๐ฟ Four Gardens, One Botanic World
๐ Global centre for biodiversity science, horticulture and education
๐ Visit Edinburgh, Benmore, Dawyck & Logan
๐๐ Celebrating one million specimens in our digital Herbarium! Available online for free, our collection provides essential data to classify plants and fungi, understand biodiversity change and build a positive future for plants, people and the planet ๐
We are so delighted to announce that our four Gardens will reopen on Wednesday 1 July. It is an ideal opportunity for communities local to the Gardens to reconnect with the wonderful world of plants. Read our reopening update here:
๐๐ท๏ธ PART 2 โ See how a collection is made for a Herbarium specimen! We're back in the Sarawak rainforest with Tropical Botanist
@Scaphium
to see how a botanical collection is pressed in the field before it is ultimately incorporated into the Sarawak and Edinburgh herbaria.
A fleeting highlight of the spring season, our Campbell's Magnolia (Magnolia campbellii) has been admired by many visitors in the Edinburgh Garden's Silent Space this week.
Here are a few facts we think you should mag-know-lia about these magnificent trees ๐ธ๐ฝ
Itโs re-opening day! We are delighted to welcome you back to our Gardens. Weโve missed you. For those visiting Edinburgh, here is a sneak peek of what to expect as you re-explore the Garden.
#welcomeback
The
#EdinburghBiomes
will soon become reality following ยฃ50m investment from the
@scotgov
Low Carbon Fund. The commitment will address a failing infrastructure, provide societal benefit & help us tackle the climate change and biodiversity crisis. More here
๐งฌ๐ฌ PART 3 โ Time for a cuppa? Find out how tea bags are involved in making a collection for DNA extraction! From the Sarawak rainforest,
#TeamRBGE
's Tropical Botanist
@Scaphium
talks us through how collected plant material is specifically prepared to enhance DNA extraction.
๐ Join a guided walk to learn more about the Living Collection at our Edinburgh Garden, led by our garden guides!
Tours start daily at 11am from the John Hope Gateway and cost ยฃ8 per person. No advanced booking necessary ๐
๐ท Meconopsis 'Slieve Donard'
๐๐It's the moment we've been waiting for! New Reekie, our supreme Titan Arum, is beginning to bloom and you can come and see it.
Entry to the Glasshouses is free and ticketed, with time slots on Thu 1 Aug and Fri 2 Aug between 11am and 5.30pm ๐
Our aquatic plant experts and scientists have uncovered a new water lily, hiding in plain sight! ๐ฎ
The beautiful yellow water lily has now been identified as a hybrid between the introduced Nuphar advena & the native Nuphar lutea.
Read more here:
Weโre thrilled to welcome Lisa Roetโs Golden Monkey to
@RBGECreative
๐
The sculpture takes the form of a snub-nose monkey, highlighting the plight of the increasingly endangered primates and the urgent action needed on climate change.
Discover more at:
We support
@Botanygeek
for starting conversations about race in horticulture and for speaking out about his own experiences of racism.
At the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, we are working hard to create a more just and equal future:
We are so excited about the BBCโs new series
#GreenPlanet
๐ฟby Sir David Attenborough, starting this Sunday.
#Didyouknow
40% of plants are estimated to be threatened with extinction? In this race against time, our work has never been more important.
The distinctive โsignatureโ of the zigzag elm sawfly (Aproceros leucopoda) might conjure images of Zorro, but RBGE scientists confirm it heralds the arrival of a new pest in the UK and could threaten elm-dependent insects
#planthealth
Hidden World of Mosses by bryologist Dr Neil Bell will be published on 31 March!
This guide explores the intriguing environments of these plants that have their own miniature forests filled with grazers and predators ๐
Available from Friday:
๐ฃ๐ New Reekie, our Amorphophallus titanum, is expected to flower this week and we're inviting you to come and see it.
The plant will keep us guessing up until the last minute, so the dates are still TBC! We'll let you know how to book your free, ticketed viewing slot soon.
