Handing over the trowel

When Rod Ailes and Ros Keep took on the challenge of the Darwin gardens in January 1993, they had no idea of the role they would play in the next three decades of their lives. Over the past 30 years, they have transformed the gardens into a unique riverside space which reflects what makes Darwin different.

 Having moved to Cambridge from Tooting, South London in 1989, after falling in love with the city on a visit to the Botanic Gardens, Rod and Ros had taken on the gardening duties at an external property owned by the College. Impressed with their work, Dr Derek Bendall, then a Fellow of the College, approached them to see whether they would consider working on the College gardens.

 “There were barely any plants, other than some peonies and some prickly things that people had to walk past,” says Rod now. “But it was a leap of faith by the College to offer it to us. Not many gardeners get the opportunity to take on a College garden as a blank canvas – elsewhere you’re just continuing what’s been done for 800 years.”

 Running alongside the river, the Darwin gardens incorporate the outdoor spaces both of Newnham Grange, and the separate houses of Newnham Terrace. Rod and Ros have deliberately maintained the distinctions between these different areas, creating what Rod calls “gardens within a garden”.

 “We’ve made them individual, both botanically and atmospherically,” he says.

 The gardens have now been designed to provide seasonal interest all year round, with planting ranging from the traditional to the more horticulturally exotic.

“The dynamic nature of it is really exciting,” says Dr Torsten Krude, Associate Professor in Zoology, who succeeded Derek Bendall as Gardening Fellow.

“Every week there’s an atmosphere of experiment, finding out what’s survived. And the commitment and enthusiasm of the people involved is transformative.”

 Those with an active interest in the gardens now include the members of DarGar, the student gardening society, as well as the College Green Officer, the Beekeeping Society and the Sustainability Engagement Coordinator.

 “It’s not just our influence,” Rod emphasises. “There’s a good symbiotic relationship with the Gardening Fellows and the students. It needs other people. And for 15 years we worked alongside Andrew Birkett – he designed the rose garden.”

 The era of Ros and Rod has seen the garden’s use by Darwin members increase dramatically, with seating expanding from space for 15 to 120 people.

 “We don’t want to overdo it with the benches and turn it into a park,” says Rod. “But you do have to take functionality into account. It’s a space to be used – from somewhere to sit with a cup of coffee, to putting up marquees for May Balls, to barbecues on the island. Students from other Colleges often have their functions here because they’re not allowed to use the gardens in their own Colleges in the same way. Whenever you bump into a former student returning for a visit, they always remember the garden. It’s a neutral space in a busy College – a pressure release valve.”

 This sense of a garden in constant, active use was part of what attracted Derrienne Bell, who joined Darwin as the College’s first full-time gardener in February.

 “I came in and immediately felt at home,” she says. “I loved it. It’s an oasis – it’s quite wild, and not over-manicured, but it’s unified by so many different interests, with something for everyone. The students have all been chatting to me – the allotment group have already invited me to tea!”

 Since completing her traineeship at the Botanic Gardens, Derry has worked at Magdalene College, as well as in private gardens. But the scale of the set-up at Darwin, which allows her to take it on solo, has a special appeal.

 “Jobs like this don’t come up very often, in interesting gardens that are manageable for one person,” she says.

Rod and Ros, who say they are not retiring but “stepping aside”, know that they will miss the students, as well as the early mornings to themselves in this distinctive and beautiful space which they have cultivated for 30 years. But both are likely to remain familiar faces.

 “We’ll come back,” confirms Ros. “We’ll sit and have a cup of tea and watch Derry do all the work.”