I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud

Ice King

And most of them are not blooming yet!

Species (Naturalizing) Daffodils

When it comes to things I wish I'd thought of first, the term Design on a Dime* often tops the list. I have a fabulous track record of killing every expensive plant I buy. (Though, the cheap ones do very well.) So, I prowl the discount stores for a screaming deal. Besides, there are much better ways to spend my money - on a plane ticket, for instance, to get the heck out of here once in awhile. Perky yellow Daffodils, gleaming in the late winter sun, boost my spirits while masking the dull, brown beginnings of things to come.

I'm particularly fond of Species Daffodils because they naturalize, or multiply, over time. One bulb becomes two, then four and eventually my one-time investment in bulbs delivers a garden overrun with yellow flowers in early Spring.

Bonus for mountain gardeners: Critters hate the taste of Daffodil bulbs. Moose and deer aren't thrilled about the flowers.

Daffodils don't like rich soil. Putting fertilizer in the planting hole will hurt, not help, the blooms. If you're a real fanatic, you can lighten heavy clay soils with a little sand worked into the bed. (I'm too lazy.)

Squish 'em together. They look better in clumps vs. rows. Think about planting them under deciduous trees. Daffies need sun but they generally bloom long before the trees leaf out. Water until the snow flies. Bulbs put down roots as soon as they're planted. In bud and bloom, they require lots of moisture but Mother Nature generally pitches in with those proverbial April showers.

Species Daffodils and some of the older varieties multiply quickly:

• King Alfred Daffodils have stems reaching 20 inches, and flowers with a span of four inches or more.
• Dutch Master is an improved King Alfred, bred to multiply quickly in the landscape. 14" solid yellow flowers.
• Daffodil Carlton is prized for the speed and ease with which it grows and multiplies. 14-18" yellow flowers.

THE DAFFODIL PRINCIPLE

(Short Story)

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next Tuesday," I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!" My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!"; I assured her. "I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car." "How far will we have to drive?"

"Just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this." After several minutes, I had to ask, "Where are we going? This isn't the way to the garage!"

"We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by way of the daffodils." "Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience." After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, there was a hand-lettered sign that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car and each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path.

Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped.Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down; over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns-great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river; with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn. "It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well kept A frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

There it was, The Daffodil Principle. For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun-one bulb at a time-to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.

Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time, often just one baby-step at a time, and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We CAN change the world.

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. Just ask yourself, "How can I put this to use today?"

SO STOP WAITING:..

There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. You can only plant the seed of the future, why not start now? Apply this theory and see where you get in 20 years time!

Author: Jaorldeen Asplund Edwards