Hollowmere Botanical Archive 18 June – 15 September 2027
Hortus Nocturne
For one summer the archive stays open after dark: eight plants that only flower at night, a garden lit by fireflies, and a herbarium that is, for once, awake.
Sheet 0417 Hold the cursor still over the sheet. It opens for as long as you stay.
01 After dark
Most flowers close at dusk. Eight don’t.
Botanists call the evening shutdown nyctinasty: petals fold, leaves droop, the plant waits for morning. The gazania on sheet 0417 does it every night in Namaqualand.
The eight plants in this exhibition keep the opposite hours. They open for moths and beetles and are mostly finished by breakfast, which is why so few people have ever seen one open.
- One nightThe whole life of a queen of the night flower.
- Two nightsA giant water lily opens white, closes, then opens pink.
- 21:00–01:00Wednesday to Sunday, all summer.
02 The eight
An index of night-flowering plants
Every plant on the route, labelled the way the archive labels everything. Point at a name and its flower draws itself.
03 The route
One path, eight stops, ninety minutes at a moth’s pace
- 21:00
The reading room
Pressed specimens under low light. Sheet 0417 is on the table, and it is shy.
- 21:15
Primrose bank
Oenothera biennis, opening around sunset. The reason the route starts on time.
- 21:35
Moon border
Ipomoea alba on the trellis, Mirabilis jalapa at its feet.
- 22:00
Datura walk
White trumpets at hip height. Look, don’t touch.
- 22:25
Victoria house
Warm, humid and full of beetles, which is the point.
- 22:50
Cereus glasshouse
Selenicereus grandiflorus. If one is opening tonight, the gate will tell you.
- 23:20
Jasmine arch
Cestrum nocturnum. Follow your nose; the arch is the strongest part of the night.
- 23:45
Moth lawn
Zaluzianskya capensis in the grass and a lamp on a white sheet, where the recorder counts who visits.
04 Visit
Full moon to full moon
- Season
- Friday 18 June to Wednesday 15 September 2027. We open and close on a full moon.
- Hours
- Wednesday to Sunday, 21:00 to 01:00. Last entry 23:30. Closed Monday and Tuesday; the flowers aren’t, the staff are.
- Finding us
- Gate 3, Mere Road, Hollowmere. The lane is unlit after the lodge; the route is not.
- Access
- Step-free throughout and lit at ankle height. Red torches are welcome; white ones wait in the cloakroom, for the moths’ sake.
| Tour | When | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Moth walk With the archive’s moth recorder and a white sheet. | Thursdays, 22:30 | 60 min |
| Full-moon late The garden stays open an hour longer. | Fri 18 June, Sun 18 July, Mon 16 August, Wed 15 September | Until 02:00 |
| Victoria nights Two visits: white, then pink. | When a bud is ready; 24 hours’ notice | 45 min |
| Cereus watch Bring a chair. | The night it opens; posted at the gate by 18:00 | As long as it takes |
05 Tickets
Admit one, after dark
Timed entry every half hour from 21:00. Under-twelves free with an adult; they usually spot the moths first.
-
No. 1
Evening entry
Any open night, 21:00 to 01:00. The full route, the reading room and the moth lawn.
£18
-
No. 2
Full-moon late
One of four full-moon nights, open until 02:00, with a guided Victoria visit.
£28
-
No. 3
Season pass
Every open night of the summer, plus a guest on each full moon.
£85
Booking closes at 17:00 on the day. If it rains, the flowers open anyway, and so do we.
06 At dawn
Pressed again by morning
Sheet 0417 goes back into its folder before the day staff arrive. Hold still over it and it will stand up once more; it always does, for as long as somebody stays.