Gardens and Grounds
Worcester is set within 26 acres of award-winning gardens and wooded grounds, including a lake, on-site sports fields, and an orchard. The gardens are unique among all the Oxford colleges in being landscaped in the naturalistic manner, formed at a time when the late ‘picturesque’ strand of the landscape garden was giving way to the more decorative approach, with shrubberies, of the Regency period. The gardens are distinctive in having the lake, which forms the centrepiece of the design.
Head of Gardens and Grounds, Simon Bagnall, leads the team who have a responsibility to preserve and improve the historic gardens. They provide this beautiful, tranquil environment for the Fellows, students, staff, Old Members, conference visitors and the local community to enjoy.
Please consult our visiting page for details of opening times.
Deadly Geraniums
Geraniums are a stalwart of the traditional herbaceous border. It’s easy to see why as they are hardy, reliable, no faff plants that can flower for months on end; for these reasons we grow many in Worcester. My pick of the bunch would include:
Geranium psilostemon, the appropriately named Geranium oxonianum (above) and my absolute favourite - which some consider a weed - Geranium robertianium, which has the sinister common name 'death come quickly'.
Let’s hope its namesake doesn’t come true, I have this plant seeded all over my garden...!
Simon Bagnall, Head of Gardens
The content for this section is produced by Simon and Allison Leslie, one of the gardeners with a particular interest in plants and wildlife. You can find out what the team have been up to over the past few months by clicking on each of the months.