Wednesday, March 6, 2013

A Field of Gold

Narcissus.  Daffodils.  Jonquils.  I'm certain that there's a great explanation for all those names, but here in East Texas, we just call them all daffodils.

I don't like daffodils.  Actually, I should clarify that.  I don't like daffodils in my garden.  Well, let me clarify that a little more.  I don't like yellow daffodils in my garden, at least, not very much.

It's complicated.

Last year, I was thrilled when the white daffodil 'Thalia' emerged at just the same time as my red dianthus began to bloom.  It was beautiful.

But, I've never wanted yellow daffodils in my garden.  I wasn't sure why.  I love yellow.  It's actually one of my favorite colors, so that wasn't it.  I love that yellow daffodils bloom early in the spring.  They are a welcome sight - outside of my garden.

Why don't I want them in my own garden?  I've been giving this a lot of thought lately, and I think I figured it out.


One of the Seasonal Celebrations I have always looked forward to in spring is going by the home in which my great-grandmother lived most of her adult life.  And where she planted a beautiful garden.  I can remember playing in her garden as a child.  I spent many summers there under her crape myrtle trees, playing in the dirt.  Now I always make a special trip to go by there in spring, because that's when the daffodils bloom.

Her birthday is March 7th, and I can imagine that she loved to see the daffodils blooming for her birthday.  She passed away in 1980, but her daffodils still continue to bloom each spring.  There are so many at her old homestead that that they have escaped out into the fields, and there they continue to thrive.  She has plain daffodils and fancy daffodils.  And some small ones that are probably some sort of species or natural hybrid.


The small ones have a scent that is wonderful.  Even on a windy day, you can smell their sweet fragrance.


These daffodils are survivors.  Not only have they escaped her yard, they have escaped the fields beside her house.  The road leading to her home is dotted with these same daffodils.  It makes me wonder how many years they have been growing.  How they managed to escape.  And how they continue to thrive with absolutely no care.

These have more rounded petals than the ones above.

I realized I love these daffodils.  So, why don't I like them in my own garden?  That was the question I asked myself over and over.


Then it dawned on me.


I love my great-grandmother's daffodils precisely because they are growing out in the field.  I love seeing them in the wild.  And that's when it hit me.

These daffodils have been blooming in the fields beside her home for so many years, that to me, that is how they should be grown.  Not in a garden.  But, in an open pasture.


Every year I think about digging up some of the daffodils that have escaped into the open fields.  But since I never wanted them in my garden, I never did.  But this year is different.  This year I want some of them.  I don't want them for my garden.  I want to put them in the fields that surround my home, just as they grow in the fields beside her home.

That is the Lesson Learned.  Plants have personal meaning and memories attached to them.  We should figure out what they are, and how and where that plant should be grown to preserve those memories.

I will finally love having yellow daffodils.  Because they were hers.  And they will be grown as her daffodils have grown for years - wild and free, in a field of gold.

I'm joining Donna at Gardens Eye View for Seasonal Celebrations, and Beth at PlantPostings for Lessons Learned.

43 comments:

  1. Interesting... Everytime I see Daffodils growing in a field, I say that there used to be a house somewhere nearby --and that once upon a time, someone planted them...They do seem to do well in the fields --kinda like Ditch Lilies...

    We have fancy Daff's in our yard --all different colors these days.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  2. I can relate to this... your grandma's daffodils are like my grandma's sweet peas. They grow wild out in the field in front of her house. Even if I brought them home, they would never quite be the same thing as they are at her home. You are lucky to have a field nearby to plant her daffodils. They truly are a legacy.

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  3. What a sweet story! Your great-grandma's spirit lives on, and she would be so proud of you for all your accomplishments. And no doubt pleased that you are a gardener, too. What a beautiful legacy!

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  4. You're so right; plants do hold meaning and memories. That is a very fine lesson learned. What a beautiful post! God bless.

