A botanical treasure trove
In Brideshead Revisited, Sebastian Flyte enjoins Charles Ryder to come with him to the Oxford University Botanic Gardens “to see the ivy” – saying he doesn’t know where he’d be without the country’s oldest horticultural resource. While few of us would be plunged into such an existential crisis without regular access to a botanic garden, it’s tremendously easy to be beguiled by them – and with good reason: it would seem that they’re actively good for us, as well as being at the cutting edge of scientific research.
There are roughly 60 botanical gardens in Britain today. Oxford is the oldest, opening in 1621, closely followed by the enchanting four-acre Chelsea Physic Garden in 1673. Many, though by no means all, are in urban settings, offering visitors a moment of calm in a green oasis.
