Aren’t we all weary of atmospheric rivers, Nor’easter blizzards and bomb cyclones with “sting jets” reminiscent of a scorpion’s tail descending from the sky? From my perch in Kentucky, I would love a respite from debilitating winds and floods; yet during this recent spell of unpredictably weather-driven chaos can anyone tell me they’ve grown tired of daffodils?
Annie and Joel LeGris currently reside in Salvisa, Kentucky.
Ten days ago I presented Betty Brooke McCord (97 years old). As is my tradition every few weeks, Walter McCord mentioned one particular person who seemed discontent with Wordsworth’s joyous ode – Phillip Larkin wrote an angry response entitled: ‘Deprivation Is for Me What Daffodils Were For Him.” From this statement alone I conclude the English poet may have been cranky or pretend to be.
Bruce Eveslage’s invitation, for what was once known as the Daffodil Doo Dah party, arrived on March 3rd–ironically the same day that an extremely destructive storm hit central Kentucky and knocked out power to over tens of thousands of homes. Unfortunately we lost power for four days as well as one massive white pine; nonetheless it was impossible to ignore their extraordinary beauty and resilience against near hurricane force winds!
Merriam-Webster defines doodah as “an expression of intense excitement”.
“Science and gardening may make for natural bedfellows, yet their relationship is far from tight,” Robin Lane Fox noted in the Financial Times Weekend edition on February 19th. My impression is that science and gardening have started to make up their minds as climate change brings both together more closely together.”
Welcome into an engaging, climate-warming embrace.
Rose, Steve Ricketts, and Rufus.
However… Each late winter, Rose and I grow increasingly desperate for the return of thousands of daffodil blooms–if not more.
On March 1st, just after cutting our inaugural bouquets of daffodils, temperatures reached 80 F (27 C). I felt this temperature mark signalled too soon a transition into summer’s heat and humidity; spring is when Kentucky truly comes alive with natural beauty at its finest, not its end-point in March.
Two days later, an intense low-pressure system arrived, bringing with it violent thunderstorms, dangerous winds, flooding and several small tornadoes, reported by Harrodsburg-Herald. Climate’s new abnormal delivered wind gusts approaching 70 mph!
At least 2.5 inches of rain had fallen and, once again, another large white pine was brought down by this storm – creating an absolutely chaotic scene in its path.
Mac Reid, my landscape architect friend who lives just one mile away in Salvisa has been cutting up fallen trees for months now and reminded me that anything worthwhile comes with both risks and rewards – trees included!
Rose and I started planting 500 daffodil bulbs together in the fall of 2011. We selected naturalizers such as Ice Follies, Barret Browning, Delibes Fortune Salome as well as Narcissus actaea for easy care gardening that will last generations. There are few plants as easily maintainable that last this long!
Since planting our daffodils we have witnessed flood waters threaten to submerge sections, while heavy, wet snow weigh them down; yet these resilient flowers continue to flourish with cheery indifference.
