Monday 26th June 2023
Pollinator season is in full swing! As PLT’s celebration of summer, and the addition of Chelsea Physic Garden our first non-livery member we celebrated with an evening exploring the historic gardens and raising awareness of the importance of biodiversity and pollinators.
The Chelsea Physic Garden is London’s oldest botanical garden, sitting on the Thames Embankment, celebrating its 350th year in 2023, first established in 1673 by The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries for apprentices to study medicinal plants and their uses. The plant collection here is unique with it being the only botanic garden collection focused on medicinal, herbal and useful plants. With their mission: to demonstrate the medicinal, economic, cultural and environmental importance of plants to the survival and well-being of humankind.
The evening began with a warm welcome and introduction from the Director of Chelsea Physic Garden Sue Medway, followed by our Patron Dame Fiona Woolf and our Chairman John Burton who expressed their warm thanks to Sue for kindly hosting the event and shared PLT’s mission to support pollinators and develop spaces in London where all pollinators can thrive and whereby the greenspace habitats can be enjoyed by everyone.
As the sunset warmly on the gardens, the evening progressed with garden tours, led by the Chelsea Physic Garden team of volunteers. Learning about the garden’s history, seeing rare and unusual plants and learning about the benefits; emphasising the importance of pollinators for wellbeing. Bumblebees, solitary bees, and butterflies even made an appearance.
Thank you to our host the Chelsea Physic Garden for a wonderful evening, and to Bombay Sapphire, Fever-Tree and Martini for being our drink sponsors.
