Sidmouth’s annual Daffodil Day will no longer take place – but the planting of daffodils in the Sid Valley will continue.

Sally Blyth, who has organised Daffodil Day since the first event in 2018, is stepping down because of the amount of work involved, and no-one else has come forward to take over.

Sidmouth Herald: However, the Sidmouth Daffodil Society hopes there will still be a plant fair at Kennaway House in March 2024.

Sally told the Herald: “Unfortunately there will not be another Daffodil Day, as it took over all my spare time from January until March each year making jams, marmalades, potting up over 100 pots of daffodils, cake making, houseplant propagating, as well as coordinating artists, school paintings and speakers, and working full time.

“It was a wonderful event which would not have happened without the hard work of the other five members of the Sidmouth Daffodil Society, especially Jayne Eley who ran the cafe and all the friends and family members who helped man stalls on the day.

“We are hoping that Kennaway House will continue to run a plant fair in early March, as the plant nurseries loved coming to Sidmouth at the beginning of their season.”

Sidmouth Herald: Each week we set our readers a photo challenge to have a go at and the theme for our next challenge is 'Signs of Spring'. If you would like to have a go then visit our image sharing website at www.iwitness24.co.uk and upload your spring shots to the East Devon group. Picture: Alex Walton Photography - Daffodils at Peak Hill, Sidmouth from a previous year.

The Sidmouth Daffodil Society has managed to raise enough funds from the Daffodil Days to plant daffodils in the Sid Valley for the past five years, and has enough money to continue for at least the next eight years, introducing new varieties to the Sid Valley.

Led by Richard Eley, the team have planted at least 3,000 bulbs this autumn, comprising three different daffodil varieties: Cheerfulness, Geranium, both of which are scented,  and Pink Pride.

Sally said she is hoping to open her own garden for charity in February 2025 so that visitors can see her collection of more than 300 snowdrop plants. She said: “It was impossible for me to prepare and open the garden while I was organising the Sidmouth Daffodil Day – but look out for Sidmouth’s Snowdrop Garden in 18 months time!”