Hever Castle supports Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal

National Gardening Week
January 21 2020 | Castle Garden

Daffodils at Hever Castle

Hever Castle has joined with charity Marie Curie to support its Great Daffodil Appeal at its Dazzling Daffodil event this Spring.

Visitors can buy their daffodil pins on site during Dazzling Daffodils and volunteers from the charity will be available on 21 and 22 March for visitors to find out more about the charity’s work and the Great Daffodil Appeal.

There will also be special daffodil cupcakes for sale in the Restaurants at a cost of £2 with the sales from the sweet treats going to Marie Curie.

Held every Spring, the Great Daffodil Appeal is when millions of people across the UK come together to volunteer, fundraise, donate and wear a daffodil pin so that Marie Curie Nurses can give vital care to people living with a terminal illness and their families.

Joanne Harvey, Community Fundraiser at Marie Curie, said: “I’m delighted that this year’s Great Daffodil Appeal has been chosen as a partner for Dazzling Daffodils – they go hand-in-hand perfectly!

“Thank you to everyone at Hever Castle for their support and I hope that we raise lots of funds during the week, to help Marie Curie Nurses provide compassionate care to people living with a terminal illness and enable them to make the most of the time they have with their family and friends.”

Faye Kelly, Head of Visitor Services at Hever Castle: “We are delighted to be partnering with Marie Curie during our Dazzling Daffodils event. The support they give to the terminally ill and their families in invaluable and we hugely proud to have them here at Hever Castle, promoting the charity and the work that they do.”

As well as discovering more about Marie Curie, visitors are invited to get up close and personal and find out more about the different varieties of the humble narcissi as part of Hever Castle’s third Dazzling Daffodils event (16-22 March).

Hever Castle has once again teamed up with bulb expert Johnny Walkers who along with Head Gardener Neil Miller will be giving tours and talks on the 16 – 20 March.

Visitors can see daffodils in Anne Boleyn’s Orchard (not usually open to the public) and learn more about the new and exciting varieties that have been planted on the Estate.

Varieties of daffodil planted at Hever Castle for 2020 include a full double cream white flowered with rich tangerine range segments with a hint of green on the edges called Flower Parade and a striking large cupped white with a frilled rose red cup called Decoy.

Neil also took possession (last year) of 10 rare daffodil bulbs named ‘Hever’. These daffodils were produced by Noel Burr a well-known amateur breeder and exhibitor of daffodils who lived in East Sussex before he died in 2017.

Neil explains: “Noel was a real whizz with daffodils and registered no less than 58 new cultivars with the International Daffodil Register – many of the daffodils were named after places in Sussex and Kent, including our very own Hever. I will be displaying them in a pot for visitors to enjoy in March.”

Tens of thousands of daffodils flowering on the Estate have been boosted by 21,000 new varieties planted in the last three years since the start of Dazzling Daffodils.

Neil adds: “Like William Wordsworth (who would have celebrated his 250th birthday next month, if he were still alive!), the gardening team absolutely love Dazzling Daffodils at Hever. We have found, over the last few years, that these wonderful flowers really bring out the visitors. There are keen daffodil fans throughout the country and even a magazine devoted to the flowers. Wordsworth was captivated by these golden blooms growing wild in the Lake District and there is undeniably something evocative when you see daffodils in March – it’s the very essence of new-life and springtime.”

About Marie Curie:

Marie Curie is the UK’s leading charity for people with any terminal illness. The charity helps people living with a terminal illness and their families make the most of the time they have together by delivering expert hands-on care, emotional support, research and guidance. Marie Curie employs more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, and with its nine hospices around the UK, is the largest provider of hospice beds outside the NHS.

Anyone in need of support, or with any questions about any aspect of terminal illness, can call the Marie Curie Information & Support Line free on 0800 090 2309 or visit mariecurie.org.uk/help.

The Great Daffodil Appeal is Marie Curie’s biggest fundraising campaign, held every March.

Every donation and daffodil worn helps Marie Curie provide vital care for people living with a terminal illness and support for their families.
• 8 million daffodil pins are distributed each year.
• Around £6 million was raised last year and £120 million in total raised since the campaign began in 1986.

For more information visit https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/daffodil