Botanical garden facts for kids

This page is about a special kind of garden. For other uses, see Botanical garden (disambiguation).

A botanical garden is a special garden that collects and grows living plants. These plants are carefully looked after and studied for science, to protect nature, for people to see, and for learning. In a botanical garden, every plant has a label with its scientific name. These gardens might have unique plant collections, like cacti, succulent plants (plants that store water), or herb gardens. They often have glasshouses or shadehouses to grow plants from different parts of the world. This includes tropical plants or alpine plants (plants from mountains) that don't grow naturally in the area.

Most botanical gardens are open to everyone. They often offer guided tours, workshops, and educational displays. You might also find art exhibitions, book rooms, or even outdoor shows and music.

The Orto botanico di Pisa in Italy was one of Europe's first university botanical gardens, started in 1544.

The Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid in Spain.

The New Brunswick Botanical Garden in Canada.

Universities or science groups often run botanical gardens. They usually have herbaria (collections of dried plants) and do research on plant taxonomy (how plants are classified). The main goal is to keep documented collections of living plants for science, conservation, display, and education. The staff usually includes botanists (plant scientists) and gardeners. Many gardens also offer courses in growing plants or studying them. They provide chances for students and researchers to use their plant collections for studies.

How Did Botanical Gardens Start?

Modern botanical gardens began in Italy in the 1500s. University professors who studied plants for medicine started them. They looked after gardens filled with plants used for healing. However, the idea of these gardens is much older. Ancient gardens, like those described by Theophrastus in ancient Athens, also focused on education and plant study.

In the 1600s, people became more interested in new plants brought from faraway lands. Botany slowly became its own science, separate from medicine. By the 1700s, scientists created ways to name and classify plants. These systems were often shown in the gardens using special "order beds" for teaching.

As European countries explored and settled new lands in the late 1700s, botanical gardens appeared in tropical areas. They focused on "economic botany" – studying plants that could be useful for trade or products. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, near London, became a major center for this.

The Seiwa-en Japanese Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden in the US.

Inside the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.

Today, botanical gardens combine many of these ideas. They often have a strong connection with the public. They teach visitors about important environmental issues, like plant conservation and sustainability (using resources wisely).

What Makes a Garden "Botanical"?

The Braunschweig Botanical Garden in Germany, showing a giant Amazon water lily.

A botanical garden is a garden with scientifically organized and cared-for plant collections. These plants are usually documented and labeled. The garden is open to the public for fun, learning, and research.

Simply put, a botanical garden is an institution that keeps documented collections of living plants. These plants are used for scientific research, conservation, display, and education.

A botanical garden is a controlled place with staff. It keeps living plant collections for education and research. It also has libraries, herbaria, and labs. Each garden focuses on different things based on its staff, location, and funding. It might have greenhouses or an arboretum (a collection of trees). It has scientists as well as gardeners. Publishing research is also a key part of its work.

The main purpose of a botanical garden is to gain and share knowledge about plants. It is not just a pretty garden or a park with plant labels.

A modern botanical garden is a protected green area. It has landscaped gardens and documented collections of living plants. These plants are used for scientific research, education, public display, conservation, tourism, and fun activities. They also help produce plant-based products and services to improve human well-being.

Botanical Gardens Around the World

Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.

Today, there are about 1,800 botanical gardens and arboreta in about 150 countries. Most are in cooler regions. Europe has about 550, North America has 200, and East Asia has a growing number. These gardens attract around 300 million visitors each year.

Historically, botanical gardens shared plants by publishing lists of seeds. This helped transfer plants and information between gardens. This system still exists today.

The International Association of Botanic Gardens started in 1954. More recently, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) helps coordinate efforts. Its goal is "To mobilise botanic gardens and engage partners in securing plant diversity for the well-being of people and the planet." BGCI has over 700 members in 118 countries. It supports the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation by providing resources and organizing conferences.

Gardens also communicate regionally. For example, the American Public Gardens Association is in the United States.

