Author: Isa Martin

New gardening session. Come and join our team of volunteers in the Rose Garden. See details on the poster.

Friends of Preston Park volunteers prepared the Lavender Walk for the winter, weeding and giving a light prune to the bushes, cutting the overgrown ivy, honeysuckle and jasmin. There is much more gardening work to be done, so please join us next Tuesday at 10 am at the Rockery Chalet.

One of the great pleasures in working as a volunteer gardener is learning tips such as planting and pruning as well as helping shrubs and flowers grow happily by weeding, deadheading and mulching. On Sunday 1st October we had our first monthly Sunday morning session and enjoyed clearing some of the overgrown thistle and bindweed from the Rose Garden beds.

Why not join us for our next session on Sunday 5th November and meet our wonderful team of volunteers.

Autumn is an exciting time to come and learn how to prepare flowerbeds for the winter, and you can apply to your own garden the knowledge acquired.

Before and after.

 ‘An Illustrated History of Preston Park’ on Saturday 26 August at 2.30pm in St Peters, Preston Park

‘Wildflower Conservation’ with George Harris and Lindy Brooke Tweed on Saturday 9 September at 2.30pm also in St Peter’s.

Entrance free, donations to St Peter’s LightUp campaign.

Sign up for our events on Eventbrite:

Wreathmaking – Saturday

Wreathmaking – Sunday

A survey of the Rose Garden reveals that we currently house 6 of the 10 David Austin  shrub roses with royal connections. The white William and Catherine, the deep pink Princess Anne, the tea fragrance Princess Alexandra of Kent, the old rose fragrance Queen of Denmark, the light pink Queen of Sweden and the rich pink England’s Rose.

It has been suggested we add Elizabeth, named in honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,  to our collection. It is a pale pink-apricot shrub rose which pales into gentle white and has a strong sweet fragrance, which will bring  pleasure to all our visitors of the Rose Garden.

Having reached 80% of our appeal target we need to raise a further £250 by the end of this month to start ordering the shrub roses we need to plant in the autumn, so that we can enjoy the blooms of our new additions next spring.

Please donate using the Donate button on this website. 

The long awaited new sculpture for Preston Park was unveiled yesterday. Artist Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva’s vision of the ‘Gilded Elm’ has saved the diseased 400 year old elm tree trunk from being incinerated and transformed it into a magnificent piece of art. Paul Campbell from CityParks praised Elpida’s tenacity and drive, spending two years stripping the bark and  lovingly restoring the trunk. The imposing sculpture, painted in gold leaf inside and tinted black outside, can be seen in the Coronation Garden opposite its ‘twin’, thought to be the oldest elm in the world. 

Brighton and Hove is home to the National Elm Collection, the only one in the country along with Edinburgh in Scotland.