The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is both a scientific institution and a tourist attraction. It was originally founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants. Today, it occupies four sites across Scotland — Edinburgh, Dawyck, Logan and Benmore — each with its own specialist collection. The Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh is the main garden.
The Edinburgh botanic garden was founded in 1670 at St. Anne's Yard, near Holyrood Palace, by Dr. Robert Sibbald and Dr. Andrew Balfour. It is the second oldest botanic garden in Britain after Oxford's. In 1763, the garden's collections were moved away from the city's pollution to a site on the road to Leith, and the garden moved to its present location at Inverleith in 1820. The Temperate Palm House, which remains the tallest in Britain to the present day, was built in 1858.
The botanic garden at Benmore became the first Regional Garden of the RBGE in 1929. It was followed by the gardens at Logan and Dawyck in 1969 and 1978.[1]
The Garden at Edinburgh
A waterfall in the Rock Garden stream
The Botanics at Edinburgh is a hugely important player in the worldwide network seeking to ensure that biodiversity is not further eroded. Nearly 34,000 plants are grown at the Botanics in Edinburgh or its three smaller offshoots located in other parts of Scotland.
These represent nearly 17,000 different species from all over the world, or about 7% of all known plant species. People travel to Edinburgh from all over the world to see them, to appreciate them, and to learn about them.
Some features of the botanic garden at Edinburgh are:
The garden, referred to by locals as "The Botanics", is a popular place to go for a walk, particularly with young families. Entry to the botanic garden is free. There is an entry charge to the Glasshouses, £3.50 for adults (as of July 2008).
