After six years and an unprecedented botanical operation, Edinburgh’s famous Palm Houses are back. The historic glasshouses at the Royal Botanic Garden have been closed to the public for vital restoration work. Hundreds of plants had to be temporarily moved while repairs were done on the 19th century buildings – the vast majority of them surviving the experience. But members of the public are once again able to enjoy the redesigned space.
The shutdown had to happen because the buildings had become leaky and rusty and needed a complete overhaul. Glass house curator Sadie Barber is delighted that, after years of disruption, the palm houses are once again being used for their intended purpose – to protect rare and and endangered plants, and to allow people to enjoy the space. The plants were decanted to temporary homes, and then carefully moved back into the renovated space. Sadie says this has been a great achievement that wasn’t without risk.
“I think whenever you move a plant and you take it out of the ground and then you stick it in a pot, it’s going to suffer or it’s going to get under stress. “So there was a bit of trepidation when we picked up the biggest plants, moved them to another place, and left them there for a number of years. “We’ve done really well. It feels like a huge achievement getting all these plants back in here and having them actually so well placed.
“The glasshouse team have done an enormous job, a really exceptional job of getting the plants looking like they belong. “So it’s great to see them actually thriving already.” The buildings have undergone a huge amount of work. More than five thousand panes of glass have been replaced, and the once corroding ironwork has been repaired and repainted. Stone work has been renovated and a partition wall between the two houses has been knocked down to create a light and airy space which shows off the historic architecture and living plants.
Prof Julia Knights is the Regius Keeper of the Botanic Garden. She says they have a wide range of plants and species, many of which are endangered. “We’ve got palms, conifers, ferns, begonias, all of those families, plants are hugely important in our living collection and many of them are extinct in the wild,” she said. “So what the palm houses are doing is helping to protect so many of these species, and many of them of course have medicinal properties for human health.
“So if we don’t save these we are also potentially not helping to save humanity, so it’s super important.” Whilst most of the plants were saved in the process of moving, there was one major casualty – the Sabal palm tree which was over 200 years old. It had grown too tall for the glass house and had to be cut down and couldn’t be stored. But some seedlings were kept, and so its legacy has not been forgotten. One of the Sabal palm’s descendants is growing in its place.
David Knott, the director of horticulture at the Botanic Garden, said: “Hopefully, because we’ve planted it in this glass house which is a bit taller than where it was previously, hopefully it will last a bit longer than the previous one did.” He is happy to see the new one growing in place of the old giant tree. “There was no way that we were actually going to ever be able to transplant the Sabal palm. And that was probably one of the hardest, most poignant parts of the whole process.” David Knott hopes the people of Scotland will welcome the return of the glass houses. “For many people in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland and throughout the world, the palm houses in Edinburgh really are one of the most iconic features of the Botanic Garden here.
And we hope when we reopen, we will be able to welcome people and they’ll be able to enjoy the space as it was always intended to be.” Sadie Barber says there are signs that the plants are enjoying their new home. “You can see new growth coming out of some of those plants that are now in the ground. One thing people will notice is little new croziers coming in, coming up from the fern crowns. “When you see that unfurling you know a plant is happy.
And if you look around there’s just so much life. It’s been an enormous job, but a really well done job. So we are overjoyed” The restoration keeps the palm houses looking much as they were intended, but using modern techniques and materials which should guarantee the future of these much-loved buildings. Restored Victorian palm houses to reopen at Royal Botanic Garden Work begins to replant urban jungle in restored hot houses ‘Sad day’ as 200-year-old palm faces the chop
