Normally at this time of year, gardeners in West Princes Street Gardens would be getting ready to begin the work of laying out the plants required for the Floral Clock at the foot of The Mound but the work has been held back and the clock area is bare.
It takes two gardeners five weeks to plant the colourful display with up to 30,000 plants precisely placed to reflect the intricate design themes that usually take up the space twice a year, once in summer and the other in winter, and hopefully the lockdown will not have jeopardised this year’s plans. The clock started its life in 1903 under the supervision of the then Edinburgh Parks Superintendent, James McHattie, and it only had one hand until one year later in 1904 when fate took a hand (or rather provided two).
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