2017 Year of the Daffodil & a Bit of History

Brighten your spring with a bouquet of daffodils.

The National Garden Bureau has declared 2017 the Year of the Daffodil. These popular bulbs are easy to grow and adaptable to a wide range of growing conditions.

Daffodils are native to meadows and woody forests of Spain, Portugal, France and Austria.  Some naturalized in Great Britain which is where they started their journey to North America.

Pioneer women carried daffodil bulbs with them on their voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to North America.  They wanted to bring a bit of their garden with them to their new home.  Since space on the ship was limited, many of the women sewed the bulbs into the hems of their skirts.

Ancestors of these bulbs can still be found in older gardens in the eastern United States.  These 300-plus-year-old plantings demonstrate the hardiness and persistence of the daffodil.

A bit more information: Daffodils are long lived and animals tend to leave them alone.  Grow them in part to full sun, fertile well-drained soil. And you can leave them in place for years. Wait for the foliage to yellow if you do decide to dig and divide or relocate the bulbs.

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daffodils hummingbirds

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