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Plot patrons

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…

Tomorrow is a viva day

Viva is just a day away and my plants are still pretty tiny! My great disappointment – sweet peas. Looking at them I cannot believe they will ever…

Olympic double

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…

Jobs for June in the Edible Garden

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…

Ask a botanist

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…

Fighting slugs organically

Slugs – one of the most hated pests in garden. Slugs – holes in plant leaves, eaten up seedlings. Slugs – slimy unpleasant surprise. How to get rid…

Plotting frenzy

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…

June 2012: At midsummer, the scent of ripe pineapple

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…

Time to plant out frost tender vegetables

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…

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…

Cocoa Tree

  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…

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…

Space saving in the veg garden with double cropping

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…

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…

Quick plot manicure

One of the quickest way to improve the overall image of a plot or a garden is to mow, edge and top dress. This week I took on…

Pea and bean support

Most of last week I spent on building support structures for my peas, beans and sweet peas. I went for the cane and twine fence idea and constructed…

A fine introduction

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…

Communities in Nature – the social role of botanic gardens

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…

Equisetum myriochaetum

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…

Cupressus cashmeriana

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…