There are some new arrivals on student plots: Rory finally finished planting out his lettuce-made snail. Jessie and Roslyn brought in a pair of scarecrows. He and she…
The Olympic torch passes through Edinburgh this week. Our own Olympic double has been showing promise thriving in the south border for many a year. Forming a thicket…
We attended Gardening Scotland at the weekend and along with volunteers from the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society met Jim McColl. As you can see we were pretty…
Adiantum aeluticum, the “Western Maidenhair” is found in a wide distribution range through Western North America. Growing in crevices on steep slopes where shade is available. It is…
With the arrival of warmer weather a lot of activity has been seen on student plots. We are all busy thinning, weeding, edging or building supports. Even some…
Scents evoke memories of days gone by. Competing with the heavy lingering fragrance of Philadelphus at this time of year is Cytisus battandieri, an outstanding shrub with loose…
The last frost date for the Edinburgh area is generally around May, just to be on the safe side though most local vegetable growers wait until June before…
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…
Family: Malvaceae 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…
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…
If you look very closely at the picture you will see that there are two different vegetable seedlings germinating in the same row. We sowed our parsnips in…
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…
The truss of blooms on Rhododendron sinofalconeri is worthy of show merit. The colour and form are first class. Give this 16 year old plant time to mature…
Some weeks ago I mentioned that we received some funding through the Botanic Garden Conservation International (BGCI) and their Communities in Nature project. Communities in Nature is an…
Latin Name: Equisetum myriochaetum Cham. & Schltr. Common Name: Giant horsetail Distribution: Central Mexico to Peru Habitat: Prefers fertile wet soil and is found in tropical and subtropical…
Latin Name: Cupressus cashmeriana Royle ex Carrière Common Name: Bhutan Cypress, Kashmir Cypress Distribution: West central Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh Habitat: Monsoon forest of Eastern Himalayer and south…