Author: Robyn DrinkwaterPage 6 of 33
Explore Benmore’s Arboretum and find out more about the trees and the native wildlife you might see and hear during your visit.
Coincidentally set out to resemble a group of tepees, the giant leaves of Gunnera manicata have been cut down. Left to stand, the winter winds would gust through…
From 14th – 22nd November 35 staff from 20 of China’s Botanical Gardens have been attending a horticulture training course at Kunming Botanic Garden. This course has been…
Most people gather seasonal fruits for preserves. At the Garden we collect a selection of material for seed sowing demonstrations as class practical’s for the various horticultural courses…
The first meeting of the Consortium for the World Flora Online was held at RBGE on the 14th and 15th November 2013. This is the latest in a…
A sub shrub, one that continues to increase in woody growth until a severe winter cuts it to the ground like an herbaceous plant. The growth habit of…
The John Hope Gateway opened in October 2009, it is RBGEs biodiversity and information centre, and the main entrance to the garden at Inverleith.
The first rock garden at Inverleith was built in 1871 by James McNab. Whilst rockeries (landscaped features with rocks) were popular, the concept of a rock garden designed for true alpines was new.
The woodland garden was developed during the 1930s and 1940s, with large conifers planted to create a climate for Rhododendrons and other woodland plants which benefit from a more shaded aspect.
The lawn in front of Inverleith House provides an opportunity for visitors to relax and take in a spectacular panorama of the city, stretching from Calton Hill (left), along the length of Princes Street to Edinburgh Castle rising up on the mound (Right).
The pond was created by Piers Patrick (1861-1870), with the bronze fountain of the Boy with Two Dolphins being added by James Duncan (1870-1889).
Rhododendrons form an integral part of Benmore’s history. They were one of the main drivers for finding a West Coast garden, as the conditions and space at Inverleith were not suited to the numerous new species that were being bought back by Forrest, Wilson and Rock.
Staff on an RBGE seed collecting expedition to Bhutan in 1984 were inspired to create a microcosm of the Bhutanese mountains at Benmore.
The fernery was built in 1874 by James Duncan, at a time when Victorian Britain was gripped by fern fever.
The hilltop view point is sited at the highest point of Benmore (137m above sea level) and offers panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and the Holy Loch.
Pucks hut was designed by the Scottish architect Robert Lorimer as a memorial to Isaac Bayley Balfour – the man who first thought of creating a West coast botanic garden.
In a magnificent mountainside setting on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll lies Benmore, an enchanting Garden steeped in history and surrounded by dramatic scenery.
The terrace offers views over the exotic walled garden. This area is planted with tree echiums, invoking the spirit of the canary islands where they are native.
This area is dominated by the magnificent Gunnera manicata, which has formed a vast, almost impenetrable colony.