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Doggy Weekend
On June 3rd & 4th, visitors of the National Botanic Garden will be able to bring their dogs with them for a visit.
Make a day of it at the Garden and bring man’s best friend to enjoy the Garden’s 568 acres.
And don’t forget, EVERY Monday is Doggy Day at the Garden, therefore, you can bring your dog along for a visit on June 5th, 12th, 19th & 26th!
A full list of Doggy Day rules can be seen here. Dogs are permitted in Y Pot Blodyn’s coffee shop, the Seasons Restaurant, the Gift Shop and the main concourse of the Great Glasshouse.
Dogs are not permitted on the Great Glasshouse’s inner paths, the Butterfly House, nor the children’s play area.
Half Term Fun & Games
Hands that do dishes can feel soft as your face with mild, green Fairy Liquid, but how did folk keep themselves clean in the olden days?
Find out at the National Botanic Garden of Wales this half-term and learn how to make a dandelion footwash, a Tudor toothbrush and how the former owner of the Middleton Estate – where the Garden now sits – kept those pesky bed bugs at bay.
These are just some of the fun family activities on offer at the National Botanic Garden during the school break (May 27-June 4).
There are slightly more modern fun and games to enjoy, too, with water zorbing, a brand new play park, hay bale maze and giant garden games plus falconry, archery, tree climbing and a dolls’ house exhibition but the central focus will be on how people through the ages managed to maintain personal hygiene levels – with enormous help from wild Welsh plants – from the medieval Physicians of Myddfai, through Tudor times and in the Regency period.
Family activities are running on every day of the half-term from 12 noon to 4pm.
Admission to the Garden is £10.50 (including Gift Aid). For more information about this or other events, call 01558 667149 or email info@gardenofwales.org.uk
Young Archaeologist’s Club (YAC)
Calling all young Indiana Joneses and Lara Croft wannabes.
This spring, the National Botanic Garden of Wales will become the venue for an exciting new club where young people can learn all about archaeology.
Meetings will take place between 10am and 12noon on the first Saturday of every month, with the next meeting being held on June 3rd.
The Young Archaeologist’s Club (YAC) is for people aged 8-16. At the first meeting of “YAC at the Garden”, you will out all about the archaeology of the National Botanic Garden of Wales, which is just setting out on an extensive restoration project to conserve its nationally important historic parkland, dating back more than 400 years.
The parkland is the site of a fabulous Regency waterpark along with a wealth of exciting archaeological remains.
At future sessions, there will excavations, field trips to explore other archaeological sites, and investigations of all the types of remains that archaeologists find. From Egyptian mummies to stone circles, ancient cookery to castles, archaeology is about everything and there is something for everybody to enjoy.
Contact Alice Day for more information or just come along to the June’s session.
Write to yacatthegarden@gmail.com or call 07484 142886.
Volunteers’ Week
All volunteers in Carmarthenshire are invited to the National Botanic Garden of Wales on Wednesday June 7th to help celebrate Volunteers’ Week.
Botanic Garden volunteers are also encouraged to ‘Bring A Friend – Free of Charge’ during the special week – which runs from June 1-7.
And, at 4pm on the 7th, there will be a barbecue party to which all Garden volunteers, their friends and any other volunteers in the county are invited.
The Garden is fortunate to have a band of more than 200 volunteers who have given invaluable help since before the Garden opened in 2000. From buggy driving, tour guiding, gardening, photographing and office work to helping with children’s activities and on reception, the role of a volunteer can be as varied or focused as the volunteer wants it to be. Some volunteers can only help seasonally or for an afternoon a month, and others have weekly routines.
The Garden’s volunteer co-ordinator Jane Down said: “Volunteers are often the unsung heroes of organisations. Here, they work extremely hard behind the scenes to make sure that a visitor’s experience to the Botanic Garden is outstanding.”
She added: “It is very appropriate that Volunteers’ Week gives us the opportunity to thank them for this work. The range of tasks and activities that volunteers do is amazing, and they show a real enthusiasm and passion for the Garden.”
If you are interested in volunteering at the Botanic Garden, contact Jane via email: jane.down@gardenofwales.org.uk or by phone: 01558 667130
The Garden on The One Show
The National Botanic Garden’s Great Glasshouse will feature in a special Welsh edition of the BBC’s The One Show, on June 2nd.
Some of the nation’s best loved singing talents perform their own One Show tribute to Wales – doing their bit to welcome the rival sets of supporters – ahead of the UEFA Champions League Final in Cardiff.
Click here to watch the episode from Friday onwards.