Category: Edinburgh BotanicsPage 6 of 50

Aromatic foliage

Drimys andina is a compact evergreen shrub native to Chile and Argentina. It is currently producing clusters of white petalled flowers at the end of the current season’s…

No sting nettle

A childhood dream; a nettle patch you can fall into and emerge unscathed from. Growing in the south facing glasshouse border is a planting of Boehmeria ticuspis var….

Kaleidoscope corner

Once seen this planting of Hydrangea will either make you want to fill your front garden with a similar planting or you will think – too blousy and…

An accidental plant association

Tropaeolum speciosum is often observed growing through woody plants and hedges at RBGE. Rarely though does it associate with its supportive partner as well as when seen growing…

To weed or not?

Growing through the planting of Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’ at the edge of the Copse is Oxalis corniculata a low growing creeping weed. Both plants adapted to dry, shaded…

Scramblers

Near the viewpoint, there is a patch of “White Bryony” Bryonia cretica, which is effectively colonising the area at great speed. A deciduous native, the growth is rapid…

A road block

Well established and generally slug resistant this brute of a Hosta is the ideal plant to act as a division or barrier within the garden. Hosta sieboldiana grows…

Three white flowers to cheer us into midsummer week

A member of the Iris family, Iridaceae, Diplarrena latifolia has individual flowers of interesting shape composed of six tepals. The three largest pure white, the smaller tepals have…

Yellow pea flowers

Vigorous, young plants of Piptanthus nepalensis are flowering in the border near the wash house in the Garden. The bright, fresh yellow of the flowers are welcome as…

Statuesque finale to the bowl of stewed Rhubarb

When the clump of Rhubarb in your garden sends up a flower spike this is the time to stop pulling the stalks for stewing down. The elongated leaf…

Herbarium-inspired poetry

This Sunday, 2 June 2019, there is a chance to hear poetry read in the Botanic Cottage, with afternoon tea and nature-inspired poems from award-winning and widely published…

A sight of Silver

A wet day brings out the best in the Alchemillas. Alchemilla alpina is one of the smaller growing species, native to Europe and Greenland. This clump forming herb…

Bells by the dozen

On the western edge of the copse are specimens of Enkianthus chinensis flowering in profusion. The bell shaped flowers are produced by the dozen in pendulous racemes, held…

Subtle sight

Planted in the early 1990’s from seed collected in Canada, (though native to eastern north America) the large crowned Juglans cinerea is flowering for the first time. Take…

A benefit of the mild winter and fine spring

Cistus albidus, collected by one of our former curators, Ron McBeath is flowering in the border at the alpine area. Seed was collected in Spain from the parent…

Lilac season

Now that the Cherry blossom fades the Lilacs are providing continuity of colour Syringa x persica (a hybrid between S. afghanica x laciniatata.) The “Persian Lilac” is an…

Taking digitisation to the next level for the Flora of Nepal

The Himalayan region is recognised as one of the ‘hottest’ global Biodiversity hotspots, with a third of all plant species within its range occurring in Nepal. This makes…

Motile stamens

If there was ever a plant to deter all comers this is it. The leaves of Berberis darwinii are clothed in lethal spines. Anyone who has cultivated around…

Blue pollen, a story of kōtukutuku

Fuschia excorticata or Kotukutuku in Māori is a large growing shrub from New Zealand. The specimen is located at the top of the stairs near the monkey puzzles….

A choice species to welcome the Scottish Rhododendron Festival

The Scottish Rhododendron Festival runs from the start of April until the end of May and aims to promote the varied collection of Rhododendrons collected and grown throughout…