Floral Clock
Address: West Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, EH2 2HG
The Floral Clock is located within Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens. First created in 1903, it is believed to be the world’s oldest floral clock. There is a new design every year, which is replanted in the spring/summer using thousands of colourful flowering plants. Each display features intricate patterns, vibrant colours and unique themes inspired by Scottish culture and history. Amazingly, it’s a working clock, which tells the correct time. Available to view throughout the summer months, be sure to look out for it as you enter West Princes Street Gardens from the stepped entrance at the bottom of The Mound.
If you visit in the spring, you may see gardeners working on the new clock’s design. It takes several weeks to create, usually completed by July and flowering until October, when it is dismantled for the winter. Every year, the clock has a new theme. Over the years, it has celebrated royal jubilees, paid tribute to famous figures, and commemorated various charities and organisations. It takes over 35,000 flowers and plants to make up each design, which cover the clock face, the hands of the clock, and the area around it. The clock sounds a traditional cuckoo chime every quarter hour, and since 1953 it has also featured a model of a cuckoo outside a small wooden house.
5 things to do at the Floral Clock
- View the floral clock in Princes Street Gardens (on display from around July to mid-October each year).
- Check the time! – This is a working clock, with moving hands, and a cuckoo chime on the quarter hour.
- Explore this year’s design theme, which usually highlights an important Scottish occasion, organisation or figure.
- Capture some photos of the beautiful clock.
- Continue into the gardens to explore more of the many impressive landmarks, from the Ross Fountain to the Gardener’s Lodge.
