The idea of establishing the Botanic Garden and the Palm House had already been present in the project of Park Ludowy (People's Park) in Zdrowie district, prepared in the 1930s by Stefan Rogowicz, the manager of Urban Plantations.

After the Second World War, on the initiative of Prof. Jan Muszyсski and Prof. Jakub Mowszowicz, an area of 1.3 ha of urban nurseries (currently the area of the Botanic Garden) was initially allotted for the Healing Plants Garden which opened on 19 September 1946. Soon after that the Urban Board of Directors, with approval of University of Јуdџ and the Green Areas Section of the Polish Horticultural Society announced a competition for the project of the Botanic Garden in Јуdџ. In December 1947 the Competition Board chose among the seven proposed projects one signed "Flora", designed by engineers Wіadysіaw Niemirski and Alfons Zielonko. The planned garden covered an area of about 85 ha, limited by the following streets: Krzemieniecka, Konstantynowska and Retkiсska, to the north-west with the Јуdka river, and to the south and the west with lands belonging to Retkinia and Brus villages. This project has never been accomplished and the Botanic Garden for the time being consisted only of the Healing Plants Section with the area modestly enlarged to 6 ha. Since its establishment, the Garden was administered by the Department of Plantation and Gardens, part of the City Board, later Zarz№d Zieleni Miejskiej (the Urban Greenery Administration), and then Јуdzkie Przedsiкbiorstwo Ogrodnicze (ЈPO, Јуdџ Horticultural Enterprise). The Institute of Pharmacognosy and Healing Plants Cultivation at University of Јуdџ was responsible for the scientific supervision. Later, after the establishment of the Medical Academy, the Pharmacognosy Institute of this school, headed for many years by Prof. Jan Muszyсski, took over the role of the scientific supervisor. The Garden fulfilled mainly the didactic and scientific function. School children, students and scientists were its main beneficiaries. Among others, research on acclimatization of some healing plant species of American origin was carried out here. Annually from spring to autumn, the Pharmacognosy Institute delegated one worker who was in charge of plant selection, plantings, and then collection of seeds and materials essential for training and research of the Medical Academy staff and students. Seeds collected in the Garden were a basis for preparing and publishing in the years 1948-1972 an annual catalogue of seeds, which enabled an exchange with other gardens in Poland and abroad. The following employees of the Pharmacognosy Institute were directly involved in the activity of the Garden: Kazimierz Bukowski, MSc, Witold Jabіonowski, MSc, Wacіaw Jaroniewski, MSc, Janina Kucharska, MSc Eng, Jadwiga Ladnowska, MSc Eng, Prof. Jan Muszyсski, Aleksander Oїarowski, MSc and Wojciech Waszyсski. Till 1959, on behalf of the Plantation Faculty, the staff of Nurseries Institute No. 2 (II Zaklad Szkуіek) took care of the Healing Plants Garden, most remarkably the manager, Zygmunt Wizner and Bronisіaw Bednarz. In 1959, Zofia Chilarska, MSc Eng, was appointed a manager. She retained the position until 1970, when she retired. Even then for many years she worked as a consultant, sharing her wide knowledge and experience with the Garden employees, providing them with advice in their everyday work. In 1970 the ЈPO management appointed the author of this article as the manager of the Garden. The cooperation between ЈPO and the Pharmacognosy Institute continued till 1972, i.e. till the establishment of a Healing Plants Garden for the purposes of the Medical Academy on the premises of a new edifice of the Faculty of Pharmacy. At the time several plans for development of the Botanic Garden were prepared, one of the reasons being that the urban development plans had changed, altering the guidelines assumed for the purposes of the competition. In 1950 about 9 ha were made over to the Zoological Garden, which needed more space, and also in order to relocate Krzemieniecka Street to the west. Another 3 ha were allocated for an estate of detached houses in Kozietulskiego Street.

