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The name changes but the plant remains the same…

A recently published nomenclatural paper in the Nordic Journal of Botany looks like a precursor for the tranfer of Pulsatilla (Pasque Flowers) as a genus to a section…

Cars, lorries, planes, buses and lichen surveying

  With the help of the brilliant Lothian Buses journey planner I travel by bus today. Surely it’s one of the hottest days of the year so far. …

Pollution and Pests?

Regularly hitting moderate levels for pollution, as monitored and recorded by the 91 Air Quality Monitoring Stations that are situated across Edinburgh and the central belt of Scotland,…

Once is not always enough

Some sites you just have to visit twice.  Unexpected hail and snow blizzards when surveying are just part of the course, but add strong winds to that, and…

The Campbell’s are coming

The Magnolia season is well and truly with us, the weather conditions have been perfect for these magnificent deciduous trees to bloom in profusion and for such an…

Campbell’s Magnolia – What a treat!

 This last week we have all been enjoying the Campbell’s Magnolia (Magnolia cambellii ‘Charles Raffill’) that stands next to Inverleith House. It has been spectacular. Our specimen is…

Curling and unfurling

This is the time of year for young growth to exhibit some, not all, of their best characteristics. The young foliage of Anemone x hybrid is pushing through…

Viburnum furcatum

The garden is really coming alive despite the cold weather. This Viburnum collected in Japan in 2003 caught my eye and the iPhone 6 camera does a really…

Sutton’s vasculum of grasses and seeds

A conversation in the canteen about a 19th wheat specimen from Nepal led on to Henry Noltie asking if I had seen the amazing box of grasses. The…

Decline and rise of nature play

The drastic decline in the time children spend outdoors is a concern for most parents. A recent survey of 2000 parents commissioned by the Eco Attractions Group (of…

Primula marginata

Filling an alpine trough with colour is Primula marginata, a native to the Alps. The rosette of evergreen foliage is toothed around the edges and white farina is…

What to do in your Fruit and Vegetable Garden in Scotland: APRIL

April is a busy time for the volunteers and community groups that work on the Edible Gardening Project at the Botanics. As the weather improves and the soil…

Fresh Green Southern Beech

 

Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour (1853-1922)

Born on the 31st March 1853, the son of John Hutton Balfour who was Regius Keeper at RBGE between 1845 and 1879, Isaac Bayley Balfour grew up up in very close contact…

Rhododendron X praecox

Despite the cold weather colour is coming into the garden.  This is Rhododendron X praecox growing by Imverleith House. The photo above was taken on an iPhone and…

Exterminate, exterminate! – a portal into another world

I’m heading to a new part of town to find my next air quality monitoring station and to spice up the journey I take a route suggested by…

Air quality monitoring – a view from the inside

Today as part of my survey on lichens as indicators of air quality we head out of the city to the foot of the Pentlands, well almost. Bush…

Coffee from Africa to Edinburgh and back again

  This week bags of coffee beans have been arriving by post in preparation for the Coffee with a Shot of Science event on 4 April, part of…

The journey begins

The journey begins.  8am.  I’ve just cycled north to south through the bustling traffic heavy centre of Edinburgh.  I arrive, lock up my bike, pull out a clip…

Rosularia muratdaghensis

I recieved a request from a member of the Scottish Rock Garden Club from the Czech Republic interested in seeing an image of a plant we have growing…