Plant Sale this Sunday
Rain, winds and hail have failed to dampen the spirits of a hardy team of “potters” as they get over 5,000 plants ready for a major annual fundraising event in aid of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) this weekend. Continue reading Potty about plants at the Botanics
THE IDEAL HUT SHOW
Botanics until Mon 30 May, 10am – 5.45 pm. Free.
An open-air installation consisting of twenty off-the-shelf garden sheds reinvented by architects and designers from home and abroad.
In partnership with the Festival of Architecture (part of Scotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design)
As part of the Edinburgh Living Landscape project (see below) I was recently appointed by the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh as their Urban Biodiversity Project Officer with the aim of developing projects to benefit people and wildlife in the city (writes Leone Alexander). Continue reading Our local Living Landscape: opportunities to get involved
Before the paint has even dried, The Botanic Cottage is in the running for a national award …
The Botanic Cottage at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has been nominated for Best Georgian Garden/Landscape at The Georgian Society’s prestigious annual Architectural Awards – before it has even opened its doors! Continue reading Reconstructed Botanic Cottage up for national award
Botanic Lights cancelled tonight -Thursday 12 November
Unfortunately, Botanic Lights is cancelled tonight for safety reasons due to severe weather conditions forecast for this evening.
For further info visit bge.org.uk/botaniclights
It’s not particularly pretty and it stinks like a rotting corpse – meet the plant they’re all talking about at the Botanics … !
Our Amorphophallus titanum (titan arum), one of the world’s biggest and smelliest blooms, is set to flower and could look like the one (above) at Basel. It’s a first for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and for Scotland.
There was great excitement at the Garden this morning when horticulturists discovered the bud had started to unfurl to reveal a flower. The plant is currently 137cms in height and getting bigger by the day.
It is expected that our titan arum, which is housed in the Lowland Tropics House, will be of great interest to visitors. So, when it is in full bloom, and at its smelliest, the Garden will be open from 9am until 9pm.
Visit our website or follow us on Facebook and Twitter for details and to check its progress.
Agreement strengthens 200 year relationship
A new era has dawned in collaborations between the UK and Nepal with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) and the Government of Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation Department of Plant Resources (DPR).
The agreement flags up a significant commitment to long-term capacity building in plant research, conservation and education in the South Asian biodiversity hot-spot.
While RBGE has connections in Nepal dating back to the early 1800’s, this is regarded as a distinctively fresh form of partnership. The deal was sealed when Mr Yam Bahadur Thapa, Director General of Nepal’s Department of Plant Resources, flew to Edinburgh to meet RBGE Regius Keeper Simon Milne MBE.
Looking forward to a number of imminent new initiatives including plans for a Biodiversity Education Garden to be built at Nepal’s National Botanic Garden, the two agreed the way was open for yet closer working ties.
Simon Milne said: “The connections between the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Nepal date back some 200 years and our working relationship is going from strength to strength. This accord underscores a common commitment to build on the strength of our past affiliation towards even more productive collaboration.
“We can look forward to new opportunities in developing appreciation, education, knowledge and conservation of the plant kingdom and protecting the natural capital that sustains us.”
Mr Thapa said: “King Mahendra was so impressed by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh when he visited in 1960 that he inaugurated Nepal’s first and only National Botanic Garden two years later. RBGE horticultural staff are out in Nepal at the moment giving much-needed training to my staff and we are looking forward to developing our partnership in the future.”
Dr Mark Watson, Head of Major Floras at RBGE and Editor-in-Chief of the international Flora of Nepal research programme explained the significance of the MOU: “Although it is a small country, Nepal has an enormous range of habitats and is home to some 7000 species of vascular plants, making it a globally-important biodiversity hot-spot.
“However, conservation and sustainable use of plant biodiversity is hampered by the lack of primary inventory information and means to identify and characterise species. This is exacerbated by a lack of trained people to undertake plant biodiversity inventory and documentation. Poor facilities, lack of equipment and limited funding also need to be addressed.
“The process is underway. RBGE has led several in-country workshops and hands-on training events. MSc and PhD training of Nepalese botanists at the University of Edinburgh and RBGE is proving a success and many more ambitious plans are in the pipeline.”
Click here for more information on RBGE’s Flora of Nepal research programme.
Here’s to the next 200 years!
Can Botanics be voted Britain’s best?
It’s known and loved by thousands, but can the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) get enough votes to take the title of the best in Britain?
That is the challenge after hearing the news that our very own Botanics is a contender for the title “Garden of the Year” in the annual BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards. It’s the only Garden in Scotland to make the short list and ‘Botanics’ bosses are asking friends at home and abroad to come out and show their support by placing votes.
All votes must be cast by the January 31 and members of the public can make their mark by selecting their favourite garden – and 11 other categories, ranging from great heritage attractions to holiday destinations – by emailing awards@countryfile.com, by visiting the BBC Countryfile Magazine website at http://www.countryfile.com/article/garden-year-201415 or by post to BBC Countryfile Magazine, Tower House, Bristol, BS1 3BN.
Now in its fourth year, the high-profile award attracted more than 55,000 votes in 2014, when the accolade was claimed by RHS Wisley, Surrey. This year RBGE is up against four other world-renowned sites: The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall; Trentham Gardens, Stafford; Alnwick Garden, Northumbria and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in Surrey.
Welcoming the news that RBGE was in the running, Director of Enterprise Heather Jackson said: “This is a really good fun way to start the year. We are delighted to have been shortlisted for the award: and to be against such prestigious competition. It would be wonderful if our visitors and supporters would enter into the spirit of the event and take a few minutes to vote for us.”
The winner will be announced in the April issue of BBC Countryfile Magazine. Good luck, RBGE!
The ‘Botanics Lights – Night in the Garden’ event has proved to be really popular – it’s now sold out.
I took the trail last night, and while the weather could have been kinder there it was a memorable experience – the Botanics is a mysterious and magical place at night.
Wildlife? Lots of drookit walkers but sadly no bats, badgers, owls or foxes – they wisely stayed indoors!
If you have a ticket for Botanic Lights – which ends on Sunday – you’re lucky; for those who won’t be going this time round, here are a few images:
There’s music at the Botanics on Saturday afternoon:
Don’t miss Transplanted, a performance by string duo High Heels & Horse Hair (pictured below) which celebrates the rich diversity of Scotland’s plant life and its music.
In 1755 Scottish Baroque composer James Oswald published ‘Airs for the Seasons’, a remarkable compendium of 96 duos for violin and cello, each depicting a different plant or flower and written on a single side of paper. Inspired by these, and using the same criteria, eight of Scotland’s leading composers have written new miniatures exploring native plants and their many uses in society over the centuries.
Transplanted:
Saturday 18 October 2.30 pm — 4.30 pm
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Lecture Theatre, 20A Inverleith Row.
Price:£10 (£9 conc, £8 members)
Book via eventbrite – Click here to book
