Tag: RBGEPage 8 of 18

Buds breaking

The catkins on Salix lapponum are shedding their protective sheath and adding to the feeling that spring is imminent. A native to Europe and Northern Asia; in Scotland…

Have you seen the Alpine House?

Worth a visit; the Alpine House is displaying the best of spring colour. It is undeniable that protected cultivation allows a display of colour and interest to get…

Days lengthening

As day length increases the impetus to spend time in the garden is part of life’s natural rhythm. Get out there and be part of it. Where to…

Splash of colour

Euonymus are a genus of evergreen and deciduous woody plants. They have a habit of producing variegated sports which are then nurtured and bulked up by the nursery…

Seedling surprise

Looking for a cheap source of plants to bulk up your hedge or boundary shelter? Stay observant as you weed through the borders. There are often numerous seedlings…

The Huricane of 1968

January the 15th 2018 is the 50th anniversary of The 1968 Hurricane. A deadly storm that moved through the central belt of Scotland. At the time it was the worst gale in…

A propensity to propagate

Cover, undergrowth, shrubbery; all terms for a mass of woody growth that provides shelter to biodiversity. Flowers, foliage and fruit through the seasons add to the interest of…

Overnight Freeze

The overnight freeze left a myriad of ice crystals covering the garden this morning. The coldest day yet this year at -3.1 °C. These during and after images of…

Review of the year 2017

January 1st 2017 arrived with a light overnight frost and bright sunshine. The mild weather continued and with it the fragrance from the open flowers of Sarcococca, Hamamelis and Viburnum…

Tree rings, a log of the trees life

The Arboretum team recently had to take down a group of 5 Scots Pine trees behind the Schools Education Building in the Garden. The Schools Education Building also known as…

Bright berries

A light, open growing deciduous shrubby Honeysuckle, Lonicera deflexicalyx bears its fruit in pairs at the leaf axles or nodes, along the stem. These small berries are a…

The Sweet Chestnut project (The Afterlife of a Tree)

Building on the biodiversity the garden supports  Regular visitors to the garden will have noticed a mature Sweet Chestnut in the later stages of its life with only a…

Two late Nerines

For a late season blast of vibrant colour a patch of Nerine bowdenii ‘Pink Triumph ‘ is flourishing in a sheltered spot to the SE of the tropical…

Bleached

It is always a treat to see bright autumn colour, yet occasionally the reverse happens. The colour has drained from the foliage of Viburnum orientale to such an…

A second flush

The mild weather has thrown up spikes of late season flowers. This herbaceous Delphinium beesianum has flowers sitting aside the dry brown seed pods of the summer flush….

Grey and silver in low light

The bright sunny days we have had are ideal for highlighting the soft shades of grey and silver in the garden. The foliage of Geranium traversii var. elegans,…

A treelet

One can only surmise that the description of Neoshirakia japonica in the Flora of China as “a treelet to 8 metres tall” refers to its diminished stature as…

May to October

The Pumpkin patch in the demonstration garden has come to fruition. The large flat seeds were sown into containers in May. Through the season the trailing growth produced…

Not a sea nymph

The Nerine bowdenii and Nerine sarniensis are lasting well. An unusual cultivar N. ‘Quest ‘(a named hybrid of sarniensis) is growing in a clay pot in the glasshouses…

A plant with potential

A young plant of Nyssa sylvatica planted on the pond lawn is colouring well. A native to Eastern North America where it adds considerably to the swathes of…