Category: HorticulturePage 53 of 59
Latest blog stories connected with horticulture at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
The autumn colours are developing in the Garden with an increasing presence. One of the regular performers is Cercidiphyllum japonicum, a multi-branched small tree native to China and…
Salvia confertiflora is a woody perennial with ridged angular stems. The leaves, soft and felt-like to the touch, are held opposite on the stem. This native of Brazil…
As the days shorten and the lawns are laden with dew so the South African bulbous perennial Nerine bowdenii shows its flowers. As regular as clockwork the sudden…
The group of Anenome x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’ on the edge of the Herbaceous Border is full of white petalled flowers at the moment, taking the inevitable early…
Amongst the tallest growing herbaceous plants is Rudbeckia ‘Herbstsonne’, also known in the trade by the English translation, ‘Autumn Sun’. This old cultivar is really only suited to…
Take a look at the semi-tender perennials in the borders to the south of the Glasshouses Front Range. In one corner is the grey-leaved Salvia discolor, a woody…
Definitively formed and with no regard for spatial awareness the stamens on Clerodendrum trichotomum var. fargesii are a delight to observe. The red flower buds (calyx) are segmented…
Itea ilicifolia an expansive evergreen shrub collected by Ernest Wilson in Hubei Province at the relatively low altitude of 300 – 900 metres. Initially not thought to be…
This August to date we have had 172.2mm of rain. The average August rainfall in Edinburgh over the past 18 years is 54.9mm. The wettest day was Tuesday…
A member of the family Sapindaceae, native to C. and W. China laden with seed capsules, Dipteronia sinensis is a deciduous small tree found in Gansu and Sichuan…
The difference in flower shape arrived at through selection and breeding is well illustrated by comparing Hydrangea paniculata and the cultivar Hydrangea paniculata ‘Tardiva’ where the panicles can…
Wild flower meadows are very much in vogue nowadays, but not many feature the Shetland Cabbage! This variety of Brassica oleraceae is reputed to have been cultivated in…
A biennial that flowers in its second growing season at a height in excess of two metres. The leaves are deeply divided, fresh green in colour. As flowering…
Growing as a tall perennial herb; Cephalaria procera was collected as seed from the Black Sea area of N.E.Anatolia in Turkey. Growing on the roadside margin beside the…
Late July sees Clethra delaveyi clothed in long racemes of scented flowers. These are held gracefully at the ends of the shoots. The fused, cupped white petals shelter…
Castanea sativa is a dominant tree with deeply fissured and twisting bark. The mature specimen at the rock garden divides into three giant limbs at a height of…
Lavender is one of those plants, easily propagated, that is found in many British gardens though native to the Mediterranean. It has one drawback: as it ages the…
Setting a striking pose in the sunken courtyard of the Front Range Glasshouses is a mature clump of Zantedeschia aethiopica. Native to temperate South Africa, this lush foliaged…
Growing high in the Kaghan Valley of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan is the prickly-leaved Morina longifolia. The flower spikes are populated with creamy white buds….
The greatest asset of Actinidia kolomikta, a member of the kiwi fruit genus, is its leaves. The leaf colouration on young plants is not so pronounced as on…