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The fashion to breed tighter more compact plants for modern gardens by passed this species from Japan. Hemerocallis exaltata is a vigorous herbaceous plant, the flower spikes reaching…
Since the last post I have kindly been provided with further pictures from the ringing when Will Hinchliffe took the photo he posted on Twitter. Peter Wilson, also…
Twenty-five participants from 13 countries have just attended a symposium on complex thalloid liverworts in Edinburgh #Marchantia2015. The meeting also included two teleconferences (from Australia, John Bowman, Monash…
A recent case of severe skin burns in a 10 year old caused by exposure to the sap of giant hogweed is a reminder that plants can be…
Geranium dalmaticum a close growing, mat forming, species from south east Europe. An easily propagated plant by inserting the semi-woody stems into a pot of compost. Growing on…
One of the difficulties with studying the wild ancestors of domesticated food plants is knowing if plants are truely wild? Domesticated plants will generally inter-breed quite happily with…
The Chusan Palm (Trachycarpus fortune) is names after the plant collector Robert Fortune, who observed the plant on Chusan Island, off the coast of central China in the…
It’s been very exciting the last couple of weeks with the long awaited Titan Arum flowering in the Glasshouses. However for myself it has also been an exciting…
June continued to be rather chilly at the start although there was a brief warmer spell mid-month and again towards the end, when a heat wave was being…
Wool Carder Bees (Anthidium manicatum) have been present in RBGE since 2011. This year the first bees of what will be their fifth season in the Botanics were…
On the morning of 29 June I arrived at the back door of the herbarium to start my day’s work and spotted two insects on the door. One…
Styrax officinalis; a deciduous shrub with the most attractive white flowers. These are produced on the current season’s shoots. Initially a spherical creamy bud that on opening reveals…
New Reekie is still drawing a crowd even though it is now begining to look past its best. Today (30th June 2015) the skirt-like spathe that wraps around…
There are plenty of jobs to do in July in the garden to ensure a bountiful harvest. Dry spells can greatly influence the quality and yield of fruit…
On Monday 29th June New Reekie is still looking good on the third day of flowering so there is time to introduce some of the family that you…
During the initial few months of the First World War 56 men out of a total male staff of around 88 at RBGE enlisted, rising to 73 by…
William G. Dickson joined the staff of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh as a Labourer on the 3rd August 1914, the day before Great Britain declared War on…
The first flowering in Scotland of the world’s largest “flower” is something to celebrate. So what better tipple than the wine produced by the decendants of the plants…
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Our Amorphophallus titanum (titan arum), one of the world’s biggest and smelliest blooms, is now in full flower. It’s a…
A very smart and mindful girl wrote this poem called ‘Change’ whilst visiting the Garden in February. Heather handed it to me after she had written it in…