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It is an unfortunate fact of life: sometimes we fall ill. Nowadays you just take a pill to cure your headache or other physical discomforts, but before the age of modern medicine things were quite different. No wonder people have tried their medical luck with plants since the beginning of time! But it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that dedicated medicinal gardens were established to study the medicinal benefits of plants. Fortunately, several of these gardens still exist today – which means that you can travel back in time to visit one of these (originally) medicinal gardens in Europe.
1. Padua Botanical Garden: the original medicinal garden
Kicking off our list is the ‘founding father’ of medicinal gardens in Europe: the Botanical Garden of Padua (original Italian name: Orto Botanico di Padova), established in 1545. This isn’t just old, it’s also the oldest university botanical garden still in its original location. Imagine that – nearly 500 years of continuous botanical research!
Horti simplicium
The garden was founded in 1545 and was originally called the Horti simplicium, which translates as ‘gardens of simples’. This name is not meant as some kind of insult to simple people, though. ‘Simple’ herbs are just herbs that are already medicinal in their own right and do not need mixing with other ingredients to be effective.
Medicinal plant identification
This Horti simplicium was a game-changer in the world of medicinal plants. Why? Because in the old days identifying medicinal plants frequently went awry. The Orto Botanico di Padova helped botanists accurately identify medicinal species – pretty crucial in a time when misidentification could mean the difference between cure and poison!
Padua Botanical Garden design
The garden’s design is also fascinating, and reminiscent of the so-called ‘paradise gardens’ Four paths originate from a central fountain, possibly representing the four humors described by Hippocrates (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile). This layout wasn’t just for show – it was a practical way to organize plants based on their medicinal properties.
Development of modern sciences
Over many years the collection of plants from many corners of the world (especially from the territories of the Venetian Republic) kept expanding. Being the founding father of medicinal gardens in Europe, the Botanical Garden of Padua has played a key role in the development of modern sciences such as botany and medicine, but also in biology, chemistry and pharmacy.
Address: Via Orto Botanico, 15, 35123 Padova PD, Italy
2. Jardin des Plantes in Paris: royal herbs
Moving on to France, we have the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, founded in 1635 as the Royal Garden of Medicinal Plants. What started as a medicinal herb garden for French royalty has blossomed into one of the most the national historical landmark it is today. It’s a prime example of how scientific understanding develops over time.
The King’s garden
This royal medicine cupboard opened to the public by 1640. Back then lessons in botany, chemistry, and anatomy were held in public. Fast forward to today, and the Jardin des Plantes has transformed from one of the finest medicinal gardens in Europe into a treasure trove of scientific wonders. We’re talking greenhouses packed with exotic plants, museums full of fossils telling the story of life’s evolution, and the fantastic Grande Galerie de l’Évolution, exploring biodiversity and human impact on nature.
From medicinal garden to historical landmark
In the Botanical School section of the park – which is free to explore, except for the museums, greenhouses and the zoo – you will still find over 2500 plant species, demonstrating plant classification in action. And while there’s no specific medicinal section these days, it has actually become so much more. Definitely a must-visit for those interested in the intersection of nature and culture.
Address: 57 Rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
3. Hortus botanicus Leiden: gateway to exotic flora
The Hortus botanicus in Leiden (near The Hague) is the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands. Founded in 1590. the Hortus in Leiden played a crucial role in introducing exotic medicinal plants, such as (yes, really!) tea and coffee, to Europe.
Tulips and potatoes
The plant that the Netherlands are now famous for, the tulip, was introduced to the country by the famous botanist Carolus Clusius, prefect of the Hortus botanicus in Leiden from 1594. Fun fact: Clusius also played an important role in spreading the now-famous potato through Europe.
The Clusius Garden
In just one season, Carolus Clusius and a local pharmacist created the original garden with over 700 plant species. In the early 1930s the Clusius Garden was recreated, based on old maps from 1594 and the plant list from 1593 were used. Originally this garden replica was not created at its original location, but in 2009 it was moved to its original spot, right next to the entrance building to the Hortus in Leiden.
