A bold and bright display of 10,000 ceramic daffodils will provide a dazzling attraction for visitors to Lowther Castle over a two-month period starting on 24th April.
Spearheading the project is Dockray-based ceramic artist Helen Ratcliffe, who has taken inspiration from the poetry of William Wordsworth and his celebration of daffodils on the shores of Ullswater.
It is hoped the venture will raise £300,000 for six deserving charities – Another Way, Sunbeams Music Trust, Ullswater Catchment Management CIC and Friends of the Ullswater Way, plus the New Horizon Youth Centre and James’ Place.
The aim is to support smaller charities which do not currently receive significant exposure or funds. These charities have also been carefully chosen to reflect the overall aims of the project, covering all aspects of social needs, environment, history and arts.
Helen, who is not being paid for the project, said: “In a similar vein to the 2014 Tower of London poppies, I will be making 10,000-plus ceramic daffodils as per Wordsworth’s famous poem.
“Wordsworth was inspired to write his famous poem I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud during a walk at Glencoyne Park on the edge of Ullswater with his sister at the turn of the 19th Century.
“In the poem, he talks of ‘Ten thousand saw I at a glance’. So my plan is to create 10,000 daffodils.
“They will be planted at the magnificent Lowther Castle, near Penrith, and on the Ullswater Way route, for viewing from April. After the display ends at Lowther, the daffodils will be sold.”
She added: “Lowther Castle is an incredible partner for this project, providing a spectacular location and supporting me with a production site, marketing support and invaluable input from a team with extensive experience of working on such installations.
“Lowther has many stories that marry it closely to my project, not least the ‘Yellow Earl’, and its world record of planting 106,526 real daffodils in 2012.”
In addition to the 10,000 daffodils, Helen is also making ten giant daffodil heads and has begun inviting notable potters to glaze them. These large daffodil heads will be auctioned off to support a charity of the potters’ choice at a gala dinner with both a live and online auction.
“I have a brilliant team of friends from Matterdale helping me on this project and we are starting to move forward on many parts of it together,” said Helen.
On Sunday, the ceramic daffodils made an appearance on Alan Titchmarsh’s Love Your Weekend ITV show.
They were featured as part of a segment which showcased all the different types of daffodils which exist.
TV horticulturalist Camilla Bassett-Smith hosts a monthly garden calendar on the popular show with the focus this time being on spring bulbs and daffodils.
She told ITV viewers the ceramic daffodils were part of a charity campaign, called 10,000 daffodils, a little bit like the poppies, which was really lovely.
“It is lovely seeing the ceramics and the actual plants themselves — the stars,” she said.
Thanks to an incredible army of volunteers — approximately 350 and counting — most of the daffodils have already been assembled. They are now being glazed and fired in a building on the Lowther Estate.
While the event itself will not raise money, sales of the individual daffodils will. Each ceramic flower is available to buy and purchasers will receive them in July, once the installation has been taken down.
Daffodils can be bought via www.tenthousanddaffodils.org/shop
A spokesman said: “Ten Thousand Daffodils would like to thank all its sponsors for helping to make this amazing event take place: The Quiet Site; Ullswater Way Cottages; IJ Curry and Son Builders; AW Jenkinson; Northern Kilns; Valentine Clays; Hadfield Trust; Greenlight Packaging; Rheged; Tebay Services.”
