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Monday, November 16, 2009

Daffodils by the Dozen

One of my other favorite past times besides gardening is hunting. I have been hunting for a very long time. I always see the most amazing things while out hunting. One of those amazing moments occurred this past January. We have a small piece of land that we hunt that was The Hunter's Great Grandmothers house. We have hunted here for a long time. In January, I pulled up to go hunting, and it was raining, and the sun had not yet come up. I decided to sit in the car for a while and let the rain stop. As the sun was barely coming up, I noticed a white mass laying out in front of me. I couldn't quite make out what it was. The sun was getting up higher, and the rain had stopped, so I got out of the car to see what the white mass was. I was absolutely floored! It was daffodils. Not just one....but millions. I looked around me in TOTAL shock and amazement! There were daffodils everywhere I looked. In the sun, in the shade, in the woods, growing on stumps. They had naturalized everywhere. I was flabbergasted!You can see the clumps of green spread throughout the dead grass. I have no idea why I have never seen them before. I have never hunted here much during January, and maybe that was the reason.
These daffodils had naturalized on this tree stump!
Everywhere I looked, there were daffodils!
I left them alone for a few weeks....and trust me...it was hard! I didn't want to dig them up while they were blooming. At the end of January I went back, shovel in hand, and got to work. This was not an easy task! These daffodils were in such massive clumps, that they were extremely hard to dig up....but I was bound and determined to take them home with me. Some of them were up to 24" deep!
I carried the heavy duty lawn garbage bags with me. I dug up enough daffodils to fill 5 of those bags!
I planted all that I could, and what I couldn't plant I gave away!
I soon realized that there were 5 different types of daffodils!
The white one shown is a Minor Monarque
It will be the first one to bloom...thus the name!
Others included Butter & Eggs
Sorry, I was not able to find my photos of the last two. I do have one more daffodil that I was not able to identify, nor could anyone else that I emailed it to. I used Old House Gardens, and Jason from Petals From the Past to help me identify those four. It was not an easy task since there are 6000+ daffodils! I would have been happy with a name or not. I think it was an AMAZING find.
The daffodils are already sprouting up, and come January they will be blooming. I tried to mark where I had planted them...but it will be a surprise all over again when they bloom! I can't wait to see their pretty little faces again!

13 comments:

Ben said...

That's so awesome that you found something like that. I remember when I was younger the woods behind my house used to have masses of daffodils like you had described. I wish I could come across some now though... nothing like free plants :).

Darla said...

Talking about stumbling on a piece of heaven!!! How about, Grandmother's Daff?

Serena Bates said...

Wow that is exceptionally cool!

Debbie's Garden said...

Winter isn't even here and your spring flowers look so good to me. What a find!

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Awesome, what a find. Don't ya just love hidden treasures?

Have a great day!!!

Susie said...

Wow how pretty! Can't blame you for digging them up. Love daffodils.

tina said...

Lucky you! Many gardeners know to look for blooming daffodils in the spring in abandoned places like farmhouses. You'll always find them blooming even if there is no house nearby. I've found them in the forest where only a foundation remained. Most are not so lucky to have permission to dig them like you did-double lucky you! Your spring will be gorgeous. I always think of the gardeners who planted them when I find them in an out of the way spot.

Dirt Princess said...

Wasn't that a great find! I am always on the lookout for good heirloom finds!

Lona said...

Isn't that incredible. Around here on rural roads you often see daffodils blooming in the Spring. You know there once must have been a house there at one time. I can hardly keep the newer types blooming so the older ones are wonderful because they keep naturalizing and blooming on.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

That was definitely a great find! Now you will be plant hunting as well while you're out there!

Stephanie said...

It is so wonderful to see these beautiful blooms appear in the midst of nothing :-) Thanks for showing. Love the beautiful yellow and white blooms.

Dirt Princess said...

Hocking Hills, isn't it neat to think about the gardeners who planted them there so long ago! They had no idea how much joy those flowers would bring us oneday!

Catherine I am always looking for flowers at old houses or hunting camps! I have found so many great finds!

Stephanie after they bloom, they completely die back and won't be seen again until the early Spring

Joanne said...

How lovely to find the daffodils so naturalised they will bring back happy memories and multiply well in your garden.

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