Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Daffodils


The land my parents, children and I live on was once a commercial daffodil operation known as Royal Colony Farm, run by my paternal grandfather, The General.

At one time, commercial daffodil growers were so prolific and the need for cheap labor so great that  students were let out of school early just to help pick the endless seas of yellow painting this rural county for a few weeks every year.

I learned just about every aspect of the business, from picking to packing to flower poisoning shipping.  One of my favorite things was driving the great big tractor up and down the fields picking up the bushel baskets that lay alongside the freshly picked rows.

Since this will be the fourth spring since this blog was born, there are already plenty of blog posts on the topic of daffodils without me inventing a new one. Just a small sampling (and believe me, there are plenty others) is listed below.

Click here for one of the first posts I ever did about daffodils.

Click here for a post about the difference between daffodils and buttercups, evidently a question on many people's minds because every spring Google directs them here searching for the answer.

Click here for a post that references how important daffodils were to Mathews County . This one references that oldie but goodie, the 1962 USDA Soil Survey of Mathews County, which truly is must-have reading for every household.

Flick the screen here if you're tired of me telling you to click here.

Daffodils are my very favorite flower for so many reasons.  They're such happy rays of sunshine, so welcome after too many months of cold, gray, dreary days. But most of all, they bring back very happy memories of time spent driving tractors out in the fields of Royal Colony Farm.



13 comments:

Unknown said...

Spring can't be any prettier than in your neck of the woods. I love Daffodils, and all your posts about them. thank you!!

Hannah said...

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing and bringing a touch of spring this morning!

Maria_NJ said...

I love them too, but the #@%$ing voles I think got the best of mine. I get all the green leaves sticking up out of the ground and no stemmy flower. Now in the back of the house , I have one little patch that looks like your picture. Enjoyed your old posts...Thank you. Raining here today and they are talking of snow on Sunday. Bring on the warmer weather, please!!!

wv:juseeca: juseeca is a nice girls name.

Jamie said...

Voles are nasty little creatures. Try placing chicken wire over the bulbs when you plant them. The plants will grow through the holes but it prevents voles and squirrels from digging them up. I love daffodils. Very happy flowers.

Bethie said...

They make you think of home. I love them, too. When my parents were building the house I live in, daffodils were everywhere and we were told that this neighborhood was also once a daffodil farm, too. I remember crawiling through the foundation picking the flowers and popping up in the fireplace to get out. Good grief, I am not sure I could even get down on the floor now. LOL!!! Forty years makes a big difference!

Mrs F with 4 said...

I love daffodils, and all the other flowers of spring, which, living in what appears to be tundra, I no longer get to see. Sigh.

My mother sent an email to me this morning just letting me know that lambing starts this week. And her daffodils are gorgeous, and probably that she has unicorns and sparkling rainbows hovering over the dale. I don't know, I couldn't read any further without the purple mist of envy covering my eyes.

I emailed you a picture of my true feelings about this whole Spring business...

Still, snow is so lovely, don't you think?

deborah said...

You can never write too much or show too many pictures about daffodils. My favorite flowers!
It must be gloriously beautiful on your 'farm' now! Smiling just thinking about it:)

Trisha said...

So beautiful! You are so lucky to be surrounded by daffodils each Spring!

Daryl said...

So pretty ... here spring is a rumor and we've snow/sleet/rain ...

WV: brabili .. like a hillbilly but for bras

abb said...

Daffodils and forsythia. Nothing says spring better than those two. Of course, around these here parts, there is no yellow to be seen.

WV: rouffe. The daffodils and forsythia bushes are having a rouffe time of it this spring.

Anonymous said...

I love daffodils! I picked them for years for the Ingrams. We used to have a great time and didn't even realize how hard we were really working. On Saturdays you picked ALL day long in the cold wind. My kid today probably wouldn't last 1/2 day doing it! Thanks for the pretty pic's!
Trinia

Mental P Mama said...

I live all winter waiting for your daffodil harvest....

micaela said...

do y'all have snowdrops & snowflakes growing in the area as well? I love daffys but seeing them bloom alongside the other two is probably one of my most favorite harbingers of Spring. Followed by lilacs in bloom, of course :)