The University's Millennium Garden was
conceived as a desire for a 'secret garden.'
It would be a quiet, reflective place for students and staff amidst the 'busyness' of a major University campus. The project started in 1998, when a design competition was planned and entries were invited from landscape architects and registered students.

Within the large-scale informal landscape, which characterises the Nottingham campus, the garden should, by contrast in scale, form and planting, demonstrate a special place an 'oasis' where landscape and architecture are brought together in a satisfying correspondence. The completed design should have a discrete presence, a 'haven' encountered almost by chance rather than expressing a prominent visual event within the landscape.

The garden should be capable of being used throughout the year so would not only provide shelter, but would also appeal to all the senses throughout each season. Apart from the obvious visual aspects of building, planting and water, these ingredients should also appeal to the other senses creating a 'magical' but integrated experience of sight, sound, smell and touch. The design will bring together building, planting and water as an integrated whole so that the appeal of shelter, colour, form, texture, sound and smell is maintained in ever-changing manifestations throughout the seasons.

Provision of disabled access to the garden must be considered and entrants should make the garden an experience for those with impaired sight or hearing. Planting should reflect the international nature of the University by including both, native and exotic plants.

At the first round, an impressive fifty entries were received, exhibiting a high degree of artistic ingenuity and variation in the treatment of the site. From these, four entries were selected for the second stage of the competition: David Wilson Partnership, Quartet Design, JWP Landscape Architects, and Hyland Edgar Driver.

From these the scheme by Quartet design was chosen as the winning entry, to be constructed as our Millennium Garden. The judges chose this design, a theme based on time, particularly because of its likely appeal to students.

The garden has been created on land generously donated by the Boots Company, from the grounds of the adjacent Lenton House. The site is approximately 0.58 hectare in size, slopes gently towards the Downs and included some existing trees, some of which have been retained in the new layout.

The design of the Garden is bold and exciting with lots to see and interesting places to sit. There is ample access for disabled visitors; consideration for wildlife and the overall scheme is quite unique. A strong central pathway leads the visitor into the garden and onto a series of interconnecting circular pathways. The layout of overlapping circular areas forms a strong pattern within the centre of the garden.

There is a formal pool with fountains, which 'tell the time'* and steel bridges to a central island. These are set low, almost on the water, creating a strange feeling of 'walking on water'. An existing specimen of Ailanthus altissima, the Tree of Heaven was retained as a centrepiece for the island and as a focal point of the garden.

The adjacent colour garden is designed to have interesting flowers and foliage at all seasons. It is known as the Teresa Duffy Flower Garden in memory of a former Chaplain and Lecturer of the University, who died as the garden was being completed in 2000. The centrepiece of this garden is an Armillary Sphere, a sundial, originally developed by a Greek astronomer in the 15C, as a navigation device.

A circular grassed area is intended as an informal seating area as well as a small open-air performance site. Twelve sentinel clipped yews, again reinforcing the time theme surround the lawn.

There is also a raised mound with clipped box hedges, which overlooks the garden and particularly gives views of the pool. The focal point of this feature is a stone sculpture by Peter Randall-Page entitled 'Flayed Stone', carved from a single piece of glacial granite.

The furthest end of the garden is terminated with a blue brick and turf maze. This ancient garden feature symbolises the rooting of knowledge in antiquity. Views from here look out across the meadows to the halls of residence and the distant housing. Here the design emphasises the University's open attitude to learning and knowledge and its involvement in the wider community.

At this stage there are a limited number of seats and is hoped that members and friends of the University may wish to sponsor further seating to enhance the garden. A bold canopied structure provides a strong visual feature on the main access and will give shelter, making the garden useable at all seasons.

Tree planting has included Pyrus 'Chanticleer', Corylus colurna, the Turkish Hazel, the golden-leaved Robinia pseudoacaia 'Frisia', Ginkgo biloba, the maidenhair tree and Paulownia tomentosa. Shrub planting includes plants for interest at all seasons. In the winter, evergreens such as Euonymus 'Emerald and Gold' will give a touch of 'winter sun' and the blocks of dark green box will give structure to the garden. Dogwoods will provide colour from the bright red winter twigs. Flowering bulbs give spring colour to the garden. In summer there is much to appreciate both within the structure planting surrounding the area and also within the more detailed parts of the flower garden.

The time theme, so obvious to a Millennium Garden, has already been mentioned but it will only be those who have seen the plans for this garden, who will appreciate the underlying whimsy of the design. The interacting circular patterns of the garden components can be seen as the escapement of a clock, the patterns around the flower garden representing cogs, the box spiral, a watch spring and the main access path, the pendulum of a clock. Over the years, as the garden matures and the planting grows, the strong floor pattern of the garden and its meaning, will no doubt be forgotten.

Lord Dearing, Chancellor of the University, formally opened the garden on Tuesday 4 July 2000. The planting within the garden grew well in its first year and already some areas are starting to look well clothed. Over the winter of 2000/2001 the University Grounds Staff continued to develop the surrounding areas and in particular the approach from The Orchards and University Club, which has been landscaped with a new approach footpath, tree and shrub planting. The garden has been entered for the British Landscape Industries' awards and for a Civic Trust Award.

The hard landscape was constructed by O'Dell Groundworks, and the soft aspects of the scheme by Frosts of Woburn Sands. Ailsebrook Pump Services installed the fountains.

*During the day the number of active fountains is directly related to the time, at 1pm one fountain is "on", at 2pm two fountains and so on.

Ken Brand, based exclusively on material supplied by Ian Cooke, Estates Department, University of Nottingham.