Category: HorticulturePage 10 of 59

Latest blog stories connected with horticulture at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Incredible Autumn

You may have noticed a slight chill to the air and a softer, golden quality to the morning light, which can only mean one thing: autumn is here….

Cast to mud

This is the season where worm casts appear on the surface of the lawn. If left and walked or worse, mown over, the squashing, flattening action will result…

Buchan Hepburn and McDouall East Africa and Angola Album 1904 – 1909

By Helen Bennett, Library & Archives Volunteer New light has been shed on the creation of Logan Garden by a previously unknown album of photographs and watercolours recently…

Seed heads

The seed pods of Clematis terniflora have split open and are releasing their seed. The plumose styles appear as a mass of white feathers covering the tangled growth….

An expedition to East Ross to rescue the rare Oxytropis halleri

Oxytropis halleri commonly known as Mountain Milk-vetch is a Nationally Rare plant confined only to Scotland.  The species can be found at two inland locations but most populations…

A perennial daisy

The space around one of the alpine troughs is awash with a multitude of small daisy like flowers. From minute green button buds white ray florets quickly turn…

But will there be Chestnuts to roast?

The iconic Sweet Chestnut on the NW corner of the Rock Garden has sustained damage to the canopy over the years. The westerly storm force winds have ripped…

Polylepis australis – Tree of the Year Finalist 2018 -Please vote!

Help Make The Filo Pastry Tree at Logan Botanic Garden Woodland Trust Scotland’s Tree of the Year. Please help us to win this award by voting for the…

The Urban Kingfisher

One of our wildlife recorders, Lucy Cooke, gives you tips on how to spot kingfishers in the city centre!

In the bowels of the plant

Astelia chathamica is a vigorous bold clump of sword shaped leaves. A native to New Zealand, more specifically, the Chatham Islands. Our well established plant is fruiting prolifically….

The Garden of Tranquillity

Judy Good, a recent Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s Garden Design Diploma graduate has designed a garden for people living with dementia. The Garden of Tranquillity will be a…

Mellow yellow

What better way to light up the area beneath a deciduous canopy, in this case, Salix x sepulcralis ‘Chrysocoma’ . Sunlight filtering through the canopy and playing tricks…

Bosco Verticale

The Bosco Verticale (or ‘vertical forest’) is one of the most innovative designs I have seen. It is an example of modern cutting edge construction with an awareness…

Parassiti e malattie

Pests and Disease in Italy The scrutiny of the plant world has recently fallen upon Italy due to a vicious disease which has destroyed many ancient olive groves….

Summer Roses

The much loved rose is by nature a flower of soft colours ranging from pale creams and lemons to peaches, pinks and deeper reds and crimson. For centuries…

Folded foliage and weighty limbs

Following the prolonged dry period, the rain that we are experiencing now is a welcome shock to plants. The Paeonia lutea reacted to the additional weight of this…

Two Clematis

In an open aspect to the south of the rock garden two Clematis are flowering. Clematis ternifolia, a vigorous grower with lightly scented white star like flowers bearing…

The colourful Herbaceous Border

The Herbaceous Border at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is 165m long and is backed by one of Britain’s finest beech hedges. The border is currently a riot…

The hot end of the border

The herbaceous border has a group of plants throwing out hot colours. Revelling in the long hot, dry days, this is peak Monarda season. Complementing the Monarda ‘Jacob…

What are ‘Art Forms’ or ‘Macro/ bonsai’ ?

What are ‘Art Forms’ or ‘Macro/ bonsai’ ? They are large plants – predominantly conifers like Pine and Ilex crenata – which have been trained to look like large…