A few weeks ago I headed to Edinburgh to have a look round the glasshouses at the botanic garden. My main reason was to see the Titan Arum, which rarely flowers, and, when it does, has a huge stinky flower! The plant is nicknamed New Reekie, as opposed to Auld Reekie, the nickname for Edinburgh (a reek being a strong and unpleasant smell!).
I also wanted to have a good look round the paid part of the glasshouses. I remember going round them as a student, and one of my favourite photos of myself was taken in one of the glasshouses that day, but, since then I have tended to stick to the areas you can get into for free!
It was really nostalgic to visit these areas that I had been to all those years ago. I particularly remembered the ponds, the cacti, and the carnivorous plants.
The highlight at the end of the glasshouses was New Reekie itself, standing at over 2 metres tall!
It was really interesting to look at the plant and see how similar in shape it is to arum lilies, despite being so much bigger than they are!
The flower hadn't actually opened at that point, so it didn't reek! It was also not busy, so I didn't have to queue up to see it.
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