The publicly accessible Physic Garden next to the Palace of Holyroodhouse has been open for five years, welcoming many thousands of visitors during that time.
It is still one of Edinburgh’s secret gems and it will now be a highlight on BBC Scotland’s Beechgrove Garden this week.
Many children have been among the visitors as the Abbey Strand Learning Centre offers educational sessions to teach children about plants and their medicinal properties. The garden is a recreation of an earlier royal garden established by doctors Sir Robert Sibbald and Sir Andrew Balfour, and it has three sections representing different periods in the Palace’s 900-year history. In its first incarnation planted in 1670 medical students learned about the medicinal properties of plants and pharmacists had a ready supply of fresh ingredients. There are plants in the modern garden which would have been used 400 years ago.
A flowering meadow of medicinal plants including daisies, previously used for coughs, and mallows, an old treatment for scurvy, evokes the 15th-century monastic gardens of Holyrood Abbey, once one of the grandest medieval abbeys in Scotland, the ruins of which can still be seen today on a visit to the Palace. The third area delights in late winter and spring with crocuses and tulips planted in geometric patterns, typical of 17th-century gardens. With such a variety of plants and styles, the garden has year-round appeal for locals and visitors curious to learn about local history and historic natural remedies.
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. Like our forebears 350 years ago, we understand the benefits of spending time in nature for our physical and mental wellbeing, and we hope the garden can be enjoyed for many more years to come.”
BBC Scotland’s gardener George Anderson outlines the history of the garden along with Emma Stead the Curator at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Johanna Lausen-Higgins, Garden History Lecturer at the Education department of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
- The episode will air on BBC Scotland and BBC Two from Thursday, 17 July onwards as follows:
- – Thursday 17 July, 20:00 on BBC Scotland
- – Sunday 20 July, 09:05 on BBC Two
- – Monday 21 July, 14:00 on BBC Scotland
- – Thursday 24 July, 06:45 on BBC Two
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:
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.
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.
Free learning resources including worksheets and scavenger hunt trails are available to download for all schools and visitors to the garden.
The Physic Garden at the Palace of Holyroodhouse is open every day, 09:30–18:00 from April to October, and 09:30–16:30 from November to March. Admission to the Physic Garden is free to all and non-ticketed.
