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Eleutherococcus leucorrhizus is a sparsely spined, deciduous shrub that is growing from a turn of the 20th Century Wilson collection. Native to SW China where it grows in…
The autumn colours are developing in the Edinburgh Garden with an increasing presence. One of the regular performers is Cercidiphyllum japonicum, a multi-branched small tree native to China…
Today it is the last time I am visiting my plot. It is going to be taken over by a new student next week. Looking back at the…
Designed, planned and planted by the three Horticulture Apprentices the potager is a collection of vegetables and flowers; in effect a flowering vegetable garden with origins in France….
Passiflora vitifolia a native to Central America. A sturdy and vigorous plant that soon covers a sizeable section of the Orchid and Cycad glasshouse it is growing in….
Despite the wet overcast summer the spikes of bloom on Watsonia pillansii are magnificent. Distinct in the south facing border of the Front Range this native to Eastern…
I don’t feel quite ready yet to think about autumn tasks in the garden but all the evidence suggests that summer is coming to an end. I had to clear fallen leaves from some of…
Jenny Mollison, from the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society, gave us a handful of carlin peas earlier in the year. We dutifully planted them and I’m pleased to…
There is a huge specimen of Ligustrum compactum on the hillside, striving upwards to maximise exposure to the light. It is presently covered in terminal panicles of white…
Agapanthus grows and flowers best in soil with a high moisture content yet well drained until flowering has finished. It then requires a dryer root zone throughout late…
Dichroa febrifuga is of borderline hardiness in Edinburgh. It requires a warm sheltered spot and protection through the worst of the winter to make a modest shrub ultimately…
It is late August now and most of the plants are going into seed. Our plots look particularly attractive at this moment – wild, messy but also intriguing.
Selected highlights of the 2012 sparrowhawk breeding season at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
A bulb from Temperate South Africa; now growing in a sheltered situation within the confines of the glasshouse borders. Here Eucomis comosa has clumped up well. The foliage…
Blight has struck our potatoes! This is a very common disease that has affected many crops this year because of the warm damp conditions. Healthy looking potato plants…
For a month now I have been harvesting vegetables from my plot. As a result onions and lettuce reappear in my meals without a stop. I have collected…
Summer finally arrived to Edinburgh. With a bit of sun and heat all the plots changed their appearance. Plants shoot up and produced flowers and fruits. The whole…
A mature clump of Cimicifuga japonica is in full flower on the edge of the conifer walk. The scent wafting down from the long plumes these past mild…
We are busy harvesting early potatoes, broad beans and peas, salads, onions, garlic and beetroot. One of the great skills of vegetable growing is to keep your plot…
Planted in the corner of the herbaceous border is Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra’. The leaves; blood red in colour from the tip down. Plant where the sun will reflect…