Visitors to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh will have even more to enjoy this holiday weekend, as the much-loved Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden and Alpine Courtyard reopen in time for the spring break.

Both areas were closed to the public during early spring as excavation work, essential for the creation of the Garden’s new, more efficient Energy Centre, took place. Now, with that stage of the work complete, the popular zones can safely be reopened to the public at weekends.

The Queen Mother’s Garden was redesigned in 2022, as the famous labyrinth of bog myrtle (Myrica Gale) at the heart of the garden struggled with the impact of long periods of droughts.

The new plan, presented to the then Duke and Duchess of Rothesay on their visit to RBGE in October 2021, has a saltire design layout, inspired by the Queen Mother’s beloved garden at the Castle of Mey in Caithness. Today, at its centre are shrub roses edged with an evergreen hedge, surrounded by a mix of naturalistic herbaceous perennials and bulbs creating an attractive tribute to the late Queen Mother.

Highlights this month include pom-poms of lavender alliums, the vivid purple spires of Verbascum phoeniceum ‘Violetta’ and the early flowering rose Rosa Olivia Rose Austin.

In the ever-popular Alpine Courtyard with its stunning collection of alpine plants, late spring flowering plants, including the startling blue Scilla litardierei, are in full bloom.

As well as providing plentiful year-round colour for visitors to enjoy, the plantings will also provide a rich pollen and nectar source for much-needed pollinators. The new design is funded by the Botanics Foundation and other supporters.

The Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden and Alpine Houses will open at noon on Friday, May 24, remain open on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May, and close again for Edinburgh Biomes works on the morning of Monday, May 27. The areas should now remain open at weekends except where notice is given.