Oxford Botanic Gardens, 400 years of botany, horticulture, research and conservation [OxCAN Members Only]

A guided tour of the Oxford Botanic Gardens led by the Head of Horticulture, Marc Brent.

This event is in person and is limited to 20 people. Spaces will be allocated on a first come first serve basis with a waitlist for all interested. This event is for OxCAN members only.

More about our guide:

Mark Brent, Dip. hort. Kew, MCIH, Curator and head of Horticulture, Oxford Botanic

Gardens

Mark has over thirty five years of experience working in Botanical & amenity

horticulture and has worked for organisations such as the National Trust, Royal

Botanic Gardens Kew and English Heritage. Prior to joining Oxford Botanic

Gardens in December 2019 Mark had recently restored the 18 th century

landscape gardens at Walmer Castle in Kent, home of the Lord Warden of the

Cinque Ports, to their former glory. He also spent 20 years working in Cornwall

establishing the Italianate sub-tropical style gardens of Lamorran House in St.

Mawes. Mark is currently responsible for the curation of the living collections

at the Botanic garden and the management of a twelve strong team of

horticulturists.

Inspired by gardens in Europe such as Padua and Leiden the Botanic garden in

Oxford was originally laid out in the 17 th century as the ‘Physic gardens’ which

provided a living collection of herbal flora enabling the accurate study of

medicinal plants by scholars in the University. Presently celebrating its 400 th

anniversary the garden continues to serve a purpose for the provision of

botanical research as well as providing a public amenity where over 5000

species of plants can be viewed. Conservation is a core part the strategic plan

internationally as well as in the United Kingdom, currently horticulturists and

botanists are actively working on a project to protect threatened native flora

species in Oxfordshire.