The Oxford Botanic Garden on a Grey Afternoon
We had a few minutes to go around this historic and beautiful facility one cloudy Sunday afternoon. Here is the introduction from the current Wikipedia article:
University of Oxford Botanic Garden, the oldest botanic garden in Great Britain, and the third oldest scientific garden in the world, was founded in 1621 as a physic garden growing plants for medicinal research. Today it contains over 8,000 different plant species on 1.8 hectares (4½ acres). It is one of the most diverse yet compact collections of plants in the world and includes representatives from over 90% of the higher plant families.
In 1621, Sir Henry Danvers, the First Earl of Danby, contributed £5,000 (equivalent to £744,000 in 2005)[1] to set up a physic garden for "the glorification of the works of God and for the furtherance of learning". He chose a site on the banks of the River Cherwell at the northeast corner of Christ Church Meadow, belonging to Magdalen College. Part of the land had been a Jewish cemetery until the Jews were expelled from Oxford (and the rest of England) in 1290.
The Garden comprises three sections:
·the Walled Garden, surrounded by the original seventeenth century stonework and home to the Garden's oldest tree, an English yew, Taxus baccata;
·the Glasshouses, which allow the cultivation of plants needing protection from the extremes of British weather; and
·the area outside the walled area between the Walled Garden and the River Cherwell.
University of Oxford Botanic Garden, the oldest botanic garden in Great Britain, and the third oldest scientific garden in the world, was founded in 1621 as a physic garden growing plants for medicinal research. Today it contains over 8,000 different plant species on 1.8 hectares (4½ acres). It is one of the most diverse yet compact collections of plants in the world and includes representatives from over 90% of the higher plant families.
In 1621, Sir Henry Danvers, the First Earl of Danby, contributed £5,000 (equivalent to £744,000 in 2005)[1] to set up a physic garden for "the glorification of the works of God and for the furtherance of learning". He chose a site on the banks of the River Cherwell at the northeast corner of Christ Church Meadow, belonging to Magdalen College. Part of the land had been a Jewish cemetery until the Jews were expelled from Oxford (and the rest of England) in 1290.
The Garden comprises three sections:
·the Walled Garden, surrounded by the original seventeenth century stonework and home to the Garden's oldest tree, an English yew, Taxus baccata;
·the Glasshouses, which allow the cultivation of plants needing protection from the extremes of British weather; and
·the area outside the walled area between the Walled Garden and the River Cherwell.
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