Garden Lovers and Gardeners

I spent several wonderful hours in a this beautiful garden a year ago. Not only stunning, it’s also fascinating from the Garden of Medicinal Plants; the Pharmaceutical Garden (with plants arranged according to the ailment they are used to treat); the Garden of World Medicine (with medicinal plants arranged by the culture which uses them); the Garden of Edible and Useful Plants and the World Woodland Garden. I was heaven there! In addition, they have an inspiring educational program for children called “London’s oldest classroom” which is run by Michael Holland.

Located in London, The Chelsea Physic Garden was founded in 1673, as the Apothecaries’ Garden, with the purpose of training apprentices in the identification and use of medicinal plants. The location was chosen due to its proximity to the River Thames. This allowed the Apothecaries to moor their barge, collect plants in the surrounding areas and take advantage of the river’s warm air currents, which contribute to the Garden’s unique microclimate. River access also allowed plants arriving from around the World to be introduced to the British Isles via the Garden. Its international reputation was established early on as a result of the global seed exchange scheme, known as Index Seminum, which it initiated in the 1700’s and continues to this day.

To read more click here.

Just for fun, can you find all the words linked to activities in the Chelsea Physic Garden, in this word search?

Biodiversity

Chocolate

Colour

Dye

Ethnobotany

Fire

Fungi

Germination

Herbology

Invertebrate

Light

Mask

Medicine

Mushroom

Perfume

Photography

Plants

Poison

Puppetry

Recycling

Sculpture

Seeds

Shakespeare

Water