Category: HorticulturePage 16 of 59

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

An early Geranium

Geranium albiflorum a Eurasian herb that is flowering exceptionally well tucked behind the contemporary Alpine House. A clumping, spreading perennial with a mass of light purple veined flowers….

Prickly phyllodes

Acacia verticillata in flower on the front glasshouse border. A mass of mini citrus yellow bottle brushes. The flowers are a mass of densely packed stamens. The sharp…

Mountain Pulsatilla

Pulsatilla turczaninovii, a plant from  seed collected on the Russian Altay where it grew on the banks of the River Bashkaus. Sown and grown and now flowering on…

The genus Magnolia

A selection of the Magnolia species and cultivars are in full flower at RBGE. These magnificent trees are at their best when the sun shines and the air…

Campylopus introflexus, an invasive alien on the glasshouse roof

The moss Campylopus introflexus, native to the southern hemisphere, is now considered an invasive plant in parts of Europe and North America. While it occurs on some natural…

Volunteering at the Botanics – bryophytes in our living landscape

There are very few bryophytes growing in the living collections of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. What I mean by this is that there are very few bryophytes…

Building on building mosses, a return to Schistidium in the built environment

Monday 27th March was the start of a month-long visit to RBGE by the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics‘s Dr Wolfgang Hofbauer, funded by the EU Synthesys Access…

Rhododendron siderophyllum

Look out for Rhododendron siderophyllum planted at the bottom of the Chinese hillside.  A small plant with evergreen leaves that give off an aromatic smell when touched or…

Central Asian Juno Iris

A first flowering at RBGE for Iris zaprjagajewii one of the dwarf Juno Iris. Collected by members of the alpine and rock garden team on an expedition to…

Colour in the Rhododendron collection

A fine specimen is Rhododendron hunnewellianum, planted by the laundry building near Inverleith House.  Best seen from the pathway and lawn nearby as it is a top heavy…

The purple plum

Flowering in many gardens is Prunus cerasifera or one of its many forms. A welcome reminder that spring is arriving. A native to the Caucasus and now found…

Ten years of seasonal plants of interest – 12 that flower or colour reliably year on year.

A lot of plants have caught my eye during the past decade while compiling a weekly profile on a seasonal plant of interest. Below are the consistently reliable…

Raikless (reckless) Primulas

I have to admit Raiklesses is not a common name I’d heard before. I was looking up the Dictionary of the Scots Language, like you do, and there…

Flowering succession

A good selection of young plants of Bergenia pacifica from a sowing in 2015 are flowering for the first time in the nursery. From the attached image can…

Spring bulb season

Muscari azureum has sent up its instantly recognisable inverted cone of azure blue flowers. Native to Turkey this is a bulb that appreciates good drainage and a sunny…

Flash frost

The forecast last night was for an overnight frost that would clear quickly. How right the forecast was, bright sunshine soon warmed the ice crystals with damaging consequences…

A Japanese Rhododendron

Rhododendron dauricum, in flower since mid-January. A good show of purple flowers on this native to east and north Asia, the seed from which this plant grew was…

Flash frost

The forecast last night was for an overnight frost that would clear quickly. How right the forecast was, bright sunshine soon warmed the ice crystals with damaging consequences…

A Japanese Rhododendron

Rhododendron dauricum, in flower since mid-January. A good show of purple flowers on this native to east and north Asia, the seed from which this plant grew was…

A collaboration between RBGE and Edinburgh College of Art

On 1st February 2017 an exhibition opens in the Library Foyer at RBGE displaying work which was produced through association between RBGE and Edinburgh College of Art and…