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Moth trapping in the Garden

Thanks to the enthusiasm of James and Thomas from the local Developing Ecological Surveying Skills (DESS) team at the SWT office near the Garden there is now a…

Sea Flora Exhibition Talk

Join the artist of the Sea Flora exhibition, Sara Dodd and RBGE Plant Specimen Preparer, Kate Eden, for a conversation exploring the rich history of seaweed collecting in…

Tajikistan 2014: Final Stage of Trip

11 May woke this morning to heavy rain flooding everywhere, we were supposed to start heading north but due to a major landslip the road has been closed…

Stairway to heaven

The crown of the tree fern, Dicksonia antartica, has rushed into life. Catching the warmth from the sun and surrounded by four walls in an enclosed courtyard it…

The first Cuckoo ….

Last Sunday, 11 May, about half an hour before the Garden opened, three of the horticulturists (Clare Morter, Neil Davidson and Peter Wilson) all heard a Cuckoo calling…

Rhododendron time

A walk through the Garden will prove rewarding with so many Rhododendrons in flower. In the copse R. orbiculare ssp. orbiculare and R. vernicosum are full of colour….

Tajikistan 2014: Ishkaham and on to Langar

Just back from driving down to Ishkaham then driving along the Wakhan corridor right the way to Langar. The whole valley is dominated by mountains over 5000 meters….

Fibre but not optic

A clump of contrasting foliage within a mixed border is always welcome. A border full of Lysimachia ciliata is a different matter. This North American native has an…

Tajikistan 2014: Onward to Khorog

We have now arrived in Tajikistan and, after spending a day in Dushanbe sorting out equipment and looking round Dushanbe Botanic garden, we hired a 4x4to drive us…

World War 1 Poppy Field

The summer of 1914 was the beginning of World War 1. In summertime this year, it will mark 100 years since it began. In memory of those who…

Really Wild Veg – 2014 growing trials

Building on the success of the Really Wild Veg trials last year we will be doing further growing trials this year. Last year we grew beet, radish and…

Cutting the turf for the Botanic Cottage

On Monday the 28th of April 2014 a momentous moment took place in the long project to rebuild the Botanic Cottage – we finally broke ground! To mark…

What’s been eating my broad bean leaves?

This year seems to be a bad year for pea and bean weevil infestations. The adult weevil damages plants by eating notches out of the edge of the…

Bedding frost farcast

If the forecast is to be believed we are in for a few cold nights at the end of the week. If you bought your bedding plants over…

Hedge your bets 5 of 5: Maintenance

  Maintenance Maintain a weed free root zone. Water establishing plants in a prolonged dry spell. Only cut when the bird nesting season is over. Forming the shape…

Chilean Boquila Vine at the RBGE – Does our plant mimic the other plants around it?

I was reading an online articles in National Geographic  and Science about a Chilean Vine Boquila that can change it’s leaf shape and colour to mimic other plants around it and…

Expedition to Tajikistan

Two horticultural staff from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, John Mitchell Alpine Supervisor and team leader with Richard Brown have been joined by a member of staff from…

Hedge your bets 4 of 5

Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, the stock fence on farmland. Deciduous, spiny, flowering, berrying and impenetrable to livestock. These days, often cut with a tractor mounted flail mower. Craftsmen traditionally…

More on the importance of bryophytes

As a follow-on to my post about why bryophytes are important is this thoughtful piece by Dr Janice Glime, author of the comprehensive and freely downloadable book Bryophyte…

Rhododendron horlickianum

I have a fair interest in Rhododendron because the are such a ubiquitous Scottish garden plant, but at Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh we have a world class collection…