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30 June, 2013

Putting alpines to the test

One of the highlights of my last week at the garden was a trip to the Cairngorms National Park, about 2.5 hours north of Edinburgh. RBGE has an alpine test plot located here at an elevation of about 1200 meters. It was high enough for snow to still be on the ground further up the pass! The plants in the plot are examined a few times a year to see how they perform and to do general weeding and maintenance.



The scenery was beautiful from the moment we parked the van! Loch Morlich is visible in the distance.










The fenced-in alpine plot. 



Snow! We saw hikers with skis going by on the trail.

The plot is divided into four terraced beds, which aren't very easy to distinguish from the heather covering most of the slope.

While some of the Scottish native plants have not done well in the plot, New Zealand natives like this Celmisia have thrived!


Nice view on the way out! Just a few Sorbus trees dot the slopes.


25 June, 2013

Wait..that grows in the desert??

Time has flown by here in Edinburgh, and I am now in my last week at the garden! I have had a wonderful time here and been inspired by many of the staff. Leaving the garden is definitely bittersweet. However, I am very excited for my time in France which is coming up soon! This Saturday, I will be taking the train from Edinburgh to London, where I will stay for a few days. On July 3, I'll travel from London to Paris, then on to Grenoble and finally a bus ride to Lautaret Alpine Botanical Garden! 

One of the areas I was captivated with from my first stroll through the glasshouses was the Arid Lands house. Many of these plants either come from or could grow in my native New Mexico! I was especially charmed by a roadrunner sculpture, which is our state bird. For four days, I got to work in this house and learned about some amazing plants from Gunnar, the gardener in charge of this area.

Before I came here I had no idea that ferns grew in the desert! When you take a closer look at these ferns, their adaptations to an arid environment are very apparent. The leaves are much smaller than ferns that grow in wetter areas. The leaves can also be hairy, thicker, and have edges that roll under to protect the spores and prevent water loss. The ferns also have a special protein which allow them to lose almost all the water in their cells, causing the fronds to shrivel up and look dead. Once rain falls, the cells rehydrate and the fronds perk back up again! Desert ferns are displayed both inside the Arid Lands house and outside in a covered bed.

A roadrunner streaks by a red-flowering Salpiglossis in the Arid Lands house.



This outdoor covered bed provides the ferns with air circulation, drainage and protection from Scotland's rains.

I planted this Cheilanthes gracillima outside in the covered bed. It was collected from cliffs in southern Oregon.
Argyrochosma nivea ssp. nivea is native to Peru, where it is used medicinally to help control blood sugar in diabetics.
A trio of A. nivea ssp. nivea I planted among the rocks.
































19 June, 2013

Lake District Nurseries



We visited two excellent nurseries on our study tour. Both could be considered beautiful gardens in their own right, as display beds were incorporated into the plant sales area. The first nursery we visited was Larch Cottage Nurseries in Melkinthorpe (http://larchcottage.co.uk/cms/home). This nursery is huge and full of many rare and unusual plants. It’s located in a low spot in the landscape, a frost pocket, that is also drier than the surrounding area. The advantage to this location is that through selective breeding, the growers at Larch Cottage are producing plants that are hardier. 

We met with Peter Stott, the owner of Larch Cottage Nurseries, who explained that their plant selection is aimed at the educated customer. The look of the nursery is a bit haphazard, with garden furniture and art mixed in with plants. Peter said that people generally live this way, in an environment that may seem a bit cluttered, but that the nursery is organized like this to create a comfortable environment. One of their goals is to create an enjoyable customer experience by not bothering customers unnecessarily, unless they ask for help.

The second nursery we visited was on the last day of our tour. Abi and Tom’s Garden Plants at Halecat is a newer nursery in its third year (http://www.halecatplants.co.uk/). Tom Attwood runs the nursery with his wife, Abi, and one part-time employee. Tom went through the HND program at RBGE. I found this visit interesting because Tom talked about the challenges and successes he’s encountered while opening and running a small nursery. Like Larch Cottage, Abi and Tom’s sell plants adapted to the local climate. Multiple display beds allow the customer to see the habit of the plant once it is in the ground and address common garden challenges, such as dry shade.




A view over Larch Cottage’s sale area, with a “ruin” as a backdrop.

Tree textures

Alliums lining the sales area at Larch Cottage.

Many different varieties of Geum!

Furniture and pots make an inviting and colorful display.

