The history of botanical gardens, from ancient Egyptian and Roman roots, through medieval and Renaissance developments, and up to 21st century developments, is chronicled in a new article, ‘Western Botanical Gardens: History and Evolution’ by Donald A. Rakow and Sharon A. Lee.  It was published in Volume 43 of Horticultural Reviews (John Wiley & Sons, 2015) and can be accessed for academic, non-commercial use only.

Anyone interested in how public gardens have achieved the stature, variety, and scientific importance that they have today should plan to read this review.