I am a broken record when it comes to winter. I can’t stand it. The gloominess, the cold, the persistent slush on the ground…and most of all the fact that (when it’s not covered in snow) everything is just brown. I’m a flower person. So for the second year in a row I have been probably more excited than most about our Daffodil Project.
Our intrepid group of Year One planters.
We started this endeavor back in October 2007, on what may be my favorite volunteer day to date with the Conservancy. We had several different groups working that day, among them some teenagers from Hill House and some women from the YWCA. Before they arrived to plant 5,000 daffodil bulbs over at the Bartlett Playground, Phil, Jake, and I, along with Sandy Feather from the Penn State Cooperative Extension, did something we called the “daffodil do-si-do.”
The blooms the next spring were beautiful, and the Daffodil Project was born. Our plan was to return in October 2008 and plant 7,850 more bulbs on the other side of the Bartlett site, and then branch out to the other three regional parks in the coming years. The bulbs were planted this time around by a great crew from Giant Eagle, so it was time to (im)patiently wait for spring.
Early April on Bartlett Street
Long after my parents’ daffodils had wilted in Tennessee, our daffodils finally started to push up. Of course I was there that first weekend of April to get an early image, but even that can’t really prepare you for the sight of 12,000+ daffodils at their peak.
Two weeks later, the Bartlett Street area of Schenley Park had to be in contention for one of the loveliest places in Pittsburgh. On Thursday night, I spent some time photographing the daffodils, and watching other people photograph their kids with them. I dusted off the Gigapan, which had been taking a long winter’s nap (my lack of enthusiasm for winter scenery taking its toll), thinking it’d be fun to capture them all in a single image, just in case anyone ever got really bored and felt like checking how many of them had sprouted.
Click the image to zoom in on the Gigapan!
The next day was just fantastic. My friend Joanna brought her 18-month-old daughter Julia in to take some photos with the daffodils. We had done this last year in the original planting, when she was just 6 months old and still couldn’t sit up independently. We got some fun shots back then and declared Julia the poster girl for the Daffodil Project, but this year she was in her element. There is nothing like a curious 18-month-old surrounded by brightly colored blooms.
Our poster girl among the daffodils.
Then that evening I went back and took photos of two couples using the daffodils as a backdrop. One of the couples actually got engaged right there in the midst of them! Even though I spend a lot of time in the parks, it’s not every day that I get such a wonderful reminder of the magic of these spaces, and get to witness them becoming an enduring part of someone’s most special memories.
The next weekend was a frantic one for me; I was getting ready to head out of town and only had about an hour at the end of the day to myself, so I figured I’d give the daffodils one last visit before they disappeared for another year. The 5,000 bulbs from 2007 were beginning to fade, but the 7,850 from 2008 were in their absolute prime. I had meant to hang out for about five minutes and ended up spending the whole hour there, in the company of an animated game of soccer and a couple of people trying to fly kites. I even ran into our CEO, Meg, who was out walking her dog.
Just before sunset on April 25
Now it’s May and the daffodils are spent, with only deadheading left to be done. (And this year we’ve got a group of kids who are volunteering to help us out, which I’m looking forward to!) We’ve moved on to all the other dazzling shows spring puts on every year. But to me the Daffodil Project is something special, and I have a feeling it’s come to mean something to a lot of other people who come to Schenley Park too. I can’t wait to see what we do next year.
If you’d like to support the Daffodil Project by helping us purchase bulbs, visit https://www.pittsburghparks.org/donate and designate your funds toward “Daffodil Project” in the dropdown menu.
I had to go way back in your myspace comments for this one, but the do-si-do description brought back good memories:
The Bulb Planting Square Dance Call:
Swing your wheel barrow round and round, throw some bulbs in and stuff them down!
Now do-si-do, and up the ramp! Dump your bulbs like you’re a champ!
Spread that mulch and pack that dirt, come on now, it won’t hurt!
We’ll come back in the spring, to look at the flowers and dance and sing!