New photographs have been released showing the finishing touches being made to Edinburgh's annual floral clock, a fully functioning timepiece made of approximately 35,000 flowers. Located in Princes Street Gardens, the clock was first created in 1903 by Edinburgh's former parks superintendent John McHattie.
A Stunning Display of Horticulture
Colourful plants such as antennaria, crassula, echevaria, sedum, and saxifrage, as well as annuals like pyrethrum, begonias, and geraniums, have been used to decorate the clock's face. To plant the flowers without disturbing the rest of the patch, gardeners lay atop long ladders stretched across the area.
Every year, the clock is redesigned in honour of a different organisation, anniversary, event, or individual chosen by Edinburgh City Council. For 2026, the team of gardeners planted flowers in a unique 200 square metre design that celebrates therapeutic gardening charity Trellis Scotland.
Celebrating Trellis Scotland
Trellis Scotland, which is approaching its 20th anniversary, helps more than 15,000 people each week across the country improve their health and wellbeing through therapeutic gardening. This assists people recovering from long-term conditions such as stroke or depression, those diagnosed with cancer or dementia, and children and young people with additional support needs.
A spokesperson for Trellis Scotland commented: "With tens of thousands of small, colourful plants, the clock takes gardeners working on ladders many weeks to plant, and is trimmed, weeded and watered throughout the season. It's a celebration of craft, care and the power of plants to bring people together. Our heartfelt thanks to the brilliant team at Edinburgh Council who make this magic happen every year."
The clock will remain in Princes Street Gardens until October. More information can be found on EdinburghGuide.com.
