Daffodils

Q. We are adding a small deck to our home that will cover an area planted with annual flowers, daffodils and tulips. Can I transplant the bulbs at this time of year? A. Yes. I would prepare the new bed first by digging in several inches of compost and a slow-release organic fertilizer. It would be best if you dig about 8 inches deep and work your compost in well. This will give your transplanted bulbs some very nice soil to grow in. After the new bed is dug and raked smooth, carefully remove the tender bulbs from the existing bed. Dig the bulbs with clumps of soil around them, and then separate them from the soil by hand; otherwise, they can be scarred by your shovel and will become very susceptible to bulb rot diseases.

Julie Minch has 60 daffodils cooling their petals in her refrigerator — and her fingers crossed. Wouldn't you know it? The Maryland Daffodil Society, the oldest in the nation, is the host of the national show and convention next weekend, and a strangely warm winter means the flower's season has come and nearly gone. "It is a little scary," said Minch of Baltimore and the convention chair. "But the Mid-Atlantic is such a perfect place to grow daffodils — and we have them coming in from other pockets of the country — so we are still hoping to get 2,000 blooms.

Julie Minch has 60 daffodils cooling their petals in her refrigerator — and her fingers crossed. Wouldn't you know it? The Maryland Daffodil Society, the oldest in the nation, is the host of the national show and convention next weekend, and a strangely warm winter means the flower's season has come and nearly gone. "It is a little scary," said Minch of Baltimore and the convention chair. "But the Mid-Atlantic is such a perfect place to grow daffodils — and we have them coming in from other pockets of the country — so we are still hoping to get 2,000 blooms.

The setting was more than a century-and-a-half old, but the flowers were fresh Saturday, March 31 at Whipps Garden Cemetery's fifth annual Daffodil Day. "We had a lot of people, and we sold lots of flowers," said Aleta Gravelle, director of the Friends of Whipps Cemetery and Memorial Gardens. The daffodils were past their peak she said, but the grounds had plenty of Virginia Bluebells and celandine poppies. Located on St. John's Lane, in Ellicott City, Whipps dates back to 1855, and the last burial there was in 1915.

City Hall budget cuts may yet save Baltimore's magnificent spring display of daffodils -- a species in danger not from pests or poisons, but from politicians.Nothing brightens Baltimore more in springtime than the masses of daffodils which, over the years, have been planted in public places by Beautiful Baltimore, Inc. As faithful as the swallows that return to Capistrano, the daffodils push up their golden heads to greet the spring -- and visitors to the city.Beautiful Baltimore, founded some 20 years ago by Francis Rackemann, one-time garden editor for The Evening Sun, initially planted thousands of daffodils along the highways leading into Baltimore.

IT HAPPENED shortly before Easter.The man and his wife were working in the nursery behind their house. House and nursery sit a good way back in the field, on the east side of their farm near Pocomoke City. Glancing up, the couple saw a bright red car stop on the county road which bounds their property on the south. There, covering the little hill, where one of two tall pines sports a "No Trespassing" sign, spring's first explosion of daffodils was in full bloom.A woman got out of the car and began picking flowers.

Cherry blossoms get all the glory in early April, but fresh daffodils are growing everywhere in public parks and private gardens, even brightening high-speed landscapes like Interstate 97 and Route 2. Daffodils are the first kiss of spring, announcing its arrival, and a supreme equalizer in waking up winter-weary eyes. They clear the way like foot soldiers for more formal, showy tulips that follow, but they have their own following. "They're like a promise, my favorite," says Melinda Carrera, 19, a freshman at St. John's College, gazing at a bunch outside Randall Hall in the early evening.

Though English poet William Wordsworth was wandering "lonely as a cloud" when he spied "a host of golden daffodils," he never mentioned their fragrance. Must have been too high up to smell them, because daffodils (Narcissus) fill the air with sweet perfume.Although they've been in cultivation for thousands of years, there were only 24 varieties of daffodil listed in Britain in Wordsworth's day (1800). Today, thanks to the busy hands of hybridizers, there are thousands, including hosts of not only golden, but white, cream, and salmon-cupped daffodils, with fragrances that range from spring rain to elusive sweetness to the rich musk of gardenia.

I am planning to plant about 300 new daffodils this fall in an area that has a heavy clay soil. Should I do anything to the soil before planting? I have seen daffodils grow and bloom in poor, clay soil for many years; however, like many other plants, they will grow best in well-drained soil that has been supplemented with organic matter. If you have the time, prepare the soil by digging in a 3-inch layer of compost or other organic matter. Because daffodils are planted deep (6 inches)

The Friends of the Whipps Cemetery and Memorial Gardens Inc. want to preserve small pieces of history. "There's nothing out there like it," said Barbara Sieg, executive director of the Friends of the Whipps Cemetery, about the Ellicott City site that holds more than 50 graves, some dating to the 1800s. "Old cemeteries are plowed up all the time," Sieg said. "There is a great deal we can learn from them about health conditions and life in the 1800s. It's rare that a neighborhood gets a chance to take a good look at history and learn about their neighbors who lived more than 100 years ago."

