Hollingside Lane, South Road, Durham City DH1 3TN
t 0191 33 45522
The Collection
A 10-hectare (25-acre) university Botanic Garden set amongst beautiful mature woodlands on the southern outskirts of Durham city. It provides an academic resource to the university for teaching and research, and educational visits to schools. It is also open to the public. The small greenhouse has a tropical section, a giant waterlily section and a section dedicated to a display of well-labelled cacti and succulents. It’s a general collection of plants from the arid zones around the world.
Cactus genera include: Astrophytum, Cereus, Cleistocactus, Copiapoa, Echinocactus, Echinopsis, Eulychnia, Ferocactus, Mammillaria, Neoporteria, Opuntia, Oreocereus, Parodia, Pereskia, Stenocereus, and Uebelmannia.
Succulent genera include Adromischus, Agave, Alluaudia, Aloe, Ceropegia, Crassula, Cyphostemma, Dudleya, Echeveria, Euphorbia, Gasteria, Haworthia,, Kalanchoe, Kedrostis,, Nolina, Pachypodium, and Senecio. There are also bromeliads Abromeitiella and Hechtia, and the geophytic bulb Ledebouria.
Nearest BCSS Branch
Teesside: www.teesside.bcss.org.uk
Meetings are held in Stockton-on-Tees. Please see the branch website for meeting dates and programme.
The branch has given much advice and guidance over the years and has donated plants to the collection. It also holds a sale of cacti at the garden each year.
A Member’s View
An excellent collection worthy of a visit. It’s not large but has a good selection and is well-displayed, and despite the usual problems caused by children in the vicinity of spiny plants and top-dressing gravel, it has survived quite well! The gardens are very nice (especially in the cherry blossom season) and it is worthy of a visit as part of a broader botanical day out.