Written by Alex Fairbairn, Gardener on the University of Exeter’s Grounds Team
As gardeners at Exeter University we are lucky to spend most working days outside striving to create a beautiful campus for the students, staff and visitors to our campus. However, venturing inside the buildings where staff and students spend most of the time is a journey into the unknown. This therefore means that our perspective of the grounds is often based on being outside rather than the view from inside a building looking out, as most may often see to connect to our grounds. Wanting to improve people’s working environment and connection to the grounds, we decided to spend some time looking from the inside out to see if this could be changed.
With the renovation of St Luke’s Library, its large windows running across the back of the building and the small courtyard in need of some horticultural enhancement, it was decided that this was a location that could really benefit from some thoughtful planting and landscaping.
Being heavily shaded meant that the plants needed to be selected accordingly and this seemed like a good opportunity to create a calm woodland garden style that could enhance the quiet library environment. Hoping for the space to become a very naturalistic, low maintenance woodland style garden we decided on a range of ferns with a variety of textures to provide interest throughout the seasons. Ferns were chosen such as the Holly Fern (Cyrtomium fortunei), Chilean Hard Fern (Blechnum chilense) and Alpine Wood Fern (Dryopteris wallichana).
We have also started collecting and sowing fern spores to increase our nursery stock and were excited to use some of the ferns grown on site – Polystichum and Pteris species – in this planting scheme.
A more tropical feel, structure and summer flowers should come from the Japanese aralia (Fatsia japonica) and Tree Peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa).
To add more spring colour, with their dark pink leaves and yellow flowers, we included and two species of Epimediums including the unusual serrated leaved Epimedium ‘Spine Tingler’ as well as Solomons Seal (Polygonatum multiflorum)with its arching flower stems and contrast from the deep red of Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’.
We planted some Birch (Betula) trees to add to the woodland feel and as their habit is upright with small leaves, they will hopefully not steal the light from the windows and nearby building.
The plants were planted in the courtyard with mulch added to improve the slightly impoverished soil in late winter. However with such a dry spring and hot summer, it has not been the ideal year for new plantings to thrive. The majority of plants do seem to be doing well though and we hope that, as they fill and spread through the bed, the garden is a success and enhances the internal space within the St Luke’s Library. We will continue to evolve and add to the area, but are also now on the lookout for other internal areas that would benefit from the same treatment.