Some Really Cool Things About Daffodils

The thing I like about daffodils is that there are just so many things to like about them.

Daffodils are great flowers in which to engage children. The bulbs are planted in autumn and bloom in spring - there are some really great lessons in that growth cycle about patience and trust (since they are underground and you just have to trust that they'll be there in spring)

I like them because they are brilliant harbingers of spring. Even after a crazy winter like this one where it seemed to snow all the time, the daffodils that started to emerge earliest made it through those last days of snow that surprised us all.

On days like today, when most everything else is still dormant, many of the daffodils are blooming, with some of the later blooming varieties still waiting to emerge. For me anyway, this makes working in the garden enjoyable because, while what I am doing now really doesn't affect much right away, seeing another cluster of daffodils bloom is a visual reminder that things really are happening in the garden. (anyone who knows me understands that if I leave a situation without a sense of accomplishment I get a very strong sense of failure).

Daffodils are hardy. Last season I moved a large number of daffodils before the appropriate time (because I needed that garden space for other plants) and viola - the cluster that I moved right after blooming is the one pictured above. They survived the move and are putting on a great show in an otherwise mediocre front garden.

And while I'm on the subject of the front garden, having daffodils there is making the house stand out in a seas of suburban mediocrity. Its the only one with blooms - every other house still has that winter feel about it. (I've seriously thought about asking the people across the street if I can plant their front gardens so I have something interesting to see. I'm not sure if that will go over well.)

Did I mention they are easy to grow? Seriously, there really isn't much to them. And since they come in a variety of colours with a variety of centers, they do give the garden the appearance of being maintained by a botanist (at least that's what the neophytes think anyway). So hell yeah, I'm already figuring how how some of the clusters of this years daffodils will be divided and what color combinations will be invited to join the show for next season!