All posts by gardens

Building Bug Hotel 2.0

Wildlife Area

Can you help us?

We have received a number of wooden pallets so we can build another bug hotel.

We are short of materials to fill the spaces around the edge of the pallets so do get in touch if you can help.

Bamboo would be ideal and bricks with holes would do nicely. You can either bring them along to us on a Saturday morning or drop us a line via the contact form.  Thank you!

 

Clean Up Nov 22

Wildlife Area

 

Sunday 6th November

with Queen’s Park Community Council Clean-Up  from 10 am.

Can you spare a few hours to join a group of volunteers helping to keep Queen’s Park Gardens clean? We’ll be meeting outside the rose garden at 10:00am.Litter pickers and bags will be provided.

Don’t forget to bring along a thermos and join the group for some post clean-up teas, coffees and biscuits.
Just show up on the day or email Elysse@nullqueensparkcommunitycouncil.gov.uk if you have any questions.

The fireworks display falls this Saturday so we will not be gardening as the area will be used to prepare for the fireworks display, weather permitting.

More info about our gardening sessions here.

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

Ulla is running her Thursday morning sessions. More details here.

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

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

Sunshine in September

Wildlife Area

The Gardens need tidying as autumn arrives, especially after the very dry spell we had in August.  We had some lovely weather on Saturday morning and it was easy to enjoy the fresh air.  Here we see Helen and Charlotte pruning the roses and tidying the borders, Ray turning the maturing compost, and Claire using some of that compost to nourish her borders in the playground.

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

Our next gardening session will be:

Saturday 1st October  from 10 am.

More info here.

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

Ulla is running her Thursday morning sessions. More details here.

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

Respectful Condolences

Wildlife Area

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

Environment, Festival, Learning, Local Community, Open Spaces, Queen's Park Gardens, Well Being, Wildlife Area

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

Queen’s Park Summer Festival 2022

Community Gardening, Environment, Festival, Local Community, Open Spaces, Queen's Park Gardens, Well Being

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 Website, Facebook, Instagram  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

Wildlife Area
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

Community Gardening, Environment, Learning, Local Community, Open Spaces, Queen's Park Gardens, Rose Garden, Well Being

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

Wildlife Area

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)