NT2076 : Willow-leaf Podocarp - detail
taken 5 years ago, near to Cramond, Edinburgh, Scotland
Originally a 16thC tower house, the current A-listed building dates from the 19thC Link Link . The Edwardian house and contents were left to the nation [to be kept unchanged] by its owners, William Robert Reid, an Edinburgh cabinet maker, and Margaret Johnstone Barton, his wife, on 5 January 1926 and, with its garden and grounds, is managed as a local park by the City of Edinburgh Link. The garden was laid out by William Henry Playfair in the 1840s and has some fine trees, including a Willow-leaf podocarp, Podocarpus salignus, an unlikely looking evergreen conifer, originating from S. Chile, which is I think quite rare in the UK. Link. This is a female plant, and seeds are produced, usually, in pairs. There is a 1 ha Japanese Garden, dedicated as the Edinburgh–Kyoto Friendship Garden and opened in August 2002, open grassy areas, wooded walks, and croquet lawns with views over the Firth of Forth.