Tag: MayPage 2 of 4

Taking to tufa

The strap leaved Viola spathulata is thriving in the tufa wall that forms the backdrop to the alpine shelter here at RBGE. A native to cliff faces in…

Subtle features

Amid the seasonal blossom and mass flowering of spring are interspersed subtle touches. Often unnoticed, these all add to the interest of the garden in spring. Acer davidii…

What to do in your Fruit and Vegetable Garden in Scotland: MAY

May is a fantastic month in the Edible Garden. It is very exciting to see fresh green growth, fruit blossom and lots of seedlings emerging from the soil. However…

Choice ground cover

        If there was ever a plant that deserved to be in this category it is Polygonatum humile. A delightful herbaceous member of the Ruscaceae…

Stairway to heaven

The crown of the tree fern, Dicksonia antartica, has rushed into life. Catching the warmth from the sun and surrounded by four walls in an enclosed courtyard it…

Rhododendron time

A walk through the Garden will prove rewarding with so many Rhododendrons in flower. In the copse R. orbiculare ssp. orbiculare and R. vernicosum are full of colour….

Fibre but not optic

A clump of contrasting foliage within a mixed border is always welcome. A border full of Lysimachia ciliata is a different matter. This North American native has an…

World War 1 Poppy Field

The summer of 1914 was the beginning of World War 1. In summertime this year, it will mark 100 years since it began. In memory of those who…

Age class representation

Continuing the centuries old tradition of plant collecting, staff from RBGE travelled to Japan in 2005 and collected seed. Returning to the Garden this was sown, nurtured and…

Animation: bringing subjects and stories to life

Animation. Etymology: From the Latin animātiō, “the act of bringing to life” Animation offers us vivid opportunities to see situations and information in new and exciting ways. It can be…

‘Nest’ awarded runner up in Callum Macdonald Memorial Award 2013

I was delighted to hear that the runner up in the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award for pamphlet poetry was recently announced as Roncadora Press for Nest. Nest was produced as…

A descriptive specific epithet

The genus Ribes includes the species that provide red, white and blackcurrants, also showy species of spring flowering shrubs that are found in many gardens. Ribes longeracemosum tucked…

The Ash Grove

As part of the Moving Forward from Ash Dieback project we decided to search for a poem that would help people consider the value ash has in our environment…

Chameleon

Opening in a blaze of glory in late April the foliage of Aesculus turbinata was as red as hot embers in the centre of a November night bonfire….

Leafing Through Natural Scotland

Over the last few months I have been working with Publishing Scotland to develop an exhibition and book festival at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) to celebrate books and…

The plant formerly known as …………

Dappled shade, a woodland glade and signs of growth as the light spring foliage unfurls and catches the light. The pink colours are set alight and highlighted by…

A highly regarded member of the genus Rhododendron

First discovered by Delavey in 1844 it was not until 1910 that seed was collected by George Forrest in Yunnan Province, China and plants of Rhododendron lacteum then…

Late to leaf; worth the wait

Struggling to flower in our climate, it is heartening to find a scattering of soft lilac coloured buds held tightly to the older wood of Cercis griffithii. It…

Floral spring flush

Deutzia purpurascens a deciduous twiggy shrub of light structure which nonetheless manages to develop into an impenetrable tangle of growth. A native to Western China, found on steep…

Rainbow arc

Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Rainbow’, this cultivar of the Ericaceous family is growing in the sheltered and shaded sunken north facing courtyard of the front glasshouse range. Lush shiny foliage…