College Record 2019

‘stately view’, a view of the new bird bath in the rose garden. Opening up views like this is an
activity worthy of the best of gardeners. The roses were carefully chosen by Mike Pearson and
newly planted last year, and Mel Constantino wrote about them in the last Record. When the
rose garden had been hoed to prepare for the new growth, I decided it was the right place to
scatter the last dried rose petals from my sister’s coffin spray. She was a considerable gardener,
so this seemed an appropriate act. I love this varied, peaceful and reflective space in which
I usually linger at the completion of my walk. Another joy is the wonderful tulips, a photo of
which graced the front of the 2015 Record. They can be found not only in the Bishop’s Garden
but also in the magnificent tubs at the front of the main building and in the Berlin Quad, in
College colours to greet the spring.
MEMORIES OF WOLFSON
Gardens are always evolving, and in the 2015 Record Jacqueline Piper gave us a very
informative article about the creation of the Wolfson garden landscape. For example, I am
always excited to see what will emerge whenever the latest version of the herbaceous border
starts to grow at the far end of the lavender path by the croquet lawn. It is an inviting part of
the walk towards yet another pergola with its double beauty of rose and wisteria, and a bench
to invite the stroller to bring a book or just enjoy the reflective peace of the arbour. This year
the hard landscaping of the pergola path has been renewed and contributes to the beauty
of the space. As I write, the formal garden is being replanted with plants with an ‘Eastern
connection’. At its centre is the significantly inscribed sundial which was a gift by Sir Henry
Fisher when he retired from the Presidency in 1989; his initials accompany a quotation from
Horace: INTER SILVAS ACADEMI QUAERERE VERVM (‘To seek Truth within the groves of
Academe’). The original garden-planting had a Chinese and Japanese theme, hence the dragon
on the sundial.
After a side glance at the practical provision of allotment growing-spaces for College members,
the variety of the gardens continues in the winding woodland path. This ends in the view of
the river and bridge as one descends by the side of the cascade and wet garden with its exotic
plants. The bridge has become my younger daughter’s favourite standing and thinking place, but
I was startled the very first time I saw it as it disappeared into a lake in a year when the water
meadow beyond was fully submerged.
A relatively new work of art is Roger Cheney’s ‘Transformed Triangle’ (1974), which startles
my visitors as we take the path back from the river and admire the pinnacle in the Winter
Garden bearing a second inscription, set on a plaque: TRADIDIT HVNC LAPIDEM LYCIDAE
MERTONIA DONVM (‘Merton handed this stone to Lycidas as a gift’ – after all, this is
Oxford!). The pinnacle always attracts the interest of friends as they walk with me, together
with my comment that it was in fact found ‘in a builder’s yard’ (2015 Record, p. 112) and taken
to Wolfson, before being formally captioned by agreement with Merton. Most traditions have
multiple lives and versions, and this is no exception.
As I continue my walk, and at the appropriate season, I seek out areas across the gardens
where there are displays of snowdrops and daffodils and winter crocus, and where I have
learned they will be blooming in early spring, a favourite time.
I have learned that the interesting Catalpa in the Gandy Quad which spreads over yet another
well-positioned bench is also called an Indian Bean Tree. Another ‘stately view’, this time
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COLLEGE RECORD 2019