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The separation of the “wild” and the “unnatural” has a long history, but became all the rage among the nineteenth century naturalists and conservationists. This is also a time when many botanic gardens where established, which is why I think it is so rare to find sections with cultivated, non-ornamental plants in botanic gardens. But by leaving these species out, a really important part of ecology education gets lots. The thousands of years of biodiversity development driven by human need and ingenuity, a diversity that is now fast being lost to agricultural monocultures. Botanic gardens are places where biocultural diversity could be celebrated and taught, but that is an opportunity and calling that many botanic gardens have missed. In Bergius botanic garden, though, there are tens of different varieties of strawberries, currants, apples, kale, tomatoes, potatoes, herbs. I think it is wonderful, what they have done in the orchards, vegetable and herb gardens. Stockholm University really has a botanic garden to be proud of.
Photo: Red currants in Bergianska trädgården, Stockholm, July 2018. Posted on Instagram April 29, 2020.
Katja Malmborg 