Daffodils!

They are so magical, so individual, such bursts of brightness on our just emerging spring landscapes.  They invite me to spend more outdoor time … well, honestly, the daffodils and so much more.

There are so many varieties of daffodils.  The easy differentiation is whether they are early blooming, mid -blooming or late… similar to tulip varieties- early, mid, late.

This year my early daffs were not very abundant, much less than in previous years.  I wonder if this is due to one of the mildest winters we’ve yet experienced in our fair Hoosier state.  Daffodils and most spring ‘ephemerals’ (god, i love that word) require a vernalization period of chilling for several months to fulfill their blooming destinies.  So, maybe because of this, we had few early daffs in 2020.  No big deal-  the early ones are often the ‘weakest’ daffodils of the seasons range-  more ‘ephemeral’ than their latter bloomers, more delicate.  AND, the smallest number of days for a vase.

So, now, 2 weeks into Corona Spring, the mid -blooming daffs are budding up and opening.   Ah!  This is when you start having varieties that have thick juicy stems with amazing Coronas of frilly delight, colored in pinks, oranges and apricots.  And, oh! so fragrant!

So, do you run to get your snips to bring a few inside?  Well, sure, you can.  However the proper way to harvest a daffodil is by hand.  Run your fingers down it’s stem to its base and give a sharp tug.  You’ll get more stem length and the pull is better than the cut-  Don’t ask me why.

Go ahead, harvest the opened flowers.  OR, just harvest the buds that show color.  For us at Harvest Moon, we start harvesting daffodils every day in March and April, leaving the pretty open ones and tugging on the buds with color.  I LOVE a good vaselike and bringing buds into the house is the way there.  It’s charming to watch them open and open, hit their peak and then senence slowly.

Did you know that you can dry daffodils and they can be quite cool looking? Enjoy them fresh, then hang them upside down to dry when they are ‘senencing’ (another cool word… it means dying).

More about the late-bloomers in another post-  They are the ROYALTY of the daffodil family!

Enjoy these amazing ladies of the spring.

Love, Linda