A Look Back: How Gardens Grew

The story of botanical gardens is linked to the story of botany itself. In the 1500s and 1600s, they were mainly medicinal gardens. But then, they started to show off beautiful, strange, and new plants brought back from explorations.

Later, in the 1700s, they became more focused on education. They showed the latest ways to classify plants. In the 1800s and 1900s, gardens combined different types of collections. They showed many aspects of both growing plants and studying them.

Early Gardens

The idea of "scientific" gardens for studying plants goes back a long time.

Grand Gardens of Ancient Times

A 16th-century picture of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Ancient royal gardens in places like ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China existed thousands of years ago. They had plants collected from special trips. Around 2800 BCE, the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung sent people to find plants with economic or medicinal value. Some historians also think that gardens in ancient Mexico, like those in Tenochtitlan, impressed Spanish explorers. These gardens had many more medicinal plants than European gardens at the time.

Early medieval gardens in Islamic Spain were also like future botanical gardens. An example is the 11th-century garden of Ibn al-Wafid in Toledo. Later, Ibn Bassal started a garden in Seville with plants collected from far-off places.

"Physic Gardens"

Modern botanical gardens grew from "physic gardens." Their main goal was to grow herbs for medicine, and to do research. These gardens have a long history. For example, Aristotle (384 BCE – 322 BCE) in ancient Athens is said to have had a physic garden. His student Theophrastus, known as the "Father of Botany," used it for teaching.

After the Roman Empire declined, medieval monasteries had physic gardens. These gardens had a section for vegetables and another for special medicinal plants. These were called hortus medicus or physic gardens. Charlemagne (742–789 CE) even listed 73 herbs to be grown in these gardens. This shows that plants were being brought in from other areas. In 1447, Pope Nicholas V set aside part of the Vatican for a medicinal plant garden. This helped teach botany and led to the university gardens in Padua and Pisa in the 1540s. Many early botanical gardens were started by doctors.

European Gardens: 1500s and 1600s

The Talcott Greenhouse at Mount Holyoke.

A 16th-century picture of the Botanical Garden of Padua, the oldest academic botanical garden still in its original place.

In the 1600s, botanical gardens became places for deeper scientific study of plants. The first true botanical gardens were linked to universities and medical schools. They were used for teaching and research. The people in charge were often famous botany professors. This helped botany become its own science, separate from medicine.

Italian Beginnings

The first botanical gardens in Southern Europe were connected to university medical schools. They were founded in Italy: Orto botanico di Pisa (1544), Orto botanico di Padova (1545), Orto Botanico di Firenze (1545), Orto Botanico dell'Università di Pavia (1558), and Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna (1568). Here, doctors taught about the local medicinal plants grown in the gardens. The invention of printing and the first plant books likely helped student learning. All these gardens still exist today.

Spreading North

The idea of these Italian gardens spread to Spain (Valencia, 1567) and Northern Europe. Similar gardens were started in the Netherlands (Leiden, 1590; Amsterdam, 1638), Germany (Tübingen, 1535; Leipzig, 1580), Switzerland (Zürich, 1560), England (Oxford, 1621; Chelsea, 1673), Scotland (Edinburgh, 1670), and France (Montpellier, 1593; Paris, 1635).

Birth of Plant Science

The Chelsea Physic Garden was started in 1673.

Wave Hill botanical garden.

During the 1500s and 1600s, new plants arrived in these European gardens from Eastern Europe and nearby Asia. These plants, especially bulbs from Turkey, were studied by plant experts. For example, Carolus Clusius (1526–1609) described many Asian plants. He directed the gardens in Vienna and Leiden. Clusius helped start the Dutch tulip industry. His detailed planting lists for the Leiden garden make it possible to recreate it today. The Leiden garden, originally a square divided into four continents, became a sprawling collection of new plants by 1720. Its scientific role grew as botany became independent from medicine.

