Today I went over to the nursery to see the stones from the deconstructed Botanic Cottage for the first time – palette after palette of stones of all shapes and sizes which, in a few months, will once again be part of a unique building.

When Botanic Cottage was dismantled a few years ago, detailed drawings were made of where every stone went (door frames, windows, staircase, etc.), they were then loaded onto palettes and into huge bags, placed on lorries and taken to the RBGE nursery where they have remained since, waiting for the day that builders arrive to reconstruct the cottage. It was great to be able to spot the curved stones of the spiral staircase which runs up the back of the building, to be able to see piles of timber which was salvaged and will be reused, the piles of stones which make up the walls, and more.

Later this Spring, the stones will be moved from the nursery over to the Demonstration Garden, where work will begin to rebuild Botanic Cottage.