Friends of St. James' Park

Can you help?

As we celebrate 20 years of making a positive difference in our community, we’re looking for someone passionate and committed to join our team of trustees as Volunteer Chair and help lead the next chapter of our journey.

Please get in touch for a chat if you can help!

Please help us to share this within our community :0)

Your Friends of St. James Park Team. 🙂

Gardening Report 13th May 2026

Six of us met to form this week's gardening team. The weather was a bit ominous and sunshine, rain and hail came and went. Between downpours we did quite a bit of w**ding between the slabs of the main path and sweeping as we went. Steps were cleared of w**ds and other w**ds were reigned in from beds and hedge edges. New plants were watered as needed, despite the rain the soil being very dry still. Some of the beautiful flowering things at the moment include cornflowers, oxeye daisies on the banks, beautifully scented white roses, geums, nepeta and red hot pokers!
Happy sunny, rainy, haily May! 🌞🌧️🌦️

From your Friends of St James Park Team 💚

Gardening Report 6th May 2026

Eight of us met to form this week's gardening team. We were really happy to welcome a lovely new volunteer to our team too. A lot of new, kindly donated plants were planted out, including wall germander, dahlia, penstemon, primroses, welsh poppy and tree peony as well as annual bedding plants. Watering and w**ding was a large task alongside planting. Some yellow rattle and escholzia seeds were sown in the mixed flowering bed by the community room. Across the park a lot of sweeping and blowing and picking up of debris was done, including from the steps and paths, all the play areas and inside and alongside the tennis courts too! The gravel path between the community room and the tennis courts was cleared of w**ds and w**ds were also hoed from beside the planters.
The park is looking abundant and some of the things that stood out this week are the beautiful pink thrift/ Armeria maritima - which is great at surviving dry conditions. Also, Guelder rose and the cow parsley. Guelder Rose and cow parsley are important nectar sources for hoverflies amongst other pollinators and the winter berries of the guelder rose are good for small birds. It was heartening to see some bees buzzing around in the sunshine today, feeding on the abundant green alkanet flowers.
With gratitude to the team for all this!

Your Friends of St. James Park Gardeners team 💚

Gardening Report for 29th April 2026

This week's gardening team was 8 strong. We cleared paths and blew the bits, all the London Plane seeds heads and fluff from all around the front entrance, the steps and cafe. The planters were cleared of their bulbs to make way for some new bedding plants. New plants were watered as well as the flowering bank by the community room. The fence beyond the play area was cleared of a lot of growth, some hawthorns were trimmed and there was some selective w**ding of the beds. Some shallow trays of rainwater were hidden in the beds in order to provide water for butterflies and insects. There are a lot of things flowering in the park at the moment, including the 'red hot pokers' which are starting to shoot up, the wonderful Weigela by the Heritage bed and the brilliant Zantedeschia lily.
Thanks to the volunteers a lot got done.

Your Friends of St. James Park Gardeners 💚

We were joined last week by the 2nd Southampton Scouts, with more than 25 children from their Cub Pack coming along to help with a very successful litter pick.

There were lots of eager, smiley faces and plenty of helping hands as everyone worked together to tidy the park and remove bags and bags of litter.

A huge well done to the Southampton Scouts for all of your hard work and community spirit, you did an amazing job!

Gardening Report 22nd April 2026

This week's gardening team was seven strong. The park was looking great in the sunshine, and awash with the blue flowers of forget-me-nots and green alkanet. Trimming was done of the hawthorn hedges and cotoneaster. The huge pampas was trimmed too and cleared somewhat of old dead material. New 'crazy daisies' were planted in with more of the same to expand clumps and black grasses were also planted in new areas. The paths across the park were blown of debris. New plants were watered and fed. Green alkanet, although lovely and great for bees, was w**ded where encroaching on other plants, digging it up to get the whole of the long tap root out as we could. Otherwise we tend to leave it for the bees and try to cut it back before it madly self seeds. The bank by the community room is looking its best yet and with all the flowering plants to feed on, a holly blue butterfly was spotted. Holly blue butterflies may be feeding on nectar of forget-me-nots as well as holly flowers at this time of year. It seemed thirsty as attracted to our watering: a reminder generally of the importance of leaving some water available for insects to drink.
Anyway, our 2 hour stint was pleasant and well used and all helping to care for the park and its plants, with their insect visitors in mind too.

Gardening Report 15th April 2026

Seven met for this week’s gardening. It got a bit wet at the end so we headed for tea a little early, though prior to that we got a lot of useful w**ding done and made space for some of the newer select plants. The fluffy heads of the pampas grass were tidied where they had collapsed and the hawthorn hedges were given a trim. More brambles were cleared from the railings along Wordsworth Road and 2 barrows of debris picked up from the pavement side there. There was a thorough sweeping of chippings from the paths as well. Nettles were dug up where they were coming forward, near to the tennis courts, and to make space for some other things. Nettles are a great food plant for the caterpillars of the peacock butterfly and small tortoiseshell butterfly and seed eating birds like the seeds in the Autumn - as well as nettles being a very nutritious and healthy plant for humans! Now is also the time where the Garlic Mustard / Jack-by-the-hedge is flowering. It may appear as a 'w**d' growing in amongst more ornamental plants, however, this too is a tasty plant - good in salads, and this plant is depended upon by the Orange-tip butterfly whose larvae feeds on the seed pods, and the Green-veined White butterfly for the leaves as food ...
We'll have to keep an eye out for butterflies this summer!
Meanwhile the blossom of the Cherry Trees is over but many other plants, including the Weigela in the Heritage Bed, are starting to flower and everywhere so green. Such an enjoyable space to be active in.
With gratitude to all the team for their care and work.

Gardening Report for 8th April 2026

Five of us met for this week's gardening. On such a sunny day the park was brimming with people out enjoying the sunshine and space. We had plenty to do to plant donated plants; more Purple Bearded Iris to boost that clump, Verbena Bonariensis, Black Mondo grass, Euonymus, daffodil bulbs, Stachys Byzantina / lambs ears, primroses, Symphytum Ibericum / dwarf comfrey... and more! So we had our heads down for a large part of the time, making space and - making sure everything was well watered on such a warm day. As well as this, wildflower seeds were scattered on scarified patches on various banks - and watered. The seeds had been collected from other wildflower beds in the city and whereabouts (with care and responsible harvesting), including the cowslip meadow in Wi******er near the St Catherine's hill park and ride where one of us has been involved in volunteering. Besides taking our time with these additions, litter was also picked from around the main part of the park.
The green alkanet is flowering (blue) prolifically, as are lungwort / Pulmonaria, Forget-me-not, and amazing tulips. Amongst both the variety of plants in the beds - and around the wildflower banks - insects were buzzing and busy.