This book is the first catalogue of the plants grown at what is now the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. The idea for gardens at Kew was originally proposed by George III’s father, Frederick, Prince of Wales. The gardens were to include an enormous glasshouse where specimens from across the world could be grown. After Frederick’s death in 1751, his widow, Princess Augusta, continued the development of the gardens.

At the time the Hortus was published, the plants in the botanic gardens amounted to some 3,400 species. George III continued to develop the gardens throughout his reign, appointing Sir Joseph Banks to manage them in 1773.