The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) has announced a £4m investment in the glasshouses of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
The grant is set to allow for the restoration of two historic Victorian palm houses and a range of modernist 1960s glasshouses.
It will also support the re-display of rare and endangered historic plant collections and help engage audiences through new interpretation and visitor activities.
Plants inside the glasshouses include the Amorphophallus titanum from Sumatra – known as the ‘corpse flower’, known for flowers at night and smelling of rotting meat.
The octagonal Tropical Palm House was constructed in 1834 but was soon considered too small and in 1856 a new Temperate Palm House was built by Scottish architect Robert Matheson.
The project will form the historic centrepiece of the wider Edinburgh Biomes experience and will ensure the safety of these globally significant living collections.
Caroline Clark, Director for Scotland at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We are delighted to be supporting this important project, which will see the historic heart of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh restored and revitalised for the benefit of generations to come.”
Simon Milne, Regius Keeper, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh said the grant would allow the Garden to “reimagine our visitor experience. Visionary interpretation and activities will communicate the vulnerability of life on Earth.”
He added: “By inspiring everyone to care about the environment and play their part, there is real opportunity to make tangible change.”
