University of Oxford Botanic Garden, the oldest botanic garden in Great Britain, and one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world, was founded in 1621 as a physic garden growing plants for medicinal research. Today it contains over 8,000 different plant species on 1.8 hectares (4½ acres). It is one of the most diverse yet compact collections of plants in the world and includes representatives from over 90% of the higher plant families.

In 1621, Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby contributed £5,000 (equivalent to £744,000 in 2005) to set up a physic garden for "the glorification of the works of God and for the furtherance of learning". He chose a site on the banks of the River Cherwell at the northeast corner of Christ Church Meadow, belonging to Magdalen College. Part of the land had been a Jewish cemetery until the Jews were expelled from Oxford (and the rest of England) in 1290.

The Garden comprises three sections:

• the Walled Garden, surrounded by the original seventeenth century stonework and home to the Garden's oldest tree, an English yew, Taxus baccata;
• the Glasshouses, which allow the cultivation of plants needing protection from the extremes of British weather; and
• the area outside the walled area between the Walled Garden and the River Cherwell.

A satellite site, the Harcourt Arboretum, is located six miles (10 km) south of Oxford.