A SERIES of talks about how to get the best out of flowers will take place this summer.

Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens is hosting lectures on topics ranging from dealing with bugs, to the use of flowers as symbols in art. They have been arranged to coincide with the museum's Plantmania! exhibition, which explores plants in artwork from the past 500 years.

The first lecture is on Tuesday, when Simon Thompson gives a history of the National Trust gardens at Wallington Hall.

Plantmania! Art and the World of Plants runs until Sunday, September 5. Admission is free.

For further details, contact 0191-553 2323.