I loved the handwritten signs at Abi and Tom's Garden Plants.

Display at Abi and Tom's.

Papaver orientale 'Queen Alexandra'

Another happy customer!


Display of plants for sale.

Striking lupines near a small pond.

14 June, 2013

Lake District Garden Tour: An Introduction


During the first week of June, I joined a five-day study tour in the Lake District area of northern England. The trip was mainly composed of students in the garden’s two-year Higher National Diploma (HND) program in Horticulture with Plantsmanship, which is similar to Longwood’s Professional Gardener program. Students can continue after two years and receive a Bachelor’s after year 3 and a Bachelor’s with honors after year 4. 
Three of the apprentices, two garden staff and an instructor also went on the trip. 

Our hostel was located right on Lake Windermere, which combined with the abundant sunshine during the week, made it feel like we were at a resort! 

On the way south, I noticed a lot of Larix decidua growing along the roadside. Phil, the leader of the trip, told me that larch is not native here, but is often planted for use as timber.

Also growing along the roadside was wild garlic (Allium ursinum), known here as ramsons. While I couldn’t really see the garlic, I could smell it. We found wild garlic growing at many of the other gardens we visited. 


Here are few pictures as an introduction, with more on the trip to follow!

Lake Windemere from behind the hostel.

Lake with the mountains, an amazing view!

Allium ursinum growing underneath a beech hedge at Levens Hall, one of the gardens we visited on the tour.


10 June, 2013

Benmore Botanic Garden


In late May, I visited a second RBGE satellite garden. Bemore Botanic Garden is located on the Cowal Peninsula in western Scotland. The estate was given to RBGE in 1924 and became the first satellite garden. The climate, with up to 118” of rain per year, is essentially a temperate rainforest, which favors the growth of their Rhododendron collection. 

What struck me most about this garden was that walking along the paths felt more like a hike than a leisurely stroll. Scaling the hillside did provide us with amazing views of the surrounding countryside!

I went to the garden with RBGE’s apprentices. This program provides young adults (age 16-19) with paid work experience at the garden and day release to attend classes at a local agricultural college. Currently there are four apprentices, with three finishing in July.

Cold frames on one side of the formal garden.

I loved the green and red color combination of this maple and rhododendron.

The recently restored fernery.
Meconopsis cambrica is native to the British Isles and seems to seed around quite easily. 

The newly completed Bhutan pavilion. Nearby is the Bhutanese glade, featuring plants from the Himalayas.

A view near the pond.

Benmore is well known for its entrance, the Redwood Avenue, which was planted in 1863. The trees are over 165 feet tall.

The Courtyard Gallery is open for art exhibitions.



04 June, 2013

Explorers Garden


On Memorial Day in the US, the RBGE garden staff also had off for a bank holiday. To celebrate, I rode the train about 2 hours north to Pitlochry. My destination was the Explorers Garden, a unique garden which celebrates Scottish plant hunters who travelled the world collecting plants from the early 1700s to the early 1900s. The garden was divided into displays from different geographical regions and had abundant signage detailing the lives and discoveries of the explorers. A few of the notable Scottish plant hunters include Archibald Menzies who introduced Araucaria araucana (Monkey puzzle tree) from South America in 1795 and David Douglas who introduced Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas fir) from North America in 1827. 
It was a rainy day, so I was alone as I walked around the garden. 

I also came to Pitlochry to meet Julia Corden, the Garden Manager of the Explorers Garden. Julia was my contact for a grant I was awarded through the Diana Aitchison Fund of the Scottish Rock Garden Club. Julia graciously took time out of her busy day to present me with my award and chat!

The garden entrance was modeled after a compass and sold plants found in the garden.

In the North American section, I discovered the delicate purple flower spikes of one of my favorite bulbs, Camassia.

Phlox among the rocks.

The David Douglas Pavilion is a tribute to the plant explorer David Douglas. The roof is meant to resemble a folded leaf, with the shingles representing a fir cone.

My favorite area was the Himalayan Glade. Meconopsis was flowering in abundance and made a striking contrast against the dry stack walls.

A view of the David Douglas Pavilion from below. The balcony is meant to resemble the bow of a ship, referring to Douglas's ocean journeys to the US, Hawaii, and the Galapagos.

A unique wind chime.

One of the reasons I love rock gardens is the contrast of plants and rocks. The new bright green foliage of this fern provides a stunning example!