On Thursday, my iPad said the temperature was 75.  Daffodils and crocuses all over Baltimore bloomed. Ditto Okame cherry trees. The buds on Yoshinos cherry trees swelled, but they did not open to create the pink ballerina tutus that make Yoshinos famous.   That is a good thing. The current warm-up continued a warmer than usual winter. Much warmer than usual. So warm that for the first time since I started using Dracaena plants at the center of my summer annual containers, they did not die back in winter.

Fifteen years ago, I planted some "Liriopes" next to several daffodils. In fact, I went out of my way to do it. Why? I just couldn't resist putting these plants in close proximity to each other because legend has it that Liriope is the mother of "Narcissus" (daffodil). According to Greek mythology, Liriope was a river goddess, and her son, Narcissus, was changed into the first daffodil by Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, as a punishment for Narcissus breaking the heart of Echo, a woodland goddess who was Nemesis' good friend.

The American Cancer Society will hold its Daffodil Days community kickoff from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Anne Arundel Medical Center. For the past 30 years, Daffodil Days has helped raise money to support the fight against cancer. The campaign, which extends until early March, offers daffodils and stuffed bears to donors in appreciation of their contributions. Daffodil Days is coming to Anne Arundel County from March 10 to March 16, with deliveries being made later that month. The goal for 2008 is to raise more than $100,000.

It was all an illusion, in retrospect - a theatrical moment that thrilled us while it lasted but then was done. And gone. October in Maryland used to mean fall, but in 2007 October was as warm as September and as dry as Nevada. It was an extended holiday for rakers; the leaves stayed put and stayed green, or at least greenish. The audience - that was us - began to grow restless. A few brave actors came out in front of the curtain to do a turn before the long-delayed show could begin, but come Halloween, who didn't think that fall this year was destined to flop?

The Friends of the Whipps Cemetery and Memorial Gardens Inc. want to preserve small pieces of history. "There's nothing out there like it," said Barbara Sieg, executive director of the Friends of the Whipps Cemetery, about the Ellicott City site that holds more than 50 graves, some dating to the 1800s. "Old cemeteries are plowed up all the time," Sieg said. "There is a great deal we can learn from them about health conditions and life in the 1800s. It's rare that a neighborhood gets a chance to take a good look at history and learn about their neighbors who lived more than 100 years ago."

Friends of the Whipps Cemetery and Memorial Gardens Inc. will sponsor a Daffodil Day - a spring celebration - from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. March 31 at the one-acre, 19th-century cemetery that has been restored as a public garden and park. Hundreds of daffodils will be in bloom, planted by volunteers since restoration of the site began in 1986. Master gardener Aylene Gard will discuss native plants. The Whipps gardens are maintained by Howard County Master Gardeners with help from the St. John's Community Association, garden clubs and other volunteers.

Daffodils have been cherished through the ages. They have been found in bulb form in Egyptian tombs, are linked in mythology to the story of Narcissus, and the Greek poet Homer wrote about them in the 8th century B.C. But if Homer was hiking in the Pyrenees foothills or even across the Mediterranean in Algiers, it is likely that his words were inspired by tazettas. This specific type of daffodil has clusters of creamy flowers. It is the easiest of all daffodils to grow and is especially suited to forcing.

NEW YORK -- Ten blocks away from the acrid air of ground zero's smoking ruins, a host of volunteers placed tulip bulbs in Battery Park yesterday in remembrance of the thousands who lost their lives in the World Trade Center attack two months ago. These Orange Emperors, just a small part of the more than 1 million bulbs -- mainly daffodils -- given to New York by The Netherlands, arrived on a container ship last month. The gift, meant to lift morale and decorate spring in the city, resulted in an impromptu, monthlong daffodil project, attracting about 7,300 volunteers.

Crocuses and daffodils are popping through the mulch, and there are blossoms on some azaleas, rhododendrons and cherry trees. You might think spring is bursting into bloom across the region. Twenty-four straight days of above-average temperatures, and one of the mildest Baltimore Decembers on record, have confused the dickens out of the plant world. Plant experts say the premature growth is not a danger to the plants and trees, but early blossoms could mean a less colorful show when spring - real spring - arrives in March.

Cherry blossoms get all the glory in early April, but fresh daffodils are growing everywhere in public parks and private gardens, even brightening high-speed landscapes like Interstate 97 and Route 2. Daffodils are the first kiss of spring, announcing its arrival, and a supreme equalizer in waking up winter-weary eyes. They clear the way like foot soldiers for more formal, showy tulips that follow, but they have their own following. "They're like a promise, my favorite," says Melinda Carrera, 19, a freshman at St. John's College, gazing at a bunch outside Randall Hall in the early evening.