Editing Botanical garden (section)

==== Beginnings of botanical science ====

[[File:Chelsea physic garden.jpg|thumb|The [[Chelsea Physic Garden]] was established in 1673.]]

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the first plants were being imported to these major [[Western Europe]]an gardens from [[Eastern Europe]] and nearby [[Asia]] (which provided many [[bulb]]s), and these found a place in the new gardens, where they could be conveniently studied by the plant experts of the day. For example, Asian introductions were described by [[Carolus Clusius]] (1526–1609), who was director, in turn, of the [[Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna]] and [[Hortus Botanicus Leiden]]. Many plants were being collected from the [[Near East]], especially bulbous plants from [[Turkey]]. Clusius laid the foundations of [[Netherlands|Dutch]] tulip breeding and the bulb industry, and he helped create one of the earliest formal botanical gardens of Europe at [[Leyden]] where his detailed planting lists have made it possible to recreate this garden near its original site. The {{lang|la|hortus medicus}} of Leyden in 1601 was a perfect square divided into quarters for the four continents, but by 1720, though, it was a rambling system of beds, struggling to contain the novelties rushing in,<ref>{{Harvnb|Drayton|2000|p=24}}</ref> and it became better known as the {{lang|la|hortus academicus}}. His ''[[Exoticorum libri decem]]'' (1605) is an important survey of exotic plants and animals that is still consulted today.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Ogilvie|2006}}</ref> <!--The inclusion of new plant introductions in botanic gardens meant their scientific role was now widening, as botany gradually asserted its independence from medicine.-->

In the mid to late 17th century, the Paris [[Jardin des Plantes]] was a centre of interest with the greatest number of new introductions to attract the public. In [[England]], the [[Chelsea Physic Garden]] was founded in 1673 as the "Garden of the Society of Apothecaries". The Chelsea garden had heated [[greenhouse]]s, and in 1723 appointed [[Philip Miller]] (1691–1771) as [[head gardener]]. He had a wide influence on both botany and horticulture, as plants poured into it from around the world. The garden's golden age came in the 18th century, when it became the world's most richly stocked botanical garden. Its seed-exchange programme was established in 1682 and still continues today.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Minter|2000}}</ref>