In the mid-1600s, the Paris Jardin des Plantes became a popular center with many new plants. In England, the Chelsea Physic Garden was founded in 1673. It had heated greenhouses. Its head gardener, Philip Miller (1691–1771), greatly influenced botany. Plants poured into the garden from all over the world. The garden's best time was in the 1700s, when it had the most plants in the world. Its seed-exchange program, started in 1682, still runs today.

The 1700s: Global Plant Exchange

Lake in the Calcutta Botanical Garden, around 1905.

As maritime trade grew, ever more plants were brought to Europe from distant lands. These were proudly displayed in wealthy estates, plant nurseries, and public botanical gardens. Heated conservatories, like the one at Kew, became common. New building techniques allowed for elaborate and expensive heated glasshouses to keep cold-sensitive plants warm in winter.

Plants from Faraway Lands

The 1700s saw many plants introduced from the Cape of South Africa. These included ericas, geraniums, and succulent plants. Dutch trade with the Dutch East Indies led to a golden age for the Leiden and Amsterdam botanical gardens. This also caused a boom in building conservatories.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, started in 1759. The Palm House was built between 1844 and 1848.

The Royal Gardens at Kew began in 1759 as a physic garden. By 1767, it was called "the richest Exotick Garden in Europe." Gardens like Kew and the Orotava Acclimatization Garden in Tenerife (1788) were set up to grow new species from tropical expeditions. They also helped start new tropical botanical gardens. From the 1770s, official plant hunters joined amateur collectors. These gardens benefited from plants sent back to Europe from various areas around the globe.

At this time, British gardeners were bringing many woody plants from Britain's colonies in North America. Growing plants became very popular. This was encouraged by collecting trips overseas, led by William Jackson Hooker and his interest in economic botany. By the late 1700s, Kew, under Joseph Banks, was a major center for plant hunting. It sent collectors to South Africa, Australia, China, and other places. Kew acted as "the great botanical exchange house of the British Empire." From its start, Kew has been a model botanical garden. It is respected worldwide for its scientific work, education, public programs, and plant care.

Bartram's Garden

In 1728, John Bartram founded Bartram's Garden in Philadelphia. It was one of the first botanical gardens in North America. Today, it is a historical site with old and new plants, archives, and restored farm buildings.

How Plants Were Classified

Inside the Palm House, Kew Gardens.

Many new plants needed to be described. They were often listed in garden catalogs. At this time, Carl Linnaeus created the system of binomial nomenclature (giving each plant two names), which made listing plants much easier. Plant names were confirmed by dried plant specimens, stored in buildings called herbaria. These research centers were often linked to botanical gardens. Many gardens then had "order beds" to show the classification systems being developed. Botanical gardens became scientific collections. Scientists published descriptions of new exotic plants, which were also recorded in detailed botanical illustrations. In this century, botanical gardens focused less on medicine and more on science and beauty. The term "botanic garden" became more connected to the herbarium and library than to the living plants themselves.

The 1800s: Tropical Gardens and Global Impact

A hothouse at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, built 1834–1836.

The late 1700s and early 1800s saw the creation of tropical botanical gardens. These were used by the British and Dutch to support trade and commerce. They were mainly in India, South-east Asia, and the Caribbean. This was also when Joseph Banks collected plants during Captain James Cook's trips around the world. This was the last big phase of bringing new plants to Europe.

Tropical Botanical Gardens

Today, there are about 230 tropical botanical gardens, mostly in southern and south-eastern Asia. The first tropical garden was the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden in Mauritius, started in 1735. It first provided food for ships, but later tested and shared many important economic plants. Other gardens followed in the West Indies (St. Vincent, 1764) and Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Garden in Calcutta, India (1786). Other gardens were built in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, 1808), Sri Lanka (Peradeniya, 1821), Indonesia (Bogor, 1817), and Singapore (Singapore Botanical Gardens, 1822). These gardens greatly affected the economies of these countries, especially with the new foods and medicines they introduced. For example, bringing rubber trees to the Singapore Botanic Garden started the important rubber industry in the Malay Peninsula. Also, teak and tea were brought to India, and breadfruit and pepper to the Caribbean.