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  5. Holley what a beautiful story. How lucky to have those daffodils around so you can see them...part of your great-grandmother's legacy to you and now you will surround yourself with her. When I drive around and see daffs in fields in the wild, I think they look perfect. I think that is why I added so many to my meadow....they are by far my favorite daffs too.

    Thanks for joining in with this wonderful story!!

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  6. What a lovely story Holley, truly endearing to have such memories and association. Finally you will have some daffodils, for you to enjoy, in the fields surrounding your home :)

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  7. That sounds like a good idea. Put them where it makes sense to you and then each time you look at them out there you will think of her.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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  8. Wonderful and interesting. It's true past memorable memories fresh due to flowers. Keep it up and share us more about this i'll be highly thankful to you.

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  9. Lovelygolden treasures that I agree are better in a wild situation rather than the garden. Christina

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  10. Where I grew up, freesias grew wild in the parkland overlooking the sea. They were the small cream ones with an amazing scent, but I can't bring myself to be interested in growing the bigger, more colourful ones available today that lack that wonderful perfume and the childhood connection.

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  11. How sweet to have this memory of your Grandmother. Definitely get some growing in your field.

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  12. What a lovely memory and I hope some of your grandmother's daffodils end up in the fields around your home.

    Happy Gardening ~ FlowerLady

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  13. WOW...you really got me with this one....actual tears!! This is such a wonderful story and I'm glad you finally realized why you never wanted the yellow daffys in your garden. I believe your Grandmother is smiling down on you watching as you plant her daffys in your fields. Thanks for sharing this post!

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  14. I am glad that you are coming around to daffodils; your Grandmother would be so pleased to read this post knowing you share a love of garden! When you see a lovely daffodil blooming in your own garden, it will be a reference to those your Grandmother grew and will always make you smile!!

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  15. Well said!! Sometimes we are so intent on having that we lose sight of just observing and enjoying. The Daffodils in the field is the perfect place to honour and love your home and your grand-mothers memories!

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  16. What a beautiful sight to behold to have a field of daffodils. One of my favorite flowers that I hope will spread and spread where I have them planted.

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  17. Ah, yes the Little Sweeties as we call them in Wood County, Texas. There is a stretch of State Highway 14 north of FM 49 between Hawkins and Quitman (in the middle of nowhere) that the entire road is flanked by these marvels. Locals affectionately call it Daffodil Hill.

    Ann
    thejardinencantado.blogspot.com

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  18. That is a very beautiful story. Now I want a field of daffodils.

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  19. Holley, I agree with you! Plants and especially flowers have personal meanings and memories for someone.
    Daffodils for you and poppies for me. I remember a lot of poppies, red head with black centers, they were in my childhood, just after war. And I have no them in my garden.

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  20. I have to admit to not being a fan of yellow daffs in my garden either. Like you I have an affection for whites but can't understand why I have a dislike for the yellow varieties.
    I've tried to over come this by planting a few dwarfs last autumn - so I shall see how I feel when they bloom!
    It's great that you have finally fathomed out your reasons - one day your wish of having them in the fields around your house may come true!

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  21. Awwwwwww.......what a poignant article. It brought tears to my eyes as I lost my mother recently and I recalled her love of the Peonies in my garden and her amazement at all the roses that were blooming. Truly, gardening and flowers and plants bring us so close and create such wonderful memories for us. Your great-grandmother still lives on through her daffodils and she still know about it. What has happened to her home - does it belong to your family now or somebody else?

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  22. I'm not a fan of daffodils. I let the small ones grow in my garden because at least they can support themselves. I'll be more fond of them after reading your story.

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  23. I love daffodils but I'm not in love with them if that makes sense.

    You are right, they are beautiful in the field. I've seen many a wild daffodil or iris, I much prefer them that way but then I am more of a cottage gardener - let it do it's thing!

