"Why are there piles of dead leaves and bits of plants left on the ground? It makes the park look untidy. Can't you take them away?" This is a question someone asked us recently, and there is a simple answer. Removing the fallen leaves and cuttings from garden maintenance requires someone to bag them them … Continue reading Why are there piles of leaves and clippings left on the ground in Whitfield Gardens?
Join our Saturday morning gardening club this summer
Volunteers from the Friends group will be getting together for an hour each Saturday morning starting this month to clean, trim and water Whitfield Gardens on the corner of Tottenham Court Road and Tottenham Street. The gardens have suffered from neglect and vandalism but recently due to the efforts of the Friends group the heavily … Continue reading Join our Saturday morning gardening club this summer
Saturday morning clean up and wildflower planting in Whitfield Gardens
Volunteers from the Friends group spent an hour cleaning and planting in one part of Whitfield Gardens this Saturday morning. The volunteers did a "community clean up" and worked with Camden Council's contractors Veolia and idverde. On a rainy morning the Friends cleared a bin bag full of rubbish at the foot of the Fitzrovia … Continue reading Saturday morning clean up and wildflower planting in Whitfield Gardens
Oaks and hornbeams make a return in Whitfield Gardens and Crabtree Fields
"By the time London was first colonised by people, it would have been covered by oak and hornbeam woodland," says the London Wildlife Trust. Yet there are no oaks or hornbeams in Fitzrovia's public open spaces... until this month. Now the Friends have planted saplings of English oak and hornbeam along with other native trees … Continue reading Oaks and hornbeams make a return in Whitfield Gardens and Crabtree Fields
Grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) in Whitfield Gardens
Spotted around 8am this morning in Whitfield Gardens was this grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). Maybe not seen before in Whitfield Gardens but many have been spotted in Fitzroy Square to the north. Squirrels make a rough nest, called a 'drey', of twigs, leaves and strips of bark in the fork of a branch, high in … Continue reading Grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) in Whitfield Gardens
Native hedge planting in Whitfield Gardens and Crabtree Fields
This month volunteers from the Friends group have been planting native hedges in Whitfield Gardens and Crabtree Fields to replace missing or damaged shrubs. In early April we planted around 50 bare root saplings: mostly blackthorn, with a mix of hawthorn, hazel, field maple, wild cherry and dog rose in two areas of Whitfield Gardens … Continue reading Native hedge planting in Whitfield Gardens and Crabtree Fields
We’ve had a donation of plants for Whitfield Gardens from an allotment
Martin who works in Fitzrovia has an allotment near Heathrow has very kindly donated some plants for us. They are perennial wildflowers: betony, primrose, cowslip and wild strawberry. We'll be putting most of these next to our native hedge which we planted this week. We'll be holding regular community gardening sessions at Whitfield Gardens this … Continue reading We’ve had a donation of plants for Whitfield Gardens from an allotment
