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Friends of Gosforth Central Park

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Friends of Gosforth Central Park

Join us Mondays 10am - 12 noon. The park layout has changed little since its construction in the 1930s, its focal point being the 1st World War memorial.

The Organisation is established for the encouragement of local participation in the promotion, management, maintenance and improvement of the Park and its facilities, including environmental conservation and education. The Park is located in the middle of Gosforth, directly adjacent to the Gosforth Shopping Centre and close to the High Street, and within easy reach of both buses and Metro. The pat

hs allow easy access around and through the park and mature trees and shrubs line the paths and frame attractive open grassed areas. These informal spaces are complemented by a busy children’s playground, tennis courts, a bowling green and small pavilions. The park is well used by individuals, families and children and by residents and visitors on their way to and from the High Street and the Gosforth Shopping Centre

22/06/2026

A sad day today, as one of the planters that we filled with summer bedding has been vandalised 😢

It’s such a shame when the actions of a few people spoil the enjoyment of many people, and the donations that we’re so kindly given are wasted despite our best efforts. We’re thinking about what to do next that might be less of a target.

Undaunted, volunteers got on with watering, w**ding, and generally trying to keep up with how fast (almost) everything is growing! 🌻

On a cheerier note, the memorial beds continue to look colourful, and the wildflower areas in the park are buzzing with bees 🐝while ladybirds🐞 continue to enjoy a feast of aphids. Yum? 🤔

Back next Monday 10 - 12 after a scorching week ☀🥵 Do stay hydrated 💦

15/06/2026

Another busy morning in Gosforth Central Park, and week two of our planter project.

Our metre square planters have been emptied, turned over to remove any soil and water from the reservoirs, newly kitted out with capillary matting and wicks, and refilled. This will be a much more sustainable way to keep them watered and looking happy 🌟💦

Two planters have been moved, one to allow better access for vehicles coming to the monthly market, and other events, and one to a shadier spot to prolong the life of the plants. The bare patch will be re-seeded shortly, along with other areas that need a bit of a boost.

The planters have now been filled up for the summer, and we have exciting new plans for them next year! 🧐

It was also week two of the tool store renovation, and what a transformation! It looks so smart, and now matches beautifully with the hut, we’re very lucky to have such committed volunteers giving us their time and skills ⭐

The work on the memorial beds also continued, and the edging and mowing and watering is paying dividends, they’re looking very colourful! 🌈

The Quiet Area is also flourishing, with roses galore, and lavender getting ready to flower any day now.

🐝Bees are everywhere, enjoying the toadflax and the Stachys byzantina, or lamb’s ears, a lovely drought tolerant plant with soft felty whorls of leaves and spikes of tiny pink flowers 🐝

Poppies, cornflowers and foxgloves have seeded around, and ladybirds munch away on aphids, keeping the roses healthy 🐞🐞

Back next Monday from 10 – 2, with more jobs to do! 😊

08/06/2026

What a busy day we had today! There are so many jobs to do at this time of year, and everything is growing so fast! 😬

The sprucing up of the Memorial Beds continues, and volunteers did a brilliant job of tidying, edging and mowing to keep them looking tidy. There are plans for new planting to add to them in September, to add some autumn and winter colour and give them more seasons of interest 🍃🍁🍂

We emptied one of the large square planters and moved it to a sunnier site, phew, it was heavy! Next week they’ll be filled with summer bedding which should go through to the first frosts, many thanks to ’s for their donations! 🌟

The tool store has had some repairs and a lick of paint, and soon it will be painted the same colour as our lovely hut, decorated for us by our friends at the on the Green.

We had a proper feast at our elevenses, due to a birthday and a kind contribution of cake, and the sun came out too, you couldn’t ask for more! 🌞

In the wildflower area poppies and scabious are humming with bees, and the blue tit fledglings are growing up fast 🐝🪺

We’ll be back next Monday from 10 – 12 with a jobs list as long as your arm! 😊

01/06/2026

🌦It was a morning of sunshine and showers as volunteers got to work today. We got on with all our regular tasks, w**ding, edging, and litter picking, but we’re leaving some of the grass verges unmown temporarily, to give wildlife the best chance to thrive.

The herbaceous border was full of bees enjoying the geraniums and scabious 🐝and the Quiet Area beds are looking lovely, with red and white roses, as well as purple linaria (or toadflax) which is one of our most energetic volunteers, self-seeding everywhere!

Bees and butterflies absolutely love it however, it flowers for months, and it’s easy to pull out if it gets too exuberant! 🦋🐝

Our Crinodendron, or Chilean Lantern Tree, is looking splendid at the moment, with its carmine lanterns and glossy leaves.

