Members of the public will have the chance to visit the Garden’s glasshouses and experience the secret treasures of the Amazon rainforest, see orchids, bromeliads and encounter a magical world of tropical food and medicinal plants.

There will be a two-hour special tour of the Garden with the curator, Nick Wray, at 10 am.  Visitors will have the opportunity to hear updates of new developments and learn about plants of seasonal interest.

Winter flowers in the Garden include the highly fragrant Chimonanthus praecox (wintersweet), Eranthis hyemalis (winter aconite), Viburnum x bodnantense (viburnum) and the well-known Galanthus (snowdrop).

Nick Wray, Botanic Garden Curator, said: “The majority of garden plants become dormant through autumn to early winter, but some have evolved to flower during the cold months to exploit the ecological niche created by less competition for the attention of winter pollinators. Our focus as gardeners is centred on these plants.

“These floral highlights set amongst the sculptural shapes of the Garden and deciduous trees and shrubs lift the spirits and are signposts to spring.”

The special winter Sunday opening at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden, The Holmes, Stoke Park Road, Stoke Bishop, Bristol, will take place on Sunday 2 February 2014 from 10 am to 4 pm.

Entry is £4.50 adults; free to University staff and retired staff, Friends of the Botanic Garden, students and children under-16.

Further information is available from the Botanic Garden, The Holmes, Stoke Park Road, Stoke Bishop, Bristol BS8 1JG, tel 0117 331 4906 or email botanic-gardens@bristol.ac.uk