Dorchester's Summer of Sunflowers Fundraiser

Dorchester, the county town of Dorset is being taken over by beautiful bright sunflowers this summer to raise money for Dorset County Hospital’s Kingfisher Children’s Unit and Cherkasy Hospital.

Visitors are invited to visit the town centre to see the sunflower sculptures suspended across South Street from mid July, view the spectacular sunflower themed shop windows across town and the sunflower varieties in Dorchester’s Borough Gardens.

Then, in August, there will then be a scenic walking route leading you out the Maiden Castle Farm to the Dorset Sunflower Trail! This amazing spectacle is back again this summer at Maiden Castle Farm, which is nestled at the foot of the historic Maiden Castle, the largest prehistoric hill fort in England.

Attraction organiser Hazel Hoskin said:

“It was a fantastic last year seeing the thousands of people who visited the farm to see the sunflowers. Judging by all the pictures we saw on social media we like to think we helped families make some special memories. I’m over the moon with the amount of money we raised last year and I’m excited that sunflowers are appearing in the town centre too to extend the magic and increase the money we raise.”

Hazel has also been working with Dorchester First schools to get families across the town growing sunflowers in their own gardens with seeds collected from the sunflowers grown at Maiden Castle Farm last year.

Dorchester Town Council is funding the town centre sunflower sculptures and organising the sunflower shop window display competition. They are hoping that the sunflowers will add a welcoming vibrancy to the town this summer and put smiles on the faces of visitors.

The money collected through this fund will be donated to Dorset County Hospital’s Kingfisher Children’s Unit and Cherkasy Hospital by Dorchester Town Council.