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Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden

View of garden with flowers and trees with a brick walkway
View of garden with flowers and trees with a brick walkway

History of the Garden

Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and colonial Philadelphia doctor and civic leader, helped found The College of Physicians of Philadelphia in 1787. During his tenure, he urged College Fellows to maintain a medicinal garden as a natural and cooperative way to replenish their medicine chests.

The College finally took his advice in 1937 when it celebrated its 150th anniversary and established the Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden adjacent to the Mütter Museum. It contains more than sixty different kinds of herbs that have historical and sometimes contemporary medicinal value. Benches in the shade of a magnolia tree offer Museum visitors a pleasant spot to learn, enjoy, or just relax.

In summer 2011, our Junior Fellows planted a multicultural medicinal plant bed. They won first prize for a community children’s garden in the City Gardens Contest sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

Yes, you can take photos of our medicinal plant garden! Tag them on social media . Photos are not permitted in the main Museum galleries. 

Volunteer in the Garden

Do you love the Mütter? Do you have a passion for botany?

If you answered, “Yes,” consider becoming a docent for the Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden! Garden docents are volunteers who help care for and maintain the Rush Garden, and provide presentations to Museum visitors about the garden.