Apparently Crinodendron hookerianum was introduced into cultivation in the U.K. by Cornish plant collector William Lobb in 1848. It has been given the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, which is a sure sign that a plant is a reliable ‘good doer’.

Happily, there’s some good news from the rockery 🥳 where alpine phloxes are flowering. Fingers crossed they’ll continue to spread 🤞

Near the big Cedar, our new rhododendron Orange Tortoiseshell is blooming, along with the smoke bush, which buzzes with bees when the sun’s out.

Volunteers emptied the four large planters, moving the polyanthus and narcissus bulbs to the nursery bed until next year. We’ll be filling the containers with summer planting during next week’s session.

We’ll be back on Monday between 10 and 2 as always, enjoy your week! 😊

25/05/2026

Phew, it’s an absolute scorcher today! ☀️ After spending months watching for signs of life, and celebrating each new leaf, suddenly May becomes mayhem, and everything doubles in size overnight! 😲

Volunteers had our work cut out for us this morning watering thirsty plants💦💦w**ding the approximately one million w**ds that have appeared since last week, and edging and mowing to try and keep things trim.

Thank goodness for our beautiful mature trees, for casting some welcome shade, and keeping our park looking glorious 🌲🌳🌲🌳

At our well-deserved elevenses, we cheered on the rhododendron that has survived a close encounter with a bike, and bid a sad farewell to yet more rockery planting which has been trampled. Ah well, swings and roundabouts! (fitting for a park) and we have a lot more successes than failures ⭐️

Our newly planted trees are mostly doing well, and the herbaceous border is filling out with cottage garden plants which are both tough and very pretty. Astrantia, with its pincushion flowers; aquilegia (aka granny’s bonnet, or columbine) and alliums. Allium Christophii (star of Persia) is a stunner, with silvery lilac stars that are more airy than the globes of Purple Sensation, and catch the light beautifully 🌟

It’s iris season, and we have some handsome blue irises out, with their subtle stripes guiding bees towards the nectar in the middle of the flower. Another striking blue features in the flowers of the ceanothus, a lovely shrub with evergreen crinkled leaves, and an absolute bee magnet! 🐝

🌸Roses are in bud all over the park, by next Monday we may well see the first rose of summer!🌸

We’re back next week 10 – 12. Thanks for some very kind donations today, they’re much appreciated!

11/05/2026

Brrr! It feels as though Spring got switched on then switched off again!😂

Last week we were worried about plants drying out in the heat, this week we’re wondering if they need to be tucked up against the cold🥶

Still, whatever the weather there are some plants that can always be counted on. Not flashy or glamorous, but bonny and reliable, and a friend to pollinators.
Hardy geraniums are top of this list, with a range of colours and sizes, there’s one for every garden, and every aspect.

Geranium macrorrhizum is an evergreen geranium, happy in sun or shade, with pink, white, and magenta flowered varieties. It flowers for months, and can just be chopped back with shears or divided when the clump gets too big.

A star performer in the shrub category is Deutzia. Ours was absolutely humming with bees today (even in the cold!) and it has a lovely delicate fragrance🌸🐝🌸

In the "wildflower or w**d" department (depending on whether you like it or not🤣 ) is ragged-robin, with its cheery snaggletoothed pink flowers. It can be used to treat snake bites, apparently, but let’s hope we never need to put that to the test 😱🐍
Red Campion is a slightly tidier option, and also great for pollinators 🦋

A cold day is a timely reminder that there are plenty of plants that can thrive in shade. Our hostas are looking great, lighting up a border in heavy shade under the canopy of the trees 🌳🌳

There’s a plant for every position, and it’s fun to try varieties to find their happy place. That said, plants don’t read gardening books, and always have some surprises up their sleeves!

As always, volunteers got on with our routine tasks of litter picking, edging, w**ding, mowing and keeping the park in good fettle. Back next Monday, and who knows, the sun may even be shining! 😊

04/05/2026

A busy Bank Holiday Monday in the park, and after some welcome showers 🌦everything is growing fast. Our newly planted trees are doing well (fingers crossed) and the lime trees are a mass of luminous green leaves now, giving welcome cover to birds, and looking glorious🌳🌳

One nestbox that was checked contained seven blue tit chicks while a frazzled parent waited nearby to get on with feeding them!⭐

Both parents will be bringing them food continually for about the next month until the chicks are ready to fledge and fend for themselves. Fortunately the park has plenty of insects, fruits and seeds for them to enjoy 🪺🪱🐛

Alliums are now flowering, keeping bees🐝 happy, and early summer shrubs are coming into bloom in the borders. A pale pink Deutzia by the basketball court is a mass of flowers, and there are lilacs wafting their distinctive scent over by the play area.

