Friends of Preston Park

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. 

Volunteers are needed for a one-off gardening session in the Rose Garden on Saturday, 15 July, 12.00 until 15.00.

Meet at The Rockery, gardener’s shed to collect tools. Please bring your own gloves and snacks.

Please contact us at info@friendsofprestonpark.org if you need further information. 

The Friends of Preston Park (FoPP) enjoyed another informative and fabulous history walk in the park this week given by former FoPP Chair, Sue Shepherd. Sue has great knowledge of the park and of what was in this area before, including the Romans! Sue has thoroughly researched the Preston area and has collated some very interesting and often at times, odd and funny facts; the underground square of land identified as a pond to test tanks in during World War II for one, and that during a baseball match between Canadian soldiers and Brits, the entire stock of chewing gum in the country was said to be bought up for the occasion! The Rockery once had possible Roman slave quarters and did you know, the large rocks that currently form the garden were rolled off a train from the railway at the top and a man was installed at the bottom to stop them crashing into traffic on the Preston Road! Poor man! 

Thank you to all those people who came to listen and to those who donated money towards FoPP funds. Don’t forget our next event is on 29 June, 18.00 – 19.30. Andy Jeavons will be giving one of his amazing talk and walks around The Rockery. If you are interested, please sign up through our Eventbrite app on the website. 

As Head Gardener, Andy Jeavons possesses a wealth of knowledge about all the plants in Preston Park, and in particular, The Rockery, having worked there for a considerable number of years. Come along and hear about the mass of plant variety in the garden. We advise that the paths in The Rockery can be slippery, uneven and steep, so please wear walking or sensible shoes. Donations will be requested at the end.

The walk will take place on Thursday 29th June at 6.00pm.

Click here to sign up on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rockery-walk-with-andy-jeavons-tickets-647304353747

Ex Chair of Friends of Preston Park, Sue Shepherd, is available once again to provide some historical insight as to why Brighton & Hove has such an amazing park as Preston Park, and what was here before. Come and join us and learn so much more than you might think! We will ask for donations at the end. Thank you.

The walk will take place on Sunday 11th June at 2.30pm.

Click here to sign up on Eventbrite: History of Preston Park Walk with Sue Shepherd Tickets, Sun 11 Jun 2023 at 14:30 | Eventbrite

Lindy Craig Hall, one of our volunteers in the Walled Garden is opening her garden in Preston Park Avenue to raise money for Martlets Hospice on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th June from 11am – 5pm.

For more information, visit Lindy Craig-Hall is fundraising for The Martlets Hospice (justgiving.com)

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.