Just added to the raised beds in the orchard are 15 plugs of “Primrose – World’s Most Scented Mix”. So next year, keep your nostrils open for any new scent there!
Bulbing and Strulching the raised beds!
This year, with the help of five volunteers, the raised beds in the orchard have had a good maintenance. Weeding first, then bulb planting and finally strulching, a superior form of mulching!
Hops Hops everywhere!
About five or so years back, we noticed a hop plant with its roots on the banks of Coston’s brook and climbing up to the footbridge across the brook in the park. Boy has it spread!
Friends of Perivale Park: Annual General Meeting 2025. Tuesday 23 September, 2025, 19.30.
This will be the fifh AGM we have held since our formation in 2020. If you want the back story to some of the events happening in the park and surrounding areas, why not join us by Zoom. If you send an email to friends@perivalepark.london, you will get the joining link and a copy of this years Chair’s report by email.
Observations in the park – by someone with an acute eye for nature.
Neil is a frequent visitor to Perivale Park, and he sees plants (and invertebrates) that most of us do not. When I met him the other day, I asked if he had observed anything more unusual. This is his emailed reply: Continue reading “Observations in the park – by someone with an acute eye for nature.”
The raised beds in the orchard: community gardeners
There are four raised beds in the orchard area – and we have increasingly noticed community gardeners doing good deeds in them. So thanks for the recent weeding, and the sowing of as yet unidentified seedlings! If you know who it was, ask them what they are!
Continue reading “The raised beds in the orchard: community gardeners”
A riot of colour in June.
June is of course for roses, and they are looking absolutely splendid in the orchard garden at the moment. I even got a comment about them being better than the ones in the Queen Mary garden, Regent’s park!
The raised beds in the orchard garden- Iris and allium.
The most regular plantings of flowers in the park are in the four raised beds in the orchard garden (not withstanding the adjacent meadow which has just been planted with a mix which includes poppies and cornflowers for later in the year).
Continue reading “The raised beds in the orchard garden- Iris and allium.”
The Perivale Park meadow 2025 – a blue theme!
The meadow has been rotavated and is currently as I write this being seeded with the following mix:
Isabella Plantation- Richmond park
Following on from one of the spring highlights of west London, here is another. The Azalea and Rhododendron glade in Richmond park, known as the Isabella plantation. This is a movie of the famous still pond in the centre of the plantation.
Perivale wood 2025: bluebells, celandine, stitchwort and cuckoo flowers.
This year there is no public open day viewing of the bluebells in Perivale Wood, so I thought I would show some of the highlights here instead.
Continue reading “Perivale wood 2025: bluebells, celandine, stitchwort and cuckoo flowers.”
Tree planting in Pear Tree Park
The last of the autumn colour: Cosmos
The meadow “frame” planted earlier this year has finally brought the Cosmos to the fore. They have been going for a little while now, and will indeed last a little longer!
More seasonal activity!
The entire year has been wet! And so to the 2024 vintage fungii – which are now emerging in force.
Autumn colour in the park: Spindle.
Walking along the Capital ring path in the path, one comes across a collection of flowering bushes with spectacular pink and orange fruits and red leaves.
Guerrilla gardens close to Perivale Park
Along Hicks Avenue, the houses of which back up to the park, we spotted this wonderfully cheerful little Guerrilla Garden. Its been there for a while, but is looking particularly cheerful at the moment when Perivale Park itself is starting to wind down for autumn. It is wonderfully well tended, and whoever looks after it, we want you to know it is appreciated.
All about Bees!
This blog features bees quite a lot. Way back in 2019 we had highlighted the Ealing Beekeepers just down the road from the park. Just recently I was contacted by Christy from savingourbees.org offering some nice advice on how to do the very best for our bees and it is reproduced here as a guest post.‡
“Framed meadows”
Ealing this year has adopted a policy of “framing meadows” with colourful strips of flowers, whilst retaining more “bird friendly” sowings in their centres. At least for the central meadow in Perivale Park.
A summer’s day (spiral) walk around Northala Fields
Just to the west of Perivale Park are the Northala fields, a prominent feature of which are the four large mounds. The largest and tallest of these has a spiral (right handed!) path to the top, which we walked today. The flowers on either side of the path were stunning – as was the scent from the thistles, attracting quite a few butterflies as well.
Continue reading “A summer’s day (spiral) walk around Northala Fields”
The orchard meadows in June!
The orchard meadows were sown in 2019, five years ago. Watching them each year, I am struck by how very different each year has been. This year is no exception. The photos below do not do the meadows justice – go see them for yourself!
Volunteers improving the ponds! Purple Loosestrife.
Lythrum salicaria or purple loosestrife is native to the UK (but considered eg a pest in areas like north America) and likes wet environments such as pond edges. Here are three volunteers planting 80 plugs into the edge of the ponds near the kids playground in the park.
Continue reading “Volunteers improving the ponds! Purple Loosestrife.”
Magnificent Roses in the park.
June heralds the start of the rose season. The main area where they are found is in the orchard garden, although they can also be found elsewhere.
The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) in Perivale Park.
The TCV group organises events around the country and today they came to Perivale Park on a corporate volunteering day with a group of about twenty very enthusiastic people from PwC – and one volunteer dog accompanying Ben!. An area of ground‡ on the banks of Costons Brook near to its exit from the culvert in the park had recently been cleared by GEL using an impressive robotic cutting system and it was now ready for replanting.
Continue reading “The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) in Perivale Park.”
Animal proof litter bins anyone?
Around 9 old litter bins in the park, often raided by animals in the past if they could smell food inside them, have been replaced by ones with animal-proof flaps!
A strip of summer annual and perennial flowers is coming!
Last week, a 3m wide strip of the flower meadow in the park was seen being prepared. It runs alongside the meadow seeded with bird mix last year.
Continue reading “A strip of summer annual and perennial flowers is coming!”
Late spring colour along the River Brent
The walk along the river Brent from Longfield meadows/Gurnell centre to Greenford is delightful at this time of year.
Diversity in the Park orchard: A 2024 update.
Back in June 2021, a biodiversity survey of the park orchard meadows was carried out for us by Neil Anderson. Since then the meadows have largely been left alone, with no added nutrients and only a minimum of “weeding”. Time I thought to see what changes of three years of being left mostly to their own devices might have induced. Neil very kindly agree to repeat his survey for us and the results are included below.
Continue reading “Diversity in the Park orchard: A 2024 update.”
Now it’s the turn of the tulips – 2024.
Again in the orchard area in the raised beds.
Quince blossom in the orchard
In 2019, a fruit orchard was planted in the park. Of all the 24 trees there, one has really taken off – starting last year and literally blossoming abundantly this year – and that is the quince.
Updates – the park Fritillaries and the Colne Valley Viaduct.
Firstly the fritillaries, which are now looking splendid. Again, I think the bountiful rain this spring has helped!
Continue reading “Updates – the park Fritillaries and the Colne Valley Viaduct.”