The Eco-lake at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, started in 1822.

These gardens also studied local plants for their economic value. Many crop plants were introduced through these gardens. This often happened with help from European botanical gardens like Kew or Amsterdam. Examples include cloves, tea, coffee, cinchona, sugar, cotton, and palm oil. During this time, the rubber plant was introduced to Singapore. Especially in the tropics, larger gardens often had a herbarium and an economic museum. The Botanical Garden of Peradeniya helped develop agriculture in Ceylon. The rubber tree was brought there from Kew, which had imported it from South America. Other examples include cotton from the Chelsea Physic Garden to the Province of Georgia in 1732, and tea to India by Calcutta Botanic Garden. The exchange of plant material between temperate and tropical gardens was key to the variety of crops grown in tropical regions today.

Gardens in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia

Auburn Botanic Gardens in Australia, with a view of its lake.

The first botanical gardens in Australia started in the early 1800s: Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney (1816), Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens (1818), Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne (1845), Adelaide Botanic Garden (1854), and Brisbane Botanic Gardens (1855). These were mainly colonial gardens for economic botany and adapting plants to new climates. The Auburn Botanic Gardens (1977) in Sydney's western suburbs is a popular modern garden.

Major botanical gardens in New Zealand include Dunedin Botanic Garden (1863), Christchurch Botanic Gardens (1863), Otari-Wilton's Bush (1926), and Wellington Botanic Garden (1868).

The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens started in 1871. In Japan, the Koishikawa Botanical Garden in Tokyo became part of the University of Tokyo in 1877. In Sri Lanka, major gardens include the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya (1843) and Hakgala Botanical Gardens (1861).

Gardens in Africa, Americas, and Russia

A zig-zag bridge at the Jardín Botánico de Quito in Ecuador.

The Jardín Botánico de Quito in Ecuador is a large park and botanical garden. It aims to maintain the country's diverse plants. Ecuador is one of the richest countries in the world for native plant species, with about 17,000 types.

The Orman Garden in Giza, Cairo, Egypt, is a famous botanical garden dating back to 1875.

South Africa has ten national botanical gardens, managed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). The oldest is the Durban Botanic Gardens (1851). The Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden (1913) is the most famous, covering a large area of gardens and mountainside.

The John C. Gifford Arboretum at the University of Miami in Florida, US.

In the United States, Bartram's Garden (1730) was the first. The United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. was established in 1820. The Missouri Botanical Garden (1859) in St. Louis is now a world leader in tropical plants. Other popular American gardens include Longwood Gardens (1798) and New York Botanical Garden (1891). The first garden dedicated to native US plants was started in 1907 by Eloise Butler.

The palm house of the Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden in Russia.

Russia has many botanical gardens. Well-known ones include the Moscow University Botanic Garden (1706) and the Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden (1714). These gardens often feature sculptures, pavilions, and tea houses. The Botanical Garden of Tver State University (1879) is the northernmost botanical garden with steppe plants.

Ukraine has about 30 botanical gardens. Important ones are Nikitsky Botanical Garden (1812) in Yalta, and the M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden (1936) and A.V. Fomin Botanical Garden (1839) in Kyiv.

The 1900s: Community and Conservation

A 20th-century botanical garden on Kitchener's Island in Aswan, Egypt.

Many city-run botanical gardens were founded in the 1800s and 1900s. While they didn't always have scientific research programs, they focused strongly on horticulture (the art of growing plants). Plants were often labeled, and seeds were exchanged with other gardens. Sometimes, these gardens became more like beautiful parks.

Connecting with People

In the late 1900s, gardens started offering more advanced educational programs and visitor services. Botanical gardens began to serve many interests. Their displays often included exhibits on evolution, ecology, or taxonomy. They also had beautiful flowerbeds, plants from different parts of the world, and special collections like bamboos or roses. Glasshouses showed tropical plants, alpine plants, cacti, and orchids. Traditional herb gardens and medicinal plants were still popular. Specialized gardens like the Palmengarten in Frankfurt, Germany (1869), known for its orchids and succulents, have been very popular. There was also new interest in gardens of indigenous plants and natural areas.

