4 September 2008

New Evolutionary Garden opens at Botanics

Photo opportunity: 6 pm, Thursday September 4th
Botanic Garden
'Charles Darwin' casts eye over new evolutionary garden

A new evolutionary garden which charts the growth of the plant kingdom over thousands of years will be formally opened at the University of Dundee Botanic Garden tonight (Thursday Sept 4th) with Charles Darwin himself popping up to offer a few words of approval.

The Botanic Garden has developed the evolutionary garden over the past two years, with a new wall built to surround the project.

'Starting with Algae some 1200 million years ago and meandering through time to the flowering plants which started to evolve some 120 million years ago the evolutionary garden explains how plants have evolved from simple cells to the largest living organisms that can be found on earth,' said Alasdair Hood, curator of the Botanic Garden.

'The walling which encloses the garden is looking absolutely marvellous and it is really the completion of this that we are celebrating this week. We have started the planting in the garden and this will be completed by spring 2009, so in a few months it should be looking fantastic.'

Charles Darwin would no doubt agree and will view the new garden for himself tonight (or at least an actor impersonating the father of evolutionary theory will!)

Visitors to the garden will be able to learn plenty about plant evolution through display boards and the plants themselves.

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk