Back to the Botanics

Back to the Botanics once again, on not the brightest of days. In fact it was a typical Bank Holiday Sunday, overcast, promising a hint of sunshine but doing little to produce it. Not cold, but one of those take my coat off, put my coat back on again occasions, not too bad in the open, not too good in the shade. But this oasis of green in the midst of the city, with its stunning views of the Edinburgh skyline, is a late springtime myriad of colour, enough to banish the greyest of skies and the heaviest of hearts. Every shade of every colour known to man is bursting forth from the bushes, erupting along the borders and lighting up the well-manicured green of the lawns. Wandering along the paths you cannot fail but wonder at the display of blooms greeting you around every corner, nature at its most splendid. Landscapes such as this lift the spirits, making you feel good to be alive and fortunate enough to enjoy the world around us at its very best.

I took myself off to the Azalea Lawn, where highly scented, colourful azaleas and rhododendrons vie for your attention. Deciduous azaleas, as seen here, are popular shrubs providing beautiful spring flowers and warm autumn colours. The name "azalea" is used informally to cover several groups of rhododendron species, and the display here at the Botanics shows eight of the original parent species from temperate Asia and North America, along with a "range of cultivars and hybrids introduced during the last two hundred years."

Now I am no gardener, preferring to look rather than partake, so I did a bit of homework on these delightful flowers. Azalea plants and rhododendrons are related. All azaleas are Rhododendrons (capital R) but not all Rhododendrons are azaleas. Confused? I am, but I am equally sure all you green-fingered folk are not. Apparently if you read the scientific name for an azalea, you will see the word Rhododendron. This is because azalea plants belong to the genus Rhododendron, and the word azalea has virtually become this bush's common name. Following me? Good. But - and there is always a but - there are also members of this genus that are just plain "rhododendrons". Okay, so now we have this sorted, how can you identify an azalea as distinct from a rhododendron? Rhododendrons tend to be larger shrubs than azalea plants and have larger leaves. Azalea flowers usually have five stamens, while the rhododendron flowers have ten. And finally, many azalea plants are deciduous unlike the rhododendrons. Apologies to all the experts at the Botanics if I have not quite grasped all of this. Could be why I am a writer and not a horticulturalist!

Despite my botanical shortcomings, I do know that these flowers produce one of the most visually stimulating displays in the Gardens. Their colours are captivating, shades of white, red, yellow, purple, pink and orange peppering the bushes like a rainbow army.  If you head that way you must call in and spend some time soaking up the sights and smells of this beautiful corner of the Gardens, without doubt at its very best right now.