I hope by now most people will have had the opportunity to see the newly planted Fellows’ Garden. It is some years since it was first designed and, after the pandemic in particular, the borders had lost coherency and the structure and colour scheme was, to put it bluntly, all to pot! Back in April the Head of Grounds Maintenance and the gardens team, working with the Head Gardener from Trinity, Kate Burtonwood, planted the design that she had created for us. It has a lot of growing to do, but even at this very early stage the strength of the design is showing through. The compartmentalisation into garden “rooms” allows for the repetition of the planting to bring the ebb and flow of colour that we had wanted and will allow it to remain interesting throughout the year, even when its winter skeleton is all that is on show. By the end of the summer the herbaceous plants will have reached their full height, but it will take a few years for it to fill out and for the yew buttresses to come into their own.

Anacamptis pyramidalis (Pyramidal Orchid)

There is much to do around the College, even without the excitement of Univ North, in landscape terms. In the coming months further work is planned around the Goodhart Lawn, and the green desert that is Main Quad could use some thought. With a new Head Gardener of our own on the horizon we should see vibrancy return to our gardens. In the meantime, let me leave you with a new resident in the Merton St garden; Pyramidal Orchids are not rare, but any orchid in the wildlife planting is lovely. Let’s hope they spread out.

Angela Unsworth, Domestic Bursar & Chair of Sustainability Committee.

Below you will find our Fellows’ Garden photo gallery and interactive “before and after” sliders, along with our sustainability feedback and suggestions form. 

Published: 21 June 2023

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