Wide angle shallow depth of field photo of the overgrown path through the garden
THE OLD BOTANIC GARDENS
From Highfields Walled Gardens to Lenton Firs Rock Garden, the University of Nottingham hosts a variety of beautiful gardens. Between the delicate water features and rows of flowers, it’s evident that the campus is well tended to. The university has won a green flag award, recognising its gardens as well maintained, managed and environmentally sustainable, every year since 2003.
But what happens when a garden has served its purpose?
The answer to this can be found in the story of the Old Botanic Gardens.
In the 1970s, the Old Botanical Gardens were built as a teaching resource. Formal order beds made of a wide range of diverse plant species, all of which could be studied by eager students. Pupils were able to familiarise themselves with species of plants and learn how to tell flora apart, since the closure of the garden this has become a rarely used skill. As well as being used for studies, the garden lead the way for the introduction of new plant species to the campus.
Now the garden has been reduced and simplified, maintaining very little sign of its original purpose. What was once a thriving garden, used to teach botany to a range of students is now a rarely used short-cut across a hill on campus.
Hidden away behind the Portland Hill bus stop, this path still hosts a range of plants and wildlife. The entrance to the pathway is guarded by two phormium plants, whose sword-shaped leaves hang over the path. Nestled in amongst messy Ivy and shrub-style plants. Occasional pops of red berries from dog rose plants add contrast to the greens and blues of surrounding plants.
Trees such as Cedars, Ginkos, and Medlars can be found lining the pathway. At the base of the Blue Atlas cedar tree, squirrels and rabbits search for food. Whilst the plant life has been stripped back the wildlife here has thrived. As students briefly pass by this quiet area of campus, a variety of birds and small mammals can be spotted. Squirrels, rabbits, crows, blackbirds, magpies, and several smaller birds hop quickly between the branches. The constant noises of rustling leaves and shaking branches as animals play and hide together in this secluded part of campus, enjoying the fruits from trees and brambles, shows how full of life this garden still is.
Several benches hideaway just off the path, inviting visitors to pause for a minute in the tranquillity of the garden. The active noise of students appears to slow down. The view from the garden is unique: geese and other water birds can be observed from afar as they go about their lives unbothered by the frantic bustle of the students and staff around them. The blue roof of the lakeside arts centre shows prominently through the trees, as crowds gather at the cafe by the lake the Old Botanical Garden sits abandoned, yet peaceful.
The tower by the HV Substation stands over the garden occasionally producing grey smoke clouds. The prominence of the tall building overshadows the dainty peaceful mood of the garden, but from certain angles, the tower can be obscured by trees and forgotten.
The irony that one of the campus's most forgotten gardens exists seconds away from the busy student union is somewhat fitting. The birds will sing and the outside world will grow muffled by the branches, making it easy to push responsibilities to the side. Visitors to the garden may step away from the chaos of university life and sit with the calm of the forgotten garden
Amongst the trees and plants, piles of branches and dead wood can be found, likely hosting a range of invertebrates. Beneath the wood pile, hidden between roots and soil a small opening can be seen. The presence of rabbits in this area signifies that the Botanic Gardens are one of the many locations on campus they have commandeered for their burrows. Yet, the hole appears slightly too large to be a rabbit's burrow. Potentially hosting a larger, nocturnal creature.
The university campus has known sightings of foxes, badgers, and much other urban wildlife. These animals will naturally be drawn to an area such as this, closed off from most students, thriving with food sources and hiding places.
As the sun sets midges to begin to swarm, likely attracted to the damp soil and rotting plant material littering the floor of the garden. The midges provide a feast for the many spiders who choose to linger in the branches of the trees and bushes along this short walk.
Compared to some of the university’s other gardens the Botanic Gardens may seem unimpressive, but there was once a time when this garden would’ve been thriving with life. After serving its purpose the garden became a quiet reserve for anyone who needs a break.
Golden Hour at the Old Botanical Gardens
Symmetry of a Blue Atlas
References:
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/sustainability/documents/grounds/gardensguide.pdf
https://impactnottingham.com/2018/09/garden-gems-of-uon/
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/sustainability/documents/grounds/gardensguide.pdf
https://impactnottingham.com/2018/09/garden-gems-of-uon/