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  24. What a sweet reminiscence of your grandmother such a field will be, lucky you to have fields surrounding your home where you can plant daffodils! I look forward to seeing it when ready and in flower :-)

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  25. I would like to have some of those little yellow daffodils myself. I had no idea they were fragrant. How nice to have a flower that inspires memories of a loved one.

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  26. Lovely. I don't have the beautiful associations you do with wild daffodils from your great grandmother's time, but I have the same reaction you do -- narcissus should be growing wild around us, not stiffly placed in gardens.

    The only ones I want are white daffodils, and I planted three kinds of white ones near my driveway last fall. Can't wait to see them (another month to go for us up here). But the yellow ones are best out in the meadow. How nice that you have the connection with your great grandmother's sunny, spreading yellow daffodils.

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  27. I have the same association with them. When I was young, they were in the huge fields at my grandfather's estate. I would ride my horse through the fields. They seemed so right every spring that they bloomed. The estate is no longer and all the daffodils gone. It is ashamed how things of such beauty become housing developments.

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  28. What an amazing idea...I can't wait to see the fields of gold near your house.

    Right now I would take any color of daffy...any color, any size. Soon I hope.

    Jen

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  29. I agree. There is nothing nicer than a field of "wild" daffodils. That's how they should be seen. Of course, having no adjacent field, I have made my peace with planting them in the garden!

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  30. Such a beautiful story! I planted daffodils in my garden for the first time last year, but I do agree, they truly belong in a more natural setting.

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  31. Happy planting Holley. I've never seen daffs growing in the wild like that, they look rather wonderful.

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  32. What a lovely idea. I had never really been a fan of daffodils but I love seeing them in the spring. I think I will get some bulbs for that vacant lot across the street and surprise the neighborhood next spring.

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  33. A lovely post. Hits home a bit, my Mom's birthday was March 7th and she had the only successful perennial 'King Alfred' daffodils (a cold climate lover) within 100 miles, near as I can tell. That is a plant memory, for sure. 'Peace' rose was Grandma, because she lived through WWI a mile or two from the trenches. Dad was tomatoes and Uncle Antoine was Oxalis crassipes 'Rosea'. Childhood home, really ugly junipers and Bermuda grass. Memories are plants, plants are memories.

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  34. So nicely said, somethings just aren't made to be tamed!

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  35. My husband and I have three children between us..two his and one mine. The daughter said she loved daffodils. One day last autumn in the POURING rain I planted countless daffodils. This evening, I cut the first one that bloomed and put it in her room. She being 13, I did not get much of a reaction but the daffodil was gorgeous. First time I had ever really seen one, let alone grown one.

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  36. What a beautiful post! I like the idea of your great-grandmother's daffodils living on and growing free in fields.

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  37. Thank you for sharing your sentimental daffodil post with us, Holley. It resonates with me as I have sentimental flowers too. It's a lovely tribute to your grandmother that you'll grow your daffodils in a field of gold as hers have grown. :-)

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  38. I agree that memories attach themselves to things, even flowers. A name are another thing that often has a memory attached to it. For instance, whenever I hear the name Robert, I always think of the first Robert I ever knew in my grade 1 class.
    I love seeing daffodils growing in a field. It suits them. Having your grandmother's memory attached to them makes them all the more special.

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  39. Such lovely daffies! I dislike yellow flowers in my garden but I make an exception for daffodils (though I do prefer white/peach shades). Nothing says spring like a daffodil though so you can't help loving them!

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  40. That's a lovely idea - I hope they thrive near your home! :D

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  41. This was a feast, for sure. I just love seeing these blooming now. They are so bright and sunny. Your photos are lovely as they highlight the magic of these blooms.

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  42. Oh, such a great story/discovery/heartfelt post. I really loved reading it. You caught me at the beginning because I don't like daffodils in my garden either although I like them. I don't have the personal story to relate as you do but I love how you figured out that you DO like them but growing in a certain setting. Good food for thought as I explore plants I like and don't like. Love how you got some this spring and will now be able to enjoy the memory of your grandmother and the daffs in the "right" setting. :)

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