The gardener’s bucket list

CHELSEA PHYSIC GARDEN in London, UK

Chelsea Physic Garden, London, UK

Established almost 350 years ago, this living collection of plants is a treat for gardeners and history buffs alike, writes KERRIE LEE

Beside the bustling River Thames in super-chic Chelsea, the Physic Garden is one of London’s hidden gems. Entering via a gateway between walls of mellow brick, you are struck by its sense of timelessness – which is not surprising, as the city’s oldest botanic garden has occupied the site since 1673, when it was known as the Apothecaries’ Garden. And therein lies a clue to the special place it holds among public gardens: its original raison d’être was to educate budding chemists in the curative value and poisonous properties of certain plants.

In the golden days of exploration, the garden was also where plants from the four corners of the earth were brought to be identified and classified. Today, the 1.6ha site is home to some 5000 different plants. Most are of interest for their edible, medicinal or other practical uses, and some for their historical connections.

Far from being purely a scholarly establishment, the garden is also a place of beauty where you can wander along turfed paths between beds of brilliant colour while schoolchildren visiting on educational excursions play tag on the lawns.

The ‘Food is Medicine’ trail, which meanders through the Garden of Medicinal Plants, features 20 common, easy-grow home remedies. I love the fledgling Mental Wellbeing Garden, where you’re invited to “enjoy a moment of calm”, watched over by pretty tangles of morning glory.

As more than 100 tree species are represented, Australians can feel right at home among the gums and grevilleas, while citrus, olive and exotic pomegranate trees also thrive in the garden.

Of the three spectacular glasshouses, my favourite is the Tropical Corridor crowded with edible and medicinal plants endemic to hot and humid climes in faraway lands.

One reason the founders chose this site, which was previously a market garden, was to take advantage of warm air currents wafting off the river – and the ease with which newly discovered plants, gathered during voyages abroad or exploratory forays closer to home, could be ferried directly to the garden by barge. The variety is extraordinary, thanks to the combination of the garden’s microclimate and high walls, which protect plants from the worst of London’s sometimes bitter winds.

Many renowned botanists have been associated with the garden, notably Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, whose name is synonymous with the modern system of naming plant and animal species. The Pond Rockery is partially constructed from basalt used as ballast on the ship on which Sir Joseph Banks voyaged to Iceland in 1772. His contribution to botany is acknowledged by a bust nestled among the plantings. Philanthropist Sir Hans Sloane, who leased the site to the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries in perpetuity for a peppercorn rent, is remembered with a grander, more prominent stone statue.

If, like me, you’re an enthusiastic amateur who enjoys a spot of horticultural gossip,

I highly recommend joining a free walking tour of the garden with one of the volunteer guides, who are very knowledgeable.

And when it’s time for refreshment, there’s a delightful open-sided cafe that serves breakfast, lunch, alcoholic beverages and, appropriately, a selection of herbal teas.

NEED TO KNOW

Chelsea Physic Garden is at 66 Royal Hospital Rd (entrance on Swan Walk), Chelsea, London. The 170 bus to Victoria Station stops outside the garden, or it’s about a 15-minute walk from Sloane Square Station. There is coin-operated meter parking nearby. The garden is open Sunday to Friday (11am–6pm in the main season of March to October; 11am–4pm in the winter season). Cafe service stops up to an hour before the garden closes.

A path in the Garden of Medicinal Plants leads to historic glasshouses; this spiky agave is among the garden’s 5000 plant species; invented in the early 1800s, the Wardian case, made from timber and glass, enabled plants to be transported around the world. CLOCKWISE FROM MAIN

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT A bust of botanist Sir Joseph Banks among grey-leafed plants that are usually associated with hot, dry climates but thrive in the Chelsea Physic Garden’s unique microclimate on the River Thames; willow tuteurs and woven wicker fences are crafted from garden trimmings by staff and volunteers; tender seedlings are often nurtured in cold frames before being planted out into garden beds.