Friends of Whirlow Brook Park
The Friends of Whirlow Brook Park held their official launch on 23 June 2021. For a report of the day and some photos please click here and to see a video of the day click here.
At long last there is to be a Friends Group for Whirlow Brook Park. Su3a is a prime mover in getting one established. The City Council is fully behind us. FOWP will be a separate entity but will work closely alongside the Su3a’s own Gardening at Whirlow Brook group who will continue to tend the rock garden and the area around the lily pond. The Friends Group will plan the restoration of other parts of this lovely park, organise volunteers and raise the necessary funds.
We hope that many Su3a members will want to become a Friend and that some might want to be a hands-on volunteer. We plan to meet twice a month and there will be a range of tasks on offer. Please click here for more information.
Happy 10th Birthday to the Commemorative Garden!
It is ten years since Su3a started to build a garden in a derelict space in Whirlow Brook Park. The picture below shows how the land had to be cleared before being replanted. The second picture was taken last summer. Thank you to everyone who has donated towards the planting, and more recently towards the shelter. We have reached our target and the shelter should be in place in June. So the appeal is now closed but we will always need donations towards the upkeep of the garden. All donations are recorded in the Book of Remembrance.
The rest of the park is looking very neglected compared with what it used to look like in its 1960s heyday. So Su3u have encouraged the setting up of a Friends Group. This will be a separate entity which anyone will be able to join. It will be able to raise funds for restoration and attract volunteers from all over the city. You can register your interest by emailing friendsofwhirlowbrookpark@gmail.com
Meanwhile the Su3a group will continue to care for the area round the lily pond and rock garden. We are now back at work and would like to recruit some new members. We meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month and there are always a variety of tasks to choose from. Gardening knowledge is not essential. If you are interested please phone Alison Cowper on 0114 2746165.
Have you any spare Snowdrops for Whirlowbrook?
If you are thinning out any clumps of snowdrops once they have finished flowering, then we would be glad of some for the Su3a Commemorative Garden at Whirlowbrook Park. They could be brought to the March drop-in, or delivered to 17 Cherry Tree Drive, S11 9AE, or phone me on 255 8948 and I will arrange collection. Shelagh Woolliscroft
Gardening at Whirlowbrook Park 2020
We are now into our tenth year of creating and maintaining the Su3a Commemorative Garden at Whirlowbrook Park. We are a group of about 20 regulars, and others help when they can. New members are always made very welcome! Come to the park on the second or fourth Wednesday morning and try us out – there is always coffee and biscuits at around 10.45 am!
Why do we do it? Patsy says it is for the satisfaction of working with others on a project that is worthwhile, that gives something back to the community. Besides, the garden is such a lovely place to be!
The garden has different areas – besides the main rhododendron and azalea beds there are boggy parts, woodland paths, the Japanese rock-garden and the pond margins – something for everyone! A large piece of stone, kindly donated by Birchover Quarries, now marks the lower entrance, bearing a stainless steel plaque with the Su3a logo. In 2017 a generous donation enabled us to erect a wooden rail alongside the steps up to the pond. Last year we extended the rock garden and re-dressed it with two tons of gravel and pebbles.
Now that most of the heavy work is over we enjoy maintaining the garden and surrounding areas. We weed, sweep and prune during the summer, then gather leaves, clear the water-courses and and generally keep the garden tidy in the winter. Replacement planting and feeding takes place in spring and autumn. By mulching regularly with chipped bark we are controlling the weeds and conserving moisture. Once a year we clear silt and rubbish from the lily pond – for this we are joined by other Su3a members, the Council’s rangers, volunteers from Abbeydale Rotary, and Saxon Hotels (the tenants of Whirlowbrook Hall).
We welcome donations to replace shrubs that do not make it through the winter and to extend the ground cover. If you would like to make a donation in memory of a loved one, please contact Alison Cowper on 0114 274 6165, or complete the donation form and send it to her. All donations are recorded in the Book of Remembrance which is on display at the AGM.
Come and get those endorphins buzzing – you won’t regret it!
Shelagh Woolliscroft 0114 255 8948