Edinburgh Outdoors15 Jan 2025

Dunbars Close and plant explorers with Hetty's History Walks

The first episode of Season 2: Dunbars Close on the Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town is a reimagined seventeeth century garden and is well worth a visit. Containing eight distinct areas, the garden combines formal shapes with more informal planting and features over 190 plants which were within Scotland around that time. Many have medicinal properties and were brought to Scotland by adventurous plant explores. The garden was created by a charity called The Mushroom Trust.

I explored the garden with regular contributor and local historian, Hetty Lancaster of Hetty's History Walks. She brought fascinating insight into the creation of the garden, as well as the plant explorers who brought plants back to Scotland and were instrumental in building our reputation in horticulture and the stories behind their adventures. We toured the garden and chatted about the properties of the some of the plants, as well as hearing stories of some of the characters who travelled the globe to source what were then the new and exotic - but many of which are now our commonplace garden plants.

In the seventeenth century the Canongate was a suburb of the city and we also learn more about who lived here at the time and Edinburgh suburban living.

To find the James Gordon 1647 map you can search the archives of the National Library of Scotland:

https://maps.nls.uk/view/102190447

The John Slezer picture from Calton Hill, part of an encylopedia of Scottish images - 'The Queen Anne View' - can be found here:

https://maps.nls.uk/view/74419503

The Mushroom Trust created and maintains the garden:

https://mushroomtrust.com/

Books discussed include:

Seeds of Blood and Beauty by Anne Lindsay:

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/collections/author-books-by-ann-lindsay

The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan:

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/collections/author-books-by-sara-sheridan

And finally, here is the location of Dunbar's Close:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/7zbj1aBb6FKKxzrV7

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(57)

Scotland's Stones monument and the Song of the Ice

Steve Garrett, musician, artist, writer and geo scientist is performing in this year's Fringe: The Song of the Ice at St Mark's Church on 13-15; 18-20; and 26-28 August. We met at the Scotland's Ston...

13 Aug 29min

Growing Matters walled garden in East Lothian

Growing Matters is a community charity transforming the walled garden at Gilmerton House in East Lothian. Ten years into a 25 year plan, they are bringing biodiversity, wildlife and lots of flowers a...

4 Aug 31min

Drakkar's Drift with Luke Coleman

Drakkar's Drift is a new garden set in Victoria Park on Newhaven Road and was designed by Royal Horticultural Society Young Designer of the Year, Luke Coleman. The garden is ideal for enjoying the ou...

27 Jul 33min

Walking the Water of Leith Basins

Join me on a walk around the Water of Leith Basins to discover how the Friends group (aka FOWLB) manages the area with volunteer, swan expert, wildlife enthusiast and belly dancer, Hilary Thacker. H...

14 Jul 32min

Behind the Scenes: Scotland's Home (and garden) of the Year

Horticulturalist, Emily Hairstans, was the recent winner of Scotland's Home of the Year TV programme. Her garden featured heavily in the judges' praise for the 'Homegrown Hoose'. I met with Emily in...

30 Jun 29min

South Queensferry Mosaic and Garden

Hawthorn Bank Walled Garden in South Queensferry is home to a huge mosaic created by local people, set within a tranquil and beautiful garden. I met up with GreenFerry, the team behind local gardening...

17 Jun 25min

In the footsteps of 'Trainspotting' with Tim Bell

Warning: this podcast contains adult themes and language some people might find offensive. Set in Edinburgh and Leith Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh was a book set in the 80s drug scene and was later m...

2 Jun 30min

Abbeyhill and Colonies with Hetty Lancaster

Join me as I head out with historian Hetty Lancaster of Hetty's History Walks to discover the history of Abbeyhill and its Colonies. We toured old industrial sites, spotted ghost signs and repurposed...

12 Mai 31min