Tag: food forest hollingdean

Join Forest Gardeners on Sunday 16 November 2025, 10am in Hollingdean Park

11th Nov 2025

Today’s Forest Gardening 10-12 CANCELLED due to illness. Many apologies! Watch this space as we may slot in another event before December. Thanks folks 🌿

Join Growing Hollingdean volunteer Forest Gardeners on Sunday 16 November 2025, 10am at Hollingdean Park

Meet at the Lynchet Road Shed

Join us for a fun few hours 10-12pm on Sunday 16 November 2025 for Forest Gardening, learning and sharing. Everyone welcome to join the Growing Hollingdean volunteers in the park.

Our Forest Gardening in October

What a productive time in the Forest Garden on Sunday 19 October 2025, our Growing Hollingdean volunteers managed to beat the rain. We weeded, mulched apple trees, chatted, cleared some Cherry Plum suckers and nettles.

Join Growing Hollingdean volunteer Forest Gardeners on Sunday 16 November 2025, 10am at Hollingdean Park

Wildflowers planted in the Forest Garden this Autumn

Volunteers were very excited to be planting wildflowers around the orchard, purchased from Wildflower Conservation Society and paid for with funds raised from the plant fair in April, a big thank you to you. These included Common Columbine / Aquilegia vulgaris, Common Vetch / Vicia sativa, Selfheal / Prunella vulgaris, Foxglove / Digitalis, Primrose / Primula vulgaris, Achillea / Achillea millefolium and Fox and Cubs / Pilosella aurantiaca.

Do you know why ‘Fox and Cubs’ native plant has that name?

A ‘Fox and cub’ plant a hairy herbaceous perennial and is visited by bees for nectar and pollen. Is it a vibrant, burnt orange colour (like a fox) but the larger open flower (the ‘fox’) often shelters unopened buds (the ‘cubs’). Funnily enough, we didn’t see our actual fox this time in the park – usually it likes to keep an eye on what we’re doing and our snacks – which we keep well out of its way of course.

Sharon Fruit from Hollingdean Park Orchard, November 2025, picked by volunteer gardeners
Banana ripening trick for the Sharon Fruit

Sharon Fruit Tree in Hollingdean Park Orchard

The Sharon fruit weren’t quite ready to eat at snack time (we’re experimenting with ripening them in a paper bag with a ripe banana). We all enjoyed a cup of Bengal Spice tea, said to be good for its melatonin stimulating properties and various other goodies. Yummy after our satisfying few hours of weeding.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who came!

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Help Us Water the Edible Plants

15th Apr 2025

Hollingdean Park Needs You! Bring a bottle?!

Help water the edible hedge at Hollingdean Park and Community Orchard 2025

The weather has been gorgeous recently but also incredibly dry. This means that all the edible plants we put it on the Community Days over the last couple of months are very, very thirsty. So how about bringing up a bottle of water if you’re passing-it could be an old milk carton or similar – and giving one or two plants a really good drink. The edible planting is along the fence towards the Hollingdean Community Orchard and in the orchard itself.

How best to water the plants

It’s best to give one or two plants plenty of water, rather than lots of plants a little bit as it encourages the plants to keep sending their roots deep which helps them thrive. Also, even if we have some rain over the next week, the ground is still very dry so we still need to water if at all possible. We are working on accessing water regularly from the Family Hub but in the meantime, every bit of water really does help.

Don’t forget to enjoy all the beautiful blossom in the orchard.

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