Perivale Park London

The design of the orchard includes a fruiting tree area,  a central parade of crab apple trees with four benches from which to sit and admire the surroundings  and four square meadows which will provide hopefully long lasting colour during the summer.  The central section and the meadows were planted before christmas and are now emerging. These shoots are just the start and no doubt follow up photos describing their progress will appear here in due course.

Continue reading “Perivale Park orchard garden: the meadows and the first flowers!”

We notice that more people are visiting the park than normal, but at sunrise (~06.30) there are rather fewer. So a good time to get one’s ration of daily exercise.

Continue reading “A walk around the park at sunrise.”

… dock leaves. Now, given the current shortage of toilet rolls, I wonder what these leaves might be useful for? An experiment may well be tried.  And if successful, we are certainly keeping the location of these a secret!

Continue reading “The park is useful not just for greens for supper, but also for …”

Ros tells me that two guinea pigs in a box were today found abandoned in the Park near the small gate off Cowgate road. A foster family has now been found for them.

Continue reading “Two abandoned guinea pigs (have now been found a foster home)”

It is one of the delights of nature (and I am no botanist) that in each season, some plants and trees do less well and some do very well. This year,  its the daffodils that are not at their peak, with many of the plants in the park coming up with no flowers. But to compensate, the Snakeshead Fritillaries, which were planted in the autumn of 2018 by a communal bulb planting event and whose display in 2019 was somewhat marred by their area being churned up by about 15 vehicles that chose to park there, are now putting on a magnificent display in 2020.

Continue reading “A magnificent display of – Snakeshead Fritillaries”

Necessity is the mother of invention. A large batch of trees had been ordered for the park in March, but the world had other ideas for what would happen this month. So what to do with the trees? Temporarily at least, our very own Tiny Forest has been created in an area the size of a tennis court.

Continue reading “A Tiny forest in Perivale Park.”

Today is the first day of a new set of Coronavirus restrictions in the  UK; one exercise walk a day for groups of no more than two people.^‡  We have found it best to do this early in the morning and today at 06.30 the weather at that time was absolutely stunning. Things are still happening in the park; we have a new tree nursery being planted!

Continue reading “Restricted life in the UK – the Park is still open (for exercise, in groups of two).”

Around the park contractors are installing twelve new exercise machines, in about five different locations. The largest of these is shown below, which will take six units.  I am currently turning up early in the morning (when there is no-one around, as you can see from the photo) in the hope that when the six units are fixed to the base-plates, I will be the very first person to try them all out. So if you do happen upon them  before I do, you will take the glory instead!

Continue reading “More spring colour – and a new exercise area!”

Here are some of the early spring buds and leaves in the park. It will change very quickly from here on.

Continue reading “The early shoots of spring.”

Strolling around the park yesterday with Richard, we walked past the flower meadow near the tennis courts.  Last year it had been sown with a Linnet bird seed mix combined with brassicas.  The latter are now starting to flower, and are showing yellow. Richard had been hoping for the purple sprouting variety and we pondered if these were just as edible or not. Well, coming home, I found out that the generic term for most brassica sprouts is “grelos” in  Portuguese. They are often combined with boiled potatoes, egg and salted cod (bacalhau).

Continue reading “Dinner tonight – from Perivale Park.”

On the news today is the project by environmental charity Earthwatch Europe and Witney Town council to plant the “UK’s first-ever Tiny Forest”. On a plot the size of a tennis court, volunteers have planted some 600 fast growing trees.

Continue reading “Tiny forests.”

It is very wet and in places water-logged out there. We got some bulbs for planting last Nov/Dec from the Bulbs for London charity and they contacted me today for photos of how the bulbs looked like this spring. Whether it is the very mild winter, or the abnormal amount of rain we have been having recently, but the bulbs this year are struggling rather to put on their very best show. The crocus and snowdrops we planted last year have not made much of an appearance and the tulips are yet to show. But here, for the record, and also for our benefactors, are some photos just taken (on a very wet and windy day), mostly of daffodils.

