Thursday 26 March 2026

Springtime in Hayward Quad: The Tulips Project

After a long winter season, Hayward Quad is now carpeted by a colourful display of tulips, bringing some much-needed springtime life back to the College gardens. Ade Roche, Keble’s Gardens and Grounds Manager, offers insight into the behind-the-scenes work our gardening team have put in to make this corner of our grounds so vibrant.

Where did the idea for this planting project first come from?
About three years ago, when Ed Peel was the Garden Master, it was his idea that we would plant some bulbs in Hayward Quad and, so, we flooded it with tulip bulbs. They were all two shades of purple then, and we had such fantastic feedback from students, their parents, and conference guests that we decided that we would carry on, and we have done every year since.

Why this particular area in Hayward Quad?
I think we chose areas underneath trees here in Hayward because there’s not a lot we can do with this space anyway; you just end up with rough grass. This space can be hard for us to look after, so we flood it with bulbs, including snowdrops, crocuses, and daffodils, which makes the place look lovely, and we can leave it as is for months.

What is the planting process?
The bulbs were planted in November, and I’d like to take credit for it but it was mostly Haylee, Charley, and Laszlo, the Garden Team, who planted the majority of the tulips; approximately 6000 bulbs. Originally, we planted colours to mirror the blossom on the apple tree when it comes out, and it looked really nice, but when Haylee did the design for this year, she wanted to introduce some white, and some red and I think now we’ve got the right mix of colour.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the kit to skim the turf off, throw all the bulbs on there, and roll the turf back on, which would be the quick way to do it. The team had to scatter the bulbs, then take a chunk of the ground out and put a bulb in, so they were planting every single one individually.

How often does bulb planting need to take place?
After that first year where we flooded everything with the purple bulbs, we thought we wouldn’t have to do it again, and the following year was disappointing. They didn’t come up as anywhere near the amount, so then we realised that, if you want the tulips, this is a project we would need to revisit every year. This year we’ve gone for it again, and it looks beautiful.

What do you like about spring, and what’s the plan for next year?
I think for myself, and I’m pretty sure I can speak for the team, spring is lovely because winter is tough for us. It’s cold, it’s wet, it’s dull, and then when bulbs start to come up, it’s nice to see the fruits of your labour. People start to come out and enjoy the gardens, so spring is such a wonderful time of year.

For next springtime, Haylee and Charley will look again at what comes up, then they will make a plan, and we will do an order again. We will listen to people’s feedback, and we’ll have a look at the photographs that we’ve taken and go from there.