Monday, March 5, 2012

The Case of the Mysterious Daffodils

My mom LOVES daffodils. She loves them because they bloom early, when nothing else is blooming, they will bloom and spread for decades with no human attention or effort, and they remind her of her mother, my grandma Gayle.

But mom hadn't planted any daffodils at our "new" (since 2008) house because every Fall she gets too busy and forgets. So she was baffled when she noticed what looked like a daffodil sprouting up out of the mulch in front of the house in early January.


Suspicious daffodil-like thing, early January


She wondered if a bulb had somehow been blown or carried by squirrels into our yard. When she saw a second, and then a third one coming up, she became very concerned.


More suspicious daffodil-looking things
Hmmm, not sure what to make of these
I wonder how they got here


Mom and I pondered the mystery, and mom pointed the daffodil-looking things out to Dad. Had someone been coming into our yard late at night and planting daffodils? Was there a mad daffodil-planting bandit in Richmond?  Was someone engaging in the daffodil equivalent of yarn bombing?

Well, Dad couldn't keep a straight face, and had to confess that he had been very sneaky and planted NINETY bulbs one day last fall when he had the day off and Mom was at work. It was supposed to be a surprise for Mom, and he hoped they would bloom by Valentine's Day. (I was actually in on it too -- I supervised the planting -- but Dad had sworn me to secrecy.)


Pretending to investigate the suspicious daffodils


So the mystery has been solved and Mom has enjoyed watching the daffodils grow and start to bloom. They started blooming the week before last (a little after Valentine's Day) and now they are blooming like crazy! It's just what mom needs to make her smile when she comes home each day and sees them, and when she leaves in the morning for work.


Pre-blooming

Pre-blooming daffodils with a dusting of snow

Almost ready to bloom!

Starting to bloom!

My daily daffodil inspection

More blooms!

Note the Conch Republic flag flapping in the breeze



This makes Mom smile

I think I did a pretty good job supervising

Don't mess with my daffodils!

 Dad had never planted daffodils before, but with my assistance, he did a pretty good job.






11 comments:

  1. oh – we love daffodils too! We used to love it back in New Zealand, in spring every year, when all the daffodils would cover the fields in the Park and bloom everywhere – it was such a wonderful sign of spring! We don't see that here in Australia, which is a much drier, Brown country… we really miss our seasons back in New Zealand!

    Slobbers,
    Honey the great Dane

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  2. Wots a loverly fings fur yor Dad to do, its wos rava romantikal ovs hims

    Lovs
    Izzy, Uji n Ronnii
    xxx xxx xxx

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  3. Great job taking care of those daffodils!

    I finally completed my post about being tagged by you! Come by and check it out :)

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  4. YAY!!! ahhh thats the most lovely suprise xxx

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  5. You and your dad made a super good surprise. Way to go guys!

    Gussie n teka

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  6. You and your Dad deserve a medal Garth....for being such thoughtful boys and making your lovely mum smile! I know a great poem about daffodils that my Granny taught me by a chap called William Wordsworth if she likes daffodils I bet your Mum knows it too!

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  7. Your daffs are very pretty indeed. We have a few in bloom already and can't wait to see the rest of them flower.

    Molly, Taffy, Monty and Winnie

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  8. That was such a sweet thing for your dad to do! And goo on you for not giving it away. :)

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  9. My mom person loves daffodils. I hope ours come up soon.

    We got your e-mail about being a featured blogger & we'd love to have you. We will send you an e-mail now with the details.

    Nubbin wiggles,
    Oskar

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  10. We don't have daffodils yet so we love seeing yours!

    love & wags,
    River

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