The Dry Garden

The Dry Garden: Treasures from the University Herbarium

I recently visited Winterbourne House and Gardens in Birmingham as it is now home to the University of Birmingham Herbarium.  It is not accessible to the public but I made an appointment with the curator I have an idea for a future art project and I wanted to look at the ways the plants were displayed.

A herbarium is a collection of plant specimens that have been collected and preserved as a historical record for educational purposes. This collection is vast and the thing that surprised me most was that there was no standard way of preserving, presenting or annotating the specimens. I found this aspect fascinating.

For example, some leaves are folded over to be able to fit on the page whilst other specimens were mixed together to be presented very artistically. Sometimes the accompanying text was handwritten, sometimes it was typed. As random as it seems the information about each specimen seemed to be succinct and relevant.

There is currently an exhibition in the house called The Dry Garden showcasing a selection of from the herbarium and is a really good overview of the whole collection. As well as preserverd specimens there are photographs and prints as well as a history of the collaction and it’s benefactors.

One of my favourite collections is in a girl’s school book which features all the plants in her garden. It is simple but so charming, artistic and a snapshot in time.

If you are in Birmingham it is well worth a visit.  And there is a tearoom with tables on the patio overlooking the beautiful garden.