Last night saw the final performance of Watching, a collaborative project between musicians, historians, sleep scientists and primary schools which began in January 2014. The Garden provided the…
February 2015 was chilly for the most part with temperatures mostly not rising above 7 degrees C, and with a light snowfall near the beginning of the month….
I spent an hour today in a discussion with a group of MSc Gastronomy students from Queen Margaret University considering whether there is a distinctive Scottish cuisine. More…
George Forrest was first sent to China in 1904 by the Regius Keeper Isaac Bayley Balfour. On this and six subsequent expeditions Forrest collected prolifically in NW Yunnan,…
March heralds the start of the spring however in Scotland the weather can still be very cold and frosty. Gardening books and seed packets give a range of…
The complex thalloid liverworts, or Marchantiopsida, are one of the oldest land plant lineages, and contain a bewildering array of morphologies, ranging from comparatively simple plants like Blasia,…
The sand bench within the alpine house contains a swathe of colour. Spring bulbs in full bloom are always a welcome show after the winter. Yellow, the predominant…
The first month of 2015 started off mild, bringing out a few invertebrates, but turned colder from mid-month with some frosts and light snow. There were a few…
Whilst digitising the British algae, we have been finding some interesting and beautiful seaweeds. This Dilsea carnosa, collected in Shetland, is particularly appropriate with Valentines day this weekend……
A fantastic new project is taking place within Edinburgh City – the Edinburgh Living Landscape The Edinburgh Living Landscape (ELL) is a groundbreaking initiative which brings together the…
Deep loamy clay soil suits this bulbous Iris presently in flower in the alpine house. With the proviso that when watering none should fall on the foliage. Collected…
Helleborus orientalis found growing through southern Europe and into SW Asia. Seed to grow this plant was collected in Georgia from a plant growing with Primula sp. on…
On 3 January 2015, Gavin Powell, one of the RBGE Visitor Welcome team, spotted an unusual bird with bright yellow head perched on brambles opposite the Cryptogamic Garden….
Carpeting the ground beneath Picea orientalis are the remains of cones that have been stripped of seed by the Gardens grey squirrel population. They have systematically worked their…
December 2014 was a month of varied weather, starting rather cold but sunny with some slight frosts, with a wetter, stormier period in the middle of the month,…