The open courtyard between General Register House and New Register House has been transformed into a unique garden planted with 57 plant species - all connected in some way to Scotland's collective memory, whether through myth and folklore, heraldry, or association with individual famous Scots.

It is called the Archivists' Garden and is open during office hours.  Admission is free.

Find our more about the design and the plants:

• Guide to the garden [1]
• Plants associated with birth, death, marriage [2], famous Scots [3], heraldry [4], homecoming [5] and tartan [6]
• Index of plants by common name [7]
• Index of plants by Latin name [8]
• Bibliography [9]

The official opening [10] was by Jim McColl of the BBC's Beechgrove Garden.  The Archivists’ Garden has also featured:

• On Gardeners’ Question Time from Midlothian which was broadcast on BBC Radio Four on 2 August 2013.  You can listen to Anne Swithinbank’s description of the garden and her interview with Iain Ferguson, ScotlandsPeople Centre Manager, on the BBC iplayer [11].
• In an article 'Flowers of Scotland' published in 'The Scotsman', Saturday supplement, 14 September 2013.