Joanna Geyer-Kordesch has had a distinguished academic career bridging the disciplines of history of medicine and cultural history as embodied in our landscapes. After becoming the first woman to direct The Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine at the University from 1990 to 2001, she became Professor of European Natural History and History of Medicine at that university where, after retiring in 2006, she remains a Professor Emerita. Since retirement Joanna has continued her research interests while developing a parallel career as a poet, artist and creative essayist. In this latest phase of her life, following a debilitating illness, gardens have become central to her thinking, as well as places of healing, stimulus and reflection.