Category: HorticulturePage 52 of 59

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

Lipstick and lichens

At elongated bud stage the petals of Viburnum grandiflorum have the shape and intensity of colour of a red lipstick. Holding an exceptional heady fragrance the tubular corolla…

A clean shave

Providing flowers in a sheltered glasshouse border is an Unbearded Iris. Protruding from a mass of flattened evergreen sword shaped leaves are the delicate blue flowers of Iris…

Acacia too much festive spirit

If it is exercise you need after the festive fortnight then a walk around the Garden could be just the place to fulfil this desire. Visit the cool…

Review of the year

2008 was a year of desperate weather conditions. The wettest August was recorded with correspondingly low sunshine levels. Indeed on the 6th of the month the rain gauge…

Fresh green flowers

Helleborus foetidus is an evergreen perennial ideally suited to semi shade and a deep moist soil where it will clump and colonise to flower impressively annually. Although the…

An exotic fruit

On a west-facing wall, the evergreen climber Holboellia grandiflora is fruiting. The intertwining mass of tangled growth shelters the lurid purple fruit which is unfortunate, as this is…

Sprouting and flowering

The mahonias are flowering – the shiny evergreen foliage is offset by terminal panicles of yellow flowers. Mahonia napaulensis grows within Quercus and Rhododendron forest at 2,780metres. Our…

Fallen frosted angels

An alternative title for today’s entry could be ‘time waits for no man’. My selection of seasonal plants of interest for these pages is rarely influenced by the…

Blowing in the wind

The male cones of Cedrus deodara are shedding their pollen. The trees are wind pollinated and the prevailing westerly winds we experience send the pollen grains a great…

A fish bone to pick over

A good form of Cotoneaster horizontalis will present a main shoot from which a series of parallel lateral shoots branch from in herringbone fashion. At this time of…

Retro plant

A plant of 60’s suburbia. With the housing boom in the 1960’s the Pampas grass became a popular feature of British gardens. The images are of a compact…

An African autumn

Standing sentinel to the last days of autumn sunshine is Kniphofia linearifolia. This strong-growing member of the genus is native to southern and eastern Africa, where it has…

A willowy evergreen

Eucryphia moorei produces attractive four-petalled white flowers. In the centre are a multitude of soft paintbrush bristle stamens. The flower is produced on the current season’s growth. From…

The Japanese maple season

The true Acer palmatum is not often seen in gardens as there are a plethora of cultivars in the trade that are marketed well. Acer palmatum is native…

The Indian Pokeweed

Phytolacca acinosa has thick, almost succulent stems. It grows strongly to 1.8 metres with lanceolate leaves. A mass of growth that wilts to mush when the frost arrives….

Natural shading

Celastrus orbiculatus, again from Japan, but found throughout N.E.Asia. This climbing deciduous member of the family Celastraceae can be seen twisting around the external glasshouse support frame, providing…

Fiery red autumn colour

Mid October traditionally sees the start of the autumn colour. Until now a few trees have turned, notably Aesculus and Betula providing the traditional sound of walking and…

An ornamental apple

From Central Asia and the Himalayas Malus pumila is a diverse species; the domestic or sweet apple as it is known or paradise apple in France. Full of…

Amaryllis belladonna

Amaryllis belladonna is a fine flowering bulb from Temperate South Africa. The purple shaded flower stalk grows rapidly to 0.5m from established bulbs. These prefer a well drained…

A giant white Michaelmas daisy

Aster glehni var. glehni was collected in Japan in 2003 on the EJE expedition. This is a giant among the Asters, the very same genus that collects up…