Monday 24 May 2021 1000 - 1300 BST £25 Online course from Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Colour in plants is of great cultural importance, influencing many areas of human endeavour including horticulture, art, and gastronomy. Colour also plays a vital role in the biology of plants by absorbing harmful radiation from the sun, capturing light to drive photosynthesis and signalling the availability of flowers and fruit. This half-day session with Botanic Garden Director, Professor Beverley Glover, will explore the concept of colour in plants. Beverley will explain how colourful pigments are made, by what mechanisms different colour hues are achieved, and for what effect? Also why some colours are more common than others and how plants can make structural colour without the use of pigments at all. See www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/education-learning/courses/online-course-understanding-colour-in-plants/ for more details and to book if interested.

After basking in temperatures around 20C recently, the mercury has dropped to a more 'normal' 10C - 12C. I'm always amazed how resilient plants can be at this time and how they take the varying conditions in their stride. Today, many of the trees here seem to have made a quantum leap in their leaf bud development so it won't be long until the first leaves unfurl. Here, in South East London, we are particularly blessed with a wide range of trees so there is plenty to see and enjoy. I'm looking forward to the Spring Equinox and the launch of the ABBA website plus meeting Botanical Artists from the London Area.