Preston Environmental Forum (PEF) is gearing up for spring and planning lots exciting environmental projects for the coming year. One of the Forum’s main projects is the Corn Exchange beds in the city centre. These are the large beds running from the bottom of Lune Street to the junction of Friargate and the Ring Road.

Preston Environmental Forum aims to make these look fantastic and full of colourful plants that are also great for bees and butterflies. However your help is needed! The Forum has already started work by organising volunteer sessions to prepare the beds for spring. We will be organising more activities for volunteers to help make the beds look great so if you would like to get involved please get in touch!

Advertisements

Another way you can help is by donating plants. If you are a keen gardener then you may be splitting plants in your garden this spring, you might consider donating some of them to PEF.

However, as every good gardener knows we need to be careful what we put in the beds and therefore we have drawn up a list of the plants we would like…see the list below:

• Geranium, Crainesbill (Herbaceous, types any colour).
• Rudbekia Goldstrum
• Crocosmia Lucifer (or other types, but not the very invasive mombretia)
• Sedum (either the large autumn flowering types or the smaller rockery types)
• Japanese Anemones (any colour)
• Leucanthemum Superbum (large daisies flower mid summer)
• Veronica (any colour)
• Phlox (any colour)
• Astilbe (any colour)
• Achillea, Yarrow (any colour)
• Iris (any type other than yellow flag Iris, any colour)
• Penstemon (any colour)
• Kniphofia , Red hot poker (any colour)
• Hemerocalis, Day Lilly (any colour)
• Salvia (any)
• Ferns (any)

PEF really will not be able to use anything that is not on the list, so if you have anything else you might like to offer we really will say ‘thanks, but no thanks!’

If you would like to offer some of the listed plants please be sure you know what the plant is and please try to remove any attached weeds. We will clean plants up before using them but you will be doing us a great favour if you can clean plants up as much as possible before donating them. We have organised four dates and locations for you to drop plants off, these are:

• Saturday 8th March, 10-12pm Ribbleton Library on Ribbleton Hall Drive, Ribbleton
• Sunday 16th March, 1-3pm The Continental Pub (Beer Garden), South Meadow Lane, Broadgate
• Saturday 22nd March, 10 – 12pm the Corn Exchange Beds at the bottom of Lune Street
• Sunday 30th March, 10 -12pm Ashton Park Pavilion, Ashton Park.

So if you would like to see your plants brightening up our city centre please getting splitting! If you would like to get involved with Preston Environmental Forum please contact Chris Taylor: email ctaylor@lancswt.org.uk.

* Article submitted on behalf of Community Engagement, Preston City Council www.preston.gov.uk/communities *