Tag: Royal Botanic Garden EdinburghPage 18 of 20

A plethora of Primula’s

Well perhaps this is a slight exaggeration, but there are quite a few Primulas now flowering in the garden and Alpine House. This large and geographically widespread genus, found in…

Mediterranean scent, Clematis cirrhosa

Clematis cirrhosa is the strong growing evergreen climber that hangs around and above the wooden door leading through from the alpine area into the growing on area beyond….

Eranthis cilicica

Not needing the protection of the Alpine House but cultivated to perfection therein is a pot of Eranthis cilicia. This species has much smaller, narrower and linear foliage…

Flowers in the Edible Garden

Growing flowers amongst your vegetables has several benefits. Not only do they look great but they help to attract pollinating insects and confuse pests. Many flowers are edible,…

Season’s highlight, Rubus sp. ghostly white stems, dig out and divide for more plants.

A vigorous mass planting of white stemmed Rubus sp. had spread to the detriment of neighbouring, weaker growing plants. The ideal time to dig out the extensive mass…

Glasshouse Plant Profile: Theobroma cacao L.

Description Cocoa is an evergreen tropical tree, usually 5 to 8m tall. The flowers are small, yellowish white to pale pink and grow directly from the trunk. In…

The national tree

The Scots Pine is an iconic tree within the Scottish landscape. Easily recognisable with its reddish trunk, best appreciated during a west coast sunset when the rays from…

Seasonal plant of interest : Photinia serratifolia

Out with the mower on the 22nd; last Wednesday, topping off the Palm House lawns which with the mildness of the winter had that straggly appearance of uneven…

Unseasonal fruit and flowers

Backed by a west facing wall, Tomato plants set in grow bags in the lean to glasshouse of the Fletcher Building are continuing to yield edible fruit. For…

Glasshouse Plant Profile: Tahina spectabilis

Description: This rare palm can reach a height of over 18m in its natural habitat, and has large fan-shaped leaves. It has an unusual lifecycle, flowering only once…

Is it a world record?

Tree huggers converged on 11 sites around Scotland on the 1st of December to mark the end of National Tree Week and to try to break a world…

Glasshouse Plant Profile: Bamboo

Bamboos are essentially a group of toughened grasses. This particular giant bamboo is known as Bambusa vulgaris. It is an open clump-forming species with striped stems and dark…

Calling all tree huggers

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is putting out the call for people to help break the world record for tree hugging. The Garden is joining forces with ten…

John Hope Gateway

The John Hope Gateway opened in October 2009, it is RBGEs biodiversity and information centre, and the main entrance to the garden at Inverleith.

Rock Garden

The first rock garden at Inverleith was built in 1871 by James McNab. Whilst rockeries (landscaped features with rocks) were popular, the concept of a rock garden designed for true alpines was new.

Woodland Garden (and Peat Walls)

The woodland garden was developed during the 1930s and 1940s, with large conifers planted to create a climate for Rhododendrons and other woodland plants which benefit from a more shaded aspect.

Inverleith house lawn and city vista

The lawn in front of Inverleith House provides an opportunity for visitors to relax and take in a spectacular panorama of the city, stretching from Calton Hill (left), along the length of Princes Street to Edinburgh Castle rising up on the mound (Right).

Chinese Hillside

Staff at RBGE have had a long established relationship with China, and this area of the garden highlights this, and displays the outstanding collection of Chinese plants held at Inverleith.

Tomatillos in the Edible Garden

As the cold draws in we’ve started to think about what to grow next year in the garden. We like to select a few of the more unusual…

Collecting Autumn Leaves to make Leaf mould

We are enjoying the autumn colour here at the botanic gardens but the leaves are now falling thick and fast. We do not want to miss out on…