March 2020 came in like a rather timid lion, rather windy but not nearly as stormy as February, and went out like a lamb. Weather-wise it was a…

February 2020 will be remembered both locally and nationally for its exceptionally high rainfall, for the frequency of stormy weather, and for its lack of sunshine. There were…

January 2020 was a dull and rather wet month at RBGE. There were only 46.5 hours of sunshine, about twelve hours less than in December 2019, with the…

December 2019 at RBGE gave the impression of being somewhat dull and wet although the graphs do not bear this out. Total rainfall was 52.4 mm, most of…

November 2019 was a pretty grim month at RBGE. It was wetter than average, with a total rainfall of 76.6 mm (155% of the long-term average). Most of…

Yet again, October 2019 was both sunnier (117.4 hours, 117% of average) and wetter (106.2 mm, 134% of average) than an average Edinburgh October.  Like September, most of…

September 2019, perhaps predictably, followed the pattern of previous months this summer. Once again it was both sunnier (141.4 hours, 129% of average) and wetter (79.4 mm, 161%…

Summer 2019 seems to have been following a pattern, for August 2019, like July, was a month when both sunshine (201.7 hours, 179% of average) and rainfall (140.8…

July 2019 has been described as the warmest globally on record. It was also a warm month at the Botanics, due in part to an intense heatwave in…

June 2019 was a showery, often rather chilly month at the Garden for the most part. Total rainfall at the Garden was 78.8 mm — much less than…

On 13 May 2019, Alan Crawford, one of the wildlife photographers that regularly visit the Garden, photographed an unusual insect and identified it as being an alderfly. There…

May 2019 was both wetter (72.8 mm, 143% of long-term average) and sunnier (188.9 hours, 167% of average) than usual. For the most part it was cool, and…

April 2019 was a mostly cool month with long spells of chilling winds from easterly or northerly points. However, the Easter weekend (20th-22nd) was hot and sunny, with…

March 2019 continued the trend of above-average temperatures although it was a much more mixed month than February, with some sharp cold snaps and no exceptionally mild spells….

February 2019 was the second successive dry, sunny month at RBGE. Rainfall was only 18.4 mm, slightly more than January’s record low of 12.2 mm but only 39%…

January 2019 was the driest January at RBGE since 1976. Only 12.2 mm of rain fell, 18% of the long-term average. It was also much sunnier than average,…

December 2018 at RBGE was much drier than usual, slightly sunnier, and milder than average although there were some short cold snaps with frost but no snow. Total…

November 2018 was a rather ‘grey’ month, living up to that month’s reputation. There were only around half a dozen really sunny days, mainly in the first half,…

October 2018 was changeable. The month started off mild, with pleasantly warm days (highest daytime maximum 19.1°C on 10th) but near the end of the month there was…

This Garden Wildlife Report for September 2018 is exceptionally late, for which I apologise; I have been on holiday or otherwise occupied for much of October. Since originally…