The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh was established in 1670, and marked its 350th anniversary in 2020.  David Knott looks at the history of Scotland’s botanic gardens which also include regional gardens at Benmore (Argyll), Dawyck (near Peebles) and Logan (near Stranraer).

David Knott is Curator of Living Collections at The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). Previously he was the Curator of Dawyck Botanic Garden and has also worked at gardens at Branklyn Garden (Perth), Logan Botanic Garden, Castle Kennedy Gardens, Brodick Castle Garden and Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania.  David is currently involved in RBGE’s contribution to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) Target 8 project work in Scotland and has undertaken fieldwork in China, Japan, Korea, and Nepal. He is a member of the National Tree Collections of Scotland, the UK Plant Collections Working Group and the Forestry Commission’s Westonbirt and Bedgebury Advisory Committee and is currently President of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society.