After my walk around the grounds of York University, I was feeling quite energised, so I decided to walk back into the city centre to catch a bus home from there. I haveny walked into the city from that direction for a very long time, and I enjoyed renewing my acquaintance with that part of the city..
My heart lifted when I saw this display of daffodils along the bank below the outside of the city walls. There are areas of daffodils along much of the city walls, and they tend to vary when they flowered depending on how much sun they get and what varieties they are. I found these in an ideal state for a photo.
The planting was started in the early 1800's by Backhouse Nurseries, an early garden centre located just inside the city walls by Queen Street. They planted daffodils outside the city walls at that point, to advertise their business. The site was bought by York's first railway company & used for the city's first railway station. Backhouse moved to a greenfield site elsewhere, but left their daffodils behind.
I've been trying to discover when the current extensive displays were created, but so far without success. I believe that it was the schools of York that did the planting, with each school responsible for planting a particular section, and I think it was done in the 1960s.
The display this year is particularly good. It varies quite a lot from year to year depending on the weather conditions. This shot was taken from beside Walmgate Bar.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
It is quite fortunate that daffodils on different parts of the wall banks flower at different times, depending on variety, and on the amount of sun they get. The last to fully flower tend to be the ones facing the railway station, where they only see sunlight late in the day. My mum used to like visiting when she could see the daffodils outside the railway station. It was one of her fondest memories of York.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
It is quite fortunate that daffodils on different parts of the wall banks flower at different times, depending on variety, and on the amount of sun they get. The last to fully flower tend to be the ones facing the railway station, where they only see sunlight late in the day. My mum used to like visiting when she could see the daffodils outside the railway station. It was one of her fondest memories of York.
Ian
Thank you both. I was surprised by how nice the daffodil display was on this part of the city walls.
Ian