In pictures: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 2012 Photography Competition

SCOTLAND is home to four Botanic Gardens; Edinburgh; Dawyck in the Borders; Benmore in Argyll and Logan in Dumfries and Galloway, all boasting an impressive array of plantlife and wildlife.

The Royal Botanic Garden Photography competition 2012, in association with The Scotsman, launched on December 5th of last year, closes on May 31st 2012, and is open to all.

Contestants are invited to send in their photos from three different categories:

Garden view - A landscape taken in any of the four Scottish Botanic Gardens; contestants should ensure that there are no identifiable members of the public in their photos.

Plant portrait - With a wide variety and assortment of plantlife at all four gardens, contestants are invited to send in photos of any plant (encompassing trees, shrubs and flowers), either singly or in a group of the same plant, or a close-up, taken in any of the four Gardens.

Wildlife in the garden - There are numerous animal visitors to the Gardens, including several species of birds, insects, and of course squirrels. Photographs in this category may be of animals, insects or birds taken in any of the four gardens.

The prizes include spending a day in the Garden with RGBE’s professional photographer, winning photographs being published in The Scotsman newspaper and on The Scotsman website, and in the Botanics magazine, and a digital camera.

Entry costs £10 for up to three photos, with £2 being charged for each additional submission, with entry fees for the competition going towards supporting the work of the RGBE.