Skip to content

Castle set for dazzling display of new daffodil type

Juliette ParkinIn Hever
News imageOliver Dixon The two men stand in front of Hever Castle, which is blurred in the background. They hold a pot of daffodils up and look up at it proudly. Johnny Walkers is wearing a tie with daffodils on it, while Neil Miller has a shirt with a repeated flower print.Oliver Dixon
The variety is the result of a collaboration between award-winning horticulturalist Johnny Walkers (left) and Hever Castle's head gardener Neil Miller (right)

Five thousand bulbs of a new variety of daffodilare beingplanted at the childhood home of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, in preparation for spring.

The variety, named Hever Castle, has been launched thanks to a collaboration between the Kent estate's head gardener, Neil Miller, and award-winning daffodil expert Johnny Walkers.

The flowers were grown in trial beds in Lincolnshire and the bulbs were then sent to the castle estate near Edenbridge, ready for planting.

Miller said: "It's a traditional yellow, deep, beautiful kind of daffodil and my goodness me, next March it will look amazing."

News imageOliver Dixon Miller and Walkers stand in a field of yellow daffodils, looking at the camera. the Daffodils are planted in rows.Oliver Dixon
The flowers were grown in fields in Lincolnshire before the bulbs were taken to Kent

Walkers, a 25-time gold medal winner at Chelsea Flower Show, has been advising the garden team at Hever for about 10 years.

He said some of the daffodil varieties on the estate go back centuries.

News imageNathalie Edell/BBC Johnny Walkers stands with his hands behind his back, smiling at the camera. He is wearing a brown jacket, green jumoer and green checked shirt, and has glasses perched on his nose. He is smiling and behind him is the castle and an orchard.Nathalie Edell/BBC
Walkers has won 25 gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show for his daffodil displays

He told the BBC: "We've got one variety planted in the orchard that was first mentioned in various books in 1640 and is well-established here in the gardens.

"And with the varieties we have introduced over the last 10 years as well, you can have daffodils here for five months of the year."

News imageNathalie Edell/BBC A woman in a pink stripey jumper next to an area where the bulbs are being placed in the ground. A number of other helpers are behind her. She has long white hair which is tied back and is smiling at the camera.Nathalie Edell/BBC
Gardening enthusiast Tracey Elliott said planting bulbs was a "joy"

Local gardening enthusiasts helped staff plant the bulbs, with advice from Walkers on the best way to bed them ahead of winter.

One of those, Tracey Elliott, told the BBC: "What a joy. We get to plant them and then come back and see them in the spring."

Miller said the Hever Castle's bright yellow flower was similar to the vibrant yellow of the King Alfred, which was introduced by former owner and daffodil enthusiast, William Astor, who bought the property in 1903.

News imageNathalie Edell/BBC A man stands in front of part of the castle buildings. He is wearing a black and red jacket with a blue and white patterned shirt and is looking directly at the camera.Nathalie Edell/BBC
Neil Miller said that in the past daffodils were "only for people with money"

The King Alfred was widely regarded as a show of wealth and recognised as the traditional daffodil of Hever Castle, Miller explained.

He added: "At the moment, if you ask people what is the best traditional daffodil, people say King Alfred, but we are hoping in say, 15 or 20 years time, they will say the Hever Castle daffodil."

News imageNathalie Edell/BBC Hever Castle in sunlight, reflected in the moat which surrounds it.Nathalie Edell/BBC
Hever Castle was the childhood home of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Kent on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.

Related internet links