American Daffodil Society

In northwest Arkansas, February is a month that starts off cold, and stays that way. But despite its winter chill, there is always a site that s very welcome toward the end of the month: the first daffodils, which have forced their way through the snow, in some cases, and put out their gorgeous yellow blooms.

That THAT, winter!

We have a shaded flowerbed full of daffodil bulbs, so we don't get ours until later on in March. But that's the great thing about them: you see them blooming for nearly a month and a half. And after they are done, they go to work underground, producing even MORE of them!

And for folks like me, busy beyond belief, they have another redeeming quality: you can plant them and forget them!

In fact, they flourish with no care whatsoever. Have you ever seen a rectangle of daffodils in an empty field, neatly lining the former edges of a long-vanished house?

Today's FamilyFirst site celebrates the early harbinger of spring. It's the American Daffodil Society. Here's their mission:

The American Daffodil Society (ADS) was founded in 1954 to promote wider interest in daffodils; to encourage scientific research and education on daffodil culture, breeding, diseases, pests, exhibiting, and testing; to encourage, coordinate, and sponsor shows and exhibitions of daffodils; to record and disseminate horticultural information about daffodils and issue publications for such purpose; and to register daffodil varieties and standardize their names in cooperation with international authorities.

Enjoy reading everything there is to know about the beautiful, hardy, long-lasting daffodil. I can't wait to see my first one of the year any day now . . .

http://daffodilusa.org/

Digg It! It's Del.icio.us! Furl It!