Charles III
31-579: The Scottish Futures Trust ( SFT ) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government , established in September 2008 to improve public infrastructure investment. SFT operates at arm's length from the Government but works closely with the public and private sectors to deliver value-for-money on all public sector infrastructure investment across the country. In their manifesto for
62-627: A collection of eight or nine hundred plants yr." This site proved too small, and in 1676 grounds belonging to Trinity Hospital were leased by Balfour from the City Council: this second garden was sited just to the east of the Nor Loch , down from the High Street. In the spring of 1689, for certain strategic military reasons, the Nor Loch which lay west of the Physic Garden was drained, resulting in
93-446: Is a hugely important player in a worldwide network of institutions seeking to ensure that biodiversity is not further eroded. Located one mile from the city centre it covers 70 acres (28 ha). The RBGE is actively involved in, and coordinates numerous in situ and ex situ conservation projects both in the UK and internationally. The three main cross-cutting themes of scientific work at
124-429: Is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies four sites across Scotland— Edinburgh , Dawyck , Logan and Benmore —each with its own specialist collection. The RBGE's living collection consists of more than 13,302 plant species (34,422 accessions), whilst
155-482: Is defined in specific legislation setting up each body. They employ their own staff, who are not civil servants. Advisory NDPBs are similar to Executive NDPBs, but do not undertake activities directly. They provide independent expert advice to the government and others in relation to particular subject. They do not normally employ staff, with administrative support usually being provided by civil servants. Tribunals undertake judicial functions, but do not form part of
186-597: Is the second oldest botanic garden in the UK after Oxford's . The plant collection used as the basis of the garden was the private collection of Sir Patrick Murray, 2nd Lord Elibank , moved from his home at Livingston Peel in 1672 following his death in September 1671. The original site was "obtained of John Brown, gardener of the North Yardes in the Holyrood Abby, an inclosure of some 40 foot of measure every way. By what we procured from Levingstone and other gardens, we made
217-538: Is today known as Hopetoun Crescent Gardens and is one of the collection of New Town Gardens . Some time prior to Hope's death (1786) he was brought Turkish rhubarb seeds by Bruce of Kinnaird and this was the first rhubarb grown in Great Britain. As this proved successful over 3000 plants were grown as rhubarb was previously an expensive import (used as a medicine). A cottage from the garden's original site remained on Leith Walk for over one hundred years. In 2008,
248-1245: The 2007 election , the Scottish National Party (SNP) proposed the Scottish Futures Trust as an alternative to PPP / PFI , encouraging greater use of public bonds, to access to lower-cost borrowing. It was a solution conceived to allow the devolved administration to gain some leverage around private sector investment. Public bodies of the Scottish Government William , Duke of Rothesay Swinney government The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP Kate Forbes MSP Sixth session Alison Johnstone MSP Angela Constance MSP Dorothy Bain KC The Rt Hon Lord Carloway KC PC United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections Local elections Referendums Starmer ministry The Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP Public bodies of
279-450: The herbarium contains in excess of 3 million preserved specimens. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government . The Edinburgh site is the main garden and the headquarters of the public body, which is led by Regius Keeper Simon Milne . The Edinburgh botanic garden was founded in 1670 at St. Anne's Yard, near Holyrood Palace , by Robert Sibbald and Andrew Balfour . It
310-569: The Government and staff of public bodies are not civil servants , although executive agencies are listed in the Scottish Government's directory of national public bodies alongside other public bodies. The Scottish Government is responsible for appointing a board of directors to run public bodies. The Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland is responsible for regulating
341-702: The Herbarium, plant collections tended to be the private property of the Regius Keeper. The Herbarium in its present form came with the fusion of the collections of the University of Edinburgh and the Botanical Society of Edinburgh in 1839–40. RBGE's Herbarium moved into its present, purpose-built home in 1964. Over the years, a large number of collections have been added, belonging to individuals such as R.K. Greville and John Hutton Balfour , and institutions including
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#1732863247236372-463: The Leith Walk site was built over between Hopetoun Crescent and Haddington Place. The Temperate Palm House, which remains the tallest in Scotland, was built in 1858. In 1877, the city acquired Inverleith House from the estate of Cosmo Innes and added it to the existing gardens, opening the remodelled grounds to the public in 1881. The botanic garden at Benmore became the first Regional Garden of
403-453: The RBGE are: Scottish Biodiversity , Plants & Climate Change , and Conservation . In addition to the RBGE's scientific activities the garden remains a popular destination for both tourists and locals. Locally known as "The Botanics", the garden is a popular place to go for a walk, particularly with young families. Entrance to the botanic garden is free, although a small entry charge exists for
434-450: The RBGE in 1929. It was followed by the gardens at Logan and Dawyck in 1969 and 1978. At present: The RBGE is creating a digital record of its renowned Herbarium collection of over three million preserved plant specimens from 157 countries. Historically hard to access, it is now being digitised into high-resolution images that can be viewed by anyone with an internet connection. The digitised platform now sees requests come in from across
465-449: The Scottish Government ( Scottish Gaelic : Buidhnean Poblach Riaghaltas na h-Alba ) are organisations that are funded by the Scottish Government . They form a tightly meshed network of executive and advisory non-departmental public bodies (" quangoes "); tribunals ; and nationalised industries . Such public bodies are distinct from executive agencies of the Scottish Government , as unlike them they are not considered to be part of
496-708: The Scottish Government, but have a specific, well-defined remit. They are staffed by civil servants and headed by a Chief Executive, who is a civil servant, and are directly accountable to the government. Commissioners and ombudsmen are responsible for monitoring the actions of government and public boards. They are responsible to parliament, and appointed by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body , in order to ensure their independence from government. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh ( RBGE ) ( Scottish Gaelic : Gàrradh Luibh-eòlais Rìoghail Dhùn Èideann )
