Blog
8 December 2025
As another year draws to a close and winter settles gently over Emmanuel, it feels like the right moment to pause, look back and appreciate all that has unfolded in the gardens over the past twelve months. The cycle of the seasons always brings its share of surprises, challenges and small triumphs and 2025 was no exception.
A Year of Weather in Extremes
If one theme defined the year, it was the long hot dry spells. Our borders, however, rose to the challenge. The herbaceous displays along the Paddock and Fellows’ Garden filled out beautifully once temperatures settled, rewarding patience with generous colour.
Notable Highlights
• Herbaceous borders: This year’s borders were packed with colour and variety. It started with a strong show in the Spring with Peony’s and other spring bulbs and continued into Summer with the Roses and Salvia’s, Delphiniums and Sysyrinchiums. The Autum held on to its colour with the Eupatorium’s and the Hylotelephium.
• Community Garden successes: The good sunny weather meant that we had plentiful crops this year, starting with the onions and garlic planting, right through to harvesting the many pumpkins and squashes deep into late Autumn.
• Lawns and new students: The lawns bore up admirably under a busy conference season and another enthusiastic influx of freshers. The team’s efforts in autumn scarifying and over-seeding should pay off handsomely when Spring returns.
It was fantastic to provide yet another garden tour at the end of November. It was well attended with a good blend of new students and a return of members. It was a pleasure to show you all around.
Projects and Improvements
The team undertook several behind-the-scenes improvements that will continue to benefit the gardens long beyond this season:
· Continued soil-health work in the Herbaceous Borders, particularly mulching with our own leaf-mould.
· Expansion of wildlife-friendly zones, including additional log piles and nectar-rich planting.
· Ongoing renovation of older shrub areas, bringing in fresh structure while preserving character.
These quieter, less visible projects are often the ones that shape the future of the garden most meaningfully.
The Team
No review would be complete without mentioning the wonderful gardening team whose skill, humour and persistence keep the college grounds looking their best. From early-morning mowing to wet-weather pruning, from glasshouse seed-sowing to the endless battle with weeds, their work forms the rhythm of the college year as surely as the academic calendar.
Looking Ahead
Winter offers us the gift of planning - time to sketch next year’s borders, consider new plantings and prepare for the first signs of snowdrops. There are exciting developments planned for the coming year, including further enhancements to the Fellows’ Garden borders and the arrival of the newly planted Camassia bulbs in North Court.
A Final Word
To all students, staff, Fellows and visitors who have paused to admire a border, ask a question, or simply enjoy a quiet moment in the gardens: thank you. These spaces are at their best when they are lived in and loved.
Wishing everyone a peaceful Winter and a flourishing year ahead.
Brendon Sims (The Head Gardener) Emmanuel College, Cambridge