Blog
24 July 2026
Caring for Our Historic Victorian Glasshouses: Essential Maintenance This Summer
From 27 July to 28 August, you’ll notice some work on our Glasshouses as we carry out a programme of essential maintenance to help protect these much-loved buildings for…
5 June 2026
Volunteer Week – Part 2
AnnWhat is your role at Chelsea Physic Garden? Currently I am helping the Hort team with propagation, having learnt all with the ‘Growing Friends’ for 20 years. I joined the…
1 June 2026
Volunteer Week – Part 1
As part of Volunteer Week 2026, we’re shining a spotlight on some of the incredible people who generously give their time to make the Garden so special. Our volunteers are…
27 April 2026
Time to Talk Trees
“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” – Greek ProverbAt Chelsea Physic Garden, we look back with gratitude at our forebears who…
19 January 2026
Chelsea Physic Garden awarded accreditation by Botanic Gardens Conservation International
Chelsea Physic Garden is pleased to announce that it has been formally accredited by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), recognising the Garden’s commitment to best…
17 October 2025
Pathways to Knowledge: project complete
The Garden’s transformative Pathways to Knowledge project is complete! Big swathes of our gravel paths – a barrier to many visitors – have been replaced with a beautiful…
21 August 2025
Chelsea Physic Garden Welcomes Six New Trustees to the Board
Chelsea Physic Garden is delighted to announce the appointment of six new trustees to its Board. These appointments bring a wealth of experience across horticulture, science,…
25 July 2025
Get to know the team: Head of Plant Collections – Emily Hazell
What is the Head of Plant Collections? Head of Plant Collections is a Senior Leadership role in a modern botanic garden. It encompasses a lot of what ‘Head Gardeners’ might do –…
4 June 2025
Our Impact: sharing our 2024 report
We are pleased to share our Impact Report for 2024, which includes highpoints from the year in view, and spotlights how the Garden is innovating to support biodiversity and equip…
14 May 2025
Nurture from nature: cultivating good health through horticulture
Chelsea Physic Garden is pleased to announce that its social and therapeutic horticulture programme has received funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and the D’Oyly…
7 March 2025
New Chair of Trustees
Chelsea Physic Garden is pleased to announce the appointment of Sarah Flannigan as its new Chair of Trustees. Sarah is an accomplished Chair, non-executive director, and board…
17 January 2025
Digging into the data: biodiversity for a better future
The Garden has been dedicated to the conservation and study of an extensive collection of botanical plants since 1673. The plant diversity offers a rich ecosystem and haven for…
11 November 2024
Pathways to knowledge
Pathways to knowledge - a ‘groundbreaking’ new project at Chelsea Physic Garden that celebrates accessibility and creates opportunities for learning - made possible with funding…
19 December 2023
Plants of the Winter Solstice
Plants of the Winter Solstice By Eve Barro, Assistant Project Curator at Chelsea Physic Garden Every month, we will be labelling the plants mentioned in these blogs to bring our…
15 December 2023
Unlocking Our Collections
Delve deeper into the green wonders of Chelsea Physic Garden with “Unlocking our Collections,” the second episode of our three-part series marking 350…
15 December 2023
A Physic Garden For The Future
In the final chapter of our three-part mini-series celebrating 350 years of Chelsea Physic Garden, hosts Jessica and Ned gaze into the future! Explore with them how…
14 December 2023
Horticulture For Humankind
Welcome to “Horticulture for Humankind,” the first instalment of a three-part mini-series celebrating 350 years of Chelsea Physic Garden. Join hosts as…
7 December 2023
Glasshouses Open
Thank you for following along while we renovated our Glasshouses. The Glasshouse Restoration Project has not only ensured these buildings will survive and be utilised for…
19 October 2023
Remembering Black resistance through plant medicine
