140 WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK
“Therearethreethingswhichhave
stimulatedmenthroughouttheages
totravelfarandwideoverthesurface
oftheglobe,andthesearegold,spices
anddrugs.It is tothetwolatterof
theseuniversalneedsofmanthatwe
maytracetheoriginand foundation of
botanicgardens.”
SonotedArthurWHill,assistantdirec-
torattheRoyalBotanicGardensatKew
in 1915.Wecan creditthe Greekswith
the earliestclassification of plants,and
while it is thought that Aristotle hada
physicgardenattheLyceuminAthensit
is probablytheChinesewhofirstshowed
aninterestintheirmedicinalproperties.
Around 2,800BC, Emperor Shen Nung
sentresearcherstofindplantsofmedici-
nal and economic value. He became
revered as a semi-mythical folk deity
- buthavingtestedplantsandherbson
himself,hediedwhen he failed to take an
antidoteintime.
Mercifully,physicandbotanicgardens
becamelesshighriskovertimeand
enteredEuropeanconsciousnessseveral
centuries later. It was the monastic
gardenswithareasformedicinal
plantsthatreallytooka formwecan
recognisetoday.PopeNicholasV set
asidepartoftheVaticangroundsin 1447
fora gardentopromotetheteaching
ofbotany,andwhiletheyproliferated
duringtheRenaissance(Venicewasthe
firstin1334,whileSalerno,Pisa,Padua,
Florence,PaviaandBolognaappeared
inuniversitymedicalschoolsinthe15th
century),northernEuropeandBritain
weren’tfarbehind,withnaturalist
WilliamTurnerfoundingphysicgardens
atCologne,WellsandKewinthe16th
century,followedbythegardensin
OxfordandChelseaa centurylater.
Whileestimatesvary,it is thought
therearejustunder2,000botanical
gardensandarboretain 150 countries,
withroughly 150 millionvisitorseach
year.Andtherearemoreopeningall
thetime,particularlyinAsia.Chinahas
seenremarkablegrowthandoneof
thelargestintheworldis duetoopen
inOman– thefirstbotanicgardento
showcaseallthe native flora of any
single state.
HISTORY OF BOTANIC GARDENS
is keen to point out that the gardens are
theretobeenjoyedandhowgoodtheyare
forourhealth.IanEdwards,headofpublic
engagement at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic
Gardens,isevangelicalaboutit:“Spending
timeingreenspaces,especiallywithothers,
is incredibly important. It helps our mental
healthandgeneralwellbeing.Oursis a super
greenspace,with13,500speciesofplants–
we’re providing extra therapeutic support
you wouldn’tget from just a park.” Edin-
burghhasa particularlyactivecommunity
programme,workingwithpeoplewhosuf-
fer from dementia and young adults at risk
ofhomelessness.Edwardsfeelsstronglythat
suchgroupsbenefithugelyfromtimespent
in the gardens, learning about plants and
whatcanbedonewiththem.
Botanical gardens are educational in a
moreconventionalsense,too,bothinterms
ofteachingandresearch.It’snocoincidence
that so manyare attached touniversities.
Mostofthemruna varietyofprogrammes
forschools. Forexample, 90,000 school-
childrenvisitedKewlastyear,where they
offersomethingtosuitpupilsateverystage
of the curriculum.Indeed, the largergar-
dens,suchasKewandEdinburgh,offera
broadrangeofcourses.Edinburghprovides
programmesforeveryone,fromnurseryto
PhDlevel(itcurrentlyhas 16 ofthelatter),
whileKewoffersanMScinplantandfun-
gal taxonomy, diversity and conservation,
a diplomainhorticultureandseveral other
coursesofvaryinglengths.
Theredoes,however,seemtobea lacuna
in the educational programmes botanical
gardens provide. Manyhave thousandsof
primary school pupils visiting every year,
and those attached to universities pride
themselvesonthewiderangeofdisciplines
theysupport– fromplantsciencestophys-
ics,chemistry,engineeringandzoology.But,
asBarleyadmits,attractingteenagers and
their teachers to usebotanical gardens is
moreofa challenge.DrSamBrockington,
curator at the University of Cambridge
Botanic Gardens,thinks this isbecause in
secondary schools the science curriculum
Above:CowbridgePhysicGardeninWalesisa new
arrival,havingbeenestablishedin 2004
Right: Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens
ALAMY; GETTY IMAGES; OXFORD BOTANIC GARDEN
