Friends of Preston Park

The Rose Garden Appeal for new roses can now also be accessed through JustGiving. Please give generously so that we can return the Rose Garden to its former glory. The link to the page can be found below. Thank you.

JustGiving

Help raise £2500 to replenish the Rose Garden in Preston Park, Brighton with new roses.

Weʼre raising money to replenish the Rose Garden in Preston Park, Brighton with new roses. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page. 

Friends of Preston Park have been very active over the past 18 months and you may have noticed trees being planted in various part of the Park. 60 blossom cherry trees were planted last winter, 40 Urban Tree Challenge Fund trees can be found dotted in the Park, 12 fruit trees given by our Green Councillors will flower this spring and recently volunteers and CityParks gardeners have been planting another 15 blossom cherry trees. We are all looking forward to see our trees grow and prosper in the coming months.

Following the launch of the Rose Garden Appeal in February David Austin, the famous UK rose grower, has kindly agreed to match fund any money raised. Therefore we are aiming to reach a goal of £2,500 so that we can order roses this summer to plant in early 2024. We are counting on your generosity in order to restore and maintain the much loved integrity of the Rose Garden. Please donate using the Donate button.

The Rose Garden was designed in the 19th century. It was restored and replanted in 2001 with a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and the current planting incorporates four thousand shrub-rose bushes selected for their smell and attractive bloom. With as many as one hundred different species it is a showcase for the famous rose breeder David Austin, who has supplied the park with roses for a number of years. When in full bloom, the scent and colour of the roses is magical, and visitors come from afar to see the city’s largest rose garden. However, over the years we have lost some of the plants and many are now aged and in need of replacement. It has been assessed that we need to replace 500 bushes as well as applying new fertiliser. The cost of the entire project is approximately £5,000. Therefore, Friends of Preston Park is launching an appeal to raise the necessary funds so that we can initiate the process of plant replacement and complete the garden overall. if you would like to contribute please do so using our donate button on this website. 

Here are some pictures of empty beds which need new rose bushes

The entrance to the walled garden was overgrown and volunteers cleared the bramble and long grass, which were hiding the hellebores and bluebells. Dead trees were chopped off and ivy removed from the walls. The lavender alley is being progressively extended with the removal of bramble.

This week volunteers removed a large amount of weed and lilies from the Rotunda Pond, thus providing more space and light for pond wildlife. The newts will be entering their breeding season very shortly.

Public toilets are not just a convenience – they’re a necessity. Access to toilets and washing facilities is important for good public health and to prevent the spread of disease.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/631369

36 UTCF trees have been planted and 5 more have just been delivered. These trees add to the variety we already have in the park and they have been specially chosen to cope with the climatic changes that are taking place. You can admire the lovely avenue of hawthorns along Preston Road and dotted around the park are new magnolias, redwoods, black and white mulberries, a few catalpas, two Norway maples, a European beech and a chestnut, to mention but a few! A full list and a map will be published shortly to help with identification.

Friends of Preston Park’s  display boards have had a long awaited renovation last week. The board near the Chalet Cafe suffered regular acts of vandalism and the wear and tear on the board near the Rotunda cafe made it difficult to see the information displayed. Both boards have now thick and strong polycarbonate covers and a QR code, which will provide more information about FoPP and what is happening in the park.