Spring has come early this year. Somerville gardener Anna reflects on the gardens during this beautiful season.
Thanks to the warm sun and wonderful blue skies, many plants have benefited and are putting on early displays, including the stunning flowering of the wisterias around the college. (We have yet to determine the species but as soon as we know, we’ll pass it on.)
But as gardeners we have been wishing for the famous April showers. Ideally (please don’t boo) two weeks of constant rain – preferably at night, but that’s not going to happen.
Which is why it’s so important that we as a college garden are bringing water into the space. Firstly, with our beautiful bird pool, donated and installed last year. Secondly, and greater (not only in volume) investment in water: the pond which is the centerpiece of our new Remembrance Garden, created to celebrate and honour the Somervillian women who served during WW1 and WW2. This new pond will contribute greatly to the biodiversity of the college.
The new pond is also already being used by our favourite avian visitors – the Mistle Thrushes are back!
For those of you who have read previous blogs, you may remember we were looking to install a bird camera to capture the Mistle Thrushes nesting. We received a donation from this camera from our amazing alumni community, and installed the camera in the tree the Thrushes nested in last year. However, the birds decided to keep us on our toes, and built their nest in the Cedar tree this year! We are hoping another bird species will build their nest in the original tree, as we can’t risk disturbing the Thrushes at this point. Whilst we won’t yet be able to livestream the young chicks, we have been able to capture this footage of them, which we hope you enjoy. There is a small handful of chicks, who are growing fast.
The Mistle Thrush parents are ever present in the Quad. They are almost totally unafraid of the people around them, as you will find out if you have the opportunity to hang out on the lawn. This fearlessness extends not to people but also their natural predators. They’ve had aerial battles with Sparrowhawks, Magpies, etc. In fact, we think this might be why they chose the better protection of the Cedar this year.
So, back to spring at Somerville and a few horticultural highlights:
Wisteria in Darbishire Quad
Tulips in Darbishire Quad
Blossom outside Chapel
Our wildflower meadow
Buttercups in the wildflower meadow
Bluebells
Irises flowering in the Alpine beds
Wisteria outside the library