Address: Rapenburg 73, Leiden, the Netherlands
4. Oxford Botanic Garden: academia meets horticulture
Founded in 1621, Oxford’s botanical garden is the oldest in Great Britain, boasting nearly 400 years of botanical history. This garden was at the forefront of scientific plant classification. In 1648, just 27 years after its founding, the garden published the first scientific list of its plants, titled ‘Catalogus plantarum horti medici Oxoniensis’ (catalogue of the plants in the Oxford medicinal garden). This wasn’t just a simple list: it was a groundbreaking compendium of 1369 plants, described with both Latin and local names.
Jacob Bobart the Elder
The garden’s first director, Jacob Bobart the Elder, was quite a character. Not only did he run the garden, but he also owned a pub called the Greyhound, walked around with a goat, and decorated his beard with silver pieces on holidays. Despite his eccentricities, Bobart planted what is now the garden’s oldest plant – a yew tree from 1645 that’s still thriving today!
Taxus baccata: from poison to medicine
In a fascinating twist, the yew (Taxus baccata) back in those days was only used as an ornamental plant. But since then we have discovered that yew actually has crucial medicinal properties used in cancer therapy.
The legacy of the Oxford Botanic Garden
The garden’s scientific legacy continued with later curators like Jacob Bobart the Younger, whose herbaria formed the basis of the Oxford University Herbaria, which is now home to over a million plant specimens. From cultivating the first pineapple in 1749 to hosting Carl Linnaeus, the ‘Father of Taxonomy’, in 1736, this garden has been a hotbed of botanical innovation for centuries.
And the medicinal plants? You can still find a medicinal collection in the Walled Garden of the Oxford Botanic Garden.
Address: Rose Ln, Oxford OX1 4AZ, United Kingdom
5. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh: Scotland’s botanical treasure
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh isn’t just your average collection of pretty petals and verdant vistas. It’s a botanical heavyweight spread across four wildly diverse locations!
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh started out in 1670 as a small physic garden – which is another name for a garden with medicinal plants. These days this world-renowned garden is actually not just one garden, but four! The gardens in Edinburgh, Dawyck, Logan and Benmore each have their own specific plant collections and boast a total of more than 13,000 living plant species. But that’s not all, because the herbarium contains millions of preserved specimens.
1. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
The garden in the heart of Edinburgh not only has plant collections from China, but also many native plants from Scotland. Definitely check out the Rhododendron Collection, the Rock Garden and the beautiful greenhouses. And speaking of vistas: the Edinburgh garden offers stunning views of the city skyline – including the famous Edinburgh Castle, just over two kilometers away.
Address: 20a Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR
2. Benmore Botanic Garden
About a three hours drive from Edinburgh is the Benmore Botanic Garden, where you are greeted by redwoods so tall they’d give Godzilla a run for his money. These Sequoiadendron giganteum are now 50 meters tall, but they’re only just youngsters at 150 years old … One of the best times to visit is late spring or early summer, when the vast collection of rhododendrons is in full bloom.
Address: 4 Uig, Benmore, Dunoon PA23 8QU
3. Logan Botanic Garden
Then there’s the Logan Botanic Garden (built in 1869) in the south-west of Scotland. What is totally unexpected, is the near-subtropical climate – thanks to the warm Gulf Stream. So while the rest of Scotland shivers, plants here get to party like it’s forever spring.
Address: Port Logan, Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway DG9 9ND
4. Dawyck Botanic Garden
And last but not least, the Dawyck Botanic Garden (founded in the 17th century, some 50 kilometers south of Edinburgh), is an arboreal wonderland. It’s continental climate (warm summers, cold snowy winters) makes it perfect for plants from mountainous areas from all over the northern hemisphere. Here you will find some of the oldest trees of Britain, but also the first reserve for mosses, liverworts, lichens and fungi. And the stunning (and notoriously difficult to grow) blue poppy.
Address: Stobo, near Peebles, Scottish Borders EH45 9JU (Admission: £ 9, children under 15: free)
This fab four of flora alone is already worth a multi-day tour through Scotland. Absolutely fantastic!
More medicinal gardens in Europe
That’s not all, folks. There are actually even more old medicinal gardens that you can still visit today! Don’t miss out on these historical gardens if you get the chance to visit:
- Chelsea Physic Garden (London, England)
- Linnaeus Garden (Uppsala, Sweden)
- Berlin Botanical Garden (Berlin, Germany)
- Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid (Madrid, Spain)
