Garden guarantees a warm welcome ; A month in the Gardens

WHATEVER the weather this January, you can rely on aMediterranean experience in the Great Glasshouse at the NationalBotanic Garden of Wales -- where admission is free for the wholemonth.

A series of weekend-long events has been arranged throughout themonth to help encourage more people to visit the garden -- which TheTimes newspaper branded the "number one Winter Wonderland in theUK".

Our 'Free January' was such a big hit with visitors last year weare hoping -- with some additional events -- we will be able totempt even more folk along to the garden.

Through the month, the highlights include an antiques fair,woodcraft weekend and a 'local producer' food fair -- all takingplace in the stunning surrounds of Lord Foster's Great Glasshouse.

The antiques fair is on Saturday and Sunday, January 14 and 15,and is billed as two days of high-quality antiques stalls withchina, jewellery and furniture -- organised by Derwen Fairs.

Saturday and Sunday, January 21 and 22, sees the return of thepopular Woodcraft Weekend, an event for all woodworkers includingdemonstrations of woodturning, toy-making, carving, intarsia andpyrography, with international craftsmen such as Mark Raby, MickHanbury, Bob Neill, Mark Baker and Simon Hope showing off theirskills. In addition, there will be a number of trade stands,including Robert Sorby, Trend, Ashley Iles, Timberman, TurnersRetreat and many more.

On the last weekend of Free January (Saturday and Sunday, January28 and 29), there will be a festival of local food and drink withmore than 30 stalls offering the best that the west has to offer interms of local produce. Also on at the garden in Free January arethe next two performances in the Celtic Women Concert Series, whichfeature singer, pianist and entertainer Amanda Painting (Sunday,January 8, at 2pm) and harpist, songwriter, poet and storytellerHazel Saville on Sunday, January 15.

For more information, call 01558 667149 or emailinfo@gardenofwales.org.uk.

For a full list of what's on at the Garden, go towww.gardenofwales.org.uk Spice of life by (our very own spice girl)Ann Maloney, senior horticulturist.

Christmas is over and probably everyone is fed up with thethought of food. But have you ever wondered about the plants thatsome of our food and spices are obtained from, and are any of themgrowing near you? Well, they are -- in the Tropical House at theNational Botanic Garden.

Pepper (Piper nigrum) is used on food and in cooking. The plant,originally from India and Malaysia, is a perennial climber which hassmall yellow drupes (fruits), which will form when the plant is fourto five years old. When the drupe dries it turns black and thisbecomes black pepper; if the outer seed coat is removed this becomeswhite pepper. You will find the pepper in bed six in our TropicalHouse.

Something slightly more exotic is cardamom (Ellettariacardamomum). The cardamom comes from seed which is contained in apod. The plant has a tuberous underground rhizome which is the realstem and an aerial shoot which we see is the pseudo stem, at thebase of which are panicles of flowers emerging directly from theunderground stem. This is in Tropical House, bed three.

These days we are used to cooking with the once-exoticingredient, turmeric (Curcuma longa). This plant is deciduous so youwon't be able to see it all the year round but it can be seen inearly summer. It has a lovely pale pink and yellow flower. Toextract the turmeric the rhizomes are boiled for several hours anddried in hot ovens and then ground to make the yellow/orange powder.You will find turmeric in beds six and ten in the Tropical House.

Learn how to grow your own Always wanted to grow your own organicveg? Now's your chance to find out how with a four-week course atthe National Botanic Garden of Wales. It starts on Saturday, January14, from 10am to 1pm and runs for the three Saturdays thereafter.The course is entitled 'Organic Vegetable Growing: From planning toconsumption' and content includes pest control, variety choice andcrop rotation.

The cost is Pounds 35 for National Botanic Garden members, Pounds40 for non-members. For more details, call 01558 667150 or log on towww.gardenofwales.org.uk