Blustery winds buffetted Edinburgh this afternoon, forcing the Botanics to temporarily close the glasshouses for fear of broken or loosened panes cutting short visitors’ enjoyment.
Meanwhile, out in the gardens themselves, staff struggled to instal artworks ahead of a new exhibition opening to the public next Saturday.
The pieces prompted a series of more or less vivid comparisons among those within Spurtle's earshot, most of which are unrepeatable.
We shudder to report one gentleman's suggestion that the work below should be titled ‘The Germaloid’s Farewell’, and another's that the display was an elaborate marketing stunt mounted by Crombie's.
The pieces shown here are in fact fairly recent sculptures by the much admired and highly influential US artist John Chambelain (1927–2011).
Made of thin, twisted metal foil, the ‘surprisingly natural, organic qualities’ of the pieces are entirely deliberate.
Many other examples from a career spanning six decades will be displayed in Inverleith House until early October.
Meanwhile, less aesthetically challenging was the RBGE’s annual summer meadow of wildflowers. An uncomplicated joy as ever.
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Patrick Hadfield Clearly they are growing too many Leguminiseae.