Remember when... How we all grew to love the Botanics

One such plant, known as a "century plant", had been waiting for decades within the glasshouse of Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden for its moment in the sun.

This week it was reported that the plant had shot up 20ft within a matter of months as it finally began to bloom, but the plant itself will now die, exhausted by the effort of creating its towering spike.

Back in January 1987, the tallest palm tree in Britain was cut down at the city's Royal Botanic Garden.

The 70ft Livistona australis had almost reached the palm house roof and could have grown to 90ft, so it had to be removed in stages.

It was thought to be more than 100 years old, and there is a possibility that it was planted when the palm house first opened in 1858.

Another plant which had to be removed from the garden when it grew too large was the Amazonian Water Lily.

The lilies were photographed at the Royal Botanic Garden in the summer of 1975. The leaves continue to grow and when the lilies reach six feet in diameter, staff would remove them to prevent overcrowding.

The Royal Botanic Garden has always been enjoyed by both adults and children, which was demonstrated when the 23rd Inverleith Edinburgh Cub Scout Pack took on the mammoth task of washing the windows of a glasshouse at the Botanic Garden on Inverleith Row in April 1974.

The young window cleaners, Philip Harnden, Donald Williamson and Neil Geddes, took on the job as part of Bob-a-Job Week.

A decade earlier, a two-day demonstration of horticultural machinery and equipment opened at the experimental plot of the Royal Botanic Garden in March 1964.

In August 1980, a large spiky wooden sculpture called Orbit II stood in the grounds of the garden.

Eight years earlier in 1972, former Miss Scotland Dorothy Yannette – who represented Edinburgh in the Miss United Kingdom contest that year – strutted her stuff at the gardens.

Perhaps the true beauty of the Botanics can be seen through an aerial photograph taken in the winter of 1966.

Set in 70 acres, the garden is surrounded by Inverleith Row at the bottom of the picture, Inverleith Place, Arboretum Road and Inverleith Terrace.