Leonie Paterson
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leoniepaterson.bsky.social
Leonie Paterson
@leoniepaterson.bsky.social
49 followers 30 following 51 posts
Archivist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, but all views are my own.
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Reposted by Leonie Paterson
rbgkew.bsky.social
🎉 Today is Darwin’s birthday! This is an actual wild tomato plant that he collected, over 180 years ago! 🍅

We have millions of specimens like these in our collection, but did you know you can now see them on our new Data Portal, for free!? 👇
👉 https://ow.ly/2ZuW50YcG4Z

#DarwinDay
February 12, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
sher12.bsky.social
February 8, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
rbgkew.bsky.social
Here are some books we came across during a project in the mycology library last week. Our Library and Archives collections do not only cover plants, but also fungi and lichens. Some have very beautiful illustrations. Others (like the cordyceps) are rather gruesome... 🍄🍄‍🟫🍄‍🟫 #KewLA
Open book with a colour illustration of a bolete on the right-hand page. The description is in Polish. Black and white illustration of various fungi Detail of a colour illustration of various insects and cordyceps fungi growing out of them.
February 5, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
rbgkew.bsky.social
Amongst the notes of 19th century horticulturalist & botanist John Fraser, we spotted this list of unwelcome visitors to a property in Kew! John's ‘uninvited guests’ were botanical rather than human, including species such as thornapple and gallant soldier. How many can you recognise? #KewLA
A section of a notebook, rest on foam supports. The page is titled ‘7. Uninvited guests at 4 Willow Cottages, Kew, 1892-1915’. Beneath this are two columns, listing the names of plants found at the property: datura stramonium; Amaranthus retroflexus; Oxalis corniculata rubia; Oenothera lamarckiana; [?] roseum; Lychnis alba; Silene latifolia; Chenopodium rubrum; Senebiera didyma; Senebiera coronopus; Melilotus indicus (1917); Euphorbia virgata; Sisyrinchium angustifolium; Papaver somniferum; Galinsoga parviflora; Epilobium hirsutum; Ornithopus perpusillus; S.noctiflora; Althaca rosea
January 29, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
nonfictioness.bsky.social
Went to my local library this morning to do a bit of research for my current book project and my goodness such a life-affirming space! There was an adult being taught to read on the next table, children enjoying story time, countless people taking out books. So grateful for our libraries ❤️
January 26, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
joncooper-us.bsky.social
Please share. 💔
January 25, 2026 at 4:46 AM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
thebotanics.bsky.social
UPDATE: Tours are now sold out.

Thank you for your interest -we’ve had exceptionally high demand. Please check the Eventbrite page for any returned tickets and join the waiting list for slots you’re interested in, as we’ll notify individuals if additional tickets become available.
thebotanics.bsky.social Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh @thebotanics.bsky.social · 24d
Big news: join us for an exclusive tour of our newly restored Palm Houses 🌴

This is a unique chance to experience these magnificent buildings as replanting begins and before they reopen to the public.

Book here: rbge.cc/palm-house-t...
Photo of the roof of the Palm Houses at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh against a bright blue sky. Overlaid text reads: "Palm House Tours. Book now. 14 February, 14 March, 21 March, 11 April, 18 April".
January 20, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
thebotanics.bsky.social
Big news: join us for an exclusive tour of our newly restored Palm Houses 🌴

This is a unique chance to experience these magnificent buildings as replanting begins and before they reopen to the public.

Book here: rbge.cc/palm-house-t...
Photo of the roof of the Palm Houses at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh against a bright blue sky. Overlaid text reads: "Palm House Tours. Book now. 14 February, 14 March, 21 March, 11 April, 18 April".
January 20, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
melindahaunton.bsky.social
Look, I am having a very busy week, I don't have time to cheer myself up by randomly going back over Bucks Archives' feed to see what I've missed latel-

Wait. WAIT. TONGS. What?
bucksarchives.bsky.social Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 28d
Does your church have an issue with dogs wandering in? Get yourself some LAZY TONGS.
A sketch of a pair of long scissor tongs with a diagram of their demonstration on a small dog. The dog is sticking its tongue out, clearly unable to deal with the LAZY TONGS. The text in the top right corner says the following. 'LAZY TONGS used for the removal of Dogs from Church. About 1750 to 1800. Preserved in BANGOR CATHEDRAL (wrought iron).'
January 20, 2026 at 11:38 AM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
scotsarchives.bsky.social
Join us a week today for the Warhammer, Records, and the Art of Engagement webinar to find out how records management can be creative, human, and even fun!

Book via Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976897755...
Dimitrios Chatzinas: Warhammer, Records, and the Art of Engagement
Join Dimitrios Chatzinas to find out how Warhammer was used to make real-world records management engaging, relatable and fun!
www.eventbrite.co.uk
January 6, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
mariasienk.bsky.social
Huge thanks to my colleagues in Comms and @meghbaynes.bsky.social for this in today’s Sunday Times.
A photograph of a page from the Sunday Times showing an article about the archives of Barclays Bank.
December 28, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
inkradio.bsky.social
December 20, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
scotsarchives.bsky.social
Season's greetings from SCA!

This year's card image comes courtesy of Comunn Eachdraidh Nis who have been SCA’s featured Community Archive throughout 2025.

