Dawyck Botanic Garden, Botanical garden in Scottish Borders, United Kingdom.
Dawyck Botanic Garden is a botanical garden in the Scottish Borders, laid out along the Scrape Burn stream through hilly, wooded terrain. The collection features trees and shrubs from Nepal, Chile, and China, growing alongside native Scottish plants on a site where the ground rises and falls noticeably.
The Veitch family first developed the site in the 17th century, and in 1691 the Naesmith family took over, supporting the plant-hunting expeditions of David Douglas. In 1979 the garden passed to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, which has managed it since.
Dawyck Botanic Garden is one of several gardens linked to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and its role is to grow and study plants from mountain regions around the world. Walking through the grounds, you can see trees and shrubs from Asia and the Americas growing side by side with native Scottish species.
The garden is open from February through November, and there is parking on site. The terrain is hilly in places, so sturdy footwear is a good idea, and some paths require a reasonable level of fitness.
The Heron Wood Reserve, within the garden grounds, was the first conservation area in the world created specifically for mosses, liverworts, lichens, and fungi. This type of focus on non-flowering plants remains rare, and the reserve continues to draw researchers working in this field.
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