During the Middle Ages, the art of healing was strongly associated with religion, causing many people to turn to the church for medical treatment. Because they had greater access to imported plant material, monasteries grew the majority of medicinal plants; however, the number of apothecary shops throughout Europe was steadily increasing. It was not until the first botanical garden was created in 1545 in Padua, Italy that responsibility for healing was transferred from the monasteries to formally educated physicians (James, 2001).