The majority of the Walled Garden consists of long narrow borders. Within these beds, plants are arranged in their botanical groups known as families. All the species in a family have a common ancestor some- where in the past. Each family is positioned next to its closest relations and families are grouped into orders.

Although this part of the Garden has the plants arranged scientifically we are trying to make these “order borders” more attractive.

As we learn more about plants and develop new methods for looking at plants, such as DNA fingerprinting, the relationships between the families will inevitably change. With every change the arrangement of the families will reflect more accurately the evolutionary history of life on Earth.