Botanical Gardens That You Should Visit: 15 of the Very Best Images

Botanical gardens became popular via 16th century Renaissance Italy where professors of botany were appointed - for example Orto botanico di Pisa operated by the University of Pisa. Today universities across the globe still maintain many gardens, with governments and independent organisations also often involved; and there are believed to be around 1800 botanical gardens in the world, found in most countries. These gardens differ wildly in types of plant on offer and how they are displayed - even those within the same city can be markedly different. From the grandiose in design, to the more modest-sized.

So here is our ode to the botanical garden, featuring some of the most stunning images found within the Picfair library.