Congratulations to Prof Pete Hollingsworth, Director of Science and Deputy Keeper
@TheBotanics
, awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours for services to botanical sciences. More here:
Take a deep breathโฆ The shaggy locks of lichens adorning the trees at Dawyck is an indicator of very clean air.
#Lichens
donโt harm the trees. They do add to the biodiversity of habitats, helping to keep ecosystems healthy and more resilient.
Our four Gardens will reopen on Wednesday 1 July with new health and safety measures in place. If you are planning to visit the Edinburgh Garden, you must book a time slot online in advance. Book a time slot today for visits up to 15 July at .
#DYK
that Waverley station stands on the former site of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh between 1675 โ 1763? Originally founded near
#HolyroodPalace
in 1670, a larger site was leased at Trinity College Hospital near the Nor Loch, enabling the Garden to expand
#Botanics350
We're delighted to share some wonderful news - we have been awarded ยฃ375,000 from People's Postcode Lottery ๐คฉ
A huge thank you to the players of
@PostcodeLottery
for their support. The funding will enable our Edible Gardening Project to keep on growing!
๐
@EdibleGarden1
Highlights from
#NewReekie
's full, glorious (& stinky) bloom last night. It's still looking good this morning but might flag towards the end of the day, especially if pollination was successful. Follow
@TitanArumRBGE
to see how it's looking throughout the day
๐ท
@duncanreddish
While the Garden remains closed until further notice, we will work to share stories from our collections and showcase the spring highlights from our four Gardens with you, as best we can.
Image: Magnolia campbellii โCharles Rafillโ, currently flowering next to Inverleith House
Be part of our 350th-anniversary celebrations๐ Find out more about our year-long programme of events to celebrate the scientific and horticultural achievements of the past 350 years at
#Botanics350
๐๐ฉโ๐ฌ Happy
#InternationalWomensDay
!
Back in 1892, the first women gardeners were employed at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh โ two of whom went on to establish the Edinburgh School of Gardening for Women.
As of March 2024, women now make up 59% of our staff body! โฌ๏ธ
#TeamRBGE
25-year-old mystery solved ๐ ๐ฌ
A new species of plant has been named after the late botanist Rose Clement, more than 25 years after her research indicated that it was probably unknown to science.
Read the full story at:
Following yesterday's announcement from the First Minister, the Botanics remains open for local outdoor recreation and exercise.
Full information on visiting the Garden can be found at:
Opening this weekend ๐
These otherworldly images are from
#WeirdPlants
, an exhibition of illustrations by
@thorogoodchris1
, from the
@OBGHA
@kewgardens
book, which reveal the weird, wonky and sinister plant specimens encountered during his travels
๐ฌ๐ฑ Celebrate International Day of Women in Science with our series From Biomes to Botany, spotlighting some of the brilliant women in the
@RBGE_Science
team delivering high-impact research on biodiversity and conservation programmes around the world๐
โ๏ธโ๏ธ PART 1 โ See how a botanical collection is made in the Sarawak rainforest with
#TeamRBGE
's Tropical Botanist
@Scaphium
! Collections made on this field trip will provide scientists with invaluable new material to support future research and conservation activities.
Worldโs oldest Floral Clock blooms in honour of the RBGE's 350th anniversary. This yearโs intricate design was unveiled by Frank Ross, Edinburghโs Lord Provost, Simon Milne, RBGEโs Regius Keeper, Council Parksโ team & RBGE Horticulturists.
Read more at:
We're celebrating all the wonderful trees in our care for
@scottishgdns
first
#ScottishTreeFestival
with
@VisitScotland
. Head to one of the 70+ events taking place across Scotland ๐ For more info about Scottish gardens, visit
๐ Blooming marvellous! These amazing photographs were taken inside the Glasshouses last night as New Reekie reached its peak bloom โ and stench.
We're so excited to welcome 1400 visitors into the Glasshouses over the next two days to view our magnificent Amorphophallus titanum!
As spring unfolds, we want to bring the seasonal highlights of our four Gardens to everyone at home, courtesy of our horticulture staff on site who are caring for our world-leading collection of plants. See more at . We will share more as the bloom unfolds
It's only one day until we re-open our gates. To give you a sneak peek of what you have missed, our resident photographer, Lynsey Wilson, has captured a series of shots of the flowers currently in bloom in our Edinburgh Garden
#welcomeback
The beautiful Galanthus โAilwynโ.
