The cultivation of plant life has been embedded in human culture for thousands of years. Agriculture was one of the first key factors in the foundation of cities and civilizations as this allowed people to create their own food sources without having to hunt or gather existing food sources. With such a reliance on agriculture during the rise and fall of human civilizations, it was only natural that botanical gardens would be created to showcase the wonderful array of plant species throughout the world.
The first primitive botanical gardens date back to the 8th century, but the ones we know in modern times did not appear until the 16th century, although these differed slightly and were usually called tropical gardens. Perhaps the first truly modern garden of this type was created at the University of Pisa by Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1544. The collection of plants was donated by the prestigious botanist who was a former professor at the university. The origin of the botanic garden came from the research of naturalists and botanists and was usually founded by either universities or scientific societies. These served as a research area for many scientists who wanted to learn more about plant life and information about species that can be found around the world.
Shortly after their establishment, these tropical gardens became a symbol of cultural heritage and scientific prestige. During this time in the 16th and 17th centuries, these became the early research foundations for genetic studies. Cross-breeding plants in facilities such as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the real Jardin Botanico de Madrid attracted many scientists interested in learning more about genetic inheritance and how to breed new plant species. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, public gardens became hugely popular throughout England and these helped to revive the popular perception of gardens.
The United States created its first botanical garden in 1730 in Philadelphia named Bartram’s Garden but the most famous was created in 1859, called the Missouri Botanical Garden. The scientific uses of this garden were simplistic, primarily categorizing the plants for the public along with distribution of seeds worldwide for consumers in the scientific community. This would lead to another spike in popularity followed by a decline. However, in recent decades there has been another resurgence of these facilities in an effort to preserve species of plants whose habitats are in decline.
