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Private Allan Menzies (1894-1915) – photo found

5th Cameron Highlanders.  Reported missing, presumed killed, on the 25th September 1915 at the Battle of Loos. We were delighted to be sent this photograph recently of Private…

March 2015 Garden Wildlife Report

March 2015 was another chilly month that ended, just after “Summer” Time began, with showers of hail and sleet. Two species were added to the Garden’s invertebrate list…

Rhododendron campanulatum ‘Roland Cooper’

Currently flowering profusely but tucked away at the back of a bed near Inverleith House is the large shrub Rhododendron campanulatum ‘Roland Cooper’ This plant was collected as…

Two fine frits

On the grass meadow to the west of the new alpine house are a collection of Fritillarias. F. assyriaca ssp. assyriaca is in full bloom, drooping flower head…

John Muir Award Sharing

One of the John Muir Award challenges is about sharing. This can take many forms including painting, writing, poetry and even just discussing your experiences. Each of the…

The magnificent axillary hairs of Leptobryum wilsonii

What sorts of features provide the best clues about whether or not two plants are closely related? Sometimes it’s obvious – most people can correctly recognise a daffodil…

John Muir at the Botanics

John Muir seems to have been a prominent feature at the Botanics over the last 6 months or so. During the Autumn and Winter we had the exhibition…

Lichens as Air Quality Indicators

As part of the Edinburgh Living Landscape (ELL), the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is exploring Lichens as Air Quality Indicators. This is a joint project between The Conservation…

Loveliest of trees the cherry now

LOVELIEST of trees, the cherry now Is hung with bloom along the bough, And stands about the woodland ride Wearing white for Eastertide. Now, of my threescore years…

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…