There were twenty two  Plant Heritage members in all at the event hosted at Hullwood Barn on Sunday 2nd of April.  Darren Andrews gave an introduction to the International Horticultural Classification system for Daffodils, explaining  which species had been used for breeding in each group, and how a knowledge of this is very relevant to the cultivation of Narcissus within each division.

Neil Bradfield talked about aesthetic considerations when planting and growing Narcissus, which made everyone think about the plant associations in their own gardens!

Other topics covered on the day were: research and recording of Narcissus, pests and diseases, the British commercial cut flower and bulb production of Narcissus, which is worth £45 million.  The day was held at Jim Marshall  and Sarah Cook’s garden, which is packed full of Narcissus, and finished with a tour of Darren’s garden and large collection.

Some comments from participants:

“I think the day was excellent, buckets of enthusiasm, train loads of knowledge and wonderfully imparted. I for one learnt so much. Really well done.”

“What a rewarding day we had yesterday! I’ll be inspecting my narcissus with increased interest from now on.”

“The Soup and Sandwich lunch made by Chairman Maggie Thorpe was excellent (yum!)”