The Chelsea Physic Garden was founded in 1673 when it was known as the Apothecaries Garden. They rented the farmland because it was near the river and the Apothecaries needed somewhere to study plants and house 'their gaily painted barge', which they used for botanic expeditions along the Thames. The river also provided a free draining soil and a unique microclimate, which became warmer when they built a high wall around the 3.8 acres. The garden now contains the largest olive tree growing outside in Britain and many other tender specimens from around the world.

The Chelsea Physic Garden became the centre of horticultural knowledge in its hey-day and continues to play a major role in public education, focusing on the renewed interest in natural medicine. Sir Hans Sloane, who preserved the Garden's future with a deed of covenant, which he gave to the Apothecaries, described it as 'a garden dedicated to the study of useful plants', which still holds true.

The Garden holds nearly 6,000 taxa within its walls and glasshouses. There is a collection of dye plants and plants used in the perfume industry as well as a Garden of World Medicine - Britain's first garden of ethnobotany - and much more.

The Garden is open to the public during April to October on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons and is currently holding an Art in the Garden exhibition, which runs until September, supported by GlaxoSmithKline. Admission: £4

For more information telephone 020 7352 5646

Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3.
www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk