An extra volunteer gardening session took place this weekend in the Rose Garden. Volunteers battled the bind weed and deadheaded in the hope of a second crop of lovely roses. The roses are really enjoying the sunny weather this year. It was a lovely warm day and a number of new volunteers came to help. We hope to see them back again soon.
It is intended that we will have further weekend sessions other than our usual Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday ones and we will advertise this nearer the dates.
For further information regarding volunteer gardening or to donate to our Rose Garden fund, please refer to FoPP website.
Preston Park was visited today by Simeon Elliott for his bird walk around the park.
Unfortunately, many of our winged friends decided to go elsewhere, although we did manage to see a couple of Treecreepers, Robins and Blackbirds. As well as the usual Gulls, Pigeons and Sparrows, we did see a Gold Crest and hear a beautiful Thrush. We all retired to the Chalet Cafe at the end for tea and cake.
Simeon will give us another walk in spring so hopefully we might see and hear more then.
Our next walk will be on 22 July, when Alister Peters will give us his tree walk. The walk should be wheelchair accessible but please note it will be walking around the park so the ground may be uneven. Please sign up on the FOPP website for a free ticket through Eventbrite. Donations will be requested at the end.
Brighton & Hove residents were once again invited this week to join elm tree expert, Peter Bourne while he explained the varieties of the city’s huge elm tree collection.
The city’s collection is significant because it can boast to be the largest collection of elms in the country. This is in part because it has not yet succumbed to the ravages of elm disease that has destroyed other areas of the country.
Peter not only entertained the crowd with his arboreal knowledge, but also his witty stories of how Sussex came to be called so, as well as the historical confusion of scientifically naming the different varieties of ‘ulmus’. O
n a serious note, Peter also explained how the beetle transfers the tiny spores on its body, that kill the elms. We would like to reiterate the warning that elm wood should not be brought into Brighton & Hove as infected wood on the back of a truck will be contaminating healthy trees as it travels through the city! It is that deadly!
Peter Bourne will be giving further talks, including one for St Peter’s church in Preston Park.
The next FoPP walk will be the Bird Walk by Simeon Elliott on 14 July. To sign up, please go to our website to find the link to Eventbrite. The walk should be accessible for all, but please bear in mind it is a walk around the park and surfaces may be uneven. Donations will be requested at the end.
It has been proposed to close the Presto Park train station ticket office. If you would like to oppose this, please leave comments at this email address: ticketoffice.GTR@transportfocus.org.uk
Simeon Elliot has a huge wealth of knowledge in relation to birds and their habitats. As Brighton & Hove’s largest park, you would think Preston Park should have a huge array of bird species. So why not join us and find out what the park has to offer? Donations will be requested at the end of the walk.
The walk will take place on Friday 14 July at 9.00-10.30am. Click here to sign up on Eventbrite.
Visitors to the Rose Garden may have noticed that there is now a fence at the northern and southern ends of the garden. This is to try and protect the roses that have been crushed by people making paths through the rose beds and letting their dogs run through them.
The Friends of Preston Park (FoPP) have been crowdfunding for new roses to fill these gaps and people have generously donated money towards this. Therefore, we have been working with CityParks to find a solution so that the new roses would stand more of a chance of survival.
Reusing panelling from other areas of the park, we have found a cheaper solution to try and protect the garden. We are grateful to Cityparks and particularly manager, James Harding for help in making this happen. The fence will be painted in due course.
Whilst the fence doesn’t cut the roses off to the public, it is hoped that those who only want to walk through, will now be channelled to the paths. Those who still wish to smell the roses, can still do so. The new roses will be planted at a later stage and signage explaining the various rose types will also be placed near the fenced areas.
We hope everyone will enjoy the revamp and that dog walkers will respectfully continue to put their dogs on leads whilst walking though the Rose Garden area.
Head Gardener, Andy Jeavons gave yet another of his spectacular walks in The Rockery this week.
Having worked for CityParks for the last twenty-three years, and having trained as an apprentice at Stanmer Park, yonks ago, Andy has a wealth of plant knowledge to share with anyone who wants to listen.
Leading the walk around The Rockery, Andy not only explained about the planting, but gave a simple history lesson on how The Rockery came into being including how those huge rocks got there! It was a beautiful evening and I think the fish and the lone terrapin enjoyed an extra feed.
Thank you to everyone who came and for your generous donations.
Our next walk will be the elm tree walk with Peter Bourne on 9 July. Anyone wishing to attend, please sign up on Eventbrite through the Friends of Preston Park website.
