Botanical gardens have a rich history, and still provide benefits now

While botanical gardens have evolved from their medicinal roots in 16th-century Italy, their plants can still bring peace and joy to our busy lives, says Beronda L. Montgomery

By Beronda L. Montgomery

ONE of my favourite ever pastimes is to visit botanical gardens. In almost every city I go to, I make time to wander and linger among plants.

My local botanical gardens, the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Michigan, are a plant and art lovers’ haven. While you might think that a trip to a particular garden would be an infrequent event, I love to visit multiple times a year, enjoying the pink swamp milkweed and black-eyed Susan flowers supporting the butterflies in spring, and the yellow, orange and purple chrysanthemum flowers in autumn.

Whether the trees are bare, …