New trees for Whiteknights

Monday, 21 February 2011

New beech hedges and shrubs near the Library on the Whiteknights campus

The Grounds Team have been extremely busy since our last update in September with extensive landscaping and planting across the Whiteknights campus.

Giles Reynolds, Head of Grounds, explains:

We have been clearing old shrubberies from areas around Whiteknights House, the library and the HumSS building replacing them with lawns and native Beech hedges. If you have already seen these new additions to the beds, you will have noticed that the hedges have been planted in linked semi circles. The main reason for this is to add structure, and long season grasses and perennials will be added to give colour and movement.

The team have also planted a number of trees including five Indian horse chestnuts (Aesculus indica) in and around the centre of campus, and shrub plantings of winter flowering Sarcoccoca confusa have been used around the library. Most other planted areas around campus will be receiving a winter makeover in the coming weeks to make sure they will be blooming come the spring.

The landscaping around the Central Kitchen is nearly complete: winter/spring flowering heathers, the tall flowering shrub Amelancheir lamarcki and evergreen grass of varying height have been planted en masse, so that the area will look interesting and different all year round.

We have also been recycling woodchips from tree work around the University and composted green waste from the grounds to make our own mulch. This is turned every three to four weeks until it is sterile and then screened ready for use around campus.

The reworking of the Harris Garden continues, with the planting of various trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs - these include a snow drop tree Halesia carolina, the southern Yellow wood Cladrastis lutea,  a New Zealand Ribbon wood Hoheria Angustifolia and a Stewartia pseudo camellia.