Rachel Healy, Marketing and Communications Manager at Share Community is celebrating spring as daffodils burst into bloom!

Once more commonly known as Narcissus, the humble daffodil is a much-loved flower that traditionally heralds the start of spring as it starts bursting through the ground. Coming across a swathe of yellow trumpeting flowers is a sight to behold and has inspired many an artist and poet. Tooting residents may be aware of the area’s strong association with daffodils thanks to Geoff Simmons, leader of community history project Summerstown 182. Geoff has been raising awareness of social history, running guided walks in the area and last year unveiled a plaque on a house where Peter Barr, ‘The Daffodil King’, once lived.

In the late 19th century Tooting was a major daffodil growing area. Peter Barr pioneered new varieties at plant nurseries in what is now the area around Streatham Cemetery. His passion for developing and growing daffodils led to some of his bulbs selling for £50 in 1903 – that’s around £5000 in today’s money!

In keeping with this daffodil tradition we’ve gone bulb crazy at Share Nurseries including some lovely double daffodils just starting to bloom. Planting all these bulbs has given our students the chance to achieve some of their core units working towards their Level 1 and 2 diplomas in horticulture.

There’s no better time to visit us and buy some spring-flowering bulbs to brighten up your home! There’s building work at Springfield Hospital at the moment but we’re still open from 10am until 3pm on weekdays and will be throughout the works. The Share garden is marked in pale green on the hospital main map on the Springfield information boards.

You can find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, all @sharenurseries. Please follow us and support our work!
 

Share Nurseries is a horticultural social enterprise run by Share Community, a registered charity that provides training and employment support for disabled adults, including those with learning disabilities, autism, physical and sensory impairments, and mental health needs. To find out more about Share’s work or how you can get involved, visit www.sharecommunity.org.uk  
 

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