Gloves are on as volunteers clean up Weymouth park

The Foxgloves Project was a joint initiative between The Friends of Lodmoor Country Park and Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.

Foxgloves are now in place all along the bank beneath poplar trees towards the northern end of the popular Weymouth location.

Dinah Ellis, committee member of The Friends of Lodmoor Country Park, said: “They should make a wonderful splash of colour later in the year, whilst providing a welcome environment for insects.”

She added: “This was an excellent example of co-operation between a Friends’ Group and Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s parks department.”

Susan Baillie, membership secretary of The Friends of Lodmoor Country Park, rallied the volunteers together to plant native foxglove seeds in compost, which was provided by the borough council.

The dedicated committee member turned her own garden into an autumn nursery for the plants before handing them over to the council to be nurtured through the Christmas period. Ms Ellis added: “Thanks to everyone’s efforts, seed costing less than a pound has been transformed into dozens of plants.”

The sturdy plants were delivered to Lodmoor Country Park where a group of volunteers helped with the planting. In previous years, The Friends of Lodmoor Country Park have raised funds for and planted hundreds of native bluebells, snowdrops and primroses in the Woodland Walk.

These complement the drifts of daffodils planted over the years by the borough council’s parks department.