Gardening Buddies prepare welcoming display

HENLEY’S Gardening Buddies have been preparing the town’s floral train for planting. The feature was installed in Station Park last year on the site of the former train turntable that was in operation until 1925.

Eight buddies spent more than three hours removing old plants and soil from the train and will return later this month to replant it with 4,000 flowering plants, including alternanthera, sempervivum and calcareum in bright red, purple, burgundy and greens.

Buddies organiser Elizabeth Hodgkin said: “The train has a polystyrene core covered by wire mesh so we had to take out the soil and plants by hand. It took us all morning and was a lot of work. People love the train so we want to keep it going.”

The feature was first used in Henley in 2007 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Henley railway line. The Chiltern House business centre sponsors Station Park and last year First Great Western made a £1,000 donation towards the project. Signwriter Norman Ingram repainted the train and Sam Walker created four new wheels.