Nurturing nature in the Humanities Garden

15 May 2026

Faculty colleagues gathered once again for a planting workshop in the Humanities Garden.

On Tuesday, 5 May we hosted the most recent Humanities Garden planting workshop, once again under the excellent tuition of Kath from our neighbouring Hulme Garden Centre.

In the session, we made what some might consider an unusual planting choice for a garden: adding stinging nettles to two of the raised beds. Yet our habit of clearing nettles has a negative effect on ecosystems.

Nettles are crucial food for peacock, red admiral and comma butterflies, as well as for garden tiger, flame and buff ermine moths, all of which depend on them for their larvae. At the same time, many garden birds, such as bullfinches, eat their seeds.

Elsewhere, we planted garlic cress, a perennial herb with strong garlic‑ and mustard‑tasting leaves that will support pollinators in spring and provide shelter for invertebrates. We also added garlic mustard, the plant on which the orange‑tip butterfly almost exclusively lays its eggs. It too supports spring pollinators and produces seeds for birds in summer.

The rest of the session entailed tidying up the beds, removing weeds that would crowd out our planting, whilst also discovering some self-planted additions that will add to the appeal and ecosystem services of the garden.

Finally, with fresh mint tea in hand, participants tried their hands at weaving small willow pots under instruction from Kath. Whilst our own willow hedge is currently too young to be used, it served as a tantalising insight to the prospects the space holds.

Such activity reflects the diverse functions of the Humanities green space, which we hope will continue to grow in time: a demonstrator for visually appealing planting that remains sympathetic to the campus while supporting nature; a resource for crafting; and a space for taking a well‑earned break from emails, admin, reading, marking, writing and teaching.

The garden is increasingly flourishing into life – we encourage colleagues to pay it a visit and take some time there over the coming weeks.

The next Humanities Garden Workshop will be in July. If you wish to get involved by joining our ‘Friends of’ group, please email Roz Webster.