celebration

Articles related to celebrations of all sorts in our parks.

by

Flowers bring us together

We all value flowers, what they represent and how they give us joy. They can also bring families or communities together marking special events. Queens Gardens is one place where this happens all the time. The next time you visit this park why not try and spot the various trees marking such occasions?

With the rose the national flower of both England and Bulgaria, it was great to meet up again with members of the Bromley Bulgarian group in celebration of the roses they donated and planted late last year. They installed a plaque to mark this, as well as taking the opportunity for watering and feeding the roses. It is sincerely hoped that they will flourish along with our various communities.

The Bromley Bulgaria group hope to arrange a further event in Queens Gardens later in the year.

by

Broom time has arrived on Martins Hill

Broom in flower, Martins Hill

Along with the longer days and warmer weather the Broom, after which Bromley is named, comes into flower. For a few weeks we can enjoy it, unlike the common gorse which while spiky remains in flower for much of the year, and which is also found in this area.

Broom likes the acidic grassland of this site. While it vanished from here for a long time it was apparently reintroduced in the 1960’s

Sadly the broom is being encroached upon by rampant bramble, despite limited attempts to cut the latter back. The slightly better news is that young Broom plants are seeding elsewhere on these slopes. It would be very sad if this iconic plant disappeared from Bromley.

READ HERE to find out more about Martins Hill, the first public park in old Bromley, and what you can find there.

by

Royal Connections

Queens Garden off Kentish Way, as the name suggests, has royal connections. The former White Hart Field was donated for a public park to commemorate the 60th year of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1897, and officially opened in 1900. Since then the anniversaries of our present sovereign continue to be marked, this time in trees!

Planted to mark the 70th anniversary of reign of Queen Elizabeth II

Over the years Bromley council have planted a tree to mark various royal milestones. Those for 1992, 2002, 2012 and of course 2020 can be found here, along with one for the Queen and Prince Philip’s wedding anniversary in 1997. Each tree has a plaque recording the event.

Elm ‘New Horizons’ planted in 1992

There are also others commemorating other non royal events. So the next time you visit Queens Garden why not see what you can spot!

by

Broomtime is here!

Visit Martins Hill soon and see the splashes of vivid yellow, as only in flower for a short time. Not like that spiky ‘look a like’ gorse! Bromley named after this plant.

Broom poster
This plant, after which Bromley is named, is now in flower

You can find out more about this plant and the place where it can be found HERE.

by

Autumn Colour

Autumn colour in Church House Gardens

This is that time of the year when our parks become really colourful. Whether maple, beech or in this case Gingko the trees turn various shades of brown, red or yellow all too briefly and then shed their leaves as they prepare for winter. In that short time they cheer us up a little, whether sunny or overcast.