Thoughts from Jenni:
If you close your eyes and smell certain flowers, they will transport you. The fragrance of daffodils takes me back to my early childhood, running in my Easter dress to hunt dyed eggs hiding in wet grass. They were just the common, yellow, short variety you can buy at any big box store. I loved cutting them to bring in our house. Even now, I get excited seeing them pop up along the roads in February when I am flower starved.
Little did I know until recently, they are a diverse group of flowers. There are varieties that are miniature and creamy white, ruffled, double-bloom, and peach throated. They are amazingly fragrant, have long sturdy stems, and last 7-10 days. Deer do not eat the bulbs.
This is our first year growing them. We planted Apricot Whirl, Delnashaugh, Dick Wilden, Yellow Cheerfulness, Sir Winston Churchill, and a few Tahiti, which bloom very early. The bulbs will multiply rapidly and we will increase our offerings each year.
When cut, daffodils ooze a slimy sap that is toxic to other flowers. Before mixing them in a vase with other flowers they must first be "conditioned" by placing them in cool water for 2 to 3 hours. This will give them time to develop a callus. Don't re-cut them before adding them to an arrangement!
Our first sellable harvest should be coming on in mid-March. Look for our Instagram post. We will offer a pre-order/delivery to Knoxville. Feeling flower starved? These cheerful first-of-the-season blooms will make your day and lift your spirits!
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