The Chelsea Physic Garden

Grey Granite paid a very brief  visit to Chelsea Physic Garden. This delightful, historic garden is a tranquil spot in the middle of the bustle and noise of London.

The garden was founded in 1673 by the Society of Apothecaries of London so that their apprentices could learn to grow medicinal plants and study their uses. The four acre site close to the Thames was chosen by the apothecaries because it was already famed for its orchards and  market gardens and had a free draining soil and favourable micro-climate and provided somewhere f to house the painted barge they used for royal pageants. Close by were great houses belonging to Henry VIII and his Chancellor Thomas More who would have  used the Thames as the most efficient means of transport. Visiting the garden reminded Grey Granite of reading in Wolf Hall of Thomas Cromwell's journeys along the river thoroughfare.  

A replica of the statue of Sir Hans Sloane created by Michael Rysbeck in 1773, the original suffered  from pollution damage and is now in the British Museum. Sloane, who had studied at the garden in his youth took over the freehold of the garden when he bought the Manor of Chelsea in 1712 granting the Society of Apothecaries a lease on the land for a rent of £5 per year in perpetuity on condition that 'it be for ever kept up and maintained as a physic garden'.

The rockery on the left of the statue is the oldest man made rock garden in Europe, it has grade 2 listed status and contains pieces of carved stone from the Tower of London and basaltic lava used as ballast on Sir Joseph Banks' ship on  a voyage to Iceland in 1772.

Carl von Linne, the Swedish botanist, better known as Linnaeus, made several visits to the garden in the 1730's. 

An astonishing specimen of Echium pininana, taller than Grey Granite, this native of  the Canary islands is a moncarpic member of the Borage family and was swarming with bees in the hot sunshine.The blue flower spike looked amazing against the dark red rose in the background.

'We blossom and flourish as leaves on a tree, then wither and perish'.

The recently redeveloped Garden of  Edible and Useful plants

The Physic Garden, with its historic associations to the greats of botany,  was a complete contrast to the  crowds and modernism of the Chelsea Flower Show. Grey Granite found her visit a very humbling and moving experience and hopes to return with more time.