All posts by gardens

Respectful Condolences

The Friends of Queen’s Park Gardens are saddened by the news from Balmoral today. We wish to send our condolences to her family and the many souls around the world who will mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II deeply.

Summer Festival on Twitter

The Summer Festival was a sunny celebration of our neighbourhood this year.

Queen’s Park Summer Festival 2022

Queen’s Park Summer Festival returns for the 18th year!
Summer has arrived and so has the Queen’s Park Summer Festival! This year’s festival is jam packed with live music and entertainment, family sports and games, delicious food, activities, entertainment for over 50s and so much more.

Definitely an event not to be missed.  We will be gardening for a couple of hours beforehand.

Keep an eye on the QPCC WebsiteFacebookInstagram  or Twitter for updates.
Sat 6th August 2022 – 12pm to 6pm –Queen’s Park Gardens – Ilbert Street –  W10 4QJ

11:00: Dog Show and Wildlife Show
12:00 – 18:00: Stalls, Live entertainment and more! 

Join us for the August Community Clean Up on Sunday 7th August from 11am to 1pm (assembling in the park).

Your Park! Your Neighbourhood! Your Community! Get Involved!

Summer in the Park

The Queen’s Park Gardens Summer Festival is less than a month away but there is always a lot going on in the park.

Our volunteer Clare has been taking care of the border along the play area fence bringing some lovely colours.

In the wildlife area, we have our magnificent teasels. There’s usually a robin to be seen.

In the triangular bed we find the salsify have gone to seed. They look like huge dandylion clocks and are in the same family of plants.

Dandylions, allium and fragrant lavender are still providing nectar and food.

There are always sparrows to be found in the hedges. This is a young female.

The Rose Garden and Orchard is a haven for beautiful things and a favourite for residents who want to sit on a bench to chat.

The cardoons are the stars at the moment.

Please don’t pick the flowers in the park. We work hard so that everyone can enjoy them. Thank you.

Beginners Gardening Course

WAES and HCGA are holding a free, month long gardening course for beginners, covering a different topic each week.

Thursday 28th April 2022 at Queen’s Park Gardens 1:30pm to 3pm: Seed Sowing – How, When & Where.
Thursday 5th May 2022 at Queen’s Park Gardens 1:30pm to 3pm: Knowing your weeds, looking at common annual & perennial weeds (plant ID), different weeding techniques for each, use of edible and medicinal weeds.
Thursday 12th May 2022 at Queen’s Park Gardens 1:30pm to 3pm: Sustainable Gardening, composting (garden/leaf), making comfrey/nettle feed, growing for pollinators, using peat-free potting compost- what is it & why it’s essential.
Thursday 19th May 2022 at Queen’s Park Gardens 1:30pm to 3pm: Plant your Own Hanging basket.
Thursday 26th May 2022 – 10am to 2pm: Visit to Kew Gardens.

This gardening course is free, all you need to do is…

*Complete an enrolment form
*Show your ID at enrolment
*Be a resident of Westminster borough
*Attend every week

FOR INFO AND BOOKINGS please email: bookings@nullhcga.org.uk

John Ystumllyn Rose in Queen’s Park Gardens

Our lovely friends at HCGA planted a very special new rose bush last week. You can read more about the rose on the supplier’s website.


John Ystumllyn was an 18th-century Welsh gardener and the first well-recorded black person of North Wales.

John was of uncertain origin but early in his life he was taken by the Wynn family to their estate in Criccieth, where he was christened with the Welsh name John Ystumllyn. He was taught English and Welsh by the locals. He learned his craft in the estate garden and began a romance with the local maid Margaret Gruffydd with whom he later eloped and married.

In recognition of his service Ellis Wynn gave Ystumllyn a large garden and cottage at Y-Nhyra Isa. He died in 1786 at around the age of 50; his wife survived him for more than forty years. Several years after his death, a small monument was constructed in his place of burial St Cynhaearn’s Church.

Over a hundred years after his death, the Welsh writer Robert Isaac Jones published an account of his life compiled from various local oral records. This work, while also criticised for its forgetfulness and racial stereotyping, is regarded as the most informative extant source of Ystumllyn’s life. According to Jones, he was “a very honest man, with no malice, and was respected by the gentry and the common people alike”.

(Source:  Wiki)

Spring Colour

It is lovely to see people enjoying our park.


We have begun our new schedule of regular, weekly Wildlife Area sessions on Saturdays.

Our next session is organised for Saturday, 19th March 2022, starting at 10 am and running through the morning until 1 pm.  You are welcome to join us at any time within those hours, for as little or long as you like.

We meet in the Wildlife Area of Queen’s Park Gardens with all equipment provided – just wear sensible clothing and bring plenty of enthusiasm. You can turn up for as long or as short a time as you want. We will be working in the open air with social distancing and as always, weather permitting!

Our schedule of sessions for the rest of March, are as follows:

Saturday 26th March 2022

We look forward to seeing you soon.

If you would like to join our mailing list, please drop us a line via the Contact Form.


Covid-19: You can find the details of our sessionshere. We will be working in the open air with social distancing and as always, weather permitting!
Ulla is running her Thursday morning sessions. More details here.
If you use the Wildlife Area, please respect those who are seeking a quiet area, free from joggers and dogs.

5th March 22 session

The weather was kind to us on Saturday.

Ray tidied the brambles before joining the rest of the team to turn the compost heap.

Our next session is organised for Saturday, 12th March 2022, starting at 10 am and running through the morning until 1 pm. You are welcome to join us at any time within those hours, for as little or long as you like.

We meet in the Wildlife Area of Queen’s Park Gardens with all equipment provided – just wear sensible clothing and bring plenty of enthusiasm. You can turn up for as long or as short a time as you want. We will be working in the open air with social distancing and as always, weather permitting!

Following on from this Saturday, our schedule of sessions for the rest of March, are as follows:

Saturday 12th March 2022
Saturday 19th March 2022
Saturday 26th March 2022

We look forward to seeing you soon.

If you would like to join our mailing list, please drop us a line via the Contact Form.