We're aiming to restore the grave of Archibald Menzies, one of the greatest of the Scottish plant collectors, and provide a permanent memorial. Born in 1754 in Perthshire, he studied at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and then became a surgeon in the Royal Navy. This enabled him to sail the globe, making voyages under Captain George Vancouver to Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii and western America. He discovered and sent back to Edinburgh and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew seeds and specimens of hundreds of the plants gardeners know and love today, and also trees such as the Sitka spruce and the Douglas fir and of course the famous Monkey-puzzle tree!

Now his grave at Kensal Green lies neglected, its headstone and ledger shattered and the original inscription illegible. This year sees the 175th anniversary of his death and the Archibald Menzies Memorial Appeal is raising money to take a natural boulder of granite from Perthshire, have it inscribed with the names of Archibald Menzies and his wife Janet and sent to London, where the grave will be restored, a kerb put around it and the boulder installed as a headstone. There will also be a slate plaque erected beside the grave with the original 100-word inscription that appeared on his 1842 headstone. The grave lies beside a main path where thousands of visitors will see it, and will be planted with some of the perennials discovered by Menzies.We hope to raise enough funding to cover maintenance of the grave for at least five years.