Category: Garden WildlifePage 1 of 67

John Main DHE, NDH [MHort RHS], FCIHort, SHM

Ex Head of Horticulture at the RBGE John started his long horticultural career in 1957 as an apprentice at Bellgarth Nurseries, Carlisle that specialised in growing Chrysanthemums, Gladioli,…

Growing Connections: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and The National Botanic Gardens of Ireland.

The sharing of plants between botanic gardens has long been an essential tool in the cultivation and display of the world’s rare and threatened flora. The plants generously…

Bird burglar caught in the act

Burglary at the Botanics may sound shocking but every spring there is an outbreak of crime. The burglars go about their business with impunity in broad daylight and…

Garden Highlights 2023

It has certainly been another busy and productive year in the garden for everyone working at The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). A garden is never static, it…

Reviving Benmore’s giants

Reviving a stressed 50m tree feels daunting but having 49 ailing giant redwoods to revive has been one of the biggest challenges. Peter baxter, curator, benmore botanic garden…

Postcards from the Biomes: The Last Fern to Leave

A new Postcards from the Biomes following the move of the last fern to leave the Ferns and Fossils Glasshouse at The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

The Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden

The Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden celebrates the garden’s historical connections with the Royal Family, which date back to RBGE’s origins in 1670 as a Physic Garden at the…

Prunus spinosa: The Blackthorn Tree of British and Irish Folklore 

The following blog post was written by Courtney Kemnitz, a Digitiser in the RBGE Herbarium. Courtney is digitising the British Isles collection. This series of blog posts will…

Postcards from the Biomes: A Show of Fronds

You can read more about the journey of the tree ferns in the BBC article below. BBC News – Giant plants make epic journey from Edinburgh to Port…

Postcards from the Biomes: Using air layering as a propagation method.

Read Marc Gilbert’s full article on air layer propagation here. Discover more from our other articles and journals here.

Stories from the Biomes: The Fern House Decant

In 2022, the Horticulture team fixed their attention on the Ferns and Fossils Glasshouse, home to an impressive species diversity from an ancient group of plants. Read about the successes and challenges of moving this collection, from one of the team who carried out the work.

Planting with Nature – A guide to sustainable gardening

Kirsty Wilson Herbaceous Supervisor at RBGE and BBC Beechgrove TV presenter has written a new book that will be launching on 20th April all about how we can…

Stories from the Biomes: My Experience with the Biomes Decant, by Horticulturist Szymon Drozdek

It all started with one houseplant. That one plant, a Crassula ovata (money plant), led me to having one of the healthiest obsessions human beings can possibly have;…

Stories from the Biomes: A Year in Photos

A lot can happen in a year, especially where the Biomes Project is concerned. Looking back at 2022, it is impossible to include everything that has been achieved, but here is a selection of highlights of the work undertaken by the Horticulture team and colleagues.

Tony Schilling, horticulturist, receives recognition from the Government of Nepal – Updated

The following post was first published in July 2019. It has been updated on receipt of the sad news of Tony Schilling’s death on 23 November 2022. Dr…

2022 Garden Highlights

It has certainly been another busy and productive year in the garden for everyone working at The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). After two years of a pandemic…

Stories from the Biomes: Threatened Chilean plants on the move.

Tucked away behind the glasshouses of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a terrace that contains an exceptional collection of Chilean plants collected by RBGE staff and Chilean…

Stories from the Biomes: Moving the Ericaceous Collection

While the Edinburgh Biomes Project involves the more noticeable decanting of both Victorian Palm Houses and the Front Range Glasshouses, there are several research collections going through an equally significant change behind the scenes.

Anna’s placement in Gothenburg

Anna is a year 3 Horticulture with Plantsmanship student here at RBGE and at Scotland’s Rural College. She spent the summer doing various work placements. Read on to…

Stories from the Biomes: A Change in the Weather

Every day for the last thirty years, rain or shine, Senior Horticulturist Bruce Robertson has climbed up on to the roof of the Temperate Palm House to change the Campbell-Stokes recorder’s sunshine card. As the restoration on the Victorian Palm Houses begins, the recorder’s solid crystal ball is stored away for safe keeping.