Botanical Gardens have been part of communities dating back as far as the 1500’s!
Fun Fact: There are two botanical gardens vie for the first or oldest botanical garden: the Orto Botanico di Pisa founded in 1544 and the Orto Botanico di Padova founded in 1545. Because the Pisa Botanical Garden moved from its original location, the Padova Garden is often cited as the oldest.
In those days, the gardens were located next to and affiliated with universities where they served as scientific research facilities. Botany was a major factor in the creation of the gardens. Botanist Luca Ghini, director of the Pisa botanical gardens, established a herbarium to study plants used for medicinal purposes.
These two botanical gardens were an inspiration causing many other gardens to be established in Europe and are still operational and open to the public.
Check out this great video on The Biodiversity Garden Botanical Garden of Padova
Today, botanical gardens continue to be dedicated to the collection, cultivation, preservation, and display of a wide variety of plants.
It’s time to make history in Orange County with the founding and development of the Great Park’s botanical garden. What kind of history will it make?
