Plants as Subjects in Botanic Gardens: Toward Environmental Engagement

This chapter begins with a brief exploration of what it means to view plants as subjects. This is followed by an account of gardens, and their role as sites of human-plant collaboration. The historical development of botanic gardens, and their special functions as recreational displays and sites for plant conservation are discussed next. This is followed by the proposal that botanic gardens, even more than other gardens, exhibit human-plant collaboration, and the claim that, as such, these gardens offer outstanding opportunities for viewing plants as subjects in botanic gardens. It is concluded that recognition of plants as subjects may contribute in an important way toward greater inclusion of the non-human world in our consideration.