Remembering Black resistance through plant medicine By Eve Barro, Assistant Project Curator at Chelsea Physic Garden Every month, we will be labelling the plants mentioned in…
19 October 2023
Five local and seasonal fruits and vegetables to support your body this month
Five local and seasonal fruits and vegetables to support your body this month By Eve Barro, Assistant Project Curator at Chelsea Physic Garden Every month, we will be labelling…
18 September 2023
From Chelsea to Georgia: sending seeds for the Empire
From Chelsea to Georgia: sending seeds for the Empire By Eve Barro, Assistant Project Curator at Chelsea Physic Garden Every month, we will be labelling the plants mentioned in…
16 August 2023
Stories of flowers and animals: plants’ most curious pollinators
Stories of flowers and animals: plants’ most curious pollinators By Eve Barro, Assistant Project Curator at Chelsea Physic Garden Every month, we will be labelling the plants…
10 August 2023
Project Volunteering
The Glasshouse Restoration Project is not just about the repair of the historic structures, but also about how we can engage our community with the Garden. Our Volunteer…
17 July 2023
Finding inspiration in the Garden: Botanical art and aloes at Chelsea Physic Garden
Finding inspiration in the Garden: Botanical art and aloes at Chelsea Physic Garden By Eve Barro, Assistant Project Curator at Chelsea Physic Garden Every month, we will be…
28 June 2023
Tea, Talk and Walk
Since January 2023, Chelsea Physic Garden has been hosting a free monthly drop-in session for people in the local community who have limited connections with others and green…
27 June 2023
Replanting
During the Restoration Project, the Horticulture team have added a large number of new plants that we weren’t growing in the Garden before. We wanted to improve our collection by…
15 June 2023
The many lives of a medicinal superstar: delving into the global story of Catharanthus roseus
The many lives of a medicinal superstar: delving into the global story of Catharanthus roseus By Eve Barro, Assistant Project Curator at Chelsea Physic Garden Every month, we…
11 May 2023
Old remedies are making a comeback to support our mental health
Old remedies are making a comeback to support our mental health By Eve Barro, Assistant Project Curator at Chelsea Physic Garden Have you ever wondered if old medical texts…
20 April 2023
The species we mourn and the ones we blame
The species we mourn and the ones we blame By Eve Barro, Assistant Project Curator at Chelsea Physic Garden This month I investigated plant biodiversity. It became obvious that…
13 April 2023
Moving House
Lots of plants in the Garden come from Southern Africa. As part of the project some of these plants will live in the new Southern Africa Glasshouse. Visitors will also see plants…
UncategorisedAnniversary Blogs
17 March 2023
Menopause, a story of plants and female resilience
On the 8 March we celebrated International Women’s Day and I decided to take this opportunity to bring to light a topic that tends to be given little visibility: menopause. The…
10 March 2023
Handing Back
We're happy to say that almost all of our glasshouses have been "handed back". They aren't finished, but the builders have done the most important fixes. The gardeners can now put…
13 February 2023
Remembered Remedies – Community Story Sharing Project 2022
Remembered Remedies 2022In Spring 2022 10 people came together at Chelsea Physic Garden to share stories of plants and remember remedies from childhood and the past. The group…
13 February 2023
Celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month with Mary Delany’s sapphic flowers
Mary Delany (1700-1788) is often remembered for her mastery of paper mosaics, yielding 985 hyper-realistic images of plants. What is less often remembered? The erotic nature of…
10 February 2023
Podcast Launches
We are very happy to launch the Chelsea Physic Garden Podcast. A big part of the Glasshouse Restoration Project is finding ways to talk to people about plants. Podcasts are a…
27 January 2023
03 Orange with Belvoir Farm
The final of our three-part mini-series in partnership with Belvoir Farm, hosts, Jessica and Ned, explore all things Oranges. They discuss, its significance in…
