My Space: Jason Paulger

Within the walls of the Thomas Building, home to the School of Biological Sciences, is a hidden oasis.

The 1968 concrete building has a large central atrium, with a lush subtropical garden that’s home to towering palms, unusual plants and even a fishpond. The building is located within the wider Conservation Area of the City Campus – a 41,500 square metre precinct that’s home to more than 400 mature trees.

Jason Paulger oversees the many outdoor spaces around the University’s campuses as its grounds and precinct manager, and the Thomas Building atrium, he says, is a favourite spot.

Jason says his passion for plants emerged at around age seven. He later began channelling a creative streak into flower arranging, discovering he could arrange flowers like a pro from age 12, and going on to master the Japanese art of Sogetsu ikebana.

It’s a background that he says has further developed over his career in horticulture, working in many landscape gardener roles, into a deep appreciation of the shapes and colours that occur in nature.

How did you come to this role, overseeing the grounds at the University?

JP: I always aspired to work at the University, and I regret that I didn’t apply 16 years ago when I first saw this position come up. But when I saw the role was vacant again in 2023, I jumped at the opportunity. There is a huge portfolio of grounds, which not only encompasses the garden and turf areas, but everything outside of the buildings, including the hardscapes.

It’s a lot to manage, but it’s my dream job. I love having the ability to bring out the perfection of all the plants and the gardens and having the ability to make choices that enhance the environment for students.

The University has many lovely gardens. What do you particularly like about this one?

I love this space because it’s quite hidden. You can’t see it from the outside, so it’s like a secret garden.

The walls surrounding the plants create a little microclimate for them to thrive. The style of the building also goes hand in hand with the shape and form of the plants, which are large, bold and have an artistic quality. There are palms, cycads, lilies; the greenery comes together like an abstract painting.

My background in ikebana and Western flower design helps me to appreciate all the plant life that I come across every day. There’s a line and a boldness, along with a variety of leaf textures, flower colours and shades of green that you only see within a garden of this size and type.

What are some of your favourite plants in the garden?

My favorite is the black bat flower, Tacca chantrieri, which is from the tropical rainforests of Thailand. These plants have an architectural look about them; the boldness and the line and the shape of the leaves are all very attractive. And the flower really does look like a bat – it’s quite incredible.

Another favourite is the tractor seat plant, Ligularia reniformis. It has big, glossy, round leaves that work well with the overall tropical design of the garden. It requires a lot of water, but it also has very attractive yellow flowers, coloured the shade of a buttercup, which grow on a long stem.

The large banana palms are also a feature. I think people could be surprised to learn bananas grow on campus.

We actually have lots of different clumps of banana trees around the University grounds, including some from the 19th century.

There’s one here that’s ready to be harvested. We just chop it off at the top of the stem, put the bananas in a dark place, and they ripen naturally. What I’m not sure many people know, though, is that you can also eat the banana flower.

– Caitlin Sykes