many classes for those in the local area, including one on aromatic plants. For further info contact: Christine Preston: cmp25@cam.ac.uk or Jane Grimes: jdg32@cam.ac.uk.

I really enjoyed this experience of studying in the garden and the opportunity to observe many plants at first hand that I had heard of but never seen before. The small group of 22 students who attended the 1999 course were drawn from various backgrounds, such as amateur botanists, gardeners, landscape professionals, etc., and all were from the UK except for me!

Finally, one student was there from the Eden Project, and shared a video with us. He explained that The Eden Project is a huge area - the size of 30 football fields, overlooking St. Austin Bay in Cornwall, England. This is being set up as an inspirational global garden concept, -the world in microcosm- a cultural melting-pot of global plants both wild and cultivated from the temperate zone, the humid tropics and the warm temperate regions of the world. Within the pit will be a Humid Tropic Biome, big enough to house the Tower of London, showing plants from rubber to cocoa, to orchids and bamboo. Other areas include plants from Amazonia, W. Africa, Malaysia and Oceania, southern Africa, California, Mediterranean area, etc. This fascinating project will show the challenge for our generation to explore the possibilities for developing a sustainable environment that will improve the quality of life now without damaging the planet for the future. By working in partnership with others, this project aims to inspire positive initiatives that will lead to sustainable future for us all, by making a contribution to the wider understanding of the complex relationship between people and plants. It is set for opening in Spring 2001 but is taking visitors from Spring 2000. This is a fascinating area and if you are interested you can visit their website: www.edenproject.com.