Philip Miller (1691 - 1771) was an esteemed botanist and horticulturist at the Chelsea Physic Garden. His expertise was made widely available in Gardeners Dictionary, his renowned publication in editions from 1731 to 1768. His students went on to establish the botanic gardens of Cambridge and Kew. The Dictionary covered methods of cultivation, and also provided a systematic botanical compendium of all cultivated and wild-growing plants that were known by then in Britain. This latter aspect makes the volume valuable to botanists even today. Miller also gathered together a herbarium of plants from all over the world. In fact, he shared about 50 specimens with Carl Linnaeus, and also passed on many seeds from South America to George Clifford in the Netherlands. Miller presented his collections in paintings that were very realistic.
He carefully used colors to depict his plants in their natural habitat. His personal herbarium is now part of the Natural History Museum herbarium in London (BM) after being sold to Joseph Banks. In 1722 Miller was appointed chief curator and gardener at the Apothecaries' (Physic) Garden in Chelsea. This was on the recommendation of the scientist Patrick Blair. Miller learnt from his father, who was also a gardener, and zealously accumulated knowledge of agriculture and horticulture, travelling throughout the Low Countries and England in search of horticultural acquaintances and information. Before taking on his post at the Physic Garden, he had established his own nursery in St George's Fields, Southwark. Miller’s art is found in many collections, especially those owned by botanists and horticulturists.
