A A A
NEWS
It's National Gardening Week and time to #getcurious!
From 27 April to 3 May, National Gardening Week, organised by the RHS, invites people to slow down, explore and discover the small, hidden wonders of nature in their gardens, whether they are small balconies or large plots.
Meet Amberlea, our new Horticulture Assistant. She’s been busy keeping our tropical paradise blooming for our butterflies. We sat down with her during National Gardening Week to ask her a few green-fingered Q&As!...
Q: Amberlea, what is one tiny detail in our tropical gardens that most visitors walk past, but is actually fascinating once you notice it?
A: The leaf litter. If you look underneath the plants the soil is full of life. There are many important creatures working hard to recycle nutrients and manage waste. They may be small but they are a crucial part of the biosphere.
Q: For someone visiting the Tropical Butterfly House for the first time this week, what should they 'be curious' about in our plant collections?
A: Aristolochia the Pipe Vine is currently bearing huge bracts that have many amazingly spiky swallowtail caterpillars munching away.
Q: What’s a 'did you know' fact about one of our butterfly-friendly plants that would surprise our followers?
Passion flower plants have an adaptation that helps deter female butterflies from laying eggs on its leaves. Called "egg mimic," the plant's leaves have small dots on them that look like butterfly eggs. The spots mean fewer caterpillars will be competing for the plant's leaves once they hatch. By escaping the caterpillars' voracious appetites, plants with these markings will have higher rates of survival and reproduction, so more of the population will have this inherited trait. Studies have shown that female butterflies will avoid laying eggs on a plant that is already occupied in order to prevent competition. Nature sure has evolved some amazing ways to protect itself!
Q: If you were a butterfly, which plant in the house would be your favourite place to land and why?
A: Brillantaisia - because its name is amazing! It often flowers as the back of the border where its hot and sunny and it has THE most beautiful huge purple flowers.
Q: What’s the most unusual task you’ve done since joining the horticulture team here?
A: Placing caterpillars on to the leaves of a plant with a paintbrush and giving an armadillo a plant pot to play with.
Q: National Gardening Week is for everyone - what’s one easy tip for someone trying to start their own 'butterfly garden' at home?
A: Get to know your native host plants. If you plant it, they will come. And leave your thistles & nettles!
Q: What is the one gardening tool you can’t live without while working in the tropical heat?
A: An insulated water bottle with ice in. It really helps to cool you down after working in the heat and because its so cold it helps me to drink more so I don’t become dehydrated. But speaking of gardening tools, standing under the hose pipe for a second or two also helps!
Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in horticulture and what drew you specifically to a wildlife-focused environment like the Tropical Butterfly House?
A: Working with plants makes me happy, working in nature and being outside has been life changing for me and its where I spend all my time growing things and tending many gardens. Nurturing the soil and supporting wildlife is not really job, it’s a way of life, making a conscious decision to protect the environment and connect with nature. Knowing I’m actively supporting insects and can see the cycle intimately is very fascinating and quite beautiful.
The tropical butterfly house is a very special place to work and I’m very lucky to be a member of the team that care for this amazing place. If the work that we do can Inspire the next generation of conservationists to help protect our environment then I know I will have spent my time well.
Q: How does your work as a horticulture assistant directly support the health and lifecycle of the butterflies and animals we have here?
A: We manage the continuous flow of nectar sources and host plants throughout the seasons to allow the continuous flow of reproduction for our butterflies. With out specific plants the butterflies do not have the ability to continue their life cycle, so the gardening here is incredibly important for the butterflies. We also manage pests like spiders and manage populations of stick insects from eating all the plants!
Q: Working in a tropical indoor environment is very different from a standard UK garden. What are the biggest challenges in maintaining a tropical paradise year-round?
A: Pest control and watering. Mealy bugs and scale insect are a constant battle but we use organic methods and biological controls to help manage populations. We have the help of a parasitic wasp and some cool lady birds to patrol the propagation house so its 24/7 work!
Q: What are you most looking forward to planting or developing in the butterfly house or gardens as we move further into the spring and summer seasons?
A: Rachel’s huge collection of passionflowers. She has lots of plants that she has been growing on from cuttings so I am excited to see them flower and discover what caterpillars we can breed on them!
Amazing stuff! Thanks so much Amberlea and welcome to the team!
Wildlife conservation at the heart of everything we do
Sign up to our Newsletter
Keep up to date with our latest news
Book your tickets today!
Advance tickets only
Keep
in-touch
Follow and share on social!
