Liverpool has one of the oldest municipal botanic gardens in the country, though it was founded in 1802 as a private body with subscribing shareholders. Within only a few years it acquired a magnificent collection of tropical plants, especially gingers and orchids, under the supervision of its first curator, John Shepherd. Around 1836 it moved to a new site in Edge Lane, just outside Wavertree, designed and laid out by John Shepherd and his nephew Henry, and a new conservatory (pictured above) was built. After the second world war it moved again, this time to Harthill in Allerton. In 1984 the city council closed the garden, but plans are now afoot for its resurrection.

John Edmondson recently retired from National Museums Liverpool, where he was head of science. He is vice-chair of the Cheshire Gardens Trust, and has been researching the role of William Roscoe in founding Liverpool's first botanic garden.