Spring Makes Me Daffy

I love Spring. It's my favorite season. And it's because Spring is also daffodil season.

When I designed the gardens at my home in 2002, I selected plants that would give me Four seasons of interest. Bulbs, flowering trees and Ephemerals pop up in the Spring, Showy perennials (Lilies ,Peonies Day lilies, Hostas etc) take center stage for the Summer. Shrub and Changing Tree Leaves are the highlight in the Fall. And in Winter I have tall ornamental grasses, berries on shrubs and tree bark that is mottled or exfoliating.

All of these seasons have their merits, but none rivals the exhilaration I feel when the daffodils start making their first appearance every April.

I fell in love with Daffodils when I designed my first garden back in the days when I was still married. We lived deep in the suburbs and had a very wooded lot. I planted thousands of tulips and crocus and scilla and snowdrops and hyacinth and you name it. Deer, moles, bunnies and other woodland animals ate almost every bulb I planted. But they never touched my daffodils.

So I became a connoisseur of these indestructible beauties. I discovered that I could get a full Spring of color by planting different varieties. I discovered that not all daffodils look the same. There are miniature ones and tall ones. Ones with large cups and ones without. Ones in yellow and cream and coral and orange and salmon. Ones with one bloom per stem and ones with multiple blooms. Ones that are highly fragrant and ones that are not.

When I moved to an older city-type neighborhood and no longer had to worry about so many hungry woodland critters (well bunnies, moles and chipmunks still wreak havoc on my garden), I still decided to use daffodils prominently in my design. My entire front yard is devoted to daffodils in the Spring. I have other bulbs too -- but daffs are the anchor in the design.

When Spring peaks, the yard is exquisite (if I do say so myself). In fact last Spring during the garden's best week, a woman knocked on my door and told me that she was a freelance writer for Better Homes and Garden and wanted to pitch them a story about my Spring daffodil garden. I was very flattered, but declined.

Although the daffodil garden still has a few weeks to mature, I took some photos yesterday to capture what it looks like now. I still haven't done my Spring Clean-up so grasses are still up and perennials from last fall look quite haggard. In spite of those distractions, the daffodils still shine and still evoke smiles and comments from walkers and drivers who pass by.

The weather forecast is calling for a drop in temperatures and the possibility of snow in the next few days-- so this garden may never reach its potential this year. Even if it doesn't it has already brought me (and my neighbors) a lot of pleasure in the last few weeks.

I recommend daffodils to anyone who is planning a garden. They multiply like crazy as the years go on. They are one of those perfect flowers that anyone can grow. If you are inclined to plant some bulbs this fall, think about putting in some daffodils. I promise they will bring you years and years of joy.