Gardens

  • Chair’s report

    Andrew Sinclair, manager of the Gardens, and the Friends were contacted some months ago by Professor Willsdon from School of Culture & Creative Arts at Glasgow University about the possibility of remembering a colleague Dr John Richards who had sadly passed away. John knew the Gardens well and lived close to the Arboretum which was…

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  • January in the Botanics

    Some January sightings from our Tour Guides.

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  • Storm damage to Nothofagus dombeyi

    After the recent storm this fine southern hemisphere beech tree Nothofagus dombeyi lost several of its limbs. GCC arbor services attended promptly and it is hoped that the tree will be viable for the future. This evergreen beech is endemic to southern Chile and Patagonia where it is widespread favouring damp soil and thriving along…

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  • Chair’s report

    What a wonderful autumn we have been enjoying up and down the country this year! Unfortunately and predictably the tranquil peace of your Gardens has been degraded yet again by the arrival of Glasglow. It is a show that would be more appropriate to being held in a show ground rather than in one of…

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  • The Argyle Street Ash: UK Tree of the Year 2025

    Congratulations to those members of FGBG who voted for the Argyle Street ash tree which won the Woodland Trust UK Tree of the Year competition, announced on the BBC One show on 25 September. The ash tree won against impressive nationwide competition. David Treanor of Treewise, the Paisley based arborist who nominated the tree, has…

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  • Remembering Elspeth King

     It is with shock and sadness that we heard of the sudden and unexpected death of Dr Elspeth King on 1st November 2025. Elspeth was one of the original members of our first cohort of garden guides in early 2023. She was a first class colleague who enthusiastically shared with us her detailed knowledge of…

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  • The Arboretum

    ‘Walking to be offered on prescription’ says the government. What better place to do it than the Arboretum? This area of the Botanics started to take shape in the 1970s, one hundred and thirty years after the inauguration of the Royal Botanic Gardens in the west end. Now where would we be without it? To…

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  • Tours update

    Sadly, the tours of the main Botanic Gardens and Kibble Palace come to an end on Saturday 4th October asGlasGLOW starts to set up on 6 October. We hope torestart these tours in the middle of January 2026. This October however we are trialling tours of theArboretum. They will be on Thursdays only at 11 am.…

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  • Chair’s report

    As we approach the end of a spectacular summer my thoughts as Chair turn to our AGM. As previously intimated this is on Thursday 15th September at 6.30 pm in the south wing of Kibble Palace. Light refreshments will be served after the meeting. We are looking for a new treasurer and several committee members.…

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  • Pollination and Fertilisation of Flowering Plants

    In the previous article, the pollination of flowering plants (angiosperms) was explained. Pollination, however, is just the first step in producing seeds. Fertilisation Fertilisation must have been completed for seed production. When the pollen attaches to the stigma, the fertilisation process starts. Pollen tube from pollen grain As soon as a pollen grain attaches to…

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