Continue reading “Spring bulbs – 2020 style!”

The annual Heron has returned to the field between Betham Rd and Coston Brook. This is a regular harbinger of spring who turns up to eat up as many of the new tadpoles as he can. A couple of years ago he bought a friend but on his own this year. With all the new ponds hopefully we will see more Herons in other parts of the park.

Visitors to the park may have spotted notices describing progress in the Greenway project. I also attach it here if you want to peruse the details, thanks to Richard!

Continue reading “Greenford to Gurnell Greenway: Project Update”

People  have been asking about the new ponds in the park.  When first dug, they did look rather raw,  although even now just a few months later, they mounds of clay spoil  surrounding the ponds are starting to green out.  Richard has kindly sent us some photos of how a newly created pond develops over the first six years or so of its life and I share those here.

Continue reading “The first six years of a new pond.”

The first real cold snap of the winter has resulted in hoar frost on the twigs and branches and a very slightly frozen surface to the new ponds in the park. The stream feeding them is still flowing, so its unlikely anyone will (or should) be ice-skating there this winter, or indeed in the future given the direction of climate change.

Continue reading “No ice-skating please: Winter in the park.”

Last year, five of us conducted three quadrat surveys of the meadow areas to the east of the railway viaduct in Perivale Park (below, red arrow). This is a beautiful grass meadow and part the  Greenford-Gurnell Greenway project, whereby the south meadow has been converted to new wetlands, with the little  stream feeding these wetlands running alongside the north meadow. This meadow and the adjacent new wetland ponds featured in a local BBC news item recently.

Continue reading “Quadrat surveys of our biodiverse Perivale meadows, 2019.”

Richard, who organises the Greenwayers diary (and much more) has sent the following dates for clean-ups in 2020. Continue reading “Gurnell-Greenford Greenwayers Diary for Cleaning Up in 2020!”

January 1st and another year to look forward to – lots of projects and ideas on the brew. Here I show splashes of colour still visible in the park and the first signs of spring in the orchard.

Continue reading “Welcome 2020: Winter cheer and future projects!”

I noted the planting by the edge of the new river in the extended park area last week.  Now the BBC has spotted this new wetlands  and you can see the TV report here (time codes 5:04 to 7:05: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000csmw/bbc-london-evening-news-23122019#t=5m4s

Continue reading “Perivale Park in the BBC news – in a good way!”

Richard has just sent me this link to the Costons lane river Brent monitoring station (the weir near the new bridge). The display below is live.

Continue reading “Gauge map, Costons Lane, Greenford”

Today’s planting was of sedges, rushes and other damp-loving plants along the course of the newly created stream in the extended park area east of the railway embankment.  Many of them will produce interesting flowers next year, and will naturalise the shallow banks of this new stream feeding the wetland ponds in the adjacent meadow.

Continue reading “Perivale Park stream-side plantings.”

It is on mornings such as these that I lament that I do not have a professional camera. The best  I can offer here of sunrise in the park is one taken using a mobile phone.

Continue reading “Sunrise in the park on December 9, 2019.”

Continue reading “LONDON NATIONAL PARK CITY RANGERS”

Planting Sessions Friday 13^th and Saturday 14^th Dec

Thames21 will be hosting 2 planting events. We are going to be planting sedges rushes and a variety of other colourful species on the Gurnell side of the park. Starting location is going to be the Perivale Park Golf Course Café. Below are the links for the event and  a poster for the days as well. We are going to be working around the pond areas rather than the steeper banks of the Brent, making these very family friendly events. As always, all equipment will be provided and under 16’s need to be accompanied by a responsible adult. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided. Please pass on the details to anyone who you believe would like to help conserve their local river.

Continue reading “Planting Sessions Friday 13th and Saturday 14th Dec”