Month: July 2013Page 1 of 3
By gardenpoets A final morning stroll in the garden, before the crowds arrive for the day. My time as resident poet in Edinburgh is over. It has been…
In order to maximise the scientific impact of Herbarium of the East India Company, Wallich enlisted the help of a network of European botanists to work on the…
Phacelia tanacetifolia in full bloom on a patch of redundant ground is as rewarding a sight as you will see anywhere. Loved by pollinators due to the nectar…
By gardenpoets Today we reached the end of the alphabet, with a poetry reading in the Queen Mother’s memorial pavilion (see here). It is a surreal little building,…
By gardenpoets Here is the renga we wrote at the Botanics. Thanks to Colin Will for being the master, and to all the poeticipants! Everything new A 20-verse…
By gardenpoets Renga is an ancient Japanese way of writing poetry together. Like many of the trees I have been studying in the past few weeks, it is…
By gardenpoets Today’s ‘tree’ is heather. We drank heather ale last night, and read the legend of the little people of Scotland who kept it secret for so…
Part 1: The Very Basics The analyses are finally over, you can fill in those blanks in the results section, and really start dealing with all those hypotheses…
By gardenpoets My day had three parts. The first was in the Scottish poetry library, the great treasure trove. I returned with a bag of goodies – five…
For four months, The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has been hosting poets in residence in each of the Gardens. This month Mandy Haggith has been our poet in…
By gardenpoets ‘The best part of happiness is the pines.’ So said Terri Guillemets. The best part of today were the pines too, and their relatives. We walked…
As part of the work of the OpenUp! Project, scans of labels from plant collections made by Jimmy Ratter are now available online at http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/Ratter_labels/.
A global survey has identified major gaps in our collections of wild species related to crops. The survey found that more than half of the 455 Crop Wild…
By gardenpoets Today I met with Alex Davey, a very helpful guide into the deep time of trees. As well as a reading list, she has pointed me…
Hot days, shady spot in the garden, jug of refreshment on the table. The flowers of Borage, Borago officinalis are deemed an essential addition to long fruity beverages….
With our Big 5 survey running until October, we have finally reached 1000 votes! Voting is still underway and there is still time to vote for your favourite…
Taxonomic botanists are curious creatures. And I mean this in two ways – not only being (frequently) curious in themselves, but, of necessity for their work, possessed of…
By gardenpoets I began the day with close study of the Gunneras, giant rhubarbs with bad attitude. They look as if a pterodactyl could swoop down and perch…
By gardenpoets Today’s tree alphabet species is that great tree hugger, ivy. Spurred on by the news that a new world record for tree hugging was set yesterday…
By gardenpoets Not all of the letters in the Gaelic tree alphabet are trees! Today’s letter, M, stands for Muin, which is often translated from the old Gaelic…