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Woven willow raised beds of flowers and topiary line a paved path at the Physic Garden.
Edinburgh

Physic Garden

A public garden behind the Abbey Strand at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, telling 900 years of the palace's gardens, from monks' herbs to Scotland's first physic garden.

Welcome

At the very foot of the Royal Mile, tucked behind the old buildings of the Abbey Strand beside the palace gates, is a small garden that tells nine hundred years of the palace's story in plants.

The Physic Garden was opened by the Royal Collection Trust as a public garden, and its three parts each stand for a different age.

One is a flowering meadow of medicinal plants, recalling the gardens the monks of Holyrood Abbey kept in the 15th century. One is laid out in geometric beds of crocuses, tulips and alliums, in the manner of a 17th-century garden. The third reimagines the physic garden planted in the palace grounds around 1670, the first of its kind in Scotland, grown to teach students the healing uses of plants, and the seed from which the Royal Botanic Garden grew.

Raised beds edged with willow line its paths, and it is free to walk in.

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Before you go

The garden is behind the Abbey Strand, beside the palace gates at the foot of the Royal Mile.

It is a public garden, free to enter; the opening times are posted on the gate.

Where
Behind the Abbey Strand Learning Centre, Palace of Holyroodhouse, foot of the Royal Mile.

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Where it is

At the foot of the Royal Mile, beside the gates of the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Close byThe palace and the foot of the Canongate.
  1. Wrought-iron gates lead to the turreted towers of Holyroodhouse PalaceHolyrood PalaceThe royal family's main home in Scotland, at the foot of the Canongate beside Holyrood Park, grown from an abbey founded in 1128.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Palace of HolyroodhousePalace of HolyroodhouseThe monarch's official residence in Scotland, at the foot of the Royal Mile.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Scottish Parliament BuildingScottish Parliament BuildingEnric Miralles' Parliament, which won the Stirling Prize in 2005.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. White Horse CloseWhite Horse CloseA white-harled courtyard of crow-stepped houses at the foot of the Canongate.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Roofless nave of Holyrood Abbey, gothic tracery window framing bare stone ruinsHolyrood AbbeyThe roofless nave of the abbey King David founded in 1128.Under a mile 2 min by road
  6. Holyrood ParkHolyrood ParkThe royal park of Arthur's Seat, Salisbury Crags and three lochs.2 miles 8 min by road
Directions
The front of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, a long stone building with a pointed-roof tower at each end, seen across the forecourt.AttractionsHolyrood PalaceA step away
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