Finally in 1967 the construction of the Garden began according to the project of engineer Henryk Tomaszewski from the Public Housing Design Agency in Јуdџ. The Department of Green Areas Construction of the ЈPO was the general contractor. Yet it was only after ЈPO had become an investor in 1970 that the works began to proceed faster. The tasks involved were: to level the terrain, construct roads, rock garden hills, water reservoirs, rain shelters, shallow water-pipe network and to plant the area. During the construction, stands of trees, as well as their single, more valuable specimen were preserved. Nurseries, which in 1972 ceased to be used, were liquidated. On 19 July 1973 the first part of the Garden with the area of 20 ha was made available to visitors as a result of a longstanding effort of the Department of Green Areas Construction, as well as of some community actions. It encompassed the following sections: Polish flora, a rock garden, taxonomy of herbaceous plants and a part of park greenery section. Between the years 1972 and 1973 the idea was born to construct the Culture and Recreation Park. The Botanic Garden, Park Ludowy, the forest reserve Polesie Konstantynowskie, the Zoological Garden, as well as the areas west and north-west of the above objects were to form the Park. The Park Management was appointed and took charge of the investments, and since 1977 also of: the Botanic Garden with the Palm House, the reserve and Park Ludowy.

More distant parts of the Garden were developed gradually and presently the whole area, except for the utility areas, is made available to visitors. However, the development of the area was not accompanied by improvement of facilities necessary for the functioning of the Garden. Social, utility and administrative rooms were and still are located in old, converted buildings which cannot be modified. Some of them used to be part of a brickyard. The only greenhouse covering about 150 sq. m. was built almost 40 years ago of recovered materials and does not satisfy the needs of the Garden. The lack of office and personnel facilities as well as of mechanical equipment and tools for work in the field illustrate the enormous effort involved in developing and caring for the Garden. The lack of equipment and money had caused many sections of the Garden to overgrow with weeds, and the less resistant yet interesting plants to die. For many years horses used to be the only means of transport in the Garden. At the same time the number of employees, compared to an area demanding permanent and laborious care, was too small and used to vary greatly over different periods. While in 1975 there were 42 people employed, in the 80s, when the activity of the Garden suffered the greatest decline, the number of employees fell to 19 (in 1987) reaching almost the level from the year 1969, when 15 persons worked on an area of just 6 ha. As far as technicians and engineers are concerned, during the whole period of the Garden activity there were on avarage two or three people with a higher degree in horticulture or botany employed (including the manager), and three or four gardening technicians. Thus keeping such large area of the Garden in good shape was extremely difficult. The situation started improving towards the end of the 80s. In the last several years plant collections have been reconstructed, new bushes and trees have been planted, and the Garden has become increasingly beautiful. The completion of construction of the personnel and didactic facilities, began in 1984, will enable us to extend the scope of activities and improve the working conditions for the staff of the Botanic Garden.

Since 1972 the Garden has been publishing independently a catalogue "Index Seminum" of seeds collected in the Garden and meant for exchange with more than 300 gardens in Poland and abroad. Thanks to these contacts, new species of plants are obtained by means of barter exchange of seeds and seedlings.

Reorganization of the urban green areas in the end of 1991 led to the separation of the Botanic Garden and the Palm House from the Culture and Recreation Park, starting from 1 February 1992, as a single unit - a public sector enterprise subject to the Department of Environmental Protection of the City of Lуdz Office. This resulted in major changes to the organisational structure of the Garden. New engineering and technical staff could be employed as managers of particular sections. Also didactic activities could become more widespread. The local authorities have shown much understanding of the Garden's role and its considerable influence on the Lуdz community in the field of environmental protection, which resulted in increase of employment to 69 people.

The Botanic Garden in Lodz engages in education and promoting environmental awareness. Important examples of the above are various activities organized for adults and youths:

• field trips, the so-called living nature classes in botany, zoology, ecology and wildlife conservation;
• laboratory-training classes in a didactic room or outdoors for children and youths of different age;

• apprenticeship for students of horticultural schools;
• classes for University of Јуdџ biology students and Medical Academy pharmacy students;
• counselling for institutions and individuals concerning plant cultivation and nutrition, creation and tending school allotments and home gardens.

Since 1993 it has systematically organised nature exhibitions accompanied by plant sale.