Churchill College’s grounds and gardens are one of Cambridge’s best-kept secrets. Covering a 42-acre site, the original design was drawn up in the early 1960s by the landscape architect Sheila Haywood, who used planting for foliage and form—creating landscapes with borders surrounding buildings rather than traditional gardens. The grounds and gardens have evolved over the years but they still retain the integrity of the original planting.

The first trees on site, a Quercus robur (oak) and a Morus nigra (black mulberry), were planted by the College’s Founder, Sir Winston Churchill, on 17 October 1959. The Morus nigra was devastated in 1994 when heavy foliage and inclement weather caused it to fall to the ground. But it has since re-grown and like the oak, it is a magnificent specimen. These trees were joined in 2009 by a Morus alba ‘Pendula’ (white mulberry) which was planted by Sir Winston’s daughter, Mary Soames, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the trees that were planted by her father. These three trees are all thriving.

There are now some 800 trees across the site. The College is very proud of its tree collection, which includes both British natives along its boundary line and exotic and unusual trees elsewhere. Of particular interest are the majestic Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood), Paulownia tomentosa (Foxglove tree), Davidia involucrata (Handkerchief tree), Liriodendron tulipifera (Tulip tree) and the Catalpa bignonioides (Indian bean tree).