21^st October is Apple Day, an autumn holiday created by the charity Common Ground in 1990 to celebrate and protect the rich variety of apple cultivars across the UK.

Worldwide, there are more than 7500 cultivars of Malus domestica, but we tend only to see a handful of varieties for sale in supermarkets. Apple Day is a reminder of the wonderful diversity of apples beyond the supermarket shelves.

As you pass through the gardens in the coming weeks, you will see some of the Scottish heritage apples being grown in the RBGE Demonstration Garden, including Stirling Castle, Lady of Wemyss and Scotch Bridget.

Today seemed the perfect day to launch our new display, ‘Celebrating Apple Season’, in the Herbarium, Library and Archive Cabinet in the John Hope Gateway. The display showcases some of the apple-related treasures of the RBGE collections, including examples of other species of Malus.

Happy Apple Day!