Three graceful outer petals frame a neatly packed rosette, making it one of the loveliest double snowdrops to be found. Discover it this weekend in the Alpine House.
#ScottishSnowdropFestival
#SnowdropFestival
The Sabal Palm โ the last specimen to be removed from the Palm Houses ๐ด
Standing alone in the Tropical Palm House following the decant of the Living Collection, the Gardenโs oldest known plant, the Sabal Palm (Sabal bermudana), will be felled on 28 September.
Join us for our first ever festival of nature writing & illustration 19/20 May. A unique opportunity to (re)connect with the natural world through inspirational talks, lively Q&A sessions, workshops & tours against the backdrop of
#TheLostWords
exhibition
Our
@TitanArumRBGE
flowered for the 4th time in its 20 years of life this June. Watch the video below to watch it
#floweringdigitally
.
More information ๐
We're excitedly awaiting the opening of
#TheLostWords
exhibition feat. original artwork & letterpress poems by
@RobGMacfarlane
&
@JackieMorrisArt
. It launches on 19 May with a nature writing festival feat. an impressive array of literary & artistic talent
In honour of The International
#WomenInScienceDay
, we would like to thank all the incredible women ensuring RBGE continues to excel as a world-class scientific institution, being at the forefront of plant science and horticulture ๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ฉโ๐ฌ
#teamrbge
#February11
Weโre admiring the warming colours of Sieboldโs maple (Acer sieboldianum) on this chilly Edinburgh afternoon ๐
Grab your raincoat and visit the Rock Garden to see the maple in all its splendour...
Happy New Year! 2020 marks the 350th anniversary of RBGE. We hope youโll join us in celebrating with our year-long programme of events, as we trace our progress from 17th century physic garden to world-leading botanic garden
#botanics350
๐ Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) were once an unwelcome sight in Scottish fields. Farmers cursed the weeds' tough stems for blunting sickles at harvest.
Today it's endangered in the wild. Its seeds have long since been cleansed from grain and Scottish farmers curse it no more!
We are delighted to have secured a major
@OutsetArt
Award, announced today, which will allow Inverleith House to transform into
#ClimateHouse
for a three year arts programme including collaborations with
@SerpentineUK
. Read more at
We have published a new hardback telling the story of 100 fascinating plant species, all threatened with extinction in the wild. World of Plants, Stories of Survival features stunning images and tells the story of each plant. Buy it now:
Itโs
#WorldMentalHealthDay
๐ณ
Spending time outdoors can greatly benefit mental and physical well-being, so even if the sun doesnโt shine this weekend, we hope you can find some time to enjoy the magic of being outdoors...
Victoria amazonica, otherwise known as the giant waterlily, has long been part of botanical garden collections around the world.
#DidYouKnow
, we have a dedicated team that sows their seeds in January so they can spectacularly unfurl in summer?
For the past 12 weeks a huge effort has been made behind the scenes to care for our Collections. This film shows how a small team of horticultural staff across our four Gardens have worked tirelessly on a rotational basis to tend the Living Collection ๐
Is the long-held fear of losing the beloved British bluebell unfounded?
New research from
@RBGE_Science
& partners published today
@plantspplplanet
indicates that the threat to native
#bluebells
from the Spanish โinvaderโ is not what we thought it was ๐
In a difficult year for tourism, we welcomed more visitors than any other attraction in Scotland, reflecting the role that the Garden was able to play in providing a safe, green space for people to enjoy during Covid-19.
Continue reading at:
@alva_uk
Primula denticulata, flowering in the Woodland Garden.
Did you know that on the east coast of Scotland this species is known as the Kirrie Dumpling?
The name is derived from the shape of flower head displaying a resemblance to a dumpling and its link to the town of Kirriemuir.
Weโve achieved our Weโre Good To Go certificate. You can now visit our Edinburgh Garden with the confidence that we adhere to Government and public health guidance and that our health and safety measures meet the industry standard.
#welcomeback