Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Leaving Edinburgh’s city centre and travelling down Dundas Street (from New Town) or Broughton Street (From Leith Walk) will bring you over the Water of Leith and to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. The main entrance is on Arboretum Place, but the walk there is a bit more complicated for someone not accustomed to Edinburgh’s winding streets, avenues, and roads.

Flowery metal entrance gate to the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh

[image credit: miss mass]

A Haven of Greenery

Green, green, green! The beautiful landscape of Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden.

[image credit: Richard Bloomfield]

The Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh is a large tract of land dedicated to preservation and research on plant species of the world.

A gorgeous flower found in one of the Royal Botanic's greenhouses in Edinburgh.

[image credit: cawa]

Built 1858, the Temperate Palm House has a height of 21.95 m (72ft) to accommodate even the tallest plants.

[image credit: Peter Nijenhuis]

Offering exotic flowers and trees, and running their own expeditions to foreign countries to collect worthwhile specimens, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh is one of the world’s leading Botanical Gardens. The Gardens offer a rest from the hectic pace of city life for those tourists and locals who find themselves overwhelmed by the city.

The lily pond in Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden, reflecting the roof of the glasshouses.

[image credit: Maria Keays]

Year-round, the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh offers a programme of events, speakers, tours, and more, all of which can be found at their website. In the summer, the Garden often hosts at least one Fringe production, an outdoor adaptation of Shakespearean work (for the last few years). There is a small exhibition hall in the North-East corner of the Garden, where artists’ work and children’s events often take place.

Spirit, the Chinese Lantern Festival at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh

[image credit: jvhemert]

The Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh prides itself on its strong connections to the community around it, not just the wider scientific community. They have a dedicated following in both Inverleith – the neighbourhood of Edinburgh where they are located – and in the wider Edinburgh community as well.

One little-known fact about the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh is that the many squirrels who live on the grounds share a less-than-savoury feature with many humans – because of visitors who drop cigarette butts on the grounds, many of these squirrels are addicted to nicotine! (This nugget of information was explained by a relative of a garden worker.)

A grey squirrel in the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh

[image credit: g.naharro]

By wandering the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, one can experience a number of floral environments, enjoy their visitors’ center and cafés, and learn about the ways in which our world is impacted by its plant life.