Alongside the emergence of the sun, absent for so much of Hilary term, there are few more uplifting sights in College at present than our new herbaceous border, which is really coming into its own as the new plants begin to flourish. It is proving a beautiful backdrop to croquet matches and social gatherings on the lawns, as well as a relaxing setting in which to sit and look back towards the College buildings.

This afternoon we are welcoming the designer of the border, Chris Beardshaw, and the donor who so generously financed it back to Trinity to celebrate this splendid project. We will also be turning on the new lighting scheme for the Stuart Gates, devised by Patrick Woodroffe. We are very grateful to them all, as well as to Kate, Aaron and the rest of the Trinity garden team, who have turned the vision into a reality and are now nurturing it to maturity. No mean achievement when the initial work alone involved planting 5,500 plants in just a two-week period — during a heatwave.

The College first contacted Chris immediately prior to Covid, when members of the Garden Committee attended one of his talks in Oxford. He is a renowned designer whose work includes the 200-metre-plus border at the Queen’s House in Greenwich Park. For Trinity, Chris came up with a scheme that combines beauty, texture and colour, but which is also designed to be practical, manageable and sustainable for many years to come. The planning benefited from detailed historical research into our gardens and architecture, ably supported by Clare Hopkins in the College archive.

Implementing the scheme was far from straightforward and suffered a number of delays, including the pandemic, problems with the kitchen project and the later decision to put ground source heat pumps under the lawns. So we are very grateful to Chris and his colleague Frances for their patience as well as their skill.

What seemed radical at the time in terms of shape and size now fits beautifully, and the border looks as though it has been there for ever, as one would hope. The colourful expanse is a far cry from its long, dull, neglected predecessor, filled with knotweed. But the border is no vanity project. By providing a beautiful and restful environment in which to walk, relax and socialise, I hope it will enhance the wellbeing of every member of our community and help everyone flourish in their work and other pursuits. As Cicero put it: “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”

Dr Kay Chubbuck expanded on this theme when she addressed the new Rhodes Scholars last year at the US Botanical Garden: “Gardens slow us down. They invite reflection. They offer us a chance to stray from well-prepared paths into different directions where you might find things that are new and unexpected. Gardens inspire, connect, cultivate and preserve. They spark imagination and scholarship. They bring people together across disciplines, generations and cultures.”

Speaking of matters horticultural and uplifting, I warmly recommend the Ashmolean’s current exhibition, In Bloom: How Plants Changed our World. Featuring more than 100 artworks and objects, it tells the fascinating history of our relationship with originally distant but now familiar plants, from roses and tulips to camellias and orchids.

The exhibition begins with the story of early plant collectors and the merchants and colonial agents who turned them into business opportunities. It ends with examples of contemporary art and photography, and the reflections of present-day scientists. The exhibits include paintings, prints, beautifully illustrated large-scale books, papier-mâché models used for teaching, and “scent stations” at which you can smell the likes of damask roses and the fragrance of an opium den. It runs until 16 August.