With less money from governments, gardens increased public entertainment to earn funds. This included music, art shows, special plant exhibits, theater, and films. "Friends" organizations and volunteer guides also helped.

Protecting Plants

Protecting plants and valuable historical landscapes became more urgent. Special gardens were sometimes created to display native plants.

In the 1970s, gardens focused on plant conservation. The Botanic Gardens Conservation Secretariat was created in 1987 to coordinate plant conservation efforts worldwide. It keeps a list of rare and endangered species in botanical gardens. Many gardens have ex situ collections, meaning they preserve plants outside their natural habitats. This can be done by storing seeds at low temperatures (like the Kew Millennium Seedbank) or by growing living plants. The goal is often to reintroduce these plants to their original homes. The Center for Plant Conservation in St. Louis, Missouri, coordinates the conservation of native North American species.

What Do Botanical Gardens Do?

Chicago Botanic Garden, with a view of the zig-zag bridge.

Botanical gardens have many roles. They focus on research, education, and conservation. However, each garden has its own special interests. Ferdinand von Mueller (1825–1896), a director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, said that gardens must be mainly scientific and educational. He listed many goals of botanical gardens in the mid-1800s, showing how they differed from public parks:

Providing plants for scientific research.
Showing the variety of plants and their uses.
Displaying plants from specific regions.
Growing plants by their families.
Growing plants for their seeds or because they are rare.
Featuring major timber trees.
Highlighting plants important for the economy.
Having glasshouse plants from different climates.
Labeling all plants accurately.
Keeping records of plants and how they grow.
Publishing lists of their collections.
Having research facilities for living plants.
Studying how plants are classified.
Showing examples of different plant environments.
Educating students.
Having a herbarium (dried plant collection).
Choosing and introducing new ornamental plants for sale.
Studying plant chemistry.
Reporting on how plants affect livestock.
Having at least one person doing field work to collect plants.

Hatanpää Arboretum in Finland.

Botanical gardens need to balance being peaceful places with providing public services. These services include restaurants, information centers, and shops. Sometimes, beautiful landscaping competes with scientific goals, and science might take a backseat. Some gardens are now historical landscapes that must also meet demands for new exhibits and good environmental management.

Many gardens now have plant shops selling flowers, herbs, and vegetable seedlings. Some, like the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research and the Chicago Botanic Garden, even have programs to breed new plants for gardeners.

The Future of Botanical Gardens

The Eden Project in England, started in 2000, is a modern botanical garden focused on sustainability.

New botanical gardens are still being built, such as the first botanical garden in Oman. It will be one of the largest gardens in the world. Once finished, it will have the first large-scale cloud forest in a huge glasshouse. Development of botanical gardens in China has been remarkable recently. This includes the Hainan Botanical Garden of Tropical Economic Plants and the South China Botanical Garden at Guangzhou. However, in developed countries, many have closed because of a lack of money. This is especially true for botanical gardens connected to universities.

Botanical gardens have always changed with the times. If we picked one main purpose from early writings, it would be their scientific work and teaching value. In their early years, botanical gardens were for doctors and botanists. But then they became more connected with ornamental gardening and the needs of the general public. The scientific reputation of a botanical garden is now judged by publications from its herbaria and similar facilities, not just its living collections. The interest in economic plants is less important now. The focus on plant classification systems has almost disappeared. However, a fascination with the curious, beautiful, and new seems unlikely to diminish.

In recent times, the focus has been on creating awareness about threats to the Earth's ecosystems from human populations. This highlights the need to protect biological and physical resources. Botanical gardens provide an excellent way to connect the world of plant science with the general public. Education programs can help the public develop greater environmental awareness. They do this by helping people understand the meaning and importance of ideas like conservation and sustainability.