Category: Edinburgh BotanicsPage 16 of 50

Ivy

Carpets of Ivy, Hedera helix, are wonderful for ground cover but once the vigorous shoots start encroaching on tree trunks, walls and through the base of woody shrubs…

Daphne hybrid

Daphne ‘Spring Beauty’ is indeed a beauty and scented too. An evergreen shrub hybridised in the 1820’s it has a mass of flowers in a terminal cluster. Purple…

Figs in waiting

Ficus carica needs a warm corner to produce a reliable crop of Figs in autumn. As a native to the Middle East as much for winter protection of…

Acacia dealbata (mimosa silver wattle), on the temperate walkway of the glasshouses

Family: Mimosaceae  Description Acacia dealbata is an evergreen tree with noticeably angular shoots and bears true bipinnate filigree effect, blue-green leaves. The highly fragrant pom pom flowers are…

Hemispheres collide

The evergreen Prostanthera cuneatea is not enjoying the heavy rain and lately the frosts we are experiencing this winter. A native of the Southern Hemisphere it is dropping…

Seeds in profusion

Now is the time to look beneath established Berberis bushes and observe germinating seedlings. As can be seen from the attached image of Berberis aristata the viability of…

Objects from the Temperate Palm House – New Exhibition

Objects from the Temperate Palm House, an exhibition using remnants of historic palm trees once grown in the Botanic Garden’s Victorian palm houses will open at Bargain Spot…

A winter warmer

Better to be prepared than to lose the living plant. A timely cover of straw, laid loosely on top of the crowns of Hedychium spicatum and Brugmansia aurea…

Review of the year 2015

January 1st dawned wet and mild, the north block metrological station easily touching 14°C. Walking around the Garden on New Year’s morning; Snowdrops – in flower. A first…

Juxtaposition

We practiced contrasting traditional horticultural practices in the second half of December, one seasonal and the other not so. Following a mild wet autumn we recorded an overnight…

Sunrise on the shortest day 21 12 2015

Cistus albidus

A midsummer flowering favourite that is, as we head for the shortest day, awash with flower buds and carrying a selection of open flowers. The weekend frost had…

Tall sentinels of seed

The season of herbaceous seed heads is with us. This tall Ligularia fischeri has elegance in the way it displays the seed and empty seed capsules down the…

The three R’s

A warm autumn and benign lead into winter has produced many out of season horticultural surprises. The Raspberry ‘Autumn Bliss’ was prolific in fruiting  and even now has…

Out of season beauty

In the corner of the QMM garden is a columnar tree full of lightly scented musty white flowers. Awash with flowers this Hoheria populnea is a deciduous member…

Calliandra ( red powder puff)

Red powder puff (Calliandra haematocephala) Family: Leguminosae Description: This is an evergreen shrub or small tree of 4 to 5 metres, which will grow as wide as it…

Sky blue under a leaden sky

Despite the past week of storms, rain and battering inclement weather this scandent Delphinium sp. has proved resilient. It has sparse growth but from this is thrown a…

Autumn Screenings at Inverleith House: Anne-Marie Copestake and Duncan Marquiss

Inverleith House presents two artist films that consider the natural world and scientific enquiry as part of a new short season of screenings reflecting upon the gallery’s unique…

A time to plant

With deciduous leaves colouring and dormancy on its way, now is the time to consider tree planting. Take due account of the weather. Depending on the size of…

Hipster

Planted at the entrance to the John Hope Gateway is Rosa hirtula. A native to Japan where it is found growing in association with, amongst others, Larix kaempferi,…