Healing gardens

The College provides the information on these pages to support the use of herb gardens as self-care resources.

We are particularly keen to seen healing gardens re-established in their original locations: where medicines were made. ‘Physic gardens’ were used by doctors for their prescriptions, and were also often the basis of commercial medicine production in monasteries.  

Our first project involves Frome Medical Centre and is supported by Pukka Herbs. As well as other health care locations we encourage local initiatives to set up healing gardens as educational resources in schools and other public locations.

Information on the herbs in our gardens is available here.

Physic Gardens

Herbal gardens were formerly called ‘physic gardens’ or ‘apothecaries gardens’ and there are surviving examples outside the Royal College of Physicians, Surgeon’s Hall in London, and the world-famous Chelsea Physic Garden. The earliest Botanical Garden, in Oxford, started as a physic garden. If in Wales the Cowbridge Physic Garden is worth a visit (and is the source of this illustration). To see a list of these gardens check out this site.

Choose from the herbs pictured below to read College of Medicine information sheets on how to use them at home.

To print a copy click on the download button at the bottom of each screen.