27 January 2023
02 Hibiscus with Belvoir Farm
The second of our three-part mini-series in partnership with Belvoir Farm, hosts, Jessica and Ned, explore all things Hibiscus. They discuss, its significance in…
27 January 2023
01 Ginger with Belvoir Farm
The first of our three-part mini-series in partnership with Belvoir Farm, hosts, Jessica and Ned, explore all things Ginger. They discuss, its significance in…
16 January 2023
Time Rhizome
6 billion years ago: The first photosynthetic bacteria emerge on earth. 7 billion years ago: Algae first evolve releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.[1] 475 million years ago:…
16 January 2023
Agave americana
Family: Asparagaceae Scientific Name: Agave americana Common Name: Maguey Origin: Arizona, Mexico, Texas We label this plant Agave americana, but to many of the indigenous people…
16 January 2023
Ganoderma applanatum
Family: Ganodermataceae Scientific Name: Ganoderma applanatum Common Name: Artist’s bracket Origin: Europe and parts of China Growing on this buddleja tree stump is a mushroom. It…
16 January 2023
Xanthoria parietina
Family: Teloschistaceae Scientific Name: Xanthoria parietina Common Name: Golden Shield Lichen Origin: Globally distributed On this bench you will find several species of Lichen,…
16 January 2023
Persea americana
Family: Lauraceae Scientific Name: Persea americana Common Name: Avocado Origin: Central Mexico to Costa Rica This tree was given the scientific name Persea americana in 1768 by…
16 January 2023
Crocus tommasinianus
Family: Iridaceae Scientific Name: Crocus tommasinianus Common Name: Early crocus Origin: Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia Here and throughout the Garden you will find…
16 January 2023
Lavandula dentata
Family: LAMIACEAE Scientific Name: Lavandula dentata Common Name: Fringed lavender Origin: Algeria, Baleares, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Yemen…
Project UpdateCommunity Projects
13 January 2023
Community garden
A big part of this project is helping people connect with gardens. In London many people don't have a garden. Having a garden is about more than just looking at plants. Caring for…
3 January 2023
350 years of plant science … So what?
Something unsettling and incredibly exciting happens when you first set foot in a 350-year-old garden. Amazement at its grandeur. Fear and joyful anticipation of what you might…
8 December 2022
The “Pit”
There is one glasshouse that looks a bit different. The Pit House is sunk into the ground. This helps keep some of our special plants at the right temperature. The earth around…
10 November 2022
Dastardly Delays
Our Glasshouse Restoration is a complicated project. At the start, we asked experts to help us understand what needed fixing. We also asked them how much they thought it would…
12 October 2022
Welcoming the Atlantic Islands Glasshouse
We are very happy that we now have two glasshouses that are fully restored. The Cool Fernery is now back open to visitors. While Glasshouse 2 is closed but able to house plants.…
12 September 2022
Cool fernery Reopens
The Garden's Cool Fernery has reopened. We are all very excited to be able to share this fully restored space with all of you. This glasshouse is the first to be fully repaired.…
18 August 2022
Finding our audiences
The Garden exists to tell as many people as possible about plants. As part of the Glasshouse Restoration Project we want to help lots of new people to see our plants. Through…
11 July 2022
Super soil
You might not think that soil needs to be restored, but it does. Over time the nutrients (the food plants take out of soil) get used up. You can put some of these nutrients back…
Project UpdateCommunity Projects
24 June 2022
Plants have secrets premiere
In October we ran our first Plants have Secrets project. Young people learned about psychoactive plants and how to make films. They found out that psychoactive plants aren’t…
23 May 2022
The Dolmen Hoard
From this month our glasshouses are closed to visitors. This is an important part of our Glasshouse Restoration Project. The glasshouses have to be taken apart to fix every bit of…
15 April 2022
Change Plant Places!
