A fantastic response from the community has helped the campaign to restore the A-listed Palm Houses at the heart of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), as donations from the public passed £50,000. With private donors pledging to match each pound given – doubling the impact of each donation – the appeal has reached the impressive milestone of £100,000.

Now, the race is on to achieve the campaign target of raising £250,000 from the community before the buildings are handed back to the care of the Garden in 2025.

Launched at Easter, the appeal to Save the Palm Houses has even attracted celebrity endorsement from wildlife presenter Kate Humble and garden designer and presenter Arit Anderson.

The Palm Houses restoration programme is the first stage of the Garden’s landmark Edinburgh Biomes development project and aims to rejuvenate the two historic buildings. Built in 1834 and 1856, the Palm Houses are outstanding examples of late Georgian and Victorian engineering but at nearly 200 years old, the fabric of the buildings had become badly eroded and in desperate need of repair.

Essential restoration work began in 2022 and incredible progress is already being made. Gifts from the public will help support the ongoing repair of the crumbling sandstone, restoration of the structural ironwork and replacement of glass with new, more energy efficient and robust panes.

Emma Lacroix, Director of Development and Communications said: “This is a fantastic moment in our campaign, and we are immensely grateful for all the support we’ve received towards the restoration of these magnificent buildings.

“Supporting the appeal won’t just secure the care of a unique Living Collection of plants, some of which are endangered in their native habitats, but will also save an important part of Scotland’s architectural heritage. It will back the creation of an exciting new unified space, providing both returning and a new generation of visitors with the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by the splendour of the natural world.”

The restoration of the Palm Houses is also being supported by the Scottish Government, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, Historic Environment Scotland, amongst others, as well as many individuals.

To learn more about how you too can help Save the Palm Houses, visit www.rbge.org.uk/palmhouses

ENDS

For further information, interviews, review copies or images, please respond to this email or contact Suzie Huggins on 07385 491 460 or Shauna Hay on 07824 529 028. 

Editor's notes

 Save the Palm Houses public appeal and the Edinburgh Biomes project

Part of the wider Edinburgh Biomes project, the Save the Palm Houses appeal will directly help to support the restoration of the A-listed Palm Houses and is endorsed by Kate Humble, Arit Anderson and members of the RBGE teams.

The largest capital development project in the 353-year history of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), Edinburgh Biomes is central to RBGE’s response to the twin challenges of the biodiversity crisis and climate emergency.

The project will protect global plant science and conservation through the replacement of scientific research houses and the restoration of the Garden’s A-Listed heritage Palm Houses and 1960s modernist Front Range Glasshouses.

In addition, the project will provide a more efficient Energy Centre, new cutting-edge facilities to support RBGE’s research into plant pests and pathogens and a new destination Glasshouse to inspire the scientists, horticulturists and conservationists of the future.

The Edinburgh Biomes project will cost £89.9 million and is being supported by the Scottish Government, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic Environment Scotland and Garfield Weston Foundation, among others.

Palm Houses

Built in 1834, the Tropical Palm House is the Garden’s oldest Glasshouse and forms an irregular octagon measuring 60 feet wide and 27 feet high (18.3 x 8.2 metres). By the 1850s, plantings had outgrown the original space and Parliament agreed to provide £6,000 for a new Palm House, based largely on photographic evidence of the Caryota urens and Metroxylon rumphii palms sending leaves through the roof. The photo by Dr James Duncan (c.1855) is the oldest in RBGE’s archives.

The now iconic Temperate or Victorian Palm House was designed by Robert Matheson, and building commenced on 8 April 1856.  Built from sandstone quarried at Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, the 18 arched windows are around 22 feet high and 8 feet wide (6.7 x 2.4 metres) and the building is 60 x 100 feet (18.3 x 30.5 metres) and 72 feet high (21.95 metres). 

Planting was completed on 30 April 1858.

Protecting the Palm House plants

To prepare the buildings for restoration, a complex plan was devised to lift and remove all plants from the Palm Houses.

Challenges included the safe removal of large palms such as the Trachycarpus princeps. At over 8 metres tall, RBGE’s specimen is believed to be the tallest in cultivation outside its native China and the tallest plant to be successfully moved from the Palm Houses.

Also successfully moved for safekeeping was the Wollemia nobilis, an evergreen genus of conifer native to Australia that is now critically endangered in its native habitat.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a leading international research organisation delivering knowledge, education, and plant conservation action around the world. In Scotland, its four Gardens at Edinburgh, Benmore, Dawyck and Logan attract more than a million visitors each year. It operates as a Non Departmental Public Body established under the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985, principally funded by the Scottish Government. It is also a registered charity, managed by a Board of Trustees appointed by Ministers. Its mission is “To explore, conserve and explain the world of plants for a better future.”