Founded in 1621, Oxford Botanic Garden is the UK's oldest botanical garden. The founder, Henry Danvers KG wanted a 'Physic Garden' to teach medical students about medicinal plants. Danvers leased the five acre site from Magdalen College, and the founding stone for the garden was laid by the University of Oxford's Vice Chancellor on July 25th, 1621.

ExperienceOxfordshire.org - Oxford Botanic Garden

The historic landscape of Kew Gardens highlights features that exemplify important periods of the art of gardens from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Since their creation, Kew Gardens has made a significant contribution to the study of plant diversity and economic botany.

The first botanical garden was established back in Italy in 1545 when Venetian scholars and government officials implemented a botanical garden at the University of Padua, shortly after granting Francesco Bonafede's petition for the creation of a botanical garden back in 1543. Bonafede taught the 'lettura dei simplici,' or study of medicinal plants, and he recognized a need for the direct observation of nature in this branch of learning.