527-533: The Scottish Government. They are accountable to, and funded by the Scottish Parliament , and publish their own annual reports and accounts. Each office is headed by a board or statutory officeholder(s) appointed by the Scottish Government. Executive NDPBs carry out work on behalf of government but do not form part of it, nor are they directly accountable to parliament. They operate within a framework of governance and accountability set by Ministers; often this
558-563: The Universities of Glasgow , St Andrews and Hull . The most important historical collection is that of George Walker Arnott , which came with the University of Glasgow's foreign herbarium deposited on permanent loan in 1965. This collection contains specimens from all the major mid-19th century collectors, especially from India, North and South America, and South Africa, including type material of species described by 'Hooker & Arnott'. From
589-484: The building was moved brick by brick to a site within the current gardens. The project was completed in 2016. The garden was a popular destination for botanists and supplied plants to other gardens such as Kew . Hope erected a monument to Carl Linnaeus on the site in 1778. In the early 1820s under the direction of the Curator, William McNab, the garden moved west to its present location (adjacent to Inverleith Row), and
620-654: The collection include an avenue of Sequoiadendron and a recently refurbished Fernery, exhibiting rare ferns from both Britain and abroad. Situated to the south of the Scottish Border town of Peebles , Dawyck Botanic Garden is particularly suitable for hardy plants from the world's cooler, drier areas. Dawyck is also renowned for its high diversity of fungi and cryptogamics . Logan, Scotland's most exotic garden, has an almost sub-tropical climate, and provides ideal growing conditions for southern hemisphere plants. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Medal, instituted in 2010,
651-478: The court system. They are independent of government, and are not responsible for budgets or expenditure other than remuneration for tribunal members. Public corporations are companies which recover more than 50% of their costs through commercial activities. They are managed by a board whose members are appointed by the government. Public corporations employ their own staff (who are not civil servants) and manage their own budgets. Executive agencies form part of
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#1732863247236682-418: The early 20th century, collections have been made by members of staff. Approx a third of the herbarium is in a searchable database. The Index Herbariorum code assigned to the RBGE herbarium is E and it is used when citing housed specimens. RBGE's Library is Scotland's national reference collection for specialist botanical and horticultural resources. Housing around 70,000 books and 150,000 periodicals,
713-578: The flooding of the garden (which at this stage had wholly relocated to the Trinity Hospital site), with much mud and general rubbish being deposited, to the ruination of many of the plants. Partly for this reason and partly due to necessary expansion the facility relocated to the Holyrood site in 1695. John Ainslie 's 1804 map shows it as the "Old Physick Garden" to the east of the North Bridge . The site
744-703: The glasshouses. During the year the garden hosts many events including live performances, guided tours and exhibitions. The RBGE is also an important centre for education, offering taught courses across all levels. In 2009, the John Hope Gateway was opened. John Hope was the first Regius Keeper of RBGE. Nearly 273,000 individual plants are grown at the Botanics in Edinburgh or its three smaller satellite gardens (known as Regional Gardens) located in other parts of Scotland. These represent around 13,300 species from all over
775-562: The globe from students, scientists and plant enthusiasts. The one millionth specimen to be digitised was Stereocaulon vesuvianum, a species of lichen collected from Ben Nevis in 2021. RBGE lichenologist Dr Rebecca Yahr, who collected the specimen during a climb up Scotland's tallest mountain, said: "Celebrating the milestone with this important specimen is an exciting opportunity for us to highlight Scotland's unique biodiversity and extend RBGE's mission to research and understand lichens more generally." The Botanic Garden's main site in Edinburgh
806-550: The historical collections of the Botanics, together with exhibitions by modern and contemporary artists. The gallery is curated by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Situated on the West Coast of Scotland, Benmore Botanic Garden experiences a wetter and milder oceanic climate than the main site in Edinburgh. Benmore grows trees and shrubs from high rainfall areas, especially conifers and rhododendrons. Highlights of
837-536: The modern botanic gardens. From 1960 to 1984 it was the original base of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art , with exhibits in the house and in the gardens, before it moved to larger premises in Belford Road. Since then, Inverleith House has functioned as a contemporary art gallery, showing a programme of temporary exhibitions by invited artists. Its spring programmes feature works and specimens from
868-508: The process. Public bodies are assigned "sponsoring departments" who provide funding in the form of grant-in-aid to assist with running costs and capital investment. Most public bodies also have other sources of income (for example the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh receives income from charging the public to visit the greenhouses in its gardens). Non-ministerial offices are staffed by civil servants, but do not form part of
899-482: The research library is one of the country's largest. It has been built up to support the specific subject fields researched and taught at RBGE. Garden staff and students are its main users, along with visiting researchers. However, as a national reference collection, the Library is also open to members of the public, either in person or by telephone or e-mail. Inverleith House is an 18th-century building, located centrally in
930-403: The world, or about 4% of all known plant species. The RBGE Living Collection catalogue is available here and updated nightly. Some notable collections at the botanic garden Edinburgh include: The RBGE herbarium (situated in a purpose-built facility at the Edinburgh site) is considered a world-leading botanical collection, housing in excess of 3 million specimens. Prior to the formation of
961-603: Was subsequently occupied by tracks of the North British Railway , and a plaque at platform 11 of the Waverley railway station marks its location. In 1763, the garden's collections were moved away from the city's pollution to a larger (five acre) "Physick Garden" on the west side of Leith Walk , covering the area now called Bellevue , all under the control of Prof John Hope . This site is shown in Ainslie's 1804 map. The site