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Floral clock display showing mainly red and green flowers

Floral Clock


This immaculately tended floral display has been telling the time since 1903. The City’s park superintendent John McHattie introduced the clock in partnership with Edinburgh clockmakers James Ritchie & Son. The clock echoes floral clocks established in many prominent city parks across Europe at the time.


The Floral Clock is designed to brighten up the lawns of Princes Street Gardens and is composed each year of up to 40,000 flowers. The clock gained a cuckoo clock mechanism in 1952 and went electric in 1973. In 2003, the clock won a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show.


In recent years, the clock’s floral designs have been used to highlight events, people and charities. The 2026 clock supports the charity Trellis who promote wellbeing through gardening.