Three Gardens
from the 1600s
On a trip to Europe in 2002 we
visited three remarkable gardens that date from the
1600s.
They
were first established to grow medicine plants and to train
doctors and apothocaries in plant identification and use.
Until recently there was seen to be a direct connection
between medicine and the natural world of plants. Doctors
needed to learn to use the plants that were availble to
treat disease. Now we use manufactured drugs to treat
disease and the link to plants seems broken. However
experts say that still fully 50% of the drugs we use come
from natural plant sources. Unexplored species of plants
still offer the possibility of break through treatments of
disease. As a reminder, the Chelsea Physic Garden has
growing in it a plant known as the rosy perwinkle, a
Madagascar native that in recent decades has produced a
life-saving drug to treat childhood
leukemia.
These
gardens were fun to visit as they are all reminders of the
time when new plants were as exciting and exotic as the
exploration of Mars. Each of them has grown into the dense
fabric of the urban areas that surround them. And each had
an opportunity to personally relate to historic events, to
see a clamshell brought to London by Captian Cook, to touch
a palm planted three hundred years ago, and to appreciate
the fascination Linnaeus had for his favorite flower linnea
borealis:He even decorated his tea set with its
image.
I
urge you to visit these historic links with the
past.
Chelsea
Physic Garden, London
Founded
in 1673 by the Society of Apothecaries, Chelsea Physic
Garden is a small, only 3.5 acre. It's wedged in between
Royal Hospital Road and the banks of the Thames in South
West London. It was private most of its life, only opening
to the public in 1983. Even now it can be an elusive
engagement as it is only open 12-5p on Wednesdays and 2-6p
on Sundays between April and October.
It
has a long and storied history with direct connections to
some of Britians most famous garderners and naturalists.
Here is its website: Chelsea Physic Garden.
Here is a
view from inside the garden towards the town homes to the
East along Swan Walk. Except for the Southern exposure,
Chelsea Physic is surrounded by buildings. This contributes
to its ability to grow plants that are not native to the
British Isles. In the garden is the largest outdoor olive
tree in Britain.
Hortus
Botanicus, Amsterdam
Since
1682, Hortus Botanicus has been located in the Plantage
district of Amsterdam. It was orginal started in 1638 as a
medical garden, a hortus medicus. It is now a small oasis
of nature within urban Amsterdam. In the 1990s a large
glass conservatory was built to enable a large collection
of tropical plants. Other buildings contain cycad palms and
yet another houses a collection of live
butterflies.
Here
is the garden's website in English: Hortus Botanicus.
Linnträdgården
(Linnaeus' Botanical Garden), Uppsala
This
garden dates from 1655, but is famous because it was the
garden of Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). Linnaeus was the
botanist who developed the system of botanical
classification that we still use today. He, along with
architect Carl Harleman, built the present garden in 1745.
Linnaeus lived within the garden walls in a home that is
now a museum dedicated to his life and work. Here is the
garden's website: Linneträdgården.
A view
of the Orangery
At
the rear of the Garden lies a brick Orangery that once was
the winter home of citrus growing nearly at the latitude of
60 degrees north. I can only imagine what a treat it must
have been to have been handed a fragrant orange in Uppsala
in the 1700s. Now the Orangery serves as an exhibition
space for the garden.
After
visiting the garden and Linaeus' home we stayed in the
First Hotel Linne, with a view of the garden. The hotel is
situated on an adjacent street and takes full advantage of
its location with views from the rooms, roof deck and
dining room.