Rich Canadian Donates $3 Million To Plant 100,000 Daffodils

There are many things that we may enjoy about spring but perhaps the one thing that says “spring” more than any other is the appearance of daffodils.

Once they start breaking through the ground, the white cover is suddenly speckled with brilliant yellow and it is a sure sign that spring is here.

If you happen to be in southwest England outside of Sidmouth, you will see 150,000+ daffodils in the field all blooming at the same time.

Those daffodils are there in the spring to welcome the warmer weather and they are also there, thanks to a generous contribution by an investment banker.

According to BBC, Keith Owens is the man who donated £2.3 million upon his death to the Sidmouth community association in order to beautify the countryside.

Although he lived in Canada at the time of his death, he was born in England in 1938 and was in the RAF for 20 years.

In 2007, Keith was diagnosed with cancer and he made arrangements for the money to be donated upon his demise. Officially, the estate was to “support local projects, which made use of voluntary labor, and in particular, to sustain the ambiance and way of life, recognized in Sidmouth and its surroundings.”

Some 50 different locations around the town were pinpointed to plant the 153,000 flowers.

Some of the flowers included crocus bulbs and snowdrops but it is the daffodils that are on Peak Hill in Sidmouth that really shine.

According to BBC, a member of the Sidmouth Civic Society, Ed Harrison, said: “Every year it brings back memories of this man who did this amazing thing for the town.”