The community for users of Preston Park in Brighton, UK
Brighton Painting Group met at the Rockery on a sunny Saturday morning. Twenty artists gathered to capture the light on the colourful shrubs and flower beds. The lilies on the pond inspired many painters, as well as the stone paths leading to the south side of the garden.
Brighton Painting Group meets every third Saturday of the month in a different location in Brighton and Hove for plein air painting. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
On a sunny afternoon this week, around 20 people were led by Alister Peters, expert arborist,on a very interesting and enjoyable walk around many of the different trees in Preston Park.
In much of Brighton, sycamores and elms are the only large trees that can withstand thechalky soils and salty air. However, Preston Park is some distance from the sea and in a valley with more fertile soils, so enabling a wide variety of trees to flourish. Alister showed us how to identify a selection of them.
The walk began at the Rotunda Café, where a clump of trees includes a purple-leafed plumthat is often mistaken for a copper beech. (Both copper and common beeches are also growing in the park.) We then walked across the grass behind the café to look at elms, a red horse chestnut, common and black walnut trees, and a sweetgum that is particularly beautiful in the autumn when its leaves turn red and purple. In the area around the Tile House, we looked at hornbeams, a dawn redwood (a deciduous conifer), a larch, a Turkish hazel, and two trees that are easy to confuse – a purple maple and a purple sycamore.
Among the other trees was a sycamore whose trunk was covered with ivy. But, as Alister explained, this is not a parasitic plant and it benefits insects and birds, so it needs to be managed rather than removed. By contrast, the mistletoe attached to a silver maple opposite the Chalet Café is parasitic.
There are numerous different types of elm in the park, some of which have been bred to be resistant to the elm disease that has destroyed millions of elms in the UK over the last 50 years. Very sadly, the disease is now destroying trees in Preston Park and elsewhere in Brighton & Hove, as is ash dieback. However, one of the ‘Preston Twins’, an English elm planted in the early 17th century, has so far survived. Another survivor is the Chinese elm in the Coronation Garden. Almost totally destroyed by the great storm of 1987, it is now a largetree with an impressive witch’s broom.
The walk ended at the gilded sculpture created from the Preston Twin that succumbed to elm disease in 2019. But all around us were trees, such as an Indian bean tree, a flowering magnolia, and a fruit-laden black mulberry tree in the Walled Garden, that are flourishing – and, happily for us, will continue to do so in the future.
The next FoPP event will be a walk in the park with former CityParks manager, Alan Griffiths on Thursday, 12 September. Please sign up on Eventbrite via the FoPP website if you would like to attend and hear what Alan has to say.
Pictures by Leah Georgiades
This morning a wildlife workshop event was run by Froglife, experts in natural habitats (www.froglife.org). It provided the children with an introduction to amphibians, reptiles & their habitats which included designing your own wildlife garden and followed by the practical activity of guided pond dipping in the Rotunda pond.
We all had a really wonderful time – We enjoyed trying to guess the amphibians and reptiles, we designed wildlife friendly gardens and had fun pond dipping. And yes, we found common newts, ramshorn snails, freshwater hoglouse to name but a few.
Many thanks to Will from Frogslife for the wonderful session. I think both adults and children learned a lot.
We also run the first of our extra sessions in the Rose Garden, tackling the weeds. Please join us on Tuesdays (10 to 1pm), Thursdays and Fridays (10 to 12). The Thursdays and Fridays sessions run until June 25th. The Rose Garden needs you!
Dear Volunteers and members of Friends of Preston Park
We are delighted to inform you that we have entered the Rose Garden into this year’s South & South East in Bloom competition for 2024. We are hopeful that our lovely Rose Garden will be appreciated by the judges as much as we do. That said, we need some help to get it shipshape before the judges arrive on 27 June. Therefore, other than the usual Tuesday volunteer gardening session, 10.00-13.00, we are putting on a few extra sessions that we are hoping anyone interested will turn up to. These will include Thursday and Friday, 10.00-12.00. (So, 28, 30,31 May, 4, 6,7,11,13,14,18,20,21, 25 June).
Please bring your own gloves and any tools that you have. We will try to provide those who don’t have any, with tools. Also bring snacks, water and sunscreen.
We will start each session in the Rose Garden with a discussion on what is the priority. Please don’t feel this is a set commitment. Just turn up and do an hour if that is all you can do! We appreciate it and so do the roses!
Many thanks, FoPP
Friends of Preston Park (FoPP) held their first Cherry Blossom Tree picnic this week to celebrate the blossoming of our avenue of cherry trees in Preston Park, as well as the arrival of improved weather so that we can all get out into the park and enjoy it more. Those who came brought along a picnic and an urge to recite a haiku or two, in poetical homage to the amazing festivals held in Japan to celebrate the blossoming of such trees. Traditionally, haikus have a 5,7,5 pattern of three phases and 17 phonetic units. This also includes a ‘kireji’ or “cutting word” and a ‘kigo’, a seasonal reference. Some came prepared and others tried, mostly successfully, to wing it. It was great fun for all. Each attendee went home with a small gift of a specially prepared wildflower seed pack, to plant in the coming weeks. We hope everyone will successfully produce some wonderful blooms. Please get down to the park if you haven’t recently and note the number of bees on these trees. It’s a very satisfying experience.
Our next FoPP event will be next Sunday, 31 March. Simeon Elliott will be giving a walk around the park to find out what birds we have. Please sign up via our website on Eventbrite.
The Cherry Blossom Tree Picnic is our first event of the year, due to take place in the Park this Sunday 24th March. This event is closely followed by our Bird Walk with Simeon Elliot on Sunday 31st March, 8:30 to 10:30 am. Please register on Eventbrite for tickets and information.
Last month we lost a large elm tree north of the Coronation Garden. It succumbed to the ferocious wind and rain and fell onto three young elm trees, which sadly had to be felled.
The Coronation Garden daffodils planted two years ago are splendid and the magnolia is looking at its best. The beds at the entrance of the Walled Garden have been carefully cleared of bramble by our volunteers.
Our dedicated team of volunteers have been looking after the beds along the Preston Road and the Dalhia walk, which are planted with a variety of narcissi and daffodils.
The Rockery is looking impeccable as usual and these bright tulips add a vibrant touch of colour. Friends of Preston Park purchased a propagating bench with donations from Pride and we are growing our own plants for the Park.
The Rose Garden has benefitted from thirty tonnes of mulch, spread on the beds by volunteers and CityParks gardeners. Two lecterns have been erected to help you identify the roses in the different beds. You will notice new varieties supplied by the rose grower David Austin.
We have many events which may be of interest to you. Tickets are available on Eventbrite (free or £3).
We are sorry to announce that Sunday 4th February gardening session has been cancelled.
Please come and join our regular gardening sessions. They run from Tuesday to Thursday 10am-1pm. Meet our Head Gardener at the Rockery chalet at 10 am on these days.
A date for your diary
