Every year as I eagerly wait for winter to end, I am also eagerly awaiting the emergence of green leaves. The leaves look like thick blades of grass until they shoot out a stalk with the flower bud. Then, as the weather warms I am greeted by the bright yellows and whites of daffodils, or as they are also known, narcissus.

Daffodils are usually among the earliest of spring bloomers. Though most people are familiar with the standard single cup daffodils of yellow and white, there are many other varieties that are even more stunning.

Daffodils are one of the last gardening ventures of the growing season because they are planted in the fall, and they are among the first of the following season. This is another reason why I love them so much. In addition, daffodils are long-lived perennials. The fact that I can plant them and basically ignore them and still get beautiful flowers every year is definitely another plus!

This past fall, I planted a number of fancy daffodils that I bought from Floret Flowers (seriously check out her flowers, they are amazing!). Here is a smattering of the daffodils that I’ve cut this far this year.

Garden Club Activity

As soon as your daffodils start blooming, convene your club and make some bouquets! Mix and match among your friends to create a lovely display. I recommend cutting them when they have opened their outer “shell” of the flower. They will open up inside where it is  warm within a day or two.

You might also get your clubbies together and spend some time visiting a local public garden to see some great collections of daffodils. For example, the Missouri Botanical Garden has a world-class collection.

Finally, get together after the flowers bloom and the foliage begins to fade to thin out clumps of daffodils that need thinning. This will encourage bigger blooms on the plants and is also like getting free plants. You can also mix and match with friends at this point. I like to place them in weird spots and forget about them so I am surprised when they come up in the spring.

Because this is a celebration of the start of the growing season, you need a celebratory drink. I recommend a nice Prosecco.