Category: Edinburgh BotanicsPage 4 of 50

Snowdrop division

Have you been impressed with the carpets of Snowdrops seen in gardens open for the Scottish Snowdrop Festival? As the flowers fade, now is the time to lift…

A woodland carpet

Symphytum grandiflorum is to be found as an extensive patch of vegetation covering soil in the upper woodland garden. Neat and compact with an inflorescence of creamy white…

Old woody blooms in spring

The majority of Primulas are rosette or clump growing herbaceous plants. Primula marginata differs. Take a look at the plant growing in the trough within the alpine area….

Spring ready

Travelling around Edinburgh the grass has a lushness usually associated with the month of March. Plant growth is advanced for this time of the year. This January has…

Crocus damage

The garden becomes a feeding ground for the Grey Squirrel population as they discover the young shoots of emerging Crocus. The appetite is however for the brown corm…

Sweet Success

Flowers set on bare branches are a delight in winter, but there are also some evergreen plants that flower. They are a great comfort to the soul during…

Plant and grow a hedge

Winter storms and ageing fence posts and panels are not good companions. This is the time to replace your garden fence and what better way than to plant…

White stemmed Rubus

These images are of one of the white stemmed brambles that since leaf fall are now more obvious in the border. The white indumentum over ruddy brown stems…

A fine ground covering plant

Now well established in the Copse is the evergreen Vinca difformis. Straggly bootlace shoots are sent out over ground at a rate of knots. Occasionally rooting down at…

Compost and the need to nourish the soil

Much of the work to be done in the garden at this time of year produces quantities of pruning’s and other green resource material. Note the use of…

Bright and cheerful

Jasminum nudiflorum; 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. The…

A particularly exquisite Rhododendron

It will be of no surprise that an attractive plant has been found in this particular genus. One in which has been so highly regarded by the garden,…

Review of the year – 2019

2018 ended with temperatures in double figures, not as isolated incidents but repeated daily. Before dusk fell, the bells announcing the ice cream van touting for trade were…

2019 Garden Highlights

There is always a ‘plant of interest’ for every month of the year growing in the Living Collection at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Kirsty Wilson, Herbaceous Supervisor…

Plant Collecting on Tay Con Linh Mountain, Vietnam

Expedition to Northern Vietnam, October 2019 Participants (UK) Richard Baines: Expedition leader and Curator of Logan Botanic Garden Will Ritchie: Curator of The National Botanic Garden of Wales…

Respecting the edges

By this time of year all the herbaceous plants have died back and reduced to yellow/brown remnants of their former glory. Take the opportunity to rake any remains…

The seeds of Dead Man’s Finger

Seeds are phenomenal structures which have adapted incredible ways to disperse. One of the of the most eye catching seed pods in the garden at this time of…

….and hedge bases

Winter months are a good time to catch up with hedge cutting. Always start at the base, a clean line with the first pass of the hedge trimmer…

84 Year old Cherry felled in last nights winds at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Last night (5/12/19) the forecast high winds caused us to cancel our Christmas light show. The highest gust recorded in the garden was 43mph. This was enough to…

Hedge tops

December arrives and leaf fall should be complete. Now is the time to clear the decaying remains from the lawns and corners of the garden. An area often…