Park lavender distilled into oil

lavender2Following the community lavender harvest at the end of the summer, a car boot full of Vauxhall lavender was taken down to Carshalton Lavender Fields where Laurie Rudham kindly allowed us to use his bespoke distillery to produce over 10 litres of lavender oil.

The oil can be bought through Ruth the Lavender Lady who is at the South Lambeth Market on the second Saturday of every month. It is richly aromatic and distinctly different from the other lavender oils so do try it out. Perfect for ironing out the stresses of inner city living!

The lavender garden, which was planted to mark the Centenary of the Vauxhall Motor Company in 2003 is now in need of replanting. The Friends hope to make this a project for 2014 to propagate new plants from the existing ones and extend the life of this highly popular feature of the park. If you are interested in taking part please call 07901 855887.

A human sundial for the park

sundialA very generous local resident has recently sponsored the installation of a human (or “analemmatic“) sundial in the middle of the lavender garden.

It is set to GMT so, on a sunny day, go and stand on the correct month, as marked on the central stone, and see if your shadow gives an accurate time reading (in summer, your shadow will be a hour ahead!).

We are delighted by this fascinating addition to the park and are very grateful to the Wells family for their inspired idea.

New pergola planting

pergola-roseWe are extremely grateful to Tommy Candler and Alan Plaistowe who planned, sourced and paid for the new planting of the Pergola in the lavender garden area. A carefully chosen range of roses and wisteria will, before long, restore the Pergola to its former glory.

We look forward to the air being filled with the scent of these beautiful roses.