From sleuths to storms: Garden’s colourful history
Over the last 351 years, the Botanic Garden has moved four times and has grown from a small physic garden, used for growing medicinal plants, to a world-leading conservation, teaching and research centre with rare plants from more than 150 countries – some of them extinct in the wild.
It began in 1670 as the Royal Physic Garden near the Palace of Holyrood. It moved to Trinity Hospital, now the home of Waverley Station, in 1675 and to Leith Walk in 1763 and Inverleith in 1820. The purpose of the garden was to supply fresh plants for medical prescriptions and to help teach medical botany to students.
The garden was an essential part of any doctor’s training, and one of the more unusual alumni was James Barry, who qualified in 1812. Born a woman, Barry lived her life as a man, studying medicine at Edinburgh University before a distinguished career as a British Army surgeon. Her true identity was only discovered after her death.
Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, studied medicine in 1877 at Edinburgh University and botany at the botanic garden. Doyle has Dr Watson say of Holmes: “Knowledge of Botany: variable. Well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening”
Women, too, have played their part in the scientific study of rare plants there. In 1916 Lilian Snelling was appointed botanic artist. Her work captured microscopic differences between species of plants. In acknowledgement of her expertise, Snelling was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour in 1955, the highest horticultural award in Britain.
Memorable moments include a Spitfire crash in 1941. Tragically, the pilot died when his parachute failed to open in time. A recent excavation of the site uncovered parts of the plane.
In 1968 a huge storm caused massive damage to one of the glasshouses and the tropical palm house. An ancient tree, the Sutherland Yew, which was moved to Leith Walk in 1763 and to Inverleith in 1822, was blown completely to the ground. Nine years ago, 100mph winds destroyed 500 panes of glass and 40 rare trees were blown over, some of them more than 100 years old.
The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan, Hodder & Stoughton, is out now