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The Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
A window on the World
by Richard Zahra
‘The Garden houses one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date libraries on botany and horticulture in the UK,’ adds Pete. ‘Furthermore, the herbarium contains preserved specimens that are sometimes even more valuable than living ones, especially where the plants described are extinct. Some of the herbarium sheets are also of tremendous historic value. For instance I have come across the sheets brought in by Captain Cook’s men following their Pacific expedition.’
Pete Brownless maintains that the three unmissable highlight of The Botanics are, ‘the Glasshouses, the Rock Garden and the vast tree collection spread all over the grounds.’
The Glasshouse Experience represents a journey through ten different climatic zones of the world, ranging from steamy rainforest environments to arid deserts, and which eventually culminates in the historic Palm Houses. The glasshouse structure consists of an external metal framework that maximizes light and internal space for plants to grow. Specimens worth viewing include the Amazonian water lily, whose enormous, tray-like floating leaves are the largest in the world, the ferns which have a very ‘Jurassic’ feel about them although they evolved much earlier, the camphor tree that at 16m is the tallest tree under glass at The Botanics, and the cacti and succulents, that growing in Scotland, appear very surreal.
The Rock Garden consists of a scree (weathered rock fragments) slope surrounded by mounds and gullies, and through which a winding mountain stream flows. Growing within are around 5000 plants from mountainous, arctic and rocky Mediterranean habitats. Of special interest is the wide range of alpine plants that often are found growing on the scree, which recreates the sloping heaps of rock fragments that accumulate on mountainsides. The centrepiece of the Rock Garden is an imposing oriental temple juniper that competes for prominence with the mountain stream whose waters gurgle downhill between banks that are ornamented with a vast assortment of shrubs.
One of the latest additions to The Botanics is the Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden. This secluded garden has a labyrinthine centrepiece in the shape of an ‘E’. It has been extensively planted with species of royal name and association like Queen Elizabeth roses and Amber Queen irises. At the edges, four smaller gardens represent the world regions visited by the Queen Mother – Asia, Europe, Southern Hemisphere and North America – and have been embellished with plants from the very regions they represent. The garden leads up to a stone pavilion with a grotto-like interior, decorated with a collage of sea shells collected by children from all over Scotland, while the ceiling portrays the saltire motif of Scotland fashioned out of pine cones.
Between March and September, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh hosts hundreds of activities every year, including guided walks, family events, live performances and exhibitions, that are guaranteed to entertain and inform. One such exhibition entitled Hard Rain – Remaking a World Gone Wrong was held in August. Renowned environmental photographer Mark Edwards put up a powerful visual commentary on climate change, environmental collapse and global poverty, through his dramatic photography.
Pete Brownless maintains that the three unmissable highlight of The Botanics are, ‘the Glasshouses, the Rock Garden and the vast tree collection spread all over the grounds.’
The Glasshouse Experience represents a journey through ten different climatic zones of the world, ranging from steamy rainforest environments to arid deserts, and which eventually culminates in the historic Palm Houses. The glasshouse structure consists of an external metal framework that maximizes light and internal space for plants to grow. Specimens worth viewing include the Amazonian water lily, whose enormous, tray-like floating leaves are the largest in the world, the ferns which have a very ‘Jurassic’ feel about them although they evolved much earlier, the camphor tree that at 16m is the tallest tree under glass at The Botanics, and the cacti and succulents, that growing in Scotland, appear very surreal.
The Rock Garden consists of a scree (weathered rock fragments) slope surrounded by mounds and gullies, and through which a winding mountain stream flows. Growing within are around 5000 plants from mountainous, arctic and rocky Mediterranean habitats. Of special interest is the wide range of alpine plants that often are found growing on the scree, which recreates the sloping heaps of rock fragments that accumulate on mountainsides. The centrepiece of the Rock Garden is an imposing oriental temple juniper that competes for prominence with the mountain stream whose waters gurgle downhill between banks that are ornamented with a vast assortment of shrubs.
One of the latest additions to The Botanics is the Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden. This secluded garden has a labyrinthine centrepiece in the shape of an ‘E’. It has been extensively planted with species of royal name and association like Queen Elizabeth roses and Amber Queen irises. At the edges, four smaller gardens represent the world regions visited by the Queen Mother – Asia, Europe, Southern Hemisphere and North America – and have been embellished with plants from the very regions they represent. The garden leads up to a stone pavilion with a grotto-like interior, decorated with a collage of sea shells collected by children from all over Scotland, while the ceiling portrays the saltire motif of Scotland fashioned out of pine cones.
Between March and September, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh hosts hundreds of activities every year, including guided walks, family events, live performances and exhibitions, that are guaranteed to entertain and inform. One such exhibition entitled Hard Rain – Remaking a World Gone Wrong was held in August. Renowned environmental photographer Mark Edwards put up a powerful visual commentary on climate change, environmental collapse and global poverty, through his dramatic photography.
Whether you are a casual visitor or a botanic and horticultural enthusiast, visiting the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh will allow you to glimpse through the ‘window on the world’. Your reward will be a sweeping view of plant life from the four corners of the globe in the space of just a few hours, and perhaps, an insight on the vital life force that sustains mankind.
For further information visit the website:
http://www.rbge.org.uk/
Acknowledgements:
Thanks to Ms Shauna Hay, Ms Sandra Donnelly and Mr Pete Brownless, of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, for their invaluable help in collecting information and taking pictures at The Botanics.
For further information visit the website:
http://www.rbge.org.uk/
Acknowledgements:
Thanks to Ms Shauna Hay, Ms Sandra Donnelly and Mr Pete Brownless, of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, for their invaluable help in collecting information and taking pictures at The Botanics.