The Physic Garden at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, is celebrating its fifth anniversary, having welcomed thousands of visitors and engaged hundreds of local children and adults in events and workshops since it opened in 2020.
Located just outside the monarch’s official residence in Scotland, the free-to-visit garden can be enjoyed year-round by the people of Edinburgh and visitors to the Palace. Its fifth anniversary will be marked by an episode of the longstanding BBC Scotland gardening programme Beechgrove Garden, airing this week.
The Physic Garden is located beside the Palace’s Abbey Strand Learning Centre, and over the past five years, more than 360 pupils from schools both local and further afield have taken part in educational sessions, with children learning how plants were used historically as remedies to improve health and wellbeing. A further 400 ethnobotany students, members of community gardens and nature-lovers of all ages have taken part in guided visits and events, reviving the garden’s centuries-old original purpose of teaching the medicinal properties of plants.
Chris Walker, Learning Manager, Royal Collection Trust, said, “The Physic Garden is an oasis at the end of the Royal Mile, providing a welcoming green space in the city centre where locals and visitors alike can get outside, enjoy nature and learn some fascinating local history. We are delighted that almost 800 people have taken part in exciting activities where nature, science and history meet, in addition to the countless others who enjoy this free community garden every day.”
Royal Collection Trust will offer a programme of events and school sessions in the Physic Garden throughout the summer and autumn to celebrate the anniversary:
- Flower Arranging Workshop – 24 July 2025, 09:30–12:00 – After a tour of the garden’s flowers, florist and Royal Warrant holder Lottie Longman will show participants how to harvest foliage from the wildflower meadow to create a bouquet to take home.
- Floral Wreaths Workshop – 3 September 2025, 09:30–12:00 – After a tour of the Physic Garden, Lottie Longman will teach participants how to create beautiful wreaths of freshly picked flowers, which can be dried naturally at home.
- Plants, Painting and Potions Schools Session – Available for schools to book in termtime, 1 hour – In this outdoor learning session, pupils will learn how the canons of Holyrood Abbey lived 900 years ago, growing flowers, herbs and vegetables to eat and concoct natural remedies. Children will learn how to use quills and gather flowers, leaves and twigs to make and record their own remedy.
- Holyrood’s Herbal Hospital Schools Session – Available for schools to book in termtime, 2 hours – School groups will learn how Holyrood Abbey’s medieval canons grew medicinal plants to help and heal their local community, before hearing the story of the two 17th-century Scottish doctors who created the Physic Garden and making their own traditional remedy. The visit includes access to the Physic Garden, the Palace of Holyroodhouse Gardens, Holyrood Abbey, and the Abbey Strand Learning Centre.
- Learning Resources – Free learning resources including worksheets and scavenger hunt trails are available to download for all schools and visitors to the garden.
For more information visit rct.uk.