Peony buds are opening in the Quiet Area, and Alchemilla mollis (or lady’s mantle) with its frothy lime green flowers and pleated furry leaves is popping up everywhere.

Alchemilla is one of our most vigorous self-seeders, and for some volunteers its charm has worn right off, but chopping it back after flowering helps keep it in check 😂

Apparently medieval alchemists gave Alchemilla its name, thinking that the drops that form on its leaves had magical properties. It’s drought tolerant, enjoyed by pollinators, and thrives on neglect, so it’s the perfect park plant (for Team Alchemilla anyway!)😊

Besides chatting about over-enthusiastic plants, volunteers got on with our usual jobs. Tidying, w**ding, edging, mowing, and all the routine tasks that keep the park looking tidy and welcoming.
Back next Monday from 10 – 12, have a good week!

27/04/2026

A busy morning in the park today. Thanks to our litter pickers, and some dedicated residents, for a much needed clean up after the busy weekend. 🙏💪

🌸 The blossom is starting to fall now, but looks almost as decorative on the paths, and there are so many new textures and colours on show as trees and plants continue to grow fast.

The smoke bush that we made more space for is coming into leaf, and its🍂 plum coloured 🍂 leaves are a lovely contrast with the zingy lime tree foliage. The sun shining through them is a lovely sight 🥰 🌞

The daffodils and tulips are going over now, but early summer bulbs are coming along fast. The herbaceous border should have a good show of alliums, such a reliable bulb, and loved by bees 🐝

Bees are also enjoying the perennial cornflowers in the wildlife area, along with a flourishing crop of dandelions (sigh). The efficiency of dandelions in spreading seed is second to none, but the flowers are rich in nectar and we’ll never keep on top of them all 😕 so they continue to thrive!

It does have to be admitted that dandelion clocks are very pretty, though this particular one got the chop after its picture was taken! 😂

Birds are really enjoying the park at the moment, with a very friendly robin supervising the team edging the borders by Moor Road North, and blackbirds everywhere, collecting nest material and following the w**ding team, hoping for 🪱worms🪱

A nest box check by one of our experts counted nine eggs in one blue tit nest, and it’s estimated that about half of the nest boxes in the park have occupants. Such great news! 🪺

Here’s hoping for sunny days and night time showers to keep everything happy until next Monday!

20/04/2026

After what has felt like a slow start, everything in the park is now growing fast 🥳

🌳Trees🌳are the real stars of the show at the moment, the cherry blossom in the Quiet Area is absolutely stunning🌸😍🌸 and as for the lime walk… those fresh new leaves look good enough to eat (though please don’t! 😂)

The newly planted trees are doing well too, and have had a good drink to keep them happy 🥰

The big cedar is looking as majestic as ever, and its neighbour the sycamore is coming into leaf. Between the two of them, they cast quite a lot of shade in the summer, but that means we can enjoy rhododendrons and skimmias that prefer a shady position.

The pink rhododendron ’Wee Bee’ is looking lovely, and there’s an orange flowered one to come soon, all being well!🤞

There are loads of ladybirds about, which is great as they’ll eat lots of aphids. Also bees buzzing around, and ants enjoying the sugary sap on peony buds, which doesn’t do the buds any harm and is obviously delicious! 🐞🐜🐝

Volunteers got on with lots of jobs: mending, mowing, watering and litter picking and enjoyed some lovely lemon cake for our elevenses. 🍰😋

Back next Monday 10 – 12, enjoy your week!

13/04/2026

It was a glorious sunny morning in the park today 🌞
It’s always great to see lots of visitors enjoying the sunshine, and we’ve had some talented artists out with their chalks! 🎨😊

There were loads of jobs to get on with today. After Storm Dave flattened a section of fence by the former bowling green 😬 an intrepid band of volunteers untangled it from the hedging, cleaned it up, and put in new posts to keep it in place. Not all heroes wear capes 💪🤣
They’ve done a brilliant job, maybe next week we should get some fancy biscuits for their elevenses 🤔

There was mowing, litter picking and w**ding to get on with too, and lots of new discoveries. There’s a pink rhododendron tucked away against the wall of that is looking stunning, the amelanchiers outside the Moor Road North entrance are in full flower, and the cherry blossom is well on its way now 🌸

It was also great to see lots of insects enjoying different habitats 🐝🪱🐞

Whisper it, but it feels as though Spring is really here. As Shakespeare put it “April (dress’d in all his trim) Hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” 🎉

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