Find out more here: www.scottisharchives.org.uk/latest/news/...
December 19, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
thebotanics.bsky.social
We're pleased to share that replanting of our Palm Houses is officially underway 🥳

This tree fern, a Dicksonia blumei, is the first to return home.

It's time to make a house a home 🌴
A tree fern being planted in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's Palm Houses. A tree fern being planted in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's Palm Houses.
December 19, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
admirablewomen.bsky.social
English writer Jane Austen was born #OTD in 1775.

"As beloved as Shakespeare," her works include 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 (1811), 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘦 (1813), 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬 (1814) & 𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘢 (1816).

#booksky #litsky #literature
A split-image graphic divided into two panels on a teal background. Left panel: A classic Regency-era portrait of Jane Austen as a young woman, seated and gazing to the side with a calm, thoughtful expression. She wears a light blue empire-waist gown with short puffed sleeves, a sheer white ruffled chemise underneath, and a white mob cap with delicate lace trim covering her dark curly hair. She holds a small brown book in her lap, with one arm resting on the arm of her chair. The background is a soft green drapery. Right panel: A modern book cover for Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. At the top, large white capital letters read "JANE AUSTEN." Below is a romantic oil painting of a young woman in early 19th-century attire—dark upswept hair adorned with pearls, a low-cut off-the-shoulder white gown with sheer sleeves, and a gold necklace—gazing softly to the side against a misty gray-green background. The title Pride and Prejudice appears in elegant white cursive script, followed by smaller text: "A Novel. In Three Volumes." and "By the author of Sense and Sensibility."
December 16, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
orkneylibrary.bsky.social
You've heard of Elf on the Shelf but how about
A book about Dolly Parton on a blue book trolley. It's Dolly on a trolley.
December 17, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
communitea.bsky.social
Same view on 3 consecutive days, just as the sun is setting at 3.30pm.
🌱🌳❄️📸
#BeechgroveGarden #Aberdeenshire
3 photos of the same view of a pond in winter with trees behind. The sun is setting. The one on the left has a fiery red sunset, the middles is a cool blue, with a hint of yellow - the pond is frozen, and the one on the right is a cloudy blue
December 17, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
deborahvaile.bsky.social
Staff, students & volunteers enjoyed a day in the Library & Archives making festive decorations from recycled paper @thebotanics.bsky.social @cilip.bsky.social #GreenLibraries #LoveLibraries
Christmas decorations made from recycled paper: Christmas tree, snowflakes, ribbons, stars, candy canes, stockings, and gingerbread people
December 11, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
arascot.bsky.social
Are you ready for #ArchiveAdventCalendar to start tomorrow? Remember to use the daily hashtag and main one in your posts if you can. Only one more sleep to go!
November 30, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
rbgkew.bsky.social
What #EYABeauty lies on the inside of this unassuming folder? We're showing off Elsie Wakefield's fungi illustrations today 🍄 Wakefield became Head of Mycology at Kew Gardens in 1915 and our Archives hold her personal papers collection, which includes letters, illustrations and photographs. #KewLA
A blank grey paper folder on a brown wooden surface. Numerous coloured illustrations of mushrooms layered on top of each other so that corners and sections of pages are obscured. On each sheet there are light pencil annotations next to the illustrations.
November 30, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
rbgkew.bsky.social
Did you know today is #EYAConservation day? We’re celebrating with this 1734 engraved map by John Rocque, showing the gardens, park and related buildings of the Royal Family at Kew. Our conservator has mounted it on a board for support and advises Melinex sleeves and flat storage. #KewLA
A plan of the House, Gardens, Park and Hermitage of their Majesties at Richmond by John Rocque. Shows Oven House, the Summer House, Merlin's Cave, the Hermitage, the Dairy House, the Green House and the Orangery, 'His Majesties House in Richmond' North and South prospects. Includes numbered references showed on the plan referring to other features in the Gardens; this is also written in French. Printed for John Bowles at the Black Horse, Cornhill. Unmounted engraving in blue card folder. The main Gardens are depicted across three quarters of the spread with individual illustrations of buildings filling the top right-hand corner.
November 29, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
rbgkew.bsky.social
On #NationalTreeWeek we'd like to highlight the incredible efforts of Kew's past colleagues who were faced with the challenging task of moving trees across the Gardens. This photograph from Kew's Library and Archives depicts William Barron's ingenious horse-drawn tree transporter 🌳 #KewLA
Black and white photograph showing a large tree sitting in a cart attached to three horses who are ready to pull it across the Gardens. The reigns of each horse are held by a handler and the faint outline of Kew's Palm House can be seen in the background.
November 27, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
communitea.bsky.social
Winter and summer 🌱📸🌸🌳❄️
#gardening #winter #Scotland
#Aberdeenshire #Beechgrove
2 photos of the same view - a pathed oath runs between glasshouses and potting shed. The left inage is taken in late November, snow is melting and the view is a winter monochrome; the left photo is taken in July and the area is full of colourful pots of dahlias, cosmos, agapanthus and scabious.
November 25, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Reposted by Leonie Paterson
melindahaunton.bsky.social
😱😱😱
jtullock.bsky.social Janice Tullock @jtullock.bsky.social · Nov 12
No no no begs every archivist. You are never going to be able to find anything. Please don’t start using emojis in file names. Who asked for this? What fresh hell is next?
Screen grab from Dropbox saying Emojis in file names are finally here!
November 12, 2025 at 11:49 AM