Category: Edinburgh BotanicsPage 46 of 50

An early currant

An evergreen shrub with leathery leaves, Ribes laurifolium is a native of west China, introduced to Britain in 1908 by Ernest Wilson. The flowers are produced in racemes…

Rose – a thorny issue

Rosa sericea ssp. omeiensis forma pteracantha – the longest sequence of names and the most decorative of thorns are this plant’s claim to fame. As there was no…

An alpine odyssey

This week has brought lengthening days, warmth from the sun and bud burst from many of the dormant clumps of herbaceous plants throughout the Garden – all signs…

A Himalayan treasure

Various forms of Daphne bholua are planted throughout the Garden. The earliest to flower is towering up 5 metres from the sheltered courtyard to the north of the…

Freezing needles

Prominent to the south of the Rock Garden is Pinus sylvestris ‘Aurea’, the golden Scots pine, described by Rock Garden Supervisor John Mitchell as a classic addition to…

A Wintry Welcome

The thin, ribbon-like petals and delicate scent of the Chinese witch hazel, Hamamelis mollis, welcomes you on entry to the Garden via the East Gate. This deciduous shrub…

A trio of hellebores

Helleborus orientalis, collected in Turkey by E.K. Balls, is now to be found growing in the upper Woodland Garden. This is a showy clump with fresh, white flowers…

Winter Jewels

Galanthus ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’ is the first snowdrop of the season, the promise of spring. After the week of storms and heavy rain, the snowdrops are opening to…

Tree Ferns

Tree ferns lend a touch of the exotic and provide key architectural elements in the Queen Mothers Memorial Garden and alongside the Glasshouse ramp. Hailing from such diverse…

A plantsman’s office…

Pete Brownless, nursery supervisor for almost two decades, is also the author of the Greenfingers column in our quarterly magazine The Botanics. Pete has been writing this column…

Winter Jasmine

Jasminum nudiflorum is the ideal plant to appreciate from the warmth of your home and a pleasure to encounter when garden visiting at this dreich time of year….

Highlights: 31.12.07

Grass cutting commenced on 1st February after a very mild, wet winter. Irrigation was much needed for the Rhododendron collection as growth flushed in the spring and flowering…

Highlights: 21.12.07

Mistletoe, (Viscum album), has a place in British social history. The custom of kissing beneath the Mistletoe dates from a long forgotten fertility rite, possibly linked to the…

Highlights: 17.12.07

A plant of seasonal interest, Ilex aquifolium has a wide geographical distribution ranging through South West Europe, North Africa, to South West Asia. Cultivated in Britain for centuries….

Highlights: 11.12.07

Awarded a preliminary commendation from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1957, followed by an Award of Garden Merit and a First Class Certificate, Mahonia x media ‘Charity’ is…

Student plots; cultivated and composted

As part of the first year of the HND Plantsmanship course the students are given a plot to cultivate; to sow and grow through 2010, producing a selection…

Highlights: 6.12.07

Look at the seed of Euptelia polyandra, the distinctive hook in the samara gives it the appearance of a bottle opener. A native to Japan, growing in the…

Highlights: 4.12.07

A woody member of the family Violaceae, Melicytus angustifolius has beautifully coloured berries. Partially white and partially grey, they have the appearance of the Chinese Yin and Yang…

Highlights: 30.11.07

  This week, succumb to the warmth of the Lowland Tropics and seek out the stunning Hoya imperialis. Native to Malaysia and Indonesia, this tropical gem produces the…

Highlights: 26.11.07

From Ecuador to Argentina, Colletia spinosissima will defeat any grazing predator with the angled vicious green spines. These plants are often found as single specimens in grazed land,…