Friends of Preston Park

Alan Griffiths, Operations Manager for CityParks North, led a group of enthusiasts through Preston Park this week, sharing his 46 years of experience working for Brighton and Hove City Council and explaining the horticultural development of the park over the last fifty years.

Sustainability and maintenance are paramount nowadays and we can see many examples of how the park has adapted to new challenges. In the Rose Garden the David Austin English style roses are chosen for their longer flowering season and their beautiful scent. Whilst, the herbaceous borders are planted with native species which attract insects and butterflies and bulbs have replaced summer flower beds along the London Road.

We marvelled at species which, due to a milder climate, are growing in the park such as agapanthus, and admired the centenarian elm trees. We also learnt many new evocative tree names such as the paperbark maple tree, the weeping elm, the fruiting quince, and the wedding cake viburnum.

The beauty of the park for Alan is that it offers something different to look for and see everyday of the year, and it is a much loved and used space by  both the local community and visiting tourists.

Alan praised the work of the volunteers who assist CityParks gardeners in maintaining the flower beds and the Rose Garden, and without whom there would be far fewer flowers in the park. Anyone wishing to join our volunteer groups can do so on our website. 

Our next event is Painting-in-the-Park on Sunday, 3 September. Please sign up to this event via Eventbrite. The event will be based around the park and should be wheelchair accessible, but the ground is uneven. Please bring your own materials. Donations will be requested at the end.

 ‘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.

Please see below on behalf of Sue Shepherd:

The talk ‘Preston Manor and its gardens’ will be taking place tomorrow (Saturday 12 August) at 2pm in St Peter’s Church, Preston Park. 

It will be given by Paula Wrightson, who is an expert on the history and tales of the Manor, and Rob Boyle who is Head Gardener for the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust.

Former Cityparks manager, Alan Griffiths is returning once again to Preston Park to share his thoughts on our beautiful green space on Thursday 17th August at 6.00-7.30pm.

Please join us and gain some insight into the workings of a park from the perspective of those who work hard to maintain it. We will be walking around the park and although it should be wheelchair accessible, please note that the ground is uneven. Donations will be requested at the end.

Sign up on Eventbrite below:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/preston-park-walk-with-alan-griffths-tickets-660519781447?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Elm disease has been discovered in the Prestonville area, meaning the city’s historic collection of trees is at risk of dying.

Residents are being asked to stop bringing elm logs into the area.

Please see the below article for further information:

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/23681796.log-warning-brighton-elm-trees-chopped/

Preston Park has once again been awarded the Green Flag Award. The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces. Introduced in 1996, and first awarded in 1997, the award aims to establish agreed standards of good management, which in turn, helps to justify and evaluate funding and raise park attendance.  

The owners of spaces that wish to hold the accreditation, pay a fee to be assessed by volunteer judges on an annual basis with a process involving secret shoppers and inspection of both the park and the owner’s management plans. The aspects that spaces are judged on are: 

1. A Welcoming Place
2. Healthy, Safe and Secure
3. Well Maintained and Clean
4. Environmental Management
5. Biodiversity, Landscape and Heritage
6. Community Involvement
7. Marketing and Communication
8. Management

We look forward to seeing the new flag flying in the park soon.

On a rainy afternoon this week, over 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.

Much of Brighton has chalky soils on which some trees can struggle to survive, but Preston Park is in a valley with better soils, enabling a wide variety of trees to flourish. Whilst, you will find familiar trees such as the beech (common and copper), London plane, lime, English oak, chestnut (horse and sweet), sycamore and several species of elm, there are also trees that are less common in this country, such as the sequoia, various species of maple, ginkgo, walnut, Hungarian and Turkey oaks, and Indian bean tree, to name just some of them. The last, (as shown in the photo), was in flower. Some of the other trees have beautiful flowers earlier in the year or particularly attractive foliage in the autumn.

It is comforting to know that such a large variety ensures and that we will continue to have many wonderful trees in Preston Park despite the threats presented by diseases such as ash dieback and elm disease. 

Our next walk will be on Thursday, 17 August and will be curated by Alan Griffiths, former CityParks manager.

To attend this walk, please sign up to Eventbrite. The event should be wheelchair accessible but please note that as it will be held in the park, the ground may be uneven. Donations will be requested at the end.

Please see a message from Fabuloso about Brighton Pride:

Dear Preston Park residents, we recognise that the Pride weekend can be an inconvenience for some residents and appreciate your patience and good will.

As one of our closest neighbours, we would like to invite you to come and experience for yourself Fabuloso on Sunday 6th for just £5, all of which will be donated to Friends of Preston Park.

We are pleased to be able to offer £5 tickets for Sunday to residents in the following streets (see red area on map):

· Preston Park Av
· Preston Road (opposite park as on map)
· Preston Drove (lower end as on map)
· Preston Park Ave
· Grange Close
· Rookery Close
· Greenacres
· Stanford Ave (lower end as on map)

To redeem this offer, follow the link (click here) to purchase your ticket. On the day take your e-ticket along with proof of residency and photo ID to the box office in Preston Park before 3pm.

Children under 12 are free but will need their own ticket (click here) and MUST be accompanied by an adult over 21 at all times.
(no more than 2 children per adult)

For more information, please visit: https://www.pride-tickets.org/fabuloso-resident-offers/

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.