Category: HorticulturePage 55 of 59

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

Spines from the southern hemisphere

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…

Two twiggy shrubs

The deciduous woody shrub Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana is a member of the Hamamelidaceae family and hails from the Himalayas. Plants are found growing in the north-west frontier province of…

Ercilla volubilis

Ercilla volubilis collected in Chile during 1996 by the ICE team, a collaboration between the Royal Botanic Garden and the Instituto de Investigaciones Ecologicas Chiloe. It was observed…

Pillars and palms, the very best of Victoriana

Come in, look up, and appreciate the leafy canopy of the palms and the Victorian ironwork of the Temperate Palm House. April the first is the day 150…

Woodland floor to hedgerow; a selection of the best British natives for Easter

Primula vulgaris and its close relative the Cowslip, P. veris, are well known spring indicators. Spreading by seed and the scratching activity of mammals which inadvertently split clumps…

Little and large

Rhododendron praevurnum is a huge evergreen species reaching 4 metres across and 3 metres high and is characterised by the distinctive blotch of wine-red colour on the inner…

The colour of spring – Forsythia

This is a plant everyone is aware of – in the gardens of suburbia, filling borders in country gardens, competing well in mixed hedgerows, this bright yellow unruly…

After the excess of chocolate at Easter; Turkish delight

Our plant of Omphalodes cappadocica was collected as seed by the late Douglas Henderson, Regius Keeper of the Garden from 1970 until his retirement in 1987. The twelfth…

New life after a harsh winter

After the ravages of winter and the alternating low and rising temperatures, growth is now beginning to move on plants. In the borders, damage on overwintered growth is…

Spring bulbs and leaf mould

Spring bulbs are making their presence known; the Crocus cultivars are in flower on the west slope from Inverleith House and at the east gate. Groups of Narcissus…

A choice plant from the coastal mountains of Chile

Latua pubiflora is not to be missed. Possibly one of the choicest plants to come out of recent plant collecting expeditions to Chile. This introduction is from the…

An early currant

An evergreen shrub with leathery leaves, Ribes laurifolium is a native of west China, introduced to Britain in 1908 by Ernest Wilson. The flowers are produced in racemes…

Rose – a thorny issue

Rosa sericea ssp. omeiensis forma pteracantha – the longest sequence of names and the most decorative of thorns are this plant’s claim to fame. As there was no…

An alpine odyssey

This week has brought lengthening days, warmth from the sun and bud burst from many of the dormant clumps of herbaceous plants throughout the Garden – all signs…

A Himalayan treasure

Various forms of Daphne bholua are planted throughout the Garden. The earliest to flower is towering up 5 metres from the sheltered courtyard to the north of the…

Freezing needles

Prominent to the south of the Rock Garden is Pinus sylvestris ‘Aurea’, the golden Scots pine, described by Rock Garden Supervisor John Mitchell as a classic addition to…

A Wintry Welcome

The thin, ribbon-like petals and delicate scent of the Chinese witch hazel, Hamamelis mollis, welcomes you on entry to the Garden via the East Gate. This deciduous shrub…

A trio of hellebores

Helleborus orientalis, collected in Turkey by E.K. Balls, is now to be found growing in the upper Woodland Garden. This is a showy clump with fresh, white flowers…

Winter Jewels

Galanthus ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’ is the first snowdrop of the season, the promise of spring. After the week of storms and heavy rain, the snowdrops are opening to…

Tree Ferns

Tree ferns lend a touch of the exotic and provide key architectural elements in the Queen Mothers Memorial Garden and alongside the Glasshouse ramp. Hailing from such diverse…