We will soon be closing our main glasshouses. We need to do this so that we can take them down and repair the wood and glass. Before this can start we need to empty them. One of…
11 March 2022
Coco props
When our glasshouses are fully repaired, we will be able to grow Theobroma cacao (the cocoa plant) in the Tropical Corridor. Cocoa will be one of the star plants in our repaired…
14 February 2022
Digging for sustainability
If you visit the Garden this month you will be able to see a big change. We have dug a great big hole in the lower lawn. Don't worry the hole won't be there for long. We have dug…
14 January 2022
Viola odorata
Scientific Name: Viola odorata Common Name: Sweet Violet Family: VIOLACEAE Origin: Garden cultivar Cultivar: ‘Czar’ Violets are associated with the ancient Greek poet Sappho.…
14 January 2022
Musa acuminata
Scientific Name: Musa acuminata Common Name: Banana Family: MUSACEAE Origin: South East Asia In 2010, research found that lectin from banana fruit is a powerful HIV (human…
14 January 2022
Cupressus sempervirens
Scientific Name: Cupressus sempervirens Common Name: Cypress Tree Family: CUPRESSACEAE Origin: East Mediterranean and Iran The cypress tree is connected to the ancient Greek myth…
14 January 2022
Taxus baccata
Scientific Name: Taxus baccata Common Name: Yew tree Family: TAXACEAE Origin: Europe, western Asia and North Africa Yew trees are dioecious plants, which means that there are male…
14 January 2022
Woodwardia radicans
Scientific Name: Woodwardia radicans Family: BLECHNACEAE Origin: Atlantic Islands & Mediterranean Common Name: Chain Fern There are a variety of ways that plants have evolved…
14 January 2022
Lavandula dentata
Scientific Name: Lavandula dentata Common Name: Fringed Lavender Family: LAMIACEAE Origin: Algeria, Baleares, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Yemen…
13 January 2022
A holiday home for plants
Restoring our glasshouses is hard for lots of reasons. One of the reasons is that when we fix a glasshouse we need to take all the plants out of it. The problem is that there is a…
11 December 2021
Finding our voice
As part of our Glasshouse Restoration Project we will be making a new audio guide for the Garden. The audio guide will tell people about the Garden and its plants. We want the new…
30 November 2021
Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine)
I am Pinus sylvestris. If you prefer to call me by my nickname, Scots Pine, that’s okay too. You can recognise me by my blue-green needles and reddish-orange bark. Since I am not…
30 November 2021
Hedera helix (Ivy)
I am Ivy, also known as Hedera helix. I am an easy-going plant, and I can grow in a variety of habitats from woodlands to wastelands. I love to spread out and climb trees and…
30 November 2021
Punica granatum (Pomegranate)
Greetings, my name is Pomegranate and I am here to wish you a very happy winter season. If you prefer to be more formal, you may call me Punica granatum. You can recognise me from…
30 November 2021
Viscum album (Mistletoe)
Hello! My name is Mistletoe, but my scientific name is Viscum album. I am known for my evergreen leaves and white berries. Some people think of me as the kissing plant. This may…
30 November 2021
Ilex x altaclerensis (Holly)
Hi there! I am the Highclere holly and for over 60 years, I have lived by the Embankment Gates of Chelsea Physic Garden. Formally, I am known as Ilex x altaclerensis. I am known…
7 November 2021
Plants Have Secrets
A big part of the Glasshouse Restoration project is getting lots more people to enjoy our glasshouses. We really want young people to visit the glasshouses and the Garden. This is…
8 October 2021
A sori story
When we fix our fernery (a special greenhouse that is perfect for ferns to live in) we will need to take all the plants out of it. Before we do this we need to make sure we know…
10 September 2021
Lifeboat “Prop”
Before we repair our glasshouses we want to make sure there are plants to put in them when they are fixed. Not all the big plants will live when we move them. It will be hard to…
13 August 2021
The tree ferns get ready
As part of the Cool Fernery restoration, we have started to decant some of the larger of the 400 plants, having already propagated 30 specimens to protect against plant loss. Our…
16 February 2021
Leucojum (Snowflakes)
Family: Amaryllidaceae Leucojum, derived from the classical Greek word Leukoion, meaning ‘white violet’, is the genus of plants called snowflakes, a relative of Galanthus…
16 February 2021
Galanthus nivalis
Galanthus nivalis Family: Amaryllidaceae Galanthus nivalis is the snowdrop species widely seen in European gardens, woodlands and uncultivated ground. It hails from Southern…
16 February 2021
Galanthus cultivars (snowdrops)
Galanthus cultivars (snowdrops) Family: Amaryllidaceae Snowdrops are famed for their charming white flowers that speckle woodland floors and gardens to herald spring. Carl…
16 February 2021
Chimonanthus praecox
Chimonanthus praecox Family: Calycanthaceae It is likely you caught the scent of this plant before you spotted it. Also known as Wintersweet, Chimonanthus praecox is a strongly…
26 January 2021
Food is Medicine
The phrase ‘you are what you eat’ is turning out to have lot of wisdom to it. Perhaps it’s an over-reliance on modern medicine, but rather than relying just on pills and doctors,…
24 May 2019
How to be a horticultural trainee
Chelsea Physic Garden was founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to aid the botanical training of its members and apprentices. Horticultural traineeships give…