Nothing welcomes spring better, than to see the arrival of daffodils with their cheerful faces framed by their ruffled bonnets! These loved and joyous flowers are symbolic, as they represent hope and joy. Giving a bunch of daffodils as a gift is thought to bring the receiver good fortune.
Fall is the time those bulbs appear in garden centers all around town. Many of us order our supply directly from growers as early as June every year to get a head start on all of our special choices. Bulbs are not ready to plant until Fall with timing dependent on where we live. Here in Northern California, November is the time to plant. Soils are not too warm, and the winter rains are right around the corner.
If you want to learn more about daffodils, join the Humboldt/Del Norte UCCE Master Gardeners, October 14th 6:30-7:30pm during their Ask a Master Gardener “Zoom Gardening Hour”. Master Gardener, Maria Krenek, will lead the daffodil discussion. Maria loves to share her knowledge and experience with daffodils. As a certified daffodil judge of the American Daffodil Society, she has seen and grown many varieties of daffodils over the past 20+ years.
For more information and to preregister at this link
With their increasing popularity, there are over 26,000 different daffodil cultivars coming from 56 species. Ranging in various petal colors of yellow, white, orange, red, and green. The color of the cups/trumpets range from yellow, pink, orange, red, green, and even a combination. If color isn't enough, daffodils come in a number of sizes and bloom form that are fascinating to see as well.
One of my favorite poems, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth, was inspired in 1802 when Wordsworth and his sister were walking and came upon a long belt of daffodils in the forest.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay;
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.