Garden of the week

ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH 20a Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR

The Royal Botanic Garden, which will celebrate its 350th anniversary in 2020, is one of the world’s leading botanic gardens. Established in 1760 as a medicinal plant or “physic” garden at Holyrood, the garden moved twice within Edinburgh until, in 1820, it arrived at its present site in Inverleith.

Today, within the 70 acres of the garden and living collection, visitors can see over 13,500 plant species and 128,000 plants from more than 150 countries, including one of the largest collections of Chinese plants outside China. Garden highlights include the famous rock garden, Chinese hillside, woodland garden, Queen Mother’s memorial garden and herbaceous border.

Just a mile from the centre of Edinburgh, the garden is a delight throughout the seasons. In winter, visitors can escape from the cold and discover 10 different climatic zones within the glasshouses, from steamy tropics to arid desert. The glasshouses are home to 3,000 exotic plants including the largest cultivated collection of Vireya rhododendrons in the world.

An important aspect of the garden’s work is furthering the appreciation and understanding of the natural world through public and community engagement. The garden hosts regular events and exhibitions, and has a farreaching education offering from PhD and MSc courses to one-day workshops and schools’ curriculum studies.

Christmas at the Botanics, the garden’s one-mile illuminated trail, running until December 29, is a major annual event which engages new audiences. The one-mile trail weaves through the Botanics, using the garden’s natural landscape and historic buildings as a backdrop for awe-inspiring visual effects. This year will showcase new installations such as Voyage, a display of 300 floating origami boats on the pond and the Laser Garden, which comes to life with dancing laser beams and theatrical fog.

Website: rbge.org.uk

Telephone: 0131 248 2909

Opening times: Open daily from 10am (except Dec 25 and Jan 1). Closes at 4pm in November, December and January, 5pm in February and October, and 6pm March to September.

Admission costs: Admission to the garden is free but charges to glasshouses apply – £7 adult, £6 concessions, under 16s free. Ticket costs apply for

Christmas at the Botanics.

Garden of the Week is in association with Discover Scottish Gardens. For more information, advice and day-out ideas, visit discoverscottishgardens.org