Tens of thousands of daffodil bulbs are set to sprout across East Suffolk next spring after being distributed to communities as part of an annual planting programme.
East Suffolk Council received 120 applications from voluntary and community groups to join the scheme and receive a free bunch of around 500 bulbs to plant this winter.
An East Suffolk Blooms selection panel met to decide where the available 82 sets of narcissus bulbs would eventually find a home.
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Councillor Rachel Smith-Lyte, East Suffolk Council’s cabinet member for environment, said: “We had such a promisingly high number of applications from all over the district – with some groups and organisations so keen that they requested up to five sets.
"In the end, we chose 82 groups to each receive a set and help boost biodiversity while spreading colour through their communities.
“I can’t wait to see these vibrant pollinators flowering across East Suffolk next spring and would encourage groups and individuals to continue to plant in their areas, even if they didn’t get the opportunity for free bulbs this year.”
Successful applicants will be invited to collect their bulbs from depots in Ufford or Lowestoft in October – ready for planting over the winter.
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East Suffolk Council’s annual ‘Pardon the weeds, we’re feeding the bees’ campaign has, since 2020, allowed grass and wildflowers to grow in more than 100 spaces in order to help wildlife thrive.
The council’s ambition to become a carbon-neutral council, in terms of assets and operations, and to reach carbon neutrality by 2030, also includes trialling alternatives to sprays.
The authority says no sprays or pesticides are used in council-owned cemeteries and closed churchyards, unless as a final resort to remove invasive species, and spraying on